> Part I: Precursors
>  by Auryx Saturnius
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue 1*
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One Year Previous…
A pony stands in a room. It is a big room, shaped like an amphitheater, with ponies his age sitting behind desks, quills scribbling down what he has to say. He speaks with conviction and confidence—the signs of a speech well-rehearsed— as these ponies look on to him with a mixture of boredom, fascination, and indifference. With a firm nod, he concludes his talk and the hooves shoot up, picked without thought by the professor next to him.
The first student, a maroon unicorn mare, stands up with a gentle smile as she addresses the speaker. “Mr. Star, I’m slightly confused on the main focus of your lecture. Were you trying to say that the War of Madness or the Lunar Schism was the primary watershed to the shaping of modern Equestrian understanding on Harmony?”
“Ah, yes. The point of the lecture was to teach that both events were absolutely necessary to our modern understanding of Harmony. Discord and Nightmare Moon alike, while two very different individuals with very different styles, perspectives and reasons, both contributed majorly to the current philosophical context of Harmony. With that said, it’s also important to remember that we wouldn’t even have known the concept of Harmony without the history of the Eternal Heart and the unification of tribes. It is important to take a look at all of the factors in historical research and study, so it prevents subjective ideas. Even taking in consideration of events completely irrelevant to the topic your studying can help you keep an objective look to the events. Neither were primary, but both were necessary.”
The mare nodded with satisfaction, slowly sitting back down into her seat as the professor picked a second hoof. The stallion pegasus stood up, notepad and quill in feathered grasp.
“Mr. Star, as anyone in the room can say, ponykind history is only a small fraction of the history of our glorious and ancient planet. Considering that, as ponies, we have been recorded to be one of the first sentient race to populate the planet—before any of the elk, bison, gryphons, zebras, canines or changelings—do you think it could ever have been possible for a different species to have come before us on this world; maybe like the mystical Precursors?”
The speaker frowned, the stubble of a week old facial hair shadowing his face with perfect clarity. There was always that one student that asked him a question like this, or a derivative therefore: Do the Precursors exist? Luckily, that meant for quite the experience in proper and unexpected answers.
“The ‘mystical’ Precursors is just an old-mare’s tale that mothers tell their foals at night, filling them with tales of magic and adventure. I refuse to believe that there isn’t one archaeologist or historian alive who hadn’t, at one point in their lives, been inspired by those stories to join the science if only to try and find proof of their existence. But an archaeologist must weigh and look for the facts, not their dreams, and the facts state that, currently, there is no proof of a pre-equine civilization to have ever existed, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility.”
He paused to look at the clock hanging on the wall, checking the time and letting the student jot down any and all notes he had wished.
“One must also consider the willing expeditions and research of the great pre-classical minds, such as Charmcaster the Wise, or her student Starswirl the Bearded, or even his student, Clover the Clever. Three generations worth of the greatest minds had a peculiar interest in the place ponies have in the world, its relationship with Harmony, and the idea of what each of them called the Mantle of Responsibility. If you look into that, I’m sure you’ll get new perspective on the question you asked. Secondly,” he said with slight satisfaction, “it’s important to remember that both the Dragons and the Gorgons were here before our earliest records of pony-kind.”
The student blinked several times, before sitting down, clearly admitting defeat. The professor nodded happily, shaking the speaker’s hoof with a firm and jovial shake. “Thank you very much Mr. Crescent Star; your talk was very informative.”
He turned back to the class. “This reminded me to tell you all: I hope you all are almost finished with your papers on the comparison between Starswirl’s concept of active magic, Clover’s passive magic, and how the two of them helped influence modern magical practice and study…”
As if on cue, the bell mounted on the wall rang with a clear sound, wrapped in a magical glow.
“I want them on my desk, here in the classroom, at the beginning of next week’s class and no later!”
The students all filed out of the large, amphitheater of a classroom as the professor once again turned to the speaker, shaking his hoof a second time. “Once again, I appreciate you coming in and lecturing.”
“It is my honor to help a fellow of the trade,” Crescent Star replied. “If you don’t mind, however, it’s time for me to leave.”
The professor made no protest as Crescent Star walked out. He closed the door behind him, relishing in the cool morning air of the now silent hallway. The students had all long since bolted to their next class, leaving the sound of gentle chirping and rustling leaves outside on the great lawn of the university prominent in the silent, marble halls.
Lectures, universities, students, history; this was his life. He was Crescent Star, the Magical Adept and the unicorn with only one equal. He loved his job and its challenges. He gave up so much to become what he was now; to be raised in humble beginnings as the eldest son of two of Canterlot’s many non-prominent jewelry makers, to one of Equestria’s scientific elite…
…Life was excellent!
“Sir, are you alright?” Crescent Star calmly raised his head. He hadn’t noticed that a unicorn had walked up to him. He was tall and slender, lean built with an air of responsibility and strength that radiated from his gaze. Besides his unnatural height (Crescent Star thought he could be a bit taller than Princess Celestia herself), he didn’t notice anything strange. His coat was black—pure black, with little reflection—while his mane was a near translucent white in the morning sun. His cutie mark, much to his puzzlement, however, was a streaming swirl of whites, blues and reds around an empty circle, giving no hint to personality or profession.
Crescent Star had realized too late that he was staring impolitely as he examined who this unicorn was, the stranger raising a hoof to snap him out of his gaze. “Sir?”
He shook his head clear. “Sorry, I’m quite alright, just taking a breath from my previous lecture.”
The stranger tilted his head in thought. “Lecture. If I may pry, you wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Crescent Star himself, would you?”
Crescent Star smiled and bowed his head in affirmation. “That would be me.”
The stranger returned the smile, “You’re just the stallion I was looking for Mr. Star.” He extended his hoof out. “My name is Event Horizon.”
Crescent Star nodded, accepting the hoofshake. Event Horizon was direct to the point. “I was impressed when I heard about your doctorate thesis for archaeology: prehistoric civilization and culture. Recent events has inspired me to propose a business arrangement with you.”
“I’m flattered,” Crescent Star told him, “though I’m hardly a business-minded stallion. And, if you know of my doctorate thesis, then you must certainly know of the Ministry of Science’s opinion of it. Not only did they deny it, they had completely blacklisted me due to, and I quote, ‘outlandish papers and conclusions with no real scientific proof or meaning’.”
“Yes… yes indeed.” Event Horizon flexed his shoulders underneath a coat jacket that covered his entire back, eventually clearing his throat. “Regardless, I hope you’d at least be willing to hear my proposition out. Why don’t you join a colleague and me tomorrow for lunch and we’ll talk more about it.”
Event Horizon handed Crescent a card, the unicorn grabbing it in an aura of maroon magic. After long seconds, he nodded. “I can do that.”
The tall unicorn smiled, clearly pleased with Crescent’s response. “We will look forward to talking to you further tomorrow. Here is where we plan on dining.”
A scrap of paper hovered up from Event Horizon’s coat pocket, wrapped in an aura of white magic. When it reached a respectful distance close to him, Crescent Star took hold of it with his own, maroon-colored magic and pulled it to his face to look at it briefly before he stashed it away in his vest.
“I too look forward to it Mr. Horizon,” he nodded his head in acknowledgement, “I’ll see you then.”
Crescent Star bid his farewell and began to trot off, down the halls.




The restaurant that the address had lead him to wasn’t a fancy, high-class establishment. That said, it certainly wasn’t a simple grab-and-go place either. Onyx’s was one of the more respectful and profitable restaurants in the Merchant’s District of Canterlot. As Crescent Star asked around beforehand, most ponies in the area spoke highly of the property, its employees and of its protein-oriented food.
Crescent walked in through the sizeable wooden doors casually, glancing around. The interior was like a Northern Equestrian lodge, only much larger. The lights were dimmed to add ambience; adorn on the walls were photographs of stallions and mares alike—frontier’s ponies—each with some respectable accomplishment being shown off to their unknown audience of diners.
There was a strong whistle that attracted Crescent Star’s attention. A smiling Event Horizon stood from his seat, waving a hoof for Crescent to come and join him and his other companion. “Mr. Star. I’m glad you could make it to meet my colleague and me today.”
Crescent sat down across from the two stallions as Event Horizon continued. “Mr. Crescent Star, I’d like you to meet Mr. Tough Runner.”
The mahogany earth pony sitting beside him stood up and shook Crescent Star’s hoof with a firm grip. He was clearly an outdoors pony, built for tough, real life situations. The cutie-mark he possessed was of a set of horseshoes and a whirling lasso.
He imagined the drawl long before he heard it. “Mighta’ pleased to meet ya, Mr. Star.”
“Likewise.”
Event Horizon cleared his throat. “Tough Runner is the prime reason why I approached you yesterday morning, Mr. Star. You see, we have an interesting predicament on our hooves.”
Tough Runner nodded. “Ya see, I rent an area a’ land from Mr. Horizon here, down in tha Gorgon Desert. Ma team n’ I primarily use tha land for heardin’, grazin’ and raisin’ cattle. A couple weeks ago, however, we stumbled ‘pon a mighta’ interestin’ artefact.”
“The first thing Mr. Tough Runner did,” Event Horizon continued the story, “was contact me. I, along with some other associates, traveled down to Runner’s stead in the desert and investigate.”
Horizon paused so Crescent Star could order the food he wished from the waiter that had approached, sipping at his coffee with little interest in its contents. When Crescent returned his attention, he reached his point. “It’s an underground city: one of the largest ruins ever discovered in pony-history.”
Crescent nodded. “I see, so you wish for me to examine and explore this ancient Gorgon ruin?”
Horizon smiled through his cup, “You’re right on the account that I wish for you to go, examine and explore those ruins, but the ruins aren’t Gorgon design.”
Crescent was unphased. “Dragon?”
Horizon shook his head. “Perhaps an abandoned Changeling colony?”
“The complexity and design alone is too dissimilar to Changeling architecture at any point in their known history, and to conclude your dragon point, the design is for beings much smaller in stature.”
Crescent Star leaned in closer to the unicorn sitting across from him. “You cannot be telling me that this ruin belongs to a completely different species entirely.”
Event Horizon mimicked his attentive stature. “Not only am I telling you, I will prove it to you in five seconds.”
As he finished speaking, an object wrapped in his white aura floated discretely from his side, unseen by any other pony in the establishment. It was small, roughly the size of Crescent’s hoof and, when it was set down clearly on the table, was shown to be made of a luminous silvery metal, but what attracted the full, gasping belief and attention of Crescent Star was what it was doing. Free from anypony’s magical touch and control, the shard floated gently off the table, barely reaching the middle height of his glass of water, but nonetheless floating before his very eyes.
“Celestia be praised,” Crescent Star let escape with a hushed voice.
Event Horizon huffed with amusement before stashing it back under the table and into his full care. “This technology is more advanced than anything Equestria or the Gryphon States could’ve ever dreamed of creating. We’re just unlocking the potential of steam-power, yet here stands the proof that we aren’t even the most technological species to have existed on this planet. That is why I picked you to take this journey, Mr. Crescent Star, because of that paper on the Precursors…”
Crescent lifted his eyes from the spot the shard had hovered and looked directly at Event Horizon.
“I believe we’ve found evidence on their existence,” the unicorn finished.
Crescent Star glanced a look at Tough Runner, who looked back at him with equal confidence. He wondered how much of the situation Tough Runner understood; how big the impact of what he discovered will create. By the gaze of his eyes, he didn’t doubt he did.
“When do I begin?”
	
> Prologue 2*
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One Year Ago…
Crescent Star stood alone on the train station. Behind him was the stack of luggage he had decided to bring for this trip; Event Horizon told him it would be a long time, so he packed extensively. He looked around at the dusty platform and the open land around him. For miles, all he saw was desert, save for the silver ribbon of metal tracks that stretched out for miles on end into both sides of the horizon.
The sun beat harshly down upon his eyes and his coat was beginning to be soaked in sweat. He was told someone would meet him here to help with his things and to brief him. So far, he couldn’t see anypony as far as the eye could see.
He saw the massive dust cloud long before he could see its creator hidden behind it. Slowly, the cloud grew larger and larger as the wagons and ponies got closer; their coats were as dusty as the desert around them and their gazes were experienced and focused. As the two of them pulled up to the station platform, the one to the left of Crescent, the larger stallion he noted, cleared his throat.
“Are you Mr. Crescent Star?” He nodded, and the stallion smiled. “We were sent to bring ya to tha camp. It’s a pleasure to have ya on board with the team.”
Crescent Star lightened up. After being directed to pull his luggage into the wagon, the confident stallion walked beside the two of them.
Their names were Rough Boulder and Quick Runner, the latter being Tough Runner’s younger brother. They were members of the group of ranchers that had originally discovered the ruins (he dared not label them as Precursor until he could see for himself). Overall, the two of them seemed just as excited about the whole concept as Crescent Star did, though, as he assumed with Tough Runner, probably not for the same reasons.
“So what is this ‘team’ you two mentioned at the station?” Crescent asked them.
“Since Mr. Horizon asked ya to consider the exploration a week ago,” Quick Runner began, “he has been gatherin’ other specialists and colleagues to work with ya. We’re talkin’ other archaeologists with varyin’ backgrounds, geological surveyors, cartographers, n’ even a biologist to help confirm who built ‘em. We also have some medics, assistants, and even a cookin’ staff.”
Rough Boulder nodded, “Mr. Horizon didn’t spare no expense with this expahdition. Ah hear even the ahsteemed Dr. Cypher was recruited to our team.”
Crescent Star furrowed his brow, puzzled and concerned. “From my conversation with Mr. Event Horizon, I was under the impression that I was to be in charge of the exploration and subsequent excavation of the ruins. Why, then, is the Chairpony of the Royal Archaeological Society here?”
Rough Boulder looked back towards him. “Yer’ not mistaken Mr. Star. Event Horizon had explicitly stated that ya were ‘n charge of this whole thing.”
Crescent Star was sincerely taken aback by this statement. “Mr. Horizon holds me in a higher regard than Dr. Ancient Cypher?”
“He is certain about yer abilities n’ talents…”
The Adept reached out and grabbed the edge of the wagon, keeping himself from falling back into the rushing dirt in surprise. What could possibly compel this very eccentric businesspony to believe he was greater than a legend in the archaeological field? Surely, he thought, there were greater ponies with decades more experience than he; he couldn’t have been the first choice for this expedition. Was it because of his title, Magical Adept? It merely meant that he was a student with an apparent massive potential, well on his way to becoming a Doctor of Magic (at least, until he had published his thesis those months ago).
Crescent Star wanted to ask Event Horizon so many questions when he will meet him at the camp, but he feared his prying might encourage the businesspony to seek other help. This was posed to be the greatest discovery in Equine history, and he was asked to be the driving factor behind it all… Crescent didn’t want to mess this all up, no matter how much he thought it was a mistake.
The wagon came to a halt near the quickly assembled camp. Crescent Star wasted no time to get out and look around as the ranchers worked to move his luggage to his tent. There was maybe thirty of them pitched up in an organized fashion. Each was labeled according to their use or to whoever was residing in them. Walking in and out were more ponies than he realized would be involved. It was just like what Quick Runner had told him: archaeologists walked next to world esteemed biologists, surveyors, cooks and cartographers of varying accents, mannerisms and paces. He even noted several zebras and even a handful of gryphons spread out among the moving crowds. From the diversity, it was clear that Event Horizon was under the impression this discovery would change the course of history.
He certainly wasn’t without reason, Crescent Star thought. Truly, if he was correct, and this ruin wasn’t draconic or gorgon, then it could redefine everything. The artefact Event Horizon had shown him was beyond remarkable; it was beyond anything Crescent Star could ever hope to understand or explain. If it could be examined more closely, even reverse engineered, then there could be massive strides in Equestrian science and technology. No doubt this was why there were numbers of gryphon and zebra here as well. Both the Gryphon States and Republic of Zebrica were as large spheres of influence as the Kingdom of Equestria was. If the discoveries that were being made here today were as important as Crescent Star was lead to believe, then both nations would want to be a part in its recording, and its treasures.
Quick Runner kindly guided Crescent Star through the camp and to the tent where Event Horizon was expecting him. The businesspony stood behind a wooden table with a map of the region unrolled on top of it. The prim coat that had covered him when they first het was replaced by a desert explorer’s coat, as if he was Daring Do going out on an adventure. Standing next to him was a good sized gryphon in leather armor. His feathers were a dark, raven’s black and he stood looking at the map with experienced and wizened blue eyes.
Crescent Star cleared his throat as well walked in, attracting their attention. “Good afternoon gentlemen. I hope I’m not interrupting you.”
Event Horizon smiled as he walked around to meet Crescent Star, greeting him as a friend. “It’s a pleasure that you managed to make my friend.” He leads him to the gryphon. “Crescent Star, may I introduce to you Regent Geirr of the Gryphon Academy of Science.”
The gryphon nodded and offered his claw. “Herr Crescent Star, it is a pleasure to meet you face to face. I am your counterpart for this expedition, and I’m sure we’ll work together ausgezeichnet.”
Crescent Star nodded, hoping that what little gryphon he remembered from his schooling wasn’t letting him down. “The pleasure is mine, sir.”
“So, Mr. Star.” The smile on Event Horizon could’ve been contagious in its excitement. “Are you ready for the expedition?”
Crescent Star nodded and looked down at the map in front of him, extending his hoof to point at a specific mark. “Is this where the entrance to the cavern is?”
Event Horizon nodded. “As I was explaining to Regent Geirr previously, the cavern is relatively larger than and symmetrical compared to other natural caves that form in these parts. Peculiarly, its position in the canyon is precise to the seasons. In the summer, the sun cannot beat down on the opening, but the wind can be channeled into it to keep it cool in the desert heat. In the winter, it is the reverse: the winds are unable to adequately enter the cavern, while the sun can shine down into it for warmth.”
“Whoever made these ruins,” the Regent spoke up, “were extensively intelligent to the weather patterns of the seasons here.”
“Indeed,” Event Horizon added. “However, the full extent of their knowledge still remains a mystery to us. They could’ve had technology and innovation similar to us today, less than us, or even greater than us, but we can’t find out until we enter the ruins tomorrow morning.”
Crescent Star focused on Event Horizon. “Surely, we just can’t disregard the shard that Tough Runner and you had shown me last week. No one in Equestria, nor surely in the Gryphon States, has the ability today to reproduce what it was doing by itself without magic.”
Event Horizon nodded in agreement, but still had a point of his own. “You are correct Mr. Star, but it is important to remember that we don’t know what that technology is. It could be controlled by magic, in which case it could simply be a different alteration of an invention we already possess. If so, then the benefits of learning about it can revolutionize the magical arts in a manner that wasn’t seen since Starswirl the Bearded. If not, then it can revolutionize technology in the world like never before.”
Crescent Star simply stared at the marked area on the map. There was so much to take in; so much to consider; so much possibilities. As Event Horizon continued, portraying a grand future of science, technology, magic, cooperation, the words would fly past Crescent Star as he simply looked down at the map and stared. The reality truly began to sink in to him now: this was the most important discovery in the history of the known world.
Horizon cleared his throat, snapping Crescent Star from his thought. “We begin at the first light of dawn, tomorrow.”



===============
Memoirs of Insanity
Precursors
===============

	
> 1:1- Envy of the Stars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for." 
-Bob Marley



Act One


“I can’t believe Princess Celestia has already invited us back to Canterlot after such a short time.”
Rarity swiped her mane aside, “I know darling. It feels like only yesterday we were fighting changelings at the Royal Wedding a month ago... which reminds me, how’s our Equestrian royalty holding up over there.”
Twilight lifted her head up from the windowsill and frowned, “I already told you Rarity. I’m not proper royalty. I’m only the sister-in-law of the niece of the princesses. I’m only titled a Lady, nothing like Duchess and certainly not Princess myself...”
Rarity rolled her eyes playfully, “Whatever you say darling...”
Applejack turned her head towards the group. “Why did the princess ‘nvite us back so soon?”
Pinkie Pie jumped out from nowhere. “Maybe it’s because she wants us to throw a party! Oooo... I bet it’s supposed to be a ‘Thanks for saving the wedding/Thanks for defeating the Changeling Invasion Party’!!!”
Twilight stared at her, “No... she wants us to help her prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration she is holding in Canterlot this year... it’s funny, she just said to get here as soon as possible and that is was important...”
The daylight surrounding the train suddenly inked out as it passed through the mountain that protected the Equestrian capital, leaving the car in total darkness.
Pinkie Pie’s voice erupted with excitement. “OOOH, I bet it is to throw a party!!!”
Twilight rolled her eyes in a surprising disgust, almost shocking herself at the sudden impulse from a younger era. Thankful that no one could see her; she silently cleared her throat and lightened her tone slightly. “Anyways, we should be finding out soon enough. The train station is past this mountain.”
Even with the bubbliness of her pink friend and the presence of her other friends, Twilight still couldn’t shake the preoccupation on her thoughts. Ever since she woke up this morning, her head seemed to remain in the cloudy haze of sleep. It felt as if the world around her had a layer covering her eyes, leaving only a slightly hazed gloom towards a forgotten dream or thought she once had. As the light suddenly and ferociously filled the cabin once again, Twilight looked out at the rising spires of Canterlot, found her gaze shifting to the prestigious School of Magic, and realized what it was…
…Today was the day…
Now her heart really began to feel weighted. It was as if the back of her mind knew what the matter was before she did. As thoughts and memories began to flood back, the violet unicorn silently walked out of the cabin towards the end of the train, Applejack deciding to follow her, unbeknown to the unicorn.
As she slipped through the back door, she let the gentle breeze of motion run through her mane and fur. It felt pleasing to be outside for a little bit: to feel the warmth of her mentor’s sunlight and the relaxing air of the sky. It startled her to hear the sudden voice behind her. “Alright... what’s wrong sugar cube?”
Twilight turned her head back. “What gives you the impression something is wrong?” she found herself snapping. Looking at the surprised face of her friend, she covered her mouth. Applejack only stared at her patiently, so Twilight flipped her head back and sighed. “I’m sorry AJ; I didn’t mean to snap at you like that... I’m just a little sad right now...”
“Ya know, talkin’ ‘bout it would make ya feel better...”
Twilight gazed out at the growing skyline of Canterlot, the prestigious Canterlot University gleaming off her eyes. “Today is the anniversary...”
Applejack quietly nodded. “A year ago, ya came to Ponyville to stop Nightmare Moon, an’ doin’ so, became our best friend ‘n discovered the Elements of Harmony… so why so glum?”
“AJ, don’t get the wrong idea... please... but I wasn’t saying the anniversary for our founding of friendship. It’s just... that same day... that very same day... I lost a friend without even knowing it...”
Applejack nudged her shoulder, “Alright, talk. Who was it?”
“His name was Crescent Star.”
She turned to her, hoping it would be enough, but Applejack gave her the look to keep going. With a gentle sigh, she turned back to the railing of the caboose, leaning against it as Applejack slowly came to her side. “We both were raised by relatively poorer Canterlot families. My parents were immersed in literature and books, eventually spreading to myself... but Star his family specialized in jewelry and fashion. We both were accepted into the same class at the Canterlot School of Magic, both of us showing a strong magic streak. Unfortunately, his parents only wanted him to learn the magic necessary to run a jewelry shop: something he wasn’t keenly fond of doing. So, as a mutual agreement, we would help each other learn magic and spells while keeping his secret studies from his parents.
“Very quickly, we learned that where I excelled in raw ability and sheer determination, he did so in pure creativity and resolve.” Twilight smiled as the memories continued to come to her. “We would always get into fierce competitions on who was better at what during school.”
“I bet you’d win most of those...”
Twilight scoffed, “Believe it or not, I lost... often. Crescent Star was crazy smart: able to deduce and learn anything he put his mind to. Anything he wanted to learn or that he questioned would become simple tools for his study of the magical arts. He would constantly figure out and even improve upon whatever the teacher taught us with relative ease. It was, for lack of a better term, downright impressive.”
“Sounds like y’all gotta run fer your money Twi.”
“At first, it made me furious, constantly being outshined by somepony else who would be called my peer. But, as we grew up and eventually continued into the Magical Adept level of studies, it proved... most beneficial for the both of us.
“We would generally decide to be together with any project or situation: always staying with the other until the job was done. Many ponies called us the best of friends…”
“You said, ‘ponies called y’all the best of friends’,” Applejack casually looked over at her friend, “Were y’all friends?”
Twilight frowned, not returning Applejack’s glance. She only stared out at the expanse in front of her. “That’s what disappoints me... we weren’t. We both just decided to keep the relationship between us at a simple mutuality. Having both given up so much, including our personal lives, to reach where we are now, we didn’t waste time with ‘hanging-out’ or ‘relaxing’. We would continue our studies as Adepts: myself as Celestia’s Faithful Student, and him as the Social Science Teacher’s protégé, but Star decided to take an opportunity to go out into the world and see first-hoof the world of anthropology and archaeology… now, I feel like I went I one, huge, bucking circle of circumstance...”
Applejack patted her back, “I’m sorry ‘Twi... I hope you feel better, honestly... Maybe this surprise the princess has fer us will take your mind off’a it...”
Twilight sighed, “I hope it doesn’t AJ... I hope I never forget...”
With nothing further to say between them, Applejack left Twilight to her thoughts and entered quietly into the next car. The unicorn simply stared out at the tracks running behind. The conversation with her friend only seemed to amplify the effect of the memories on her. Silently and most assuredly, she reflected on everything that had happened in the past year. As her thoughts continued, a tear slowly began to run down her cheek.

***************

Princess Celestia, Matriarch of Equestria and Maiden of Canterlot, frantically trot back and forth within the confines her throne room, her thoughts on the situation of recent events running rampant within her head. Whatever happened to her during the Canterlot Invasion only a month ago, whatever consequence arose from the cocoon and the changelings, seemed to be permanently scarred onto her being, and so far made no hint of ever being fixed. For over a millennia, she had been priding herself with the ability to control her emotions, but now that ability has been slowly slipping away from her like water through a rag cloth. She had found out the hard way how easily she was angered. Her sister, Luna, had finished the last strawberry crepe that she saved for herself only two weeks ago, remaining in a fit of fury that lasted several hours... Luna wouldn’t talk to her for a week afterwards...
To top it off, she quickly realized how much her mind wandered these past few days. Whenever she had to finish administrative work or had to attend the regular Cabinet meeting, she would have to steel herself and force herself to buckle down and focus, or risk actually falling asleep! Every once in awhile, she found herself aimlessly wandering the grounds of her palace, no destination or purpose, and would slip into a gentle nostalgia with a statue or a certain part of the castle. Once, the guards had found her during one of these moments and had to be brushed off with idle comments and chatter as she would walk back to her chambers, embarrassed, and hid away for the rest of the day.
She immediately consulted her physician, but the aging unicorn had assured her that nothing was wrong with her physically. He told her that the recent psychology was nothing more than as mild sense of trauma towards the event, and that it should past sooner or later, so worrying about it wouldn’t do anything. With that, he politely lead her back to her chambers and told her to get some sleep, closing the door before she could reply.
So now Princess Celestia, Matriarch of Equestria and Maiden of Canterlot, was left to handle mild trauma on top of the Summer Sun Celebration being held within her city. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be much of a hassle, leaving the preparations to a trusted subordinate or subordinates, but things were different with this year…
…This year… he was coming…
The sound of hoofsteps and chattering voices broker her train of thought and her attention was reaffixed towards the coming of her Faithful Student and friends. Each one of them seemed to have mixed opinions on their sudden recall to Canterlot, and no doubt the continual red tape of Imperial Affairs did nothing to assist them with their confusion.
As the ponies came forward, Twilight came further and bowed respectfully. After a couple seconds and a smile from her mentor, she found herself embraced by the soft, white fur. “Princess Celestia… I’m happy to say we received your invitation, but how will we be able to help you with the preparation of the Summer Sun Celebration?”
“Twilight, my Faithful Student...” the princess smiled softly once more as she easily fixed her mask of subtly in front of her pupil. “I’m glad that you were able to make it.”
Normally, such a statement would have been enough, but Twilight was able to notice something different in the tone of her mentor. Whether it was from the recent experience of her own emotions or something else, Twilight noticed that Princess Celestia felt off today. “Is everything alright Princess?”
Celestia smiled calmly once more behind her false mask. “Everything is fine Twilight, whatever made you think otherwise?” was the calm and rehearsed response she had prepared for this occasion, but she could not bring herself to say it. Her mask crumbled and the trouble sigh escaped her lips as her demeanor lowered and dimmed, summing up into one single word: “...No...”
With familiar gusto and bravado, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings strongly and hovered above the heads of her friends, punching the air with her fore-hooves as if she was in a professional boxing match. “What's troubling you now princess? Let me at ‘em... I can take them...”
Twilight’s horn glowed with rolled eyes as she pulled Rainbow Dash down to the ground by her tail. With her friend clearly placed on the floor, she cleared her throat and perked her head forward. “What’s the matter princess?”
The princess smiled and regained some of her tranquil attitude, pleased with her student’s directness. She became confident that it was the right choice to bring them here for this, Twilight’s friends always showing their willingness to help. “This year’s Summer Sun Celebration is particularly important. Several ponies of high standard and class are deciding to come and watch my raising of the sun...”
“But how is that different from every other year?”
Celestia closed her eyes, thinking about whether or not telling them the truth. Slowly, and hesitantly, she opened them again, looking around the throne room to make sure they were alone. Her horn glowed with a brilliant yellow as her magic reached around behind her and lifted a piece of paper from a small table near the throne itself. Twilight glanced up at the floating paper and, with her magic, took hold of the parchment and leveled it with her face.
“Go ahead and read aloud...”
Twilight gently nudged her head forward as she read off the words scribbled neatly over the parchment.
“For the personal correspondence of the royal alicorn sisters of the Kingdom of Equestria, Celestia K. & Luna S. Galaxia...” she paused and Rarity perked her head over, “Celestia K. & Luna S. Galaxia?”
Celestia nodded, “Yes, that is our family name: the Celestial Alicorn Family of Galaxia.”
“And the K. and S?”
She sighed, “The full name of my sister and me... Celestia Kyra and Luna Selene...”
Rainbow Dash tired to hold back her continuous laughter, loudly snickering into her hooves. An angry glance from both Twilight and the princess prompted her to stop and glance off at some, suddenly interesting, point on the wall.
“Somebody say our name?”
The gang turned their heads back to the heavy iron doors to see Princess Luna flutter in and head towards them. The midnight alicorn walked with pride through the throne room, her mane perpetually flowing with an invisible wind.
“Princess Luna!”
“Please, Twilight Sparkle, we wish to solely called Luna, thou remember?”
“Of course Luna... sorry…”
Celestia turned to her sister, mildly disappointed. “Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you this... so you might want to listen to this too. Please continue Twilight.”
She turned back to the letter. “Dear Luna and Tia, I know it’s been awhile since my last visit to you two and I pray you are both staying out of trouble in my absence. I have kept myself surrounded with those who do happen to know about recent events within Equestria and I am proud to hear that you have ponies, your Elements of Harmony, that remain on top of danger and problems. Also, I am proud to hear about the recent wedding of Jovian’s daughter to that Captain of the Royal Guard... Shining Armor...”
Rarity perked her head again. “Jovian?”
Celestia frowned at the interruption, “My younger brother, Luna’s elder... moving on...”
“...This leads me to my correspondence to you two. I wish to express to you my confidence in you both. I am proud of both of you, as through the thin and thick you two have ultimately created the utopia that is the life work of our entire family. Thus, as token of appreciation, I thought it fit to tell you ahead of time that I, and your brothers, shall be coming to Canterlot and observe this year’s Summer Sun Celebration. Love...”
The ponies behind Twilight read with her, “your father?!”
Everypony gasped with shock while Celestia nodded silently. Luna’s eyes widened as she jumped up and shook Celestia by the shoulders. “Papa’s coming here?”
“It appears so…”
Luna almost exploded with delight. “TIA! Papa is going to come visit us! It’s been twelve hundred years since papa visited us: this art the most joyous news ever!” The Lunar Princess let go of her sister and began to frantically pace around her. Her jargon straightened and modernized almost at the flip of a switch, becoming similar to any other normal teenage mare. “This is going to so exciting. We should be preparing! We should try and make him as comfortable as possible while he is here…”
“Luna…”
“…Maybe we should throw a banquet. Do you think we should? Should we try and be formal or casual around him when he comes…”
“LUNA!”
The princess snapped out of her rant. “Yes Celestia?”
Celestia didn’t glare at her, but her eyes didn’t share her sister’s joy. “Luna, what are we going to do? If father comes here then he’ll just start pestering us with a million little things. Everything we do wrong will just lead us to a lecture and would surely lead to us being treated as foals...”
Luna paused. “I guess you’re right sis… On top of which, he’s bringing our brothers... Jovian, that hawk... Sirius, that no good tormentor... and Vulcan... Vulcan of all ponies. He’s not even old enough to rule! Those three will no doubt try to make fools of ourselves all because we are mares and were mother’s favorites...”
Celestia nodded, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there Luna, and we will get there.”
Twilight stepped forward, “Is this true princess? Is he really that exact with everything?”
“Yes, he is… one time he fired seven accountants within a single month because they each accidently messed up on large calculations. My father is the true King here... which is why, I suppose, I was always called Princess Celestia. He’s a good stallion, do not get me wrong, but having such a delicate eye watching over us constantly can become… unproductive… He mentioned here that he liked you six, and I’m hoping if you can help with the Summer Sun Celebration, then maybe he could stay a little on the lax side. In order for that to happen, however, everything has to be absolutely perfect... do you think you’re up to the challenge?”
Twilight turned to her friends, “What do you say guys? Do you want to help the princesses?”
“Yeah!” came the reply in unison.
Princess Celestia smiled, “I knew I could count on you. Let’s get things started, shall we?”
She turned to each and everypony. “Applejack?”
“Yes princess?”
“I would appreciate your supervision of the catering service. Your apple crepes were a particular favorite of mine...”
“You can count on me.” Applejack set her mind on everything she could do. “Hoo-doggie… this is gonna be a grand ol’ project…”
“Pinkie Pie?”
The pink pony leaned forward wide-eyed. “Yes?”
“I hope you can organize the reception and parade... it’s a big job that is specifically suited to your talents...”
“Of course!” she beamed, “It’s, going, to be, awesome!”
“Rainbow Dash?”
“At your service, princess!” she stood sharp and attentive.
“I want you to keep the skies completely clear during the celebration, as well as perform a Sonic Rainboom during the main event. However, I would appreciate a complete cloudy overcast from now until the celebration itself... a big hush-hush, top-secret surprise from my sister and I…”
“Yes, ma’am!” she crisply saluted.
“Fluttershy?”
“Um... yes princess?”
“I would love to hear your birds sing our national anthem, can you do that?”
“Y-Yes, princess... I won’t let you down.”
“You all might want to get started on your tasks, so I’ll let you get to it... there is only a week left until the celebration...”
They all nodded and slowly trotted out. Twilight and Rarity stepped forward. “What about the two of us princess? Shouldn’t we be trying to do something to help, too?”
“Yes. Twilight, Rarity... I have a special task for you two. Do you both know of the Canterlot Mines that run underneath the city?”
Twilight glanced over at Rarity, and then returned to Celestia. “Yes, we have.”
“Excellent. Buried deep in those mines is a specific gem I need you to find called a Celestial Firestone...”
Rarity’s eyes widened with delight. “The Celestial Firestone: as in one of the most sought after, most beautiful gemstones of all Equestria. What privilege do we have to look for such an object?”
“That gemstone is capable of holding vast amounts of energy and power within its crystalline structure. I require one to perform the necessary... ‘tricks’, for this very special Summer Sun Celebration. Think you can handle it?”
“You can count on us princess.”
She nodded and smiled, “I knew I could. You are dismissed to go spelunking...”
Twilight nodded and both she and Rarity trotted out, leaving the princesses alone in the throne room.
Luna frowned and closed her eyes as she shook her head. “Are you really that worried about papa?”
Celestia remained stoic, “Partly… but there’s more to it…”

***************

As everything progressed, Twilight couldn’t help but think back at her mood earlier today. Earlier she was melancholy: saddened by the realization of a lost friend. Applejack tried to help her but she only brushed it off, thinking only about the lost moments. Now she was with purpose. She felt satisfied that the princess trusted her with such an important task. She made quick note to herself that she wouldn’t let the princess down…
Twilight and Rarity briskly walked through the sprawling city on their way to the mountainside. They purposefully remained silent, knowing that any conversation they had would eventually lead to the topic of the royal family. The two figured that the princesses didn’t want such a fact to fill the ears of everypony around them... not yet...
However, once the town thinned out into the grassy patches and rocky outcroppings of the surrounding mountain, Rarity couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“Did you know Celestia and Luna had a father?”
Twilight calmly looked around and saw only a few ponies within earshot, all being distracted with other things. Satisfied, she turned back to Rarity. “Yes, yes I did.”
Rarity glanced over at her, “You did?”
“Yes... Rarity, I’ve been Celestia’s Faithful Student nearly all my life. I know of several members of her family... like the fact they have a mother, three brothers, an uncle and an aunt...”
Rarity quickly closed her gaping mouth and turned back to the road. “...So... have you actually met anypony else of their family?”
“Only Prince Jovian, Cadence’s father. He’s a big stallion, only a hair shorter than Celestia and is far more muscular than even Big Macintosh...”
“...Wow, impressive imagery...” Rarity mulled the picture in her head a bit before returning to the conversation. “So, this surprise visit from their father... would he really think Celestia and Luna shouldn’t rule?”
“I certainly hope not. Celestia and Luna are loved by the ponies here in Equestria. Imagine what ponies would do if they had to leave.”
“I know.” Rarity finally stopped at the entrance of the caverns. “It would be absolutely tragic to lose our princess friends...”
Twilight nodded and continued on into the dark entrance, letting her horn glow up to light the mines ahead. “Then we better do what we can...”
	
> 1:2- Lost and Far from Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
“Is this it?”
Rarity grabbed the gemstone in Twilight’s aura and carefully examined it. “No.”
The two of them continued on, deeper into the mines. A few steps later, Twilight tripped over yet another rock. The cave was dark (in the understatement of the century), the only light coming from the glow of their horns and the reflection of random gemstones across the caverns. It only went so far; the light was easily dwarfed and snuffed out by the heavy darkness that surrounded them at all sides.
Twilight levitated another crystal towards Rarity. “Are we getting any closer?”
Rarity closely examined the stone like before, and then shook her head. “I’m afraid, not considerably.” She sighed and continued deeper in, illuminating the crystals ahead. Rarity followed close behind. “Twilight, why would the princess even need a Celestial Firestone for this Summer Sun Celebration? I mean, she is the princess of the sun...”
“Celestial Firestones are said to be able to possess vast stores of magical energy, particularly the astronomical kind called Astromancy...”
“But the princess, in essence, is the sun. Why would she need to find a gemstone for control of her own element?”
“Princess Celestia isn’t all-powerful. I guess whatever she is doing is beyond her power alone.”
“This father of hers must be a real stickler to his foals.”
Twilight grasped another rock and closely examined it herself, “I don’t know much about her father, but what I’ve heard of him, the stallion is nonetheless very powerful and... competent in his skill of magical practice.”
“Oh come now Twilight, I’m sure that’s nothing more than embellished storytelling.”
“Celestia had never been the kind to exaggerate, and you know how powerful she is,” Twilight finally discarded the useless gem and faced Rarity, “All you would need to do is imagine what kind of stallion would train a mare like her...”
Rarity stared at her funny before Twilight sheepishly smiled. “That sounded better in my head.”
“Of course.” Rarity stepped forward and lit up more gems buried deeper in the mines, then sighed furiously. “We’ve been at this well over three hours with not even a point in the right direction...”
Twilight looked ahead into the darkness. “I don’t know how much this would help, but when the Changeling Queen imprisoned me in these mines, there were... by Jove that’s it!”
“What?”
“My prison... it was full of this reflective and strong crystal. Several times I made a magical burst towards it only to have it either become absorbed or bounce off. I had to put a lot of power behind them to break it.” She suddenly began to rush into the darkness. “Maybe it was Celestia Firestone!”
Rarity galloped after her. “Well it does fit the description... and it's at least a start!” she suddenly found herself rushing past a halted Twilight and lost the floor beneath her hooves. There was a dull glow and Rarity jerked to a halt.
“Watch out for the hole,” Twilight said, slowly levitating down with Rarity’s tail grasped by a magical aura.
“You mind warning sooner?”
Twilight giggled, landing gently on the cavern floor before and setting Rarity on the smooth crystals that littered the ground. She grabbed a small piece with her magic, lifting it to eye level. It shined a dull violet with her magic, growing in intensity the more energy she put into it. “I think we found our gemstone.”
Rarity smiled and gawked at the beautiful sight. “How much do you think we need?”
“I don’t know, but there were maybe dozens of crystals over two stories tall where I was. One of those has to be enough for the princess’s energy needs.”
“Well, how much longer until we reach them?”
“They’re not far away, probably only a short walk to the edge of the caverns where they grow...”
“You certainly know your way around here. Are you sure you’ve only been here once?”
“I came back several times to check out the lay of the land, but I personally think that I’ll never forget what happened that day...”
“It’s hard to believe that the Changeling Queen could just simply fool every-”
Rarity found herself walking into Twilight’s hoof, stopping all of a sudden.
“Twilight, what’s-”
“SHHHH!” she whispered, “Listen...”
Rarity was just about to ask Twilight ‘why should she’, when her ear flicked at a very quiet noise, her first instincts telling her it was the noise of hoofsteps.
“Are those...”
Twilight nodded, “Sounds like it to me too... but why would somepony come all the way down here.”
“We’re down here...”
“You get the point,” she hissed.
“Well there is only one way to find out.”
Twilight stared at her as she trotted forward. “Are you crazy?”
“Twilight, darling, it’s us: two wielders of the Elements of Harmony, versus whoever is down here: somepony whom I am sure is not expecting anypony to find them this deep... I’m sure we’ll manage.”
She still looked at Rarity as if she was crazy, but eventually gave in. “Fine, but you better be ready to run at any time.”
Rarity nodded and swiveled her head around as the sound of dirt shuffling came off from the distance... something hard and heavy. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Twilight and Rarity dashed off deeper into the mines in an attempt to reach the sound. All around them, the crystals began to cover more to the walls and ceiling, creating large structures of glowing violet and cyan. The passage gradually widened into a large cavern where Twilight stopped short, causing Rarity to run into her flank and send both of them sprawling to the ground.
What the two of them saw shattered their doubts of danger.

***************

Silence… darkness… pain…
That was all he could feel. Where was he? Who was he? It was all a haze. He couldn’t feel anything on the outside world: just him and his confusion. His head ached dully, but noticeably, identifying to him what was possibly causing the confusion.
He opened his eyes and saw blackness. Everything around him was dark and unfocused. It was nothing but a blur. Soon his eyes found purchase: a rock, passing by slowly under him. Then he found another, then another, until his entire vision was covered with rocks and uncountable rocks.
Where was he? A cave, he could reply.
Who was he? That was a different story…
Who were they, he asked himself? That is a fact only the reader and author could know currently.
Kaius groaned as he and his blood-brother, Kavek, dragged and heaved the heavy mass of flesh and bone that was their prisoner. The creature they held seemed to weigh a ton, but Kaius refused to accept that. Its frame was that of a tall and slender man, not a bulky and muscular. It didn’t appear to wear any armor, only lightweight cloth of black and white colors, so either the creature was heavier than they imagined, or they missed something completely, which Inferi like him rarely did. Either way, Kaius wouldn’t give his complaints the pleasure of a voice.
His brother, however, held no such resolve. “How much farther must we heft this baggage?” Kavek complained.
“You whine like Razons fresh from the milk!” Kaius snapped, even when he was thinking the same as his brother, “The Prophet of Truth had told us specifically what to do with this one...”
He turned his head down to the prisoner. It remained unconscious, fortunately, the head bowing towards the ground unmoving. He was raised listening to stories of this man’s exploits and achievements: many of which brought pain to his people and kind. Whatever his master/employer had planned for him, it was too much of a kindness in his book.
“Why don’t we deposit him like a normal prisoner, any cliff would do...”
“Silence Kavek, he is not meant for such a measly death.”
They heaved one more time and the prisoner’s feet dug deep into the loose soil of the cavern, creating a large echo and making it harder for the two Inferi to continue on. As the two pulled harder, Kavek dropped the arm he was holding onto, leaving Kaius to hold his entire weight and slowly lose his grip as the prisoner slowly slip down and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
“Kavek! Are you lost in the head?”
His brother only stood there, claws bared and the teeth in his maw showing with a deadly stare at an unseen opponent. “Brother! Two of the locals have found us.”
Kaius frowned, “You are mad brother.” He turned to where his brother faced. “No one may find us this deep-”
Before his eyes were two of the locals, like his brother said. The Prophet of Truth had told them they were called “Magi”, and had vast capabilities to control magical properties and abilities... words that Kaius laughed at for the moment. They looked nothing more than small and colorful equestrians, completely innocent and ignorant compared to his contrast of bloodied flesh and bone: the elite of the Coalition and Inferi species.
“Brother, what if they heard our conversation?” Kaius growled a vicious, predatory sound. “They must die...”
The two prepared for a charge against their intruders, much to their apparent fear and dismay, when Kavek’s ear swiveled down to the unconscious body of flesh. Something made a sound, something loud enough to be caught by his sensitive hearing, soon filling his ears with the noise of dirt shuffling... a hand moving...
His yellow eyes widened. “Kaius, the prisoner is regaining consciousness...”
“What? It’s only been two hours and with how hard he was hit, he should be dead as it is.”
“By the Marker...” Kavek didn’t know what to do; he just knew he wasn’t going to die here.

***************

Twilight prepared for the worst. These creatures in front of them could easily rival a gryphon in combat: razor claws and sharp, hostile teeth that looked ready to kill and tear anything in their path: an apex predator if she, or Rarity, ever saw one. It didn’t calm her nerves to hear them both communicate to each other through some kind of language, or that they were holding a completely different being, no doubt their form of prey, by the limbs. She almost screams when she heard one of them bark at the other...
“Parrok ei riva kosia, Kaius!” The other one barked and growled back, too quiet for her to hear, but the first one promptly replied. “Venai tria...”
Before anypony, or in this case, being, could react, the two pushed off with their feet and were absorbed by the shadows and darkness around them, leaving their prey collapsed on the ground. It took long seconds before either one decided to speak or move.
“A-A-Are you alright?” Twilight stuttered at Rarity.
“I’m fine darling, but what about that?” she pointed a hoof towards the unknown being. Rarity decided to get up and, slowly and cautiously, began to trot over towards it.
“Rarity! What are you doing?”
“Twilight, this... being needs our help and those two... two things, did Celestia knows what to it. If we show kindness and generosity, then most likely to receive kindness in return.” Rarity continued to step forward until she was only a few feet away.
“Hello, are you alright?” she inquired. For a couple seconds, it lied there motionlessly, prompting Rarity to take one more step and ask again. Something then groaned and they heard a subtle groan. It clawed at the dirt, slowly lifting itself onto all fours. It then raised its head: deep brown eyes piercing with sorrow and pain.
“We can help,” Rarity gestured to her and Twilight, trying to communicate, “Please let us help.” It only stared at them; taking in the image of both of them, then raised a limb and extended it to Rarity.
“E tu, Brute...” was all it said before collapsing.
	
> First Interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	He found himself unable to determine where he was. He was unable to see or hear, unable to feel, smell or even touch. To him, everything seemed to blend into on monochromatic feeling or nothingness: an endless abyss of an absent thought...
...absent thought...
...but what was absent? He couldn’t tell for sure. Thought itself seemed too impossible in this realm, beyond his ability to grasp and comprehend.
‘What... what is my name?’
His name? Such a concept seemed to be forever remaining beyond his reach, even as it flooded around him, swirling around in a clouding vortex of hazing thoughts. Absentmindedly, he reached out for the cloud, but couldn’t grasp anything, the thoughts and memories spinning around where his hand pierced into the blackened light. He tried again to no avail, flailing around desperately attempting to grab hold of anything and everything. With difficulty, he managed to grasp a part of the haze, a wisp of cloud slowly caressing his hand.
The feeling of rapid movement filled his being, pushing at his stomach and removing any and all air in his lungs. The abyss surrounding him turned unbearably bright. He closed his eyes, the light dying down and becoming manageable to see again. Upon opening them, he found himself staring into a plane of dusty blue, an orb or light and fire centering in his vision...
...the sun...
He found himself raising his hand to diminish its powerful gaze upon his face, and he looked down to find himself standing in a barren desert: the only sense of development being a broken paved road that had seen better days. His toes pressed against black boots; his legs trembled with exhaustion in grey dress pants; his shoulders ached in a stiff red coat that provided no aid from the blistering heat he found himself in.
‘Is this... is this me?’ he thought.
“Report Molotov.”
The sudden voice tore himself from his stupor, prompting himself to turn to it, only to find him unable to. He felt no control over this body, like he was a stranger in another’s skin. The voice had called him Molotov... that did not feel right to him...
...It didn’t feel right to him at all…
“We’ve certainly past the point of no return now: it is as they say either victory or death.”
He spoke with an accent, one that he felt he could not reproduce consciously. His vision shifted as his body stopped and turned to the voice that spoke from before. It belonged to a machine: a titan of steel that stood twice his relative height. “If only we had more troops available for this operation.”
It spoke with a harsh, artificial sound: cold and logical, as if its creator wanted to stress the point it wasn’t a living creature. “Bismarck once said the issues of his day will be solved by blood and iron. It seems we must solve ours with iron alone. There is no effective way to supply our conventional troops this deep inside enemy territory. Besides, they will do us better keeping the Chinese forces occupied back at the front lines...”
Molotov’s body moved back so it gazed straight down the beaten road, causing the stranger to try and squint at the bright sun with no avail over the body.
“I certainly agree,” the person replied, “but perhaps we could find a way to persuade some of the local inhabitants to join us... In war, there are always those among the locals who can be made to join the winning side...”
He tried to wait and listen for any further conversation they may have, but found him being pulled away forcefully from this body. He struggled and fought on the inside, the light around him only becoming brighter and brighter until he was forced to close his eyes once more. This prompted him to struggle even harder than before, clawing and grasping for the world he was in, only to find it pushing him into the abyss from before faster, the feeling of speed pressing against his stomach. His lungs were completely evacuated, air rushing out through his mouth and nostrils even as he fought to keep it in. He was unable to breath for the longest time, each attempt only filling his lungs with a poison that burned and brought him pain. He struggled as hard as he could, pushing out to try and break free, giving it all one last charge as finally was released from this force grasping him. With a powerful breath, he sucked in as much air as he could: relishing the sweet feeling of its cold rush...
...much to the startle of the six other beings in the room...
	
> 1:3- Empty Spaces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The six of them screamed and backed away as the creature bolted up into startling consciousness, as if it was awakened from a horrible nightmare. Its features were clear to Twilight, able to absorb and note everything about this being in front of them. First: it was clearly not a pony, zebra, donkey or gryphon. Even with a short black mane resting over its head, the creature looked closer to a fleshy and tailless dragon. It had fingers like one, although lacking sharp claws and an extra finger at the end on each hand. Its snout and nose was small, fitting between both eyes with plenty of room to spare and its eyes... the eyes were the most startling to her, as if they were a mask of kindness and trust over death and viciousness. She wondered where such a creature, or where the other two from before, could even come from, or how they could be so intelligent.
Rarity stepped forward, the creature recoiling back if it she was a hot stove. She leaned away, trying to look as least intimidating as she could. “Wait... Its okay, my friend and I helped you. We took you out of the mines and brought you here...”
He glanced between her and Twilight. He did seem to recognize them from earlier, so Twilight gave him a reassuring smile and took a step forward, gesturing out her words to try and get him to understand her. “We don’t mean you any harm...”
He frowned at the mare’s movements, opening his mouth to only need to clear it with a hacking cough. “You... you can stop the game of charades,” he said in a strong, masculine voice, “I can understand you just fine.”
They were all taken aback by his sudden outburst after a display of distrust, enough so that Applejack stepped forward next to Twilight. “Y’all can speak our language?”
He glanced over the six of them. The white unicorn who spoke to him first, the violet unicorn after her, the orange pony with an accent, a cyan pegasus giving him a distrustful stare, a pink pony looking at him wide-eyes and a yellow pegasus sheepishly hiding behind her pink hair. Whoever they were... he wasn’t one of them. “I was about to ask you the same thing... figuring that you’re the hosts... but I am afraid I have no idea what that said language is called...”
Rainbow Dash burst between Rarity and Applejack, resting her muzzle only inches from the creature’s face. “I’ve heard enough of you already, why don’t you explain to us who you are and why you and your friends were underneath Canterlot?”
“Canterlot?” he pulled back, “Who am I? You’re the ones who brought me here, you tell me.”
“Hey, I’m the one telling ponies what to do here, bub. I don’t take kindly to-” Twilight pulled Rainbow back with her magic, pulling at her tail until she was behind her.
“Rainbow! Behave yourself... if he meant us harm, he probably would have harmed us by now.” She turned back to the stranger and bowed her head. “I’m so sorry about my friend, she can get a little too loyal sometimes Mr...”
The stranger stared at her with a blank expression for a couple seconds before blinking and tilting his head downward. “I don’t know...”
Twilight stepped forward again. “You mean to tell us you have no idea who you are?”
“Not only that, I also can’t tell you what I am... I have no clue...”
Twilight stared at him doubtfully, “And yet here you are having an intelligent conversation about it right now.”
“Funny thing amnesia... but I’m not lying, seriously. I have no recollection of who I am or what I did or where I’m from yada, yada...”
She tilted her head as if to ponder whether what he was saying could remotely be true. Applejack, on the other hand, stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Do ya remember anything?”
“Other than words, reflexes and basic bodily functions, I know nothing. No names, or places or things.”
Twilight frowned. “That’s not helpful... not helpful at all.”
The stranger shrugged, “I wish I could help more. So... who are you guys?”
Twilight turned back to him and shook her head furiously. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot to introduce us to you. I’m Twilight Sparkle.
“This is Applejack.”
“Howdy,” the orange one responded.
“Pinkie Pie.”
“Hiya!” the pink one yelled.
“Fluttershy.”
“Hello,” the sheepish yellow one mustered.
“You’ve met Rainbow Dash.”
The cyan pegasus with the rainbow hair (duh... he thought) who charged him earlier only hmphed.
“And finally, Rarity.”
“Pleasure,” said the white one.
“Well, I’m pleased to be in your company... even as a stranger...”
Applejack looked over at him, then back to Twilight. “So, what’ll y’all plannin’ to do now?”
“Well, Rarity and I do have to return and get that crystal, and I know you all have your own things to do.”
“Well we can’t leave him here alone...”
“That’s the point,” Rarity whispered.
Applejack waved a hoof at her. “Don’t worry sugarcube. I’m sure the rest of the Apple clan can deal with the caterin’. I’ll be happy to stay with him while y’all are busy.”
The stranger looked over at the ponies talking. “I do believe I can be fine without a babysitter...”
Twilight ignored him, “I’d hate to impose.”
“Honestly, it ain’t a problem Twi’. I’ll be happy to be the one who catches him up to speed with things.”
The stranger tilted his head as if to determine whether he should protest, but ultimately didn’t. Twilight only nodded to him. “I know this might not be appropriate, but we don’t know what will happen if you’re left alone. What if those things came back and decided to stay for a bit... causing mayhem and destruction? Besides, Applejack might be good company and could even answer any questions you may have. When Rarity and I finish what we have to do, I’ll come straight back and show you the royal library, okay?”
The stranger seemed to think about what she was saying. It made sense, of course, and he nodded in agreement. “I hope you’re wrong.”
“Don’t worry; it’ll only be a couple hours at most.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about...”
Twilight looked at him perplexed, contemplating on what he could mean before Rarity interjected about the mines and pulled her out of the room before she could get into a lengthy lecture or something of that nature.
“We should probably get going too,” Rainbow Dash noted as she flexed her wings, “You better not try any funny business while we’re gone buster...”
“Calm yer horseshoes!” Applejack shouted, “I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” With that, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked out of the room to leave Applejack and the stranger alone. Without the distraction of several other voices, he found himself staring at every detail of the room itself: the lavish chairs and tables, rich tapestries telling old stories hanging from the marble walls, even a large bookshelf filled with thick books and scrolls. It was certainly a place of one with opulent tastes.
“Where are we?” he asked.
Applejack tilted her head before shaking off her remaining awestruck self and cleared her throat. “Oh, ah... this is the Canterlot Palace. Twilight an’ Rarity took you straight here after findin’ you down in those mines.”
“A palace? Hm... I suppose that means a regal monarch... or matriarch?”
She spend a couple seconds thinking before answering. “Why, ah yes, of course. We have two princesses who watch over our country.”
“Which is?”
“Equestria.”
He looked over at her, “...How ironic...”
He then took the time to look over himself, a silent overview of his body. He had legs, hands, fingers (lots of fingers), eyes (two), nose... soon everything checked out for him according to his knowledge, leaving only two questions: who and what was he? He know many things: his body, what he eats, reasoning and skills, making him possibly a well educated being, but the places, the names and things that would have made him who and what he was were blank, completely void from his mind like perfect holes in his brain.
“So...” Applejack started, “You can’t remember anything about yerself?”
The stranger returned his attention back to the cream-orange pony and shook his head, slowly and carefully, before turning back to a full body mirror he found, gazing at the image of himself before him.
“Is this really what I look like?” he asked quietly. His hand involuntarily went up to his face, where a finger pressed down on soft flesh pushing against solid bone. His skin was a peachy white, covered in dust, grime and dirt which left marks of dark black or red streaking across his cheeks and neck. Black hair rested on his head, disheveled and lopping over his eyes... His eyes... they were a rich blue surrounded by a clean white, though his right eyes seemed a bit more reddish in color, but it was what he saw behind his eyes that interested him more. To him, he saw knowledge and intelligence: the works and words of countless scholars and teachers... and it scared him...
“Yeah,” Applejack stepped into the mirror herself. The tip of her hat barely reached his nose and her mane brushed against his arm due to the lack of mirror space.
“So,” the stranger said, never looking away, “What kind of pony are you Miss... Applejack?
“Correct,” she replied and he flashed a smile at his success, “I’m an earth pony, without magic or flight: only the earth underneath my hooves an’ the wind in my mane.”
“I mean what kind of pony are you? Are you smart, funny, kind...”
“In a word?” He nodded and smiled in agreement, so she sighed in thought. “Well, in a word: honest. I strive an’ work on honesty, leading me to work hard an’ truthfully.”
The stranger looked back at her before turned to the mirror and staring at his eyes again. “Can you tell honesty in others?”
Applejack stared into the mirror with him. “If yer askin’ whether I can tell a little about yerself, the answer would be yes: I can tell a bit.”
The stranger only stood there and stared at his face as she kept talking. “The way ya step an’ walk, even if yer a different kind, I can tell yer honest and hard workin’ too. ‘Kind hearted’ and ‘ambitious’ scream from a pony... er, being, who carries themselves high an’ carefully.”
“But how can you be sure? I was a prisoner, by what your friends were saying. I could be a criminal or a lying silver tongue for all we know.”
Applejack looked up at him and placed a hoof on his back (not easy considering his form) and walked away a couple steps. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I’m not supposed to leave ya alone here... but...” she stared at the grime and mess over his clothes and face, “That’s beginnin’ to even bother me. Can ya please stay here and get a feel fer everything while I get some water so ya can wash up?”
The stranger smiled and nodded, “I won’t let you down.” Applejack turned back to the door and walked out, the stranger then silently beginning to walk around the room again, this time stopping in front of the large bookshelf. Each book that rested inside were large, around the size of his arm, and some were even thick enough to barely fit in the palm of his hand. One book, perhaps the largest of them all, attracted his attention the most. He ran his finger across the spine, briefly struggling to pry it from its vegetative position and carried it to the table in the center of the room.
Thud.
He stared at it for a moment, the hardback cover colored a greying brown with age and use. Les Miserables, Hunter Victoire, was embroiled in rich and sparkling gold letters resting over a picture of a small brown pegasus filly, covered in dirt and tattered clothes, holding a broken and beaten straw broom with her wings. The colors of the image were drastically faded and diminished, removing much of what could've been its previous impact, but the image was still able to convey the filly’s broken spirit, and the stranger sympathized with this character.
He opened the cover and read aloud the perfect and crisp calligraphy on the inside. “Property of Tia K...” He pondered slightly on who ‘Tia K.’ could be, but eventually opened to the first page, starting with the massive novel...
...During the eight hundred and fifteenth year since harmony, Monsieur Vicaire Saint was the Bishop of Neigne...
________________________________________
Applejack carried the water bucket firm in her mouth as she tried to quickly trot back to the study room, water silently sloshing back and forth with each step. She tried to quicken her pace, knowing very well that she had already spent an unexpected thirty minutes trying to find water (and that she wasn’t suppose to in the first place...) in the palace. The thought of the stranger being left alone and causing trouble worried her deeply and forced her to trot even faster as she passed a hallway...
CRASH!
She found herself sprawled over another pony, a unicorn stallion to be precise, the bucket of water draped over his horn. “Sweet Celestia, I’m so sorry mister.”
The stallion shook his head and lifted the bucket off. “Oh, no it’s okay. Everypony’s has probably crashed into each other at least once in their lifetimes... no harm done.” With a little struggling, both of them managed to get back on their hooves, Applejack offering hers to try and introduce herself. “I’m Applejack.”
“I’m Mr-” he took her hoof and they smacked together with wet fur. Applejack blushed in embarrassment as she realized the water she was carrying was spilt over both of them. “Ah, horse apples, now I have to not only get more water but a towel too...”
“Oh, allow me.” The stallion’s horn lit up with a maroon-red and Applejack felt a crawling sensation as the water was removed from her body and began to float mid air, combining flawlessly with the water from him and placed smoothly into the bucket again.
“Wow, that’s some mighty impressive skill.”
“Oh, that? That was something I had to conjure up a couple months ago to keep dry in the Zebrican Jungles. It’s very handy when water is one of your most inconvenient predicaments.” He smiled before deadpanning and shaking his head. “Blast it, I forgot to introduce myself.”
He extended a hoof to Applejack.
________________________________________
Twilight and Rarity managed to finish earlier than expected. Upon arriving at the castle grounds, the two decided to part ways: Rarity delivering the crystal to the princesses, and Twilight (with quite a bit of self arguing against her better judgment) heading to the study to check on the stranger from the mines. The main reason, she tried to rationalize, was that she should keep track of what could become the greater good of all Equestria. The stranger should be a priority watch, carefully and attentively kept an eye on until deemed unnecessary. She herself had been down in those mines several times within the past month, exploring and discovering what had been hidden for over ten centuries. Never once has she seen a creature like or even similar to the stranger or those... beasts... that held him. Further scrutiny lead to her realize that not only did she not know anything about them, she most likely didn’t know anypony else who did, figuring something of that magnitude would lead other ponies to telling others of the danger and hazard of two gory and monstrous creatures...
...It was that fact that troubled her the most...
It wasn’t long until Twilight found herself outside the study itself. Silently trotting in, she found the stranger sitting silently in a chair reading a relatively small book... or so it seemed. After a few more steps, she realized he was only flipping the pages, not actually taking the time to read them. It made her sad to think he might not be able to read Equis...
“Et qu'ai-je fait pour être béni avec vous revoir si tôt, violet celui-ci?” He asked an awestruck Twilight.
“Since... since when could you speak Arcadian?”
“Since a couple minutes ago,” he answered giddily, “I started with reading that amazing book there on the table, then I found this book here on how to speak fluent Arcadian, so I went ‘what the hell’, so I read this and learned Arcadian.”
Twilight looked down at the massive book that she herself remembered reading long ago as a young filly. It took her over a month to read it cover to cover, then almost another month of studying to understand it...
“You read, all of that, in just over an hour?”
“Correct...”
She looked at him doubtfully. “Who is the main character?”
“Chignon Chignon.”
“What did he do?”
“Steal a loaf of bread.”
“Why?”
“Because he was starving: victim to the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of Arcadia.”
“Who helped him, and who did he help?”
“The Bishop of Neigne, Vicaire Saint, who inspired him to help the young prostitute, Coulant Crinière.”
“By?”
“Raising her daughter, Caramel...”
“While?”
“The High Inspector Justice Marteau tried to place him back in prison...”
Twilight was utterly shocked. He did seem to have read to whole story, at least, but all fifteen hundred pages (more or less)? “How did you read it all?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged excitingly,” I just looked at the page and it’s like the words and information leaped out straight to my mind... I remember every word as clear as day.”
She placed him under more intense questioning, having him recite entire pages and chapters, even going so far as to have a complex conversation with him in Arcadian to see if he knew as much as he was letting on. After over ten minutes of him passing with flying colors, Twilight just gave up and accepted it as truth, even asking him to show her. He did so, staring at a page for three seconds before reciting back to her word from word all over again.
“Perhaps we found a trait of your race...”
“Perhaps...”
Twilight trotted around the room with the stranger silently staring at her. That was when she stopped and turned back to him. “Wait a minute, where’s Applejack?”
“Oh her? She left to get me water almost fifty minutes ago... I was starting to get worried for her, but I promised not to leave... I rationalized she just had to travel a little.”
Twilight nodded to him, delighted that he decided to stay put instead of go out and freak everypony out, but she was still worried about Applejack. She was about to go look for her when she heard the sound of a solid object being set down on the floor and the sloshing of water.
“Twilight, you ain’t goin’ to believe this...”
“I think there’s a line in my head for that phrase now...” She turned around and stared intently at the door. Her friend stood there, all normal and smiling, but behind her... the stallion behind her was almost as shocked as Twilight. He was a bluish-grey unicorn, short black mane and hazel eyes. Covering his chest was a deep maroon vest, embroiled with Zebrican calligraphy stitched in gold. His cutie mark showed rich golden-orange curves, creating symbol of two crescent moons next to each other.
She stared at him, and he at her, both too shocked to speak first. The stallion cleared his throat and moved forward a step. “Hey Sparks...”
Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes. “Crescent Star…”
	
> 1:4- Stalkers, Dreams and Fairy Tales
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The good unicorn found himself wrapped in a heartfelt embrace, Twilight’s muzzle buried into his neck.
“I missed you too Sparks...” He pried her from his vest and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Look at you... you’ve certainly grown-”
His words were cut off as Twilight’s hoof planted into the side of his cheek with one solid punch, leaving a large reddish mark under a watering eye. She stood there, facing Crescent Star silently as her hair covered any expression she might have had. “Where were you?”
Crescent Star only stood there stunned as she continued with her rant. “One year... one full year! That’s how long I’ve been looking for you Star! I’ve tried to write you, I’ve asked around for you, hell, I’ve even tried to create a spell to try and find you myself! For one full year I’ve heard nothing...”
She silenced herself and began to softly sob, crescent Star dragging her into another hug. “It’s okay... shhh... everything is alright...”
“No! Everything isn’t alright. Where were you for three years?”
“Oh Sparks... that is very long story, one I’d rather tell over dinner... You tried to make a spell for me?”
Twilight blushed and smiled in his vest. “Well I...”
Crescent Star only shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You can tell me over dinner...” he paused and looked over to the Stranger, staring at him awestruck, “...hello... You’re not equine...”
“That’s some acute sense of deduction you have, my friend...”
Crescent Star stepped forward and slowly examined everything about this new being, “And what are you then? I’ve seen many different creatures with intelligence... but never one like you...”
“I’m... a stranger...”
“Hmm... mind telling a researcher like I a little about your people?”
“When I find out... I’ll tell you,” the stranger replied. Crescent Star tilted his head in confusion, prompting Twilight to tell him about his amnesia and forced him into secrecy about the stranger’s existence for the time being.
“So,” Crescent Star finally said after Twilight’s lecture, “He’s just, ‘the Stranger’?”
“Well... none of us have really sat down long enough to think of a name to call him...” Twilight rubbed her mane sheepishly. 
He frowned and trotted forward, “This will not do...”
In a slow circle, Crescent Star traced and examined the stranger more thoroughly, trying to take in as much detail as he could. It stood at a firm 6 feet and an inch, without an evident disability or even a slouch: a straight board from head to feet. Through the clothes on what he interpreted as its shoulders, lean yet apparently strong muscles molded into his sleeves and back, no doubt only the tip of the iceberg for whatever strength he held in his arms. When he looked at his face, he noticed it held a firm and masculine symmetry to it: a square jaw and flawless complexion finishing the look. The eyes, a clear watery blue, stared back at him and seemed to pierce his soul: giving Star the impression of scholarly ingenuity but a deadly sense of intelligence, especially when he spoke...
“I do not believe I need a vicar to bestow myself a name... I’m sure I can find a suitable one in due time...”
“That’s it!” Star exclaimed, “Vicar! One who arbitrates in one’s behalf... it gives an air of intelligence and strength to a being like yourself... it’s perfect for you.”
Twilight looked between the stranger and Crescent Star, trying to make sense of his logic, finally adding, “Better yet... Vicar Saint...”
“Like in Les Miserable?” the stranger pondered her thought before snapping his fingers in agreement. “I like it.”
“Excellent.” Crescent Star fixed his vest as he flexed his shoulders. “Now that that’s order, I cordially invite you, Mr. Vicar, and you; Lady Sparkle and company, to join me for dinner... share a story or two...”
Twilight smiled and gingerly bowed in a playful manner. “I would love to.”
Crescent Star smiled in return as the stranger nodded and Applejack whooped in delight. “Ohh-ee, Pinkie’s gonna have a ball with this one.”
________________________________________
Canterlot’s Arcem Solis, as it was officially titled, had little in the means of enclosed ventilation. Apparently, the larger than normal rooms made for a surprisingly more temperate climate inside. The only exception to this, were the rooms that were deep enough inside the citadel to need lighting, such as the Princess’ personal chambers and the dining hall, to where the heat would need to be vented, requiring a simple ventilation system to carry air in and out.
Fortunately for Kaius, he had memorized this weaving kiddies-maze of shafts and passageways shortly after he stole a map of the entire citadel an hour before. It was his failure for agreeing with his blood brother on abandoning the prisoner. The Prophet of Truth was in no receiving manner for such news, and he explained carefully and vividly what would happen if he and his clerics failed him again: it almost made death seem like a privilege for his success over an expectation of his future...
...not pleasant indeed...
So here he was: seven other clerics under his charge, on two simple missions for the Prophet himself, about to scale the castle walls to the vents. Searching for the prisoner and his liberators were his prime directive for these missions... the prisoner was under strict rules to be brought to the Prophet alive... luckily, he mentioned nothing of the liberators, leaving creative commons on their demise to Kaius.
“Finish your prayers my brothers and ready your claws... let the Marker’s will be done!”
They all growled in the darkness as their eyes lit up a bright orange in the moonlight.
One of the clerics, Kaius’ deacon for this mission, turned to him and stared up at the wall. “Most Revered Kaius, what will we do when we find the Reclaimer?”
“My deacon, we are under strict orders by His Eminence to capture him alive... he holds a plan for the mutt...”
Kaius turned to his clerics and flexed his shoulders in this armor of bone and cartilage. “Clerics let us go forward...”
“Let us march to glorious Convergence,” they all chimed together. Kaius swiveled around and pounced onto the wall, rapidly clawing up in total silence. Soon the other seven followed his lead and under the shadow of night, the eight of them pushed on and climbed without a hitch. This was their element: shadows and darkness. None could see them directly and if any of the equines saw the movement, it could easily be dismissed as a trick of the moonlight... their element indeed...
In a few short minutes they were all clinging to the stone wall, surrounding a medium-sized ventilation shaft that they could easily fit into and use. Kaius, taking his place at the lead, broke through the thin metal with his body mass and expertly crawled in, using the free space to his advantage. The sound of clawing and scratching echoed against the metal as the weight of eight, fully grown, Inferi clerics caused it to groan and buckle ferociously.
“Spread out!” he ordered, “Only a few at a time... listen for your turn.”
Several clerics backed out and waited on the wall while three continued on deeper into the interior. After a couple meters, they came up to an opening to a brightly lit room. It gave hints to an opulent bedchamber with lavish styles and a study on the opposite end of the room. Over a fancy fireplace in the center, giving a sense of glowing brightness over all other objects in sight was a glistening sword-like object with a hilt that shaped into the image of a shining sun.
“You two wait here, I must retrieve that sword...” Kaius jumped from the vent and landed onto a soft bedspread of bright pink and yellow covers that almost made him want to vomit. Bile coating his mouth and throat, he came down onto all fours and pushed on to the prize of his second mission: the sword. There was no sharpened edge, the end of the blade forming a clean cut off over a point. Inscribed with rich, flourishing letters near the hilt were the words “Mundantes Ignis” on one side and “Celestia Kyra Galaxia, Grand Duchess of Canterlot” on the other. Taking the hilt into his claw, he removed it from its resting place and placed it under a plate of armor to improvise a sheath.
His clerics had the privilege of helping him recapture the prisoner, but under Unitology and the Prophet of Truth, the great witness to the Marker, this was his burden to bear alone.
________________________________________
Dinner was the first time the ponies learned that the stranger was an omnivore... and that he couldn’t digest daffodils...
Since his discovery, he never asked or had hinted towards an immediate need of food, so the six never had the need to ask at the time. Vicar, as he was so dubbed, never had the opportunity to explain his apparent dietary needs, which much to the dismay of the equines, was meat and calories of energy. The priority of finding him something he could eat came to them all at once, even going so far as to the chefs creating everything on the menu for him to examine and sample as he pleased. After some hits and misses, he finally settled on the apple products, which he seemed to have enjoyed the most. He now sat happily with a plate of apple cores and bread crumbs in front of him and a full stomach, much to Applejack’s delight.
The fiasco luckily didn’t do anything to impede the enjoyment everypony felt during the feast. Vicar seemed to strive on Pinkie’s eccentricity, able to match her pace and outlandish randomness at the best of times, all the while being capable of maintaining an intelligent and “proper” conversation that pleased Rarity and earned him her appraisal and affection. It was Crescent Star, however, that seemed to hold the spotlight, even with a strange unknown being as competition.
Crescent Star seemed to be a perfect host within his inability to actually properly talk to anypony. He held an appreciation and wisdom of living even though he was no older than Twilight, who sat at his side telling him about the adventures of her and her friends with the return of Nightmare Moon, Luna’s freedom, Discord’s plot of chaos and even her brother’s wedding to Cadence. Star managed to sit comfortably, and relaxed at the fact he didn’t need to talk, listening patiently and held high interest in everything that had happened since he left. He took the most joy in hearing everything about how Twilight made friends with the five mares that now surrounded him. He found it reassuring to know that the mare he considered his best foalhood friend had a happy life in his absence.
After dinner was finished and Twilight completed her stories, the ponies and Vicar settled down and turned their attention over to Crescent Star, who sat in an awkward state with the seven of them staring at him. He levitated a cup of Andromedan Tea to try and hide his anxiety, trying to give them the idea he was unaware of their reasoning.
“So... mister Star,” Rarity started, “Tell us all about your fancy adventures beyond Equestria.”
“I’ll be happy to tell you.”
The six others leaned in closer as he cleared his throat and set the tea down. Only Vicar remained as he was, showing no hint of his thoughts.
“Okay... as you all know, Twilight and I have been ‘friends’ for nearly all of our lives. That sort of connection allowed us to both build upon our magical talents and improve on our own already powerful and extremely potent magical capabilities, thus making us both as powerful of unicorns as we are today. However, we both came from two very different magical backgrounds. Twilight had Princess Celestia herself, the greatest magicians and spellcasters in Equestria to support her, I only had my parents: Ivoryheart and Jade Necklace...”
Rarity perked up at hearing his parents’ names. “As in the Ivoryheart and Jade Necklace, the legendary jewelers of Canterlot?”
“The very same... now please don’t interrupt, this is hard enough as it is. So where was I... oh yes. My parents encouraged me to follow in their magical footsteps and continue in the family name of jewelry, but I refused. I despised working with jewels and such merchandise, so I told them my real passion was science and history. They dismissed this as pure nonsense. At first, they figured the studying would slowly drive me crazy and back to the business, when that didn’t happen, they said the tests would, then when that didn’t happen, they eventually completely forbade me from doing so any further. For two years, I did my best to hide the fact that I went behind their backs to continue my passion. When they found out... it wasn’t pretty, but they let me finish my studies. I then received this gem of a Cutie Mark after I passed as an Adept: the double moon and star coming from the spell I used to show my skill.
“Ooooo...” Pinkie Pie awed at the symbol of fiery oranges and yellows. “That’s a strange Cutie Mark...”
“Now, now... what did I say about interrupting?” he asked rhetorically as if to a little filly. “But it was that, that made me who I am today. I strived so hard to be separate from my parent’s name... perhaps harder than most others. It paid off too; only a year before Twilight and I left from Canterlot, I was able to go around the numerous schools in Canterlot and lecture on my free time: give the students a sense of what you could do if you put your all in magic. I stayed so happy for most of that year, until the Society blacklisted me from any further great lectures and lessons.
“It wasn’t til the day Twilight left that I met a wealthy stallion who wanted me to examine some ruins that he found on some land he came in possession of north of the Equestrian border... north even of the Arcadian border... I accepted and took the train to Stalliongrad, then to Trottingham, where I then took a boat up the Marelin River to Coat D’Azor in southern Arcadia. There, I met Emperor Arcos III.”
Twilight grew wide-eyed, “As in the Emperor of Arcadia himself? The Arcos Galaxia III?” A gentle look from her foalhood friend caused her to shrink a bit. “Sorry for interrupting...”
Crescent Star only smiled, apparently more comfortable with his storytelling. “Well I guess that had to be asked. Yes, the Emperor of Arcadia himself: horn and wings and hooves. I stayed in his company for a few days as I prepared an expedition into the Gorgon Desert, where my contractor told me his land was. The trip was horrendous: intense heat and little in the means of protection from Celestia’s beloved sun, not even a cloud in the sky. On the third day, we were almost out of water and our food supply had to be strictly rationed to last a potential trip back. Many of us thought we would die in that desert.
He paused letting a wide-eyed Pinkie gawk and ask what was on everypony’s (and Vicar’s) minds. “What happened next?”
Crescent Star smiled, apparently completely abandoning his ‘no interruption’ policy. “Like a miracle, we finally found it. Surrounded by large canyon walls and with only one entrance, we came across a large oasis marking the spot of our stead. We drank the water like savages and ate the full meal we had in days from the plants surrounding. After our fill, we then found the most magnificent ruins ever seen. They were massive, filling the rest of the canyon, jutting out past the edge of the mesa above us, was a city of pure stone and impressive masonry that was unmatched by any other ruin I’ve ever seen. There, we spent two or three months studying and researching everything we could and most importantly, unraveling any and every booby trap we could find in this Forgotten City. Archaeologists from all around flocked to our site to aid us in discovering its secrets.  It was a dream and playground for us, oh, and the things we found there... the manuscripts, the art, the architecture and hints of a civilization of old... all older than Equestria itself, even the tribes.
“What’s so interesting about old stuff like that?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, my dear Rainbow, it’s a scientist thing. I find it absolutely fascinating to find something that is on a level, dare I say, beyond, the level of what we have today, yet still made before we learned the practicality of magic itself...”
“Whoa... that’s a long time...”
“Most indeed, and for five months we continued on, digging as much as we could until my personal team reached the center of the city and what appeared to be a city hall. There, in that particular building, we came across a specific artifact of importance. It was made of something similar to brass, forming a complex web sphere that surrounded a solid sphere in the center. It rested on a pedestal in the center and was in front of what turned out to be a massive map of our world: more detailed and larger than what we knew of the world here in Equestria, going beyond into the unknown lands. I found myself staring in awe for hours, and I realized that the sun was going down, so I finally decided to back out and leave. I then ran into the sphere in the center of the room and caused it to topple towards the floor, so I jumped for it and caught it in my hooves... and inadvertently caused a booby trap to go off and send a large blade to fall down and nearly cut me in half. As I rested there to take a breath, I stared at the sphere until the sunlight reflecting began to flicker in my eyes, so I set it down where it was exactly before I pushed it, where I then discovered what the sphere really was. It was a map, designed to be positioned in an exact way to then reflect the sunlight in such a manner as to project locations onto the map on the wall at a specific time of day. One of these beams was the Forgotten City, which then drew a line south to a region of the known world that we call the Fringe where another beam of light pointed. I found four of these beams in total, two of which went past the known world.
“I wasted no time in trying to mark their locations for future reference before the light past, eventually rushing back to Arcadia. There I contacted my benefactor and he agreed to fund my passage and board in the Southern Continent. I boated back to Trottingham, and then trained straight to Stableside, where I then took an airship to Andromeda. From there, I traveled on hoof, across the unrelenting Emberbrace Mountains and the parched Muudi Desert into Zebrica, which I used as a lodge due to its closeness to the Fringe. I stayed there for a year, searching the wilds of the Fringe on multiple expeditions. On the last, I found myself lost for bering, unable to find my way back to Zebrica, where I found it.
“It was completely destroyed: crumbled into stone and quickly being retaken by the jungle, turning into dust. There was only one exception, a particular building that extended past the canopy and with greater condition than the other buildings. On the inside, it quickly dawned on me that it was an observatory, capable of accurately mapping the stars above. There, I found another sphere of similar design as the one from before, which after some time I discovered it did the exact same thing: pointing to the same four places as the Forgotten City. At this new ruin, which I labeled the Dust, I managed to translate some of the glyphs, noticing the connection between the two ruins and who created them. They were the same race of beings, and at the Dust I managed to find out who they were. They-”
“Wait!” Vicar raised his hand and stood up.
“Oh, come on Vicar!” Rainbow Dash yelled with irritation, “He must be getting to the good part.”
“Can’t you hear that?” Everypony hushed and strained to hear whatever Vicar was pointing out. Sure enough, Twilight caught her ear flicking at some unknown noise. “Where is it coming from?”
Vicar kept a blank face, glancing at everything in the room until he set his eyes on what seemed to be a metal grate to a ventilation shaft. His eyes squinted into the dark beyond and saw a faint orange glow.
“It’s them... Twilight, they’re here!”
She looked up to where Vicar stared and without a thought grabbed a random object in the room and tossed it with her magic as the vent cover exploded to reveal the monsters from the mines. The said object, a fork, hit it cleanly in the head and pushed it off balance and against the far wall, giving enough time for the ponies and Vicar to bunch together in the center of the large dining hall and away from any vents.
Another cover exploded as another monster came out and landed firmly near its leader. The first one got back to its feet and heaved the fork from its embedded position in his skull in one strong pull. It simply stood taller and smiled towards the group before crushing the fork in its palm.
“Admirable... at best...” The creature spoke with a grotesque voice, like hooves against a chalkboard. “But why don’t we talk like civilized beings... it’s like a book... you can't skip the boring parts and go straight to the actions now can you? Now let’s try this again... I am Kaius, Servant of the Marker...”
Rainbow Dash snorted, “That was the most stupid analogy I’ve ever heard...”
“Besides,” Applejack added, “What’s there to talk ‘bout? Y’all are probably just tryin’ to hurt our friend Vicar here.”
Kaius scoffed, “Your friend? Dear Madam, your friend is a dangerous criminal of Unitology...”
“Vicar has done nothin’ to show us that,” Applejack came forward and stepped in front of Vicar, placing herself between him and Kaius and his cohort. Vicar looked down at the cream pony as his eyes watered with happiness...
...they were willing to defending him... a complete stranger...
“That’s right,” Rainbow Dash splayed her wings to prepare a charge, “You’re not taking him anywhere, ugly...”
The deacon took a growling step forward before his upper barked at him to stay back. Kaius stifled a laugh as three more clerics came into view beside him. The sudden build of growling and shuffles attracted the attention of some in the group, who found that the other side of the room had three more clerics blocking their way to the door. “You think you can last against a single cleric, let alone eight? We will slaughter you for taking prisoner... we’ve never lost a fight dear equine... take Kaius’ word for it...”
“Well there’s a first time for everything, creep... take Rainbow Dash’s word for it.”
“Rainbow, stop.” Everybody (pony, cleric and Vicar) turned to Twilight, who stepped forward and stared at Vicar. Applejack seemed to know what was on her mind. “No Twi’... We ain’t givin’ him to ‘em.”
Kaius gave a blood-curdling smile as Twilight pushed Applejack away. “Sorry, but it’s the right thing to do...” She stepped towards Vicar and looked over towards the clerics. She closed her eyes as if to think a small prayer then ignited her horn as she quickly grabbed a knife and stabbed Kaius in the hand... hard.
Kaius howled in pain as the knife pierced into his flesh and bone, going all the way through and jut from both sides. Twilight stepped back calmly and looked towards his clerics. “I’m sorry, but I won’t allow you to harm Vicar. As a representative of Princess Celestia of Equestria, I now ask you to leave this castle at once...”
“Then it is your demise,” Kaius replied. His voice had lowered and became darker, seeming to strike every nerve in everypony’s body with shivering fear. In a quick motion, he yanked the knife from his hand and flexed his muscles in pain as the wound closed up and healed itself. He reached into his armor and pulled out a bluish-black sword, handing the moon-shaped hilt to one of his underlings, then did the same with a bright golden one. “Make sure these get to the Prophet of Truth as soon as possible.”
The cleric nodded and stepped towards the vent, only to watch another kitchen knife fly past his eyes and lodge into the wall, startling it. “I recognize that sword... you... You stole from the Princess herself! You will return it at once!”
The cleric ignored her, slowly proceeding with his task, disappearing into the vent it came from. Kaius and the other clerics remained where they were, unmoving.
“The blessing of the Marker has touched you, violet one... I doubt you would have such a resolve before tonight.”
“If it means protecting my friends and loved ones, I would.”
Kaius perked up, “You would stab and wound another? That sounds a little dark, equine...”
Twilight blinked as she thought about his words. It made sense, of course. Before tonight, she had never hurt anypony like that. Sure, she had on many occasions physically harmed others, if by accident or on the rare occasion, intentionally, but stab them? Such thoughts have never crossed her mind before, the concept of actually drawing blood and physical pain made bile rise in her throat.
She was so lost in thought that she was caught off guard when a cleric began to charge her, screeching to life with the full intent of harming her. She prepared a magical burst in an attempt to stop it, but was beaten to the punch when it was shoved back by a maroon aura of magic.
Crescent Star calmly put his hoof forward and charged his horn again. “If you want to get to her, you’ll have to get through me.”
Kaius huffed. “And you, Adept, you who chase ghosts and memories. You barely can talk to others without it being a lecture or education.” He took a step forward and tilted his head. “Don’t you want to know what happened to your precious ‘ghosts’?”
Crescent Star frowned and discharged his horn towards Kaius. In an instant, he ducked and his clerics lashed out as chairs, tables and shelved began to fly around the room and litter the floor in an attempt to hinder both parties. Any cleric that crossed the improvised blockade was either quickly bucked away by Applejack and Rainbow Dash, or pushed back by a magical burst from Crescent Star and Twilight.
Then it grew deathly silent. Not a single breath was uttered as the clerics stopped everything they were doing and hid behind the maze of toppled objects. Crescent Star and Twilight kept their guard up and horns charged as the clerics, which easily surrounded them on all sides, made no moves or sounds.
“Those dawg-garn creeps are plannin’ somethin’, I can feel it...”
“I hope it’s a plan to stop,” Fluttershy whimpered as Vicar worked to try and calm her down.
“Maybe they’re planning a surprise!” Pinkie interjected, “With cake and confetti and even presents!”
The lights then dimmed suddenly as the flames of the candles flickered violently, many going out under the stress of the sudden breeze, leaving only a minute few that did little challenge to the darkness. “Ooohhh, it must be a really big surprise...”
The presence of the clerics soon erupted back to life again. Every so often, the group would catch a shadow moving or hear the noise of their feet against the hardwood floor, every time only enough to cause them to jump in fear or fire an unnecessary bolt of light. Eventually, Crescent Star caught his attention on a particular cleric near the far wall, sticking its head out from its shield of a china cabinet. It glared directed at the group, not making any more sudden movements or noises. As Star examined closer, he noticed the glinting of its reflective eyes shifting, as it was moving its eyes in a manner as to think... or calculate...
‘The bucker’s planning to bull-rush us...’ As if it read his thoughts, the creature’s head disappeared for a second, only to return as it recklessly charged forward, screeching a battle cry. Crescent Star released the energy built in his horn, aiming it straight at the charging brute...
...only to have it miss completely and hit the floor behind it. The creature lowered its head and impacted Crescent Star square in his chest, tossing him into the air like a ragdoll and leaving large gashes where its spines pierced his skin. He landed on his back and howled in pain as the creature roared one last time and sprinted back to its previous vantage point.
“Crescent!” Twilight reared around and tried to assess her friend’s injuries. He had a large gash on his leg and a smaller one near his jugular... blood pouring out of both in scary amounts. She magically applied pressure to his wounds, doing anything she could think of to try and keep him stable until a doctor could help... which meant after these clerics were dealt with. Vicar looked down at the two as Crescent Star took slow, painful breaths, refusing to speak and Twilight as her horn glowed a rich lavender and her eyes watered with tears. He closed his eyes and he felt like something punched him in the stomach. He keeled over and kept the bile from rising in his throat, his chest throbbing in a phantom pain...
...a memory... one he could only grasp as it passes like water through his hand, leaving him empty and sorrowful at the scene before him. Looking up and noticed the movement in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Kaius, charging him with incredible speed and in total silence. He was completely tunnel vision on his prize, unnoticed by the equines as he made a death stare at what Vicar could only guess was him.
Sidestep... It was as if time itself slowed down, so slow that thought and observation became nearly impossible. Without further question, he instinctively sidestepped and watched as Kaius’ body moved closer and crossed him, revealing his neck and spine.
Break second vertebrae, death: instantaneous... Again on instinct, he lifted his right arm and with all his strength brought it down on Kaius’ neck. There was a sickening *pop*, and Kaius fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings as his momentum scraped him against the floor.
He didn’t get up.
Vicar stared at his hand, then at the limp cleric priest, them back at his hand. Without a thought or plan, he just killed a living being...
“How did I do that?” he asked himself. The sudden flood of light filled his eyes and broke his concentration as everybody looked towards the door.
“What is going on here?!”
Soon, the familiar screeching sound filled the room as the cleric from before charged towards the light. Vicar extended his hand in warning, “Look out!”
The air around the new pony’s head sizzled with yellow-orange light and shot forward towards the cleric, engulfing it and causing it to drop to the ground. The remaining clerics became startled at this newcomer. Witnessing the death of their priest and their deacon fall was enough for them and they retreated back into the vents. Everypony stared into the doorway as Applejack and Rainbow worked to get Rarity and Fluttershy back onto their hooves. Only Twilight remained where she was, still applying her magic to Crescent Star’s wounds without looking up, tears still flowing from her eyes.
The new pony took a step forward to reveal a white hoof covered in a gold shoe, but Vicar stepped forward and tried to make it keep distance, the sudden urge to protect these ponies filling his being.
“Who are you?” he asked, “Are you friend or foe?”
The silhouette took another step forward as the candles magically relit with her magic. “I am Princess Celestia, and whether I’m a friend or foe will depend entirely on your next move...”
	
> 1:5- Time and Circumstance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vicar sat next to Twilight outside the castle infirmary. It was the princess’s orders to have everypony continue with their work and remain preoccupied, anything to keep them from thinking about the events of last night.  Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow thus went on with their previous engagement of preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. Rarity was able to go off and create fitting dresses and apparel for the princesses as well as the suits that will be worn by the princes and king upon their arrival. The task was readily accepted by her and she and Princess Luna were now stars know where.
That left Twilight: the sole pony without a task to complete and coincidentally the very unicorn whose Crescent Star’s injuries hit the most. With great reluctance did the princess even want her in the same area as him, but with a little coaxing and silver tongue words by Vicar, she agreed to let her sit outside the infirmary. The only one who kept her company was Vicar, who kept himself buried in several books in an attempt to learn all he could about local knowledge. The mess of purple fur stained with dried tears sat worriedly next to the straight and calm being, flipping page after page.
“How are you doing it?” the unicorn asked. Vicar looked up from his book and tilted his head. “How can you be completely fine after what happened?”
He turned back and flipped another page. “Who told you I was fine? Do you honestly think I am not worried for Star’s well being, or about the events that had transpired over the last several hours? It is true, you have known him longer than anypony else in our company, but his life matters to them too, and to me. I certainly don’t need memories to understand that.”
“So what now, we’re just going to do nothing, Celestia-knows-what do whatever they please?”
“No,” he replied calmly, flipping another page, “We’re going to do exactly was Her Serene Highness told us: wait and see what they will do... Prince Vulcan should be arriving later today, so I would think they might play their cards sooner than later. We just have to be patient Twi’... for Crescent Star.”
Twilight looked over to Vicar quizzically. “How much did you and Celestia talk last night?”
“The entire night: I’m running purely on tea and cake right now...”
His words were not that far from the truth. After he killed the cleric Kaius and the Princess took the unconscious one down into the dungeon, Celestia wasted no time and began to have a little chat with her student’s “stranger from the mines.” When he responded to her warning by standing down, then personally asking her afterwards about the well being of the cleric that attacked and wounded a person he knew (...sort of), Celestia had taken an instant trust towards him and spent the entire night talking to him about what happened and other trivial things. The whole night, they feasted on cake and tea as they talked, joked and laughed in each other’s company. When she had to leave and take care of the sun, Vicar decided to leave himself and went to check on Crescent Star and his guard of purple-furred magic. It was then that he discovered an unconscious Twilight, snoring away in a chair next to their fallen friend.
“How long did the doctor say it would be until he could make a full recovery?”
Twilight moved her eyes down to her hooves, fur clotted together with dried tears. “At least two or three weeks; they can’t even discharge him from their care for another seven days.”
“It could have been worse...”
“Don’t you dare remind me…”
Vicar frowned as he turned back to his book. “Give it time Twi’, and most importantly...”
“Be patient,” they finished together, Twilight rolling her eyes at his apparent Zen-mind status. “Now you’re starting to even sound like Vicar Saint...”
“Je vise à s'il vous plaît,” he smiled. Twilight lifted herself back onto her hooves and with a powerful stretch and yawn, began to trot off down the hallway before turning back. “I’m going to go get some breakfast, do you want anything?”
“I would appreciate an apple and some milk if there are any.” She nodded at his request and turned back down the hall, casually walking down to the dining hall. As her hoof came up to rest on the door handle, she paused, still ready to push the door open, as the memory of the previous night weighed in on her thoughts. Slowly working up the courage, Twilight quickly pushed the door open and scurried in, wasting no time...
...The room was completely fixed: good as new, like nothing ever happened. The floor was cleanly polished and shined with a bright glint. The table was covered with an immaculately white tablecloth, covering any gashes carved into the wood. Laid out with meticulous care were plates of breakfast spanning the entire table with a delicious variety of vegetables, grains and pony-digestible proteins. She glanced towards the end, a plate filled with numerous items floating in a yellow aura, as her mentor lifted a blueberry muffin in an attempt to add it to her current ensemble.
“My Faithful Student.” The princess smiled as Twilight trotted up beside her. “I hope you slept well.”
“Yeah...” Twilight absentmindedly lifted a plate with a yawn.
Celestia frowned, “Did you sleep at all?”
“Apparently so. Vicar found me passed out on a chair next to Crescent in the infirmary. I just now decided to get some food for myself and some things Vicar wants.”
The princess raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound that the most restful sleep, but how is Crescent Star? Will he be alright?”
“The doctor said he would make a full recovery.” Twilight grabbed an apple to bring to Vicar and began to investigate on her own interest of food.
“I would expect so after everything you did for him. You probably saved his life...” Celestia lifted a second muffin with her magic and politely took a bite as Twilight blushed ever so slightly.
“It was nothing...”
Celestia raised her eyebrow again and gave Twilight a questionable smirk. “If you say so.”
She took another bite and, with careful gesturing, led Twilight to sit with her at the table. “Tell me Twilight, what do you think of our guest Vicar?”
Twilight gave a puzzled look as she thought about what the princess asked. “Why do you ask princess? I’m sure you know I can’t really answer that, I don’t know anything about him.”
Celestia gave her student a small smile as she sipped at her tea. “That is an excellent point, my Faithful Student. Let me rephrase: Why did you defend him last night?”
“Princess?”
“Vicar told me what you did, and you just said it yourself: you don’t know him. So, why would you do something like that for him?”
“Because I saw him as a friend, and I certainly didn’t want those... things... to hurt him.”
“And what was it, my student, which you saw in him to judge him as a friend?”
“He’s... he’s noble,” Twilight went on to explain, “He screams of kindness and of hope, like he’s full of faith even when he doesn’t know it... and his eyes... his eyes are so sad, like he suffered too much in his life.”
Celestia silently nodded and listened to her student go on with her story of Vicar and how her opinion of him grew over the past day. After a good amount of time spent describing her feelings and thoughts on the stranger from the mines, Twilight allowed herself a brief moment for breath as she racked her brain for more words to say. She could only smile and look up at her mentor, adding, “...and he's fantastic...”
Celestia closed her eyes as she returned her student’s contagious smile. “I’m delighted to hear that you can keep such a positive attitude about him after such an ordeal. One’s innocence is a terrible thing to lose, my student.”
“I’m afraid,” Twilight started with a sudden frown, “Our innocence wasn’t the only thing taken by those monsters.”
Celestia looked at her oddly, implying for her to continue. “Princess, their leader, the one Vicar... you know... he had taken something of yours and gave it to one of his comrades to take: a sword, by the looks of it.”
“And what did this sword look like?” Celestia asked, not too worried of the creatures’ obvious attempt of a war prize.
“It was flat, a perfect rectangle of steel with embroiled finishes in a darker metal. The hilt was gold and topped with a bright sun...” The princess stopped cold, mid sip, the tea pooling in her mouth as she forces in down with a large swallow. It burned like fire as it ran down her throat, the description hitting home. She prayed to the stars that it wasn’t... that...
“Was it inscribed, I don’t know, maybe near the hilt?”
“I think so, but I couldn’t read anything it said.”
Celestia glanced over towards her student, silently and calmly standing up. Her ruse of a peaceful mind would have been perfect had she not set her teacup down a little more forceful than she would have liked. “Twilight...”
“Yes princess?”
“Can you please come with me?”
“Uh... sure princess.” At her answer, Celestia’s magic flared to life with a bright yellow as the two vanished from the dining hall in a flash of light. Twilight was no stranger toward teleportation spells, and she was especially use to her mentor’s magic. She could feel the uneasy and worried feeling building in the princess’s aura, powerful enough so that that even she was beginning to feel her own stomach unsettle. Whatever Celestia was worried about, it certainly wasn’t anything good.
Twilight began to feel she was being reconstructed into normal space. She became surrounded by bright light and warm air, encompassed by the personal commodities of Princess Celestia and her quarters. It felt strange to even be inside of her mentor’s bedroom, almost like a breach of personal privacy: to peer into the private life of a superior that, much to her shock, was surprisingly yet expectantly covering with pink and yellow. Celestia however felt no initial star struck, immediately heading for her fireplace to stare at an empty case, her reflection seeming to mock her in a shade of lustrous gold.
“It’s gone,” she said disheartened, “They were after it all along and I was too blind to realize it... now they have it.”
Twilight managed to tear herself from the decor and looked towards her mentor. “Princess, what was it they took? What’s so important about that sword?”
“It’s not a sword Twilight, it’s a key, and it’s the birthright of my royalty.” Celestia paused and tapped her hoof against the soft carpet. “Maybe... maybe there is still a chance...”
Celestia erupted from of her room and galloped to her sister’s chambers, Twilight struggling to keep up with her mentor’s speed. After the short distance, they both entered the darkened chambers, flinging the doors open with a loud *bang*, the empty room echoing the sudden noise across its midnight blue walls and black comforts. Celestia went straight to the fireplace and stared with a frown at the dark, nightly version of her own. A reflection of black metal was all there was, a lighter metal stenciled in with the phrase “Aestibus Aquarum,” below which was the name “Luna Selene Galaxia, Duchess of Hoofington.”
“By the stars...”
“Princess what’s going on? What were those things that took your sword? Why is it so important?”
The princess tilted her head to look at a small clock near the fireplace before taking a deep breath and turned to her student solemnly. “I guess, you have a right to know now.”
“Please, just tell me,” Twilight pleaded, “I can help you, I really can... you just need to trust me... please.”
Celestia nodded, “I need to send a letter to Stalliongrad and Windsoar immediately, but afterwards I’ll tell you and Vicar everything.”
“Vicar? Why would he need to know?” she asked her thought-heavy mentor.”
“I have a hunch on him... like there’s something more to him than he could let on... I’ll deal with this letter while you go on and get him.”
“And what of Vulcan, or Luna for that matter?”
“Don’t fret my Faithful Student, I have everything under control.” Celestia put on a false smile and gently nudged Twilight out of the room with a wing and a sing-song voice. “Now I would hurry...”
Twilight stood dumbfounded as the door closed behind her, the sense of physical emotion that her mentor tried to suppress continually perplexing her. Since becoming her Faithful Student, she had never, ever, seen the princess so disturbed: not with Discord, or Nightmare Moon... not even when she was imprisoned in a changeling cocoon. For a while now, Twilight figured that those “keys,” as Celestia put it, were important, but she could never guess what they actually could mean. At least, until she fetched Vicar and came back as quick as she could. With that motivation in mind, she went from a completely stand still to a full gallop down towards the infirmary.
In no time at all, she managed to rush down the winding staircase of the tower and sprinted across the corridors heading for the medical wing. After a skidding left turn on the marble floor, she only had to cross the great hall before reaching her objective. She remained quite certain in her mind that Vicar would definitely want to hear whatever the princess...
WHAM!
In a quick second, her vision was instantly covered with purple. A rich purple: crisp and sharp with vivid coloring that seems to almost radiate majesty in a sense. Twilight tried to move her leg, but found that she couldn’t due to something pinning it to the ground. With a twist, she turned her foreleg and head to see where she was as the purple field slid down from her muzzle and went on to cover a fire red teenaged colt sprawled over her back and leg.
“By the stars...” he mumbled, “that must have been some spill... I’m seein’ stars.”
“Yes, it was,” Twilight replied calmly, startling the colt lying on top of her, “Now would you be so kind to get off of me please?”
The unicorn blushed, the fire red paling into a light and subtle pink. He apparently had to trip over a mare, literally. With a clumsy grace, he untangled himself and his purple cloak before offering to help Twilight up like a gentlecolt.
She saw that this new colt took great care in his appearance. His red coat shone slightly in the sunlight, as well did his electric blue mane, carefully groomed to hang in place over his face. Curious as to what could warrant such a meticulous look, Twilight glanced down to the colt’s Cutie Mark: a rich, living green leaf that covered over a black circle and cross.
“I’m sorry,” he said, sticking his muzzle into view and attracting her attention, “but we haven’t seemed to properly introduce ourselves.”
“Huh?” She shook her head and snapped out of a previous stupor, “Oh, I’m sorry... my name’s Twilight.”
“Such a lovely name for a lovely mare,” he romanticized, “You can call me Ignio, and most everypony does. If I may ask, you wouldn’t happen to be the Twilight I’m thinking of: Twilight Sparkle?”
“In the flesh,” she blushed, “It’s nice to meet you Ignio. Are you new around here? I haven’t seen you around Canterlot before.”
“I’m afraid; it has been a while since I last visited the city. I’m really from Fillydelphia.”
“Well then, I guess I know who to call now when I’m in the area...” she smiled slyly and flipped her mane so her eyes looked up at him. Two could play the romancing game...
He returned the smile, hiding any deep emotion she might have given him. Ignio did seem to appear very intelligent and smart enough to control his own, she thought, the worse kind of pony to have as an adversary.
“So,” he continued, “What brings the saintly Element of Magic back to Canterlot? I heard you live in Ponyville...”
“Well...” she stopped herself, remembering the entire reason why she had to come down this way in the first place. “Oh no, Vicar!”
Twilight suddenly bolted off down the hallway, leaving her new companion behind. “I’m so sorry, but I forgot I needed to do something!”
“Well, wait for me.” The colt chased after her and easily caught up to her pace without a sweat. “You’re pretty quick.”
“So are you,” she said between pants. “How are you... not out of breath?”
“Spoilers,” he managed to say without a deviation in stride. “Years of practice does help though.”
The thought of having Ignio, a pony who Twilight has nothing to do with and thus, no obligation to, meet Vicar frighten her deeply. Her imagination ran wild with thoughts and ideas of what his reaction would be, and what he would do after finding out about a creature that is unknown to pony-kind. She struggled to shake him, galloping down hallways and corridors at full speed in a maze like pattern. Ignio, through some sort of providence, managed to stay close in tow every time.
How he was still following her was the single predominant thought racing through her head at every turn. It wasn’t long after that she found her legs betraying her mind, slowing down and heading straight to the infirmary with Ignio at her tail, leading him straight to Vicar.
She stopped and collapsed in an empty chair which still seemed to hold her perfume after a half an hour: right next to Vicar. Ignio’s hooves echoed heavily on the marble as he slowed down to stand right next to Twilight, his head arcing down as even he seemed slightly fatigued after the chase. “So,” he still managed to joke, “You had me chase you all around the castle for an empty chair?”
Twilight’s head bolted up from the chair in confusion, frantically turning back and forth. He was right: an empty chair was the only thing next to her and the hallway in question was completely deserted, save them. There was no fleshy, dragon-esque creature sitting contently with a pile of books. There was no Vicar at all, who no more than half an hour earlier seemed completely intent with staying and watching Didact until she came back. Her mind tried to rationalize the possibilities. Maybe he went off to the dining hall after he figured she wasn’t coming back with his food, or left for some unforeseen, unspoken detail that she was yet to be informed about. The only thing Twilight knew was that he could be anywhere in the castle, and that it would take a long, long, time for her to pin him down.
Twilight simply fell off her hooves and collapsed onto the tile, fatigued in both body and mind. Ignio, who was fixing his cape delicately with an earth-green aura of magic, looked down at her perplexed. “Hm... I guess I pushed you too hard.”
She groaned in mental absence, Ignio raising an eyebrow. “Well I would hate to bother you then, but I still need to be directed to either Princess Luna or Celestia...”
“You need to see the princesses?” Twilight asked, muzzle barely raised off the floor.
“Well, yeah.” Ignio smiled with rich green eyes. “It’s the whole reason I came to Canterlot in the first place... When I accidentally ran into you, Miss Sparkle, I thought of the great honor it would be for somepony like me to meet you... and I easily get lost in castles... it has happened more than once...”
He looked down sheepishly, prompting Twilight to giggle slightly at his apparent misfortune. She would have to tell Princess Celestia that she couldn’t find Vicar, and maybe she would actually run into him on the way back while taking Ignio... so maybe it wasn’t a total bummer.
“I’ll be happy to take you,” she smiled, “I happen to need to go that way too.” Ignio raised his eyebrow again and smiled with her, “Thank you kindly.”
Like a gentlecolt, he helped her back to her hooves and closely followed as Twilight expertly lead them through the palace halls. Ignio, while an apparently intelligent and strong young stallion, proved to be ultimately unable to navigate and was very clumsy on the polished floors, often tripping on himself or his cape. Many times did Twilight have to stop and help him back onto his hooves, always receiving a brisk, “Thank you kindly.”
With a slight caution, the two managed to reach the princess’s spire and walked all the way to the top without accident (via a little magical help). After their combined run, walk, then climb, Twilight exhaustingly raised a hoof and knocked on the heavy wooden door. The door became bathed in a yellow aura, before opening, seemingly by itself, and revealed the tall form of Princess Celestia.
“I see you were unable to locate Vicar,” the princess assessed coolly after a brief moment.
“I’m sorry princess, but he was gone by the time I came back and you told me to hurry.” Twilight looked down to avoid the princess’s gaze. Celestia looked at her student contently before turning to Ignio, her face lighting up a bit at his stare. “I figured as much. Come on in and make yourself comfortable... both of you.”
“You figured as much?” Twilight repeated dumbfounded as Celestia gently herded her into the room.
“Mostly, the real reason I sent you out was that I figured you would run into Ignio here with his general clumsiness and all.”
“Oh, very funny Tia.”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion at their banter. “...Really?”
The princess nodded and gestured for Twilight to come to her side. By doing so, she found herself staring in mild disbelief as Ignio hung his cape up on a rack. Fluttering on his back with brilliant red feathers were a pair of large pegasus wings, adding to his already taller-than-most size.
“Twilight,” Celestia smiled, “May I formally introduce you to Prince Vulcan Ignis Galaxia, Count of Fillydelphia.”
The pieces and hints of their conversations and race slowly began to fall into place as Twilight faced the young alicorn’s firm stare. “So... you were Prince Vulcan all along...”
“Sorry for not telling you earlier. I’m not really fond of formalities.”
Twilight only stared at him oddly, waiting for anything else he might have said. Princess Celestia, however, wasted no time and decided to step in and clear her throat to interrupt. “Excuse me, hate to interrupt this silence, but further formalities will have to wait for another time.”
Prince Vulcan inched his head back, “Why, what happened?”
“Our keys were stolen Ignio.” Celestia looked at her younger brother grimly. “Mine and Luna’s.”
“Stolen?” he raised his eyebrow.
“By strange and very violent creatures of unknown origins: they raided Arcem Solis and took them from under our noses. I sent a letter to everypony telling them to keep a close eye on their own keys. Jovian and Sirius will be arriving the day before the celebration and will weigh in on the situation then.”
“After all that, the celebration is still on?” Vulcan sounded almost insulted.
“As far as I know.”
Twilight breathed in a big puff of air and stomped a hoof to the ground. “Stop! Princess, you promised you would explain what is happening!”
Vulcan’s eyes widened, “You did what?” The young prince seemed deeply disturbed by Twilight’s outburst. “Celestia... hoc est arcanum unum familiae nostrae scriptor...”
The princess narrowed her eyes, “Scio, frater mi.”
“Possumus credere?” the prince glanced at the purple unicorn, causing Twilight to become frustrated with Ignio’s changed personality.
“Etiam Vulcanus, fiduciam in fide.”
Vulcan glanced between the two and sighed. “And I trust you, big sister...”
Celestia raised her head up and smiled, before turning to her student and sitting down on a soft cushion. “You might want to take a seat as well Twilight.”
The unicorn did so accordingly and began to shift glances between the soft, gleaming, violet eyes of her mentor and the hard, steeled gaze of thick green from the colt prince. Celestia briefly cleared her throat and stared directly into her student’s eyes.
“You wanted to know the truth, so I promise to tell you everything. But you must promise me something: you must promise me that under no circumstances will you interrupt me. Is that fair?” Twilight briskly nodded, followed by a single nod from Vulcan. With a deep breath, Princess Celestia’s horn flared to life with a hot-violet hue. “Then it is time you learn about the truth of the Elements of Harmony and the Tempest...”
> 1:6- Interrogation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	She had been rocked to her core...
Everything Princess Celestia told her yesterday: the truth about the Elements of Harmony, the secret of the royal family, and worse of all, this new knowledge that the princess told her was called the Tempest... simply put, it all worried Twilight greatly. To hear such things actually remaining unheard by anypony else outside the royal family seemed almost impossible, but here the proof was... ponies living their lives normally like nothing is wrong.
To make matters worse, she discovered, Vicar and these new creatures were apparently the center of it all.
For the rest of yesterday and most of today, Twilight avoided Vicar Saint in fear of what she might accidentally blurt out under his hawkish observational prowess. But unfortunately for her now, this was no longer an option. Now, she and Prince Vulcan were to go and retrieve Vicar and bring him to the dungeon to help look over Princess Celestia finally interrogate the cleric deacon. Apparently, the princess wanted his sharp eyes to back her up: the same sharp eyes that Twilight had spent an entire day avoiding...
“What is your problem?”
Twilight shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “Huh?”
Vulcan stopped and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, you look very distraught... is everything alright?”
Twilight reeled her head back, as if to imply she was offended, speaking through a forced smile with a sarcastic tone. “Distraught? No, I’m fine... I’m perfectly and utterly fine!”
The prince frowned and looked at the unicorn sternly; causing Twilight to cast her eyes down and lose her fake smile. “Is it that obvious?”
“When you freak out, your magically aura frizzes your mane at the ends... yeah, it is that obvious...”
“I’m sorry...” she raised a hoof and brushed it through her mane, static popping off as she straightened it back to its normal and straight nature. “It’s just... I’m all worried about Vicar and what the princess told me...”
“Twilight, I know, I was there. I watched your reaction the entire time. I also remember what Tia told you: she said maybe, by a long shot at best. This was the whole reason why I was against you finding out in the first place: you freaking out more and more the more and more you thought about it. In the wrong hooves, it could drive a pony into evil or insanity...”
Twilight looked up and smiled slightly, reassured at Vulcan’s cynical disappointment towards his older sister. “To believe,” she said, “that all those crazy pursuits Crescent Star wanted... he actually was onto something the whole time...”
“Yeah...” Vulcan nodded, “to finally realize that your boyfriend isn’t just a crazy stallion after all...”
“He’s not my coltfriend!”
Vulcan huffed and rolled his eyes, “Geez, calm down... I was only kidding.” He paused and stared directly ahead. Walking towards them with an apple in hand and chewing with polite silence was Vicar. Vulcan nodded towards him with an impressed look. Much to the description given by his sister, the stranger was certainly a tall and foreboding being. A dark mane and peachy flesh, bare with little no fur or scales, covered with tailored clothes that covered the length of his legs with black and the length of his torso in white and grey: a perfect fit for his shape and size. He walked like a soldier: direct, attentive, eyes forward in confidence. Vulcan could see why Celestia had an interest to his being here... he had never seen anything of his likeness since he could remember.
“So,” the young prince grinned, “You must be the Vicar Saint everypony seems to be talking about...”
Vicar returned a smile and bowed with his hands clasped together in respect. “Am I right to assume that you, red alicorn, are Prince Vulcan?”
“Excellent guess.” The alicorn lowered his head slightly to return Vicar’s gesture, who took another bite of the apple almost directly afterwards. “I’ve heard that you have a memory problem, Mr. Saint... any luck in fixing that?”
“Not really,” he muffled, “no...”
“Well then... would you kindly follow us to the dungeon then?”
Vicar swallowed and glanced over at Twilight, who was trying her best to linger behind Vulcan as nonchalantly she could. Under his gaze, she fought against every instinct in her to shrivel up or run. With a slight smirk, Vicar turned back to the prince. “Should I try and get as much of a head start away from you as possible, your highness?”
Vulcan busted out laughing as the stranger’s well placed joke, prompting Twilight to lighten up a little and step forward a bit. “Oh, no no no no. My sister just wants us to bring you there to help her in interrogating the cleric from the night before last. We’ve been thinking it might help you remember something... or not... either way, she thought it best you be there.”
Vicar tilted his head. “Well, why not. I have nothing better to do so I might as well make myself useful.” He took the last bite of his apple and spied at a trash can near the end of the hall. After a couple seconds of examining it, he tossed the apple core around in his hand a bit, before hurling it across the hallway and directly into the can with a satisfying *Clink*. The prince nodded at his throw and gestured for him to follow. He noticed how easy it was for Vicar to match their strides, his greater height and bipedal stance having no problem in overtaking the two quadrupeds in speed. Twilight’s head barely went up to his shoulder and she had to canter briskly to keep up with his pace. He himself only went up to Vicar’s eyes and while it was much easier for him to keep pace, Vulcan found himself struggling a bit at certain points. He imagined that Celestia would be taller than him, but as he pictured it more and more, he began to realize that even then it wasn’t by much, Vicar’s head most likely leveling out at her muzzle...
...foreboding indeed...
Twilight, on the other hand, was noting how little Vicar and Vulcan seemed to talk to each other in comparison to what she heard about between him and Celestia. When he met the princess, he did seem to take more of a liking to her, trusting and confident in his interpretation of her. With the prince, however, that trust, while still present, was more of something between two soldiers, instead a stallion to a mare: a firm brick wall distancing any friendly contact between them. Every so often, either would speak up about a topic and banter would develop between them that would carry on through a hallway or two, but afterwards it would quickly die off and leave an awkward silence among the three of them.
“So, how have you been?”
Twilight blinked and turned to Vicar, who had apparently maneuvered himself around Vulcan to be walking next to the violet mare instead. “I’ve been good... very busy...”
“I could tell. I haven’t seen you since yesterday morning. Has Her Serene Highness been busy too?”
“Princess Celestia was with me basically the entire day. You would have seen her again too... if you were at the infirmary when I went back.”
“Oh, about yesterday; I’m sorry I didn’t stay with Crescent Star like I said I would, but before I went to the infirmary to see you that morning, Princess Celestia offered lunch so we could continue our talk some more. After a couple hours of realizing you wouldn’t come back with breakfast, I went out into the garden and did so... minus her company, unfortunately.”
“A garden lunch with Princess Celestia?” Twilight grinned devilishly as she looked up at Vicar. She remembered a time when she once thought it to be impossible for a pony like the princess to fall in love or to actually go on dates... just more things that come with the ignorance of foals. “Has the princess finally discovered her special... someone?”
“If you try anything stupid...”
Twilight rolled her eyes and returned her focus to the task on hand. Realizing the conversation has ended; Vicar edged his way back to the other side of Prince Vulcan. With nothing else to talk about, the group simply continued on in silence.
Eventually, the three of them reached the stairway that Vulcan said was the one to the cell holding the cleric. With a confident step forward, the prince lit his horn up with an earthy-green glow, followed by Twilight’s magenta, leading the way down into an apparently pitch-black hallway. The darkness of this place seemed almost organic, engulfing the party with seemingly strong tendrils of black, consuming them with a relentless fervor, like a hungry wolf at its meal. Even the light emanating from the young alicorn and the even younger unicorn seemed to struggle to maintain ground against its apparently stronger enemy within the shadows.
In the darkness, Vicar glanced down at the prince’s back and found, under his violet cloak, was a sword-like object wrapped in a protective sheath. To him, it looked surprisingly like the two that the other clerics ran off with... “Hey, Vulcan, what’s on your back?”
Vulcan stopped and looked back at the stranger. “It’s my key... like the two stolen from Luna and Celestia... except this one is mine.”
Vicar was able to piece together some bits of information together with what Vulcan said and with some asking, the alicorn let him take it out of the sheath and examine it. It looked almost exactly like the previous two: tempered metal hilted with an ornate design. The difference in this one was the earthy greens and browns: colors prevailing over the golds and reds of what he figured was Celestia’s and the blacks and blues that would have then been Luna’s. At the hilt, instead of a sun or moon, was a firm mountain, which the base of created the grip-guard and that peaked out over the metal. Inscribed on one side was the phrase: “Petra Terre”, while on the other side was: “Prince Vulcan Ignis Galaxia, Count of Fillydelphia”.
“Do you think it would be a good idea to have this while we go and see the cleric who tried to take the last two?”
Vulcan grinned with pure confidence. “He won’t have a chance to get this one. My sister and I have made quite the number of precautions to keep him from being able to do anything...”
“And if those precautions fail?”
The prince looked back at the stranger. “Then he’ll have to go through me.”
Vicar remained unsure, but dropped the subject and returned the key to its sheath under Vulcan’s cloak. He placed his hand on the wall right beside him, running his fingers across the stone as he walked. The further in they went, the darker it got and the more he leaned closer to the wall, as if it was his last protection from the darkness surrounding him. He grew paler and his eyes dilated ferociously, jitters and anxiety building.
For the first time since meeting him, Twilight found herself watching Vicar legitimately become unsettled. If she knew better, it almost looked like he was scared...
“Vicar, are you alright?”
“No,” he said plainly, if a little rushed than normal, “I am deeply disturbed with all this darkness around us... its way too unnatural.”
“You would be correct,” Vulcan stated, “It’s from a spell that my father created many centuries ago. The magic of the user absorbs all light within the desired sphere of influence; creating an area of pitch-black darkness that nopony would be able to find their way through. Only those, like myself and now Twilight, who know the counter spell can actually navigate, but even then, the spell’s energy must be strong enough to counter the force of the previous caster... and generally only for a fleeting few feet of light.”
Vicar looked at Prince Vulcan more closely and noticed the sweat beading on his brow and running down his face, shining on his fur in green light. He reached out to Twilight, gripping her mane before quickly reeling back and wiping his hand on his clothes. If the prince was only just breaking a sweat, then Twilight was completely drenched. Her magic at the time being was obviously weaker than an alicorn’s, but she still kept her light at the same brightness as the prince’s without any break or flicker. She was completely determined on not stopping, and by the looks of it, was making herself capable of doing so.
Touched by her perseverance, Vicar reached out and set his hand on her back for a little support, as well as to help show her that she could do it. He smiled and stared straight ahead, keeping with her pace. “Hang in there Twi’, just a little while longer.”
She kept herself tunnel vision forward, keeping her focus solely on the spell and on walking without crashing or injury. “Just a little while longer...” she would hear over and over again, but she would pay no attention. She didn’t care how long it would take; she would still do it anyways. Twilight resolved herself to not extinguish her magic, as well as let Vicar lean on her a little. With a determined heart, she even began to drown out Vulcan’s soft green in her eyes.
The prince didn’t seem to mind Twilight’s enthusiastic participation. Even if he did think it stupid and reckless for doing so, he smiled in delight to see that it was her being the reckless and stupid one. He only looked back every-so-often to check on her well being, which seemed to be fit and good every time he did so, and to see if Vicar was still with them, both physically and mentally, receiving only the look of a determined soldier with his eyes fixed on a far off, nonexistent light.
Vulcan stopped walking and raised his head to a stone wall in front of him, both Vicar and Twilight standing next to him with mild confusion. He lifted his head and illuminated the edges of the stone, revealing it to be a door designed simply to look like a part of the wall. “Vicar Saint, Twilight Sparkle... May I present to you the most secure dungeon in Arcem Solis.”
His horn’s aura shifted from green to a sea-blue as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With a stern face, he opened his eyes again and tapped his horn against the stone. “Puerto... abres.”
The stone came to life as Vulcan’s magic swarmed through the creases like flowing water. Magically infused and glowing with the symbols of an old, forgotten importance, the frame began to crack and the door itself began to open to a lit room with painfully bright lights.
“Why all this security?” Twilight asked, her vision quickly returning.
“It was Tia’s idea mainly. Apparently, this one has been most... troublesome... for the past couple hours...” As Vulcan finished, the door opened up enough for the group to see inside at the blank stone room. In the center, the cleric sat cross legged with his armed folded in his lap, chains slumping over his legs, leading off to the wall where they kept him from too much movement. The princess herself was seated near him, just out of reach.
“I see you were able to make your way through my Prism Spell without any lasting problems...” Celestia spoke plainly, without taking her eyes off of the cleric in front of her, refusing to check if she was even talking to the right ponies.
“We did suffice, big sis.”
Twilight’s eyes rose with mild surprise. “That out there was only a Prism Spell?”
“A more powerful variation,” Celestia stated, finally willing to remove her gaze and focus on her student, “but yes: it was a Prism Spell. I believe my little brother might have mentioned to you how our father could feed magic into it to maintain its power, but, my Faithful Student, he isn’t the only one. I’m very proud that you were able to keep control over your counter spell... that was my magic out there...”
Twilight wasn’t expecting to hear that from her. “Princess?”
She was going to ask more, but Vulcan interrupted her, returning the focus to the task on hand. “Has our guest said anything yet?”
“No.” Her eyes returned to the creature in the center of the room. “He hasn’t said or done anything since I put him in here. He just remains in a sort of meditation: head pointed to the ground and legs crossed...”
As she spoke, the cleric willingly confirmed that what she was saying was the truth, refusing to move even the slightest. He simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“See?” the princess frowned through her words before gazing up at the open door. “Ah, Vicar... I’m glad you were able to join us.”
The cleric’s eyes opened calmly at the delightful surprise of a visitor. He allowed himself a grin, out of sight of his so-called interrogators, of course. Vicar stepped through and began to slowly pace around, looking at the creature sitting humbly. “I suppose I am too... so this is what a cleric really looks like up close... I must say, I’m kind of disappointed...”
The cleric was pure black-ish flesh with bone structures and plates that covered what appeared to be sensitive areas, similar to a suit of armor. Its hands were similar to Vicar’s, but instead ended in sharp claws. It looked almost reptilian in nature, but it held characteristics that seemed to also be a mixture of many other forms of animals, as if its animal was itself... for lack of better terminology.
“So... it is true...” The sudden voice from the creature brought the attention of everypony else in the room. It sounded cold and without kindness, reminding Vicar of how Kaius sounded in the dining room before he killed him. But Kaius was logical and decisive at best, the coldness in his voice hidden by a screen of rationality and common civility. None of those were present in this one, or at least not as dominant, instead being covered in another, outer layer of heartlessness and an unsympathetic nature.
The cleric lifted his head and looked directly at Vicar with cold, dead eyes, a look full of disappointment and masked by a deep, inner vengeance. “...you really did lose your memory. It’s a pity... you can’t even remember who I am.”
“And who are you?” Princess Celestia asked coolly.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The princess glared at him, matching his twisted satire with cold eyes. She cleared her throat. “You’re a deacon, aren’t you? That is what has been labeled by your peers at least, am I correct?”
The cleric stared at her uninterestingly before nodding his head with a smirk. “We can both say that in agreement. Yes, I am a deacon: a deacon of Unitology and the Holy Markers.”
“Would you care to elaborate on that?”
The deacon tilted his head slightly. “It is the faith... the true faith... the faith of those who want true salvation in the name of the most holy Markers. Why do you even think I’m here?”
“I’ll ask the questions thank you...” Celestia still kept her tone civil and gentle with her normal kindness, yet it was evidently edged with cold steel and a firm grip. While she knew her mentor well, Twilight didn’t remotely have the idea that the princess was this temperate: remaining in control of herself and of the scene with the spikes of a vicious being poking at her nerves. “...but since you already asked, I’ll humor you this one time: why are you here?”
The deacon leaned forward as his voice became more sinister and as dry as sand. “To grind you into dust; everything you are... your precious faith and science... they are nothing more than fictions created in your minds. You don’t deserve to live... and it is the will of the gods before us to exterminate your disgusting infestation before it spreads to the stars...”
“That’s mighty presumptuous of you, deacon,” Celestia raised her head higher, “and what is it that you possess that can warrant such an arrogance that you say is right and just?”
“The Marker!” the deacon hissed, “You know nothing of its real power, and you will never come close to match it: the Marker masters all, the Marker defeats all, the Marker changes all...” Through his rant, the deacon became jittery and began to frantically scratch at the ground with amazing fervor. His eyes glowed with a paler orange, piercing the dark shadows that always seems to cast over them.
Twilight stepped forward and stood next to her mentor, disturbed by this creature’s audacity in its current situation. “By what right does this ‘Marker’ possess to dictate genocide against our entire race?”
The deacon stopped and stared directly into her eyes. His firm stare made her want to vomit: looking into his eyes felt to her like looking into the eyes of a predator, a creature whose sole purpose in life is to cause destruction and devastation in its midst and wake. The feeling was worse than the disappointment and fear she felt when Discord bested her and her friends... worse than when Nightmare Moon wreaked havoc in her return after a thousand years. No it was far worse, and Twilight willingly stepped into the arena to combat this creature.
“I wasn’t talking about you!” The deacon glared at the unicorn harshly. “I was talking about him: the Reclaimer!”
Twilight and Celestia turned their heads to Vicar who stared directly at the deacon with the same firm and cold glare. “His race has something that those in the past didn’t: something that makes them stronger than what those before could ever dream! They are thinkers, creators and inventors: beings that can shape a world with their hands and minds. Their insolent infestation seek to try and pollute the Spiral with their names and achievements... You would dare compare your species to them? HA! In their shadow, you swines are nothing more than the cockroaches they crush under their feet!”
“And what would that make you, creature?!” Vicar spoke back with an equal ferocity and audacity to the cleric, “If what you say is true, then that should make you nothing more than the dust they eat!”
The deacon stood up with breathtaking legerity, pulling his chains taunt before Twilight could flinch away at its rage towards Vicar. Vicar himself, however, stood firm against the opponent, calmly walking over to where he stood directly in front of its gnashing teeth and rage. “HA, HA! Look at you, creature! You are nothing more than a tamed dog: all bark and no bite!”
The deacon lashed his head forward before being shoved back violently towards the far wall by a golden aura. His frenzy died down almost instantaneously, leaving Vicar to stand victoriously with his allies over him... but as the adrenaline died down, the feeling of pain began to run through his cheek and he ran his hand up against it. Bringing it back so he could see, a black splotch of liquid pooled and started to absorb in his skin. It smelled terribly, the harsh scent filling his nose and causing his eyes to sting.
As if he heard the punch line to a funny joke, the deacon slowly began to build in chuckling laughter, causing the group to return their attention to the subdued creature. “So blind... so blind all of you... That was what you would call, a distraction!”
It was then that Vulcan jumped forward in shock and disbelief, staring into the dark hallway fearfully. “My KEY!”
Both Celestia and Vicar looked back with mild confusion but Vulcan, however, would have none of it. He lifted his cape and magically searched for his birthright: his pride and honor. The deacon only laughed at what he made out to be his pawns. “It’s humiliating to fail at what you boast, isn’t it young prince... don’t fret much though, you won’t live long enough to truly feel its lessons.”
That was it: the last straw, the last single twine of temperance that Celestia had. With a kindled rage, her horn glowed with a blood red mixed with a shadowy black, releasing a beam of energy at the deacon. Instantaneously, the cleric was blasted with the feeling of a million needles piercing into every pore, every blood vessel ever single nerve in his body, screaming only one feeling all at once: pain. This was the side that Celestia never wanted to show, especially to her dear student, Twilight Sparkle, who now had to watch her mentor torture another being with little thought. This was Celestia’s real side, the side of emotion and passion that burns within her soul, the side that gives her the drive necessary to do anything it takes. It is a passion that rests ablaze with the love and hatred of a thousand years, burning as hot and as bright as the sun which she can control.
Through all of it, the screams and pleading of the deacon could be heard, as clear and crisp as the winter breeze. With all the pain inflicting on him, he seemed to still refuse to disrepute the faith that gave him the bold arrogance that has him so confident in the destruction of Vicar and in ponykind. With a solid voice he shouted out firmly, “I believe in the Marker: in the gods of the heavens above, who created all things living and nonliving...”
Twilight and Vulcan stared at each other, watching with painful expressions as Celestia mercilessly inflicted terrible agony on the deacon. Between every burst of energy and every sense of anguish and woe, he would continue his proclamation with as determined of a voice as the time before.
“I believe in the Prophecies: *aaugh* the nobles and teachings of Kur, the great and mighty...”
...a scream of pain...
“...who witnessed... all things glorious in its name.”
...another scream...
“A life above all mortals... the light... *aaauggh* above all lights... the true gods before all else...”
...another...
The torture seemed to go on forever, Princess Celestia refusing to extinguish her magical hold on the deacon. Thru shut eyes, her student let tears pour over her cheeks as she covered her ears to try and cut out the noise. Both Vulcan and Vicar worked hard to keep solid faces, staring down at the cleric’s wriggling form with a little emotion as they could: the deacon only continuing his chant of faith through clenched claws and gritted teeth.
It soon became too much even for Vicar, who covered his face with his palm, choosing to bear the stench of his blood in order to conceal his now trembling lip and reddening eyes. Even then, it became too great, Vicar physically trying to prevent his emotions with no avail.
“...Stop...” he barely whispered, minuscule compared to the sizzling of magic and the shouts of the deacon. He took a deeper breath and stepped forward to Celestia, physically shoving her to the side and breaking her concentration. “For the love of God, STOP!!”
She was quick to regain her senses, the blinding rage dying down after Vicar’s irrational response to her irrational behavior. The princess let the deacon fall back on the floor and stared directly at Vicar, the look in her sorrowful eyes muttering a silent and visual “thank you,” before her ears twitched with the sound of a low cackle.
“You know nothing of power...” the deacon muttered, “and you are supposed to be the royalty of this world.”
Even with all his boasting, the deacon however remained on the floor, clawing at the stone instinctively with phantom pains. His claws tapped the stone every slash through, creating an echoing rhythm of: Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap... going on through the room.
Celestia felt devastated... to somehow lose a third key, right from under their noses, and to perform such an act of fury... there was nothing she really could do for now...
...not until she fit all the puzzle pieces together at least.
“Vicar... Twilight...” She refused to even look up and face them. “I want you two to go back to the castle and rest for the remainder of the night...”
Twilight stepped forward carefully; wary of the mare she called her mentor. “Princess...”
“I said go!” Her horn ignited and both Vicar and Twilight disappeared from the room before they could see the sun princess shed her first tear.
	
> Second Interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was the first time since he could remember that Vicar had a full night’s sleep. Like everything else around him in this world, it was full of complications, but he didn’t care. He had to sleep on an infirmary bed, but it didn’t matter: he could keep an eye on Crescent Star for Twilight. The bed and blankets were too small, but he didn’t mind: he found the room warmer than he would have liked anyways.
The only thing Vicar really wanted was peace. He wanted to be caressed by the clouds of the dreamscape. He wanted to feel the touch of his dreams and memories, all lost to his consciousness everywhere except there. During his conversation with Celestia the previous night, she had on multiple occasions mentioned how his memories could be found, slowly and painstakingly, through the dreamscape. Vaguely, she explained the power that comes from the mind through that dreamscape: how the imagination and creativity of sentience could affect the real world through dreams and wishes...
The world he had surrounded himself with was similar to the one he was in the first time only a few days earlier. Swirling around him were clouds of energy, fogging around him lazily like bees in smoke. The only difference, however, was him. He was more aware of who he was, what he needed to do. Now, he was Vicar Saint, and he needed, no, wanted, to help Celestia with this dangerous problem.
Dong!
His eyes widened as the feeling of painful weightlessness rose in his stomach and throat. It reminded him exactly of what he felt when he saw the vision of the desert, Molotov, and the machine. Pounding in his head, eventually forcing him to shut his eyes, the continual sound of a tolling bell...
Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
Dong...
Seven more times, the ringing of a solid metal bell echoed in his mind, his effort of dulling the sound doing nothing to stop the ear shattering pounding. After a total of twelve concise hits, the ringing finally stopped, giving him the chance to once again open his eyes and collect his bearing.
The world around him had changed dramatically. The gentle violet glow of the cloudy dreamscape had been replaced with the soft orange glow of lamplight reflecting on marble and wood. The room was smaller in comparison to the infirmary, with large, cleaning cut openings into the warm night air outside. Hanging from a vaulted ceiling, large curtains of violet, white and gold flowed down towards the top of the cut windows, perfectly stretched and spaced. In the center of the room, much to his confusion was a large tub filled with clean and clear water, hinting at a bathhouse or washroom of some kind. But the stranger part was who was standing opposite of him, who, much to his shock and happiness, was another Reclaimer, as the cleric liked to call his kind.
He was apparently much, much older than Vicar, but it was clear that they were of the same race and species. The older being, covered with a robe of white and violet, ornate with gold details in similarity to the curtains, looked down at the floor quietly, as if pondering at a thought. He was frail in his old age, seen by the robe hanging over him as well as the presence of two servants, one tall and young while the other pudgy and older, ready to help in any way.
To see with physical proof another being of his species became too emotional for Vicar. It made him tearfully happy to know he wasn’t alone, wherever he was from. Unconsciously, he found himself lifting his hand to his face and wiped at his eyes, before pausing with a tear running down his palm.
He moved. He physically moved his body during a vision. After failing to do so the first time, Vicar had assumed it to be impossible, but yet here he was now staring at the tear he removed with his hand... his hand: not someone else’s... his own.
“Is everything alright, Lord Didact?” A scratchy mechanical voice came from behind him. For a split second, he thought the voice was speaking to someone else, but he soon realized otherwise, instead thinking of what to respond with.
“I’m fine,” he heard himself say, “I am simply proud of my friend here...”
His heart sank a little at his answer. Even in his own body, he was a stranger. He didn’t move his hand at all, only perceived he did through circumstance... His tearing joy, while still the same for his memory, seemed to sour into sadness for him in the present... still only an observer. The memory of his former self, however, wasted no time as the slight shuffling at the door brought their combined attention forward.
Carried by two aides of a similar structure, was a different being entirely. He stood crutched between them, but it was clear that this alien was taller than anyone present in the room, standing at what he could only estimate as around seven-foot-something. His hair was cropped against his sweaty skin, a glossy raven black covering a brown tan that seemed almost armor-like, yet still flexible and soft like skin should be. His clothes were also that of robes, but of a more oriental style compared to the older Reclaimer, with blue detailing a larger white. It stuck to his skin with purple stains of blood, his face covered in gashes and cuts that seemed to only be the tip of the iceberg for his injuries. The largest cut, sliced straight down his eye, which was more or less unharmed, but paler than the right one in greyness.
As he was half-led, half-carried into the chamber, his memory-self bowed slightly in his presence. “Are you sure this should be done so hastily, your Supreme Highness?” His voice was firm and sober to match the mood of the situation. “It has only been a couple days since your victory and your wounds haven’t even remotely begun to heal...”
The creature raised his head so he looked straight at him, firm in gaze. “I have wasted forty years, my friend, for the true grace of God. This shouldn’t wait any longer... Holy Father, if you are ready.”
The older being stepped forward and bowed his head. “Do you have a godparent and sponsor, Emperor Vadamus?”
The emperor nodded and looked at Vicar’s former self once more. “You have told me what the power of God can do; long before anyone else had... it is only fitting that it be you... old friend...”
“As you wish, your Supreme Highness.” His memory bowed his head to the monarch and watched as the Holy Father and aides led the emperor to where he could enter the tub.
“Thor Axi Vadamus: you have decided to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Do you believe in one God, the Father the almighty, creator of the heavens and of the universe?”
“An avai,” he answered in his native tongue. “I do.”
“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, born of the father before all ages?”
“An avai.”
“Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified?”
“An avai.”
“Do you believe in one, holy Christian church: catholic and apostolic through Jesus Christ?”
“An avai!”
The Holy Father gestured for him to come forward. The emperor did so, his servants removing his robe to leave only a loincloth and bare skin, covered with numerous wounds that have yet to be healed. He confidently stepped into the water, warm and relaxing to the touch, and leaned against the edge with his shoulders and neck. The Holy Father placed his hands on his head and with a gentle push, dunked the emperor so he was fully immersed by the water. After a second or two, the emperor’s head surfaced once more, splashing water around him as the Reclaimer leaned his head back and, using his thumb, traced a cross on his forehead.
“I, Pius XII, now baptize you, Emperor, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
In that brief moment, Vicar felt a feeling of pure happiness and joy that he was unable to explain. Through some strange reason, this ceremony, which he couldn’t remember anything of or about, had made him feel more at home and as himself than anything else... he wished that nothing could change, that this moment could last forever...
‘But the Marker changes all...’
His mind became assaulted with white noise as the world around him took on a harsh red tint. The feeling of happiness and joy was shoved aside and broken into millions of irretrievable pieces, a feeling of fear and anguish by a sense of malevolence replacing it. The room dissolved into a land of chaos and entropy. The pain and anguish of sorrow seeped into his soul, swirling around him in a taunting dance of hatred. Hideous chimeras, grotesque and disfigured creature, charged and assaulted his physical self, drawing blood and caused his heart to race.
As the torment of his ghastly nightmare continued, he cast his eyes out and spotted what was a far off light. Steadily, it grew in brightness and size, blinding the creatures that attacked him. In a single burst, the light exploded out and repelled the malevolence to reveal... Princess Luna?
It was undoubtedly her, the crisp colors of blue and black with the tapestry of the heavens flowing from her hair proving it, but her form was not of an alicorn. Whether it was due to his subconscious or by her power, he wouldn’t and couldn’t be able to tell, yet she stood before him undeniably as he was: a Reclaimer. Her two legs were covered by a pair of polished black boots, tucking in the pants to a beautifully royal uniform: matching her nightly and lunar excellence with a military showmanship, while at the same time by not removing her feminine being through the show of distinct curves. Flowing from her shoulder, under her hair, was a cape as black as night, adding to her majesty as a matriarch.
With her image, the world around Vicar lost its grip on the chaos, re-establishing order’s dominance by creating an empty stone room. He cowered on the stone floor as Luna, tall and mighty, stood in front of the room’s only window, shadowing him from the moon’s brilliant light.
“Dear Vicar Saint,” her voice was smooth and clear, like mercury, “are you well? I know not what happened, but your nightmare was a severe threat to your safety and to the safety of the dreamscape.”
“Y-your... your Grace...” Vicar tried and was unable to find the words to say, so Luna came forward and shushed him.”
“Speak not, stranger from the mines: save your strength for the trials ahead.”
Vicar reached up and clasped Luna’s finger, removing it from his lips and holding it firm in his palm. It was strange; to feel the touch of another like him, after all he could remember was different. “What do I do now?”
She looked down at him and smiled mother-like. “My magic will wake you up and it will feel like you were experiencing a nightmare.”
Luna extended her hand and offered to help the stranger up, which he readily accepted. With a strong tug, he was lifted onto his feet, standing a couple inches taller than the princess herself. She cleared her throat, “There is only one other thing you need to know before I send you off, Vicar Saint.”
“Yes, your Grace...”
“Luna...” she spoke peeved.
“I’m sorry... Luna?”
“It’s not blood...”
Vicar leaned back confused. “What?”
Before he could get an answer, the lunar princess snapped her fingers, dissolving the dream. Vicar himself shot up from his position on the infirmary bed, the wisps of dreamscape removing itself from his mind as he grew wide awake with slight terror and confusion. He could remember everything from the dream, and the more he thought about it the more confused he got at what it meant.
“It’s not blood...” she told him.
“Well, it took you long enough to wake up...”
Still startled by the experience, his eyes darted around for the source of the voice. His eyes settled on the corner where the only other resident rested coolly with a look of absent boredom.
“Crescent Star...”
	
> 1:7- Arrival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Within a couple short minutes, the young archeologist had prepared a warm cup of Andromedan Leaf Tea for the distraught Vicar. The stranger spared no detail in telling Crescent Star his nightmare, finishing his tale with the surprise vision of Princess Luna’s visit.
“That’s an interesting string of events Mr. Saint.” Crescent Star remained stoic with a sip of tea, reminding Vicar of Celestia’s own strategy to hide emotion. “For Princess Luna to physically end a dream must mean it posed a serious danger to the dreamscape.”
“I didn’t even know Luna could even enter my dreams, let alone end them...”
“Indeed she can, Vicar. As the Mistress of the Night, she has dominion over the dreams and nightmares that ponies experience... the Lady of Dreams...”
“Crescent,” he stated, “do you think that can explain the reason Luna appeared to me as a Reclaimer?”
“A Reclaimer?” the Adept inquired.
“It’s what the cleric kept calling me; I suppose it was logical to assume that would be my species.”
“Indeed... well, Princess Luna isn’t a pushover. While she might not be as powerful as her older sister, she is still a master over the power she possesses and has impressive skills. It is a possibility that she was able to manifest herself as a... Reclaimer, through her own power, or maybe your subconscious did naturally.”
Vicar nodded slightly and sipped at his tea. For a long moment, the two of them remained in silence, before Crescent Star cleared his throat. “Do you know why I’m fond of archeology?”
“No.”
Crescent Star sighed and took a sip of tea. “When I was a young colt, my mother told me bedtime stories to help me fall asleep. One particular night, she told me this ancient myth about two mythical creatures. They were two brothers, toddlers abandoned in the wilds of Primus, a mystical unexplored continent to the west. With no pony to care for them, the two of them were slowly dying, starving and thirsty. Their cries were heard throughout the lands, and had eventually attracted the attention of a large female dragon. She was hungry, having failed in catching food for the day, so the weakened children posed an easy meal. But instead of eating them, she cast her eyes down at the helpless brothers, and changed her mind, full of a sudden and unexplained love and desire to care for them.
“The dragon would name these brothers Kur and Axi, taking them to her nest and family where they would teach and care for them throughout their childhood. As they grew up, she taught them the essence of the ancient Arcana and Void Magicks. When they mastered that, they went on to learn even more: what would become Alicorn, Zebrican as well as other mystical abilities from beyond... they readily learned and mastered everything they were taught. It was also clear that they were different from the other creatures as well. They walked on two legs, while the rest on four. They possessed little fur, having to steal the hides off of other creatures to live in the cold months. Their speed matched that of the great stags, their ruthlessness, like that of their dragon caretakers...”
“Walked on two legs,” Vicar repeated solemnly, “like me...”
Crescent Star nodded and continued, “But what set them apart from the others wasn’t what was on the outside, but what was on the inside. They were cunning and smart, outwitting any creature that came their way. Any problem or challenge presented to them would be calculated, thought out, and mastered with skill. Nothing was too hard for these brothers, for without claws, they crafted blades and tools from the elements of the earth... without wings, they used their magic to fly above the clouds and sky...”
“And what of their magic?”
“They were masters of all magic, able to manipulate the world around them and to even change and craft it to their liking. The rocks... the trees... even the birds in the sky obeyed their power and command. As adults, they held the power to rule over the creatures of the world and they did so... peacefully and harmoniously.
“But Kur, the younger brother, was jealous of his brother Axi. Axi always remained logical and rational in the sense of everything brought to him... always besting his brother with ease. As Kur’s soul turned dark and twisted, so did his mind and body. His skin grew deformed, rotten and corrupted as his blood soured and emptied... He challenged his brother to a magical duel known as a Bellum Magia. Their fight consumed everything under them: the rocks, the trees and even the birds in the sky, all fighting under Kur and Axi. With a heavy heart, Axi defeated his brother, imprisoning him in the Astral Realm for all eternity.
“Without his brother, Axi went on to recreate the world in a better image: a world that could shepherd peace and prosperity into those who live in it. He created our world. Do you know what that story is?”
Vicar went on and looked at his compatriot with a look of annoyance, but Crescent Star only shook his head. “That, my friend, is the oldest tale in all of Equestria: the Tale of the Precursors of Astra.”
“So, this interested you enough to pursue archeology?”
“It was the key driving force. A fictional story prompted me to search for the truth within it. I wanted to know whether the Precursors really existed, in some manner or another. Were they real living creatures at a time, or were they simple fantasies generated by our own desires of greater power?”
“Very poetic, if I may say so,” Vicar took a sip of tea, “but how does that help me with my problems?”
“It proves my point of dreams and stories being very powerful in their own right, Mr. Saint. That one story drove me to become who I am today. While I can’t personally vouch for every pony out there, similar cases would probably be commonplace with most of their dreams and stories as well. Given time and circumstance, your dreams could maybe help you discover who you are too...”
Vicar stared at him blankly. “That sounds like complete rubbish...”
“I’d admit,” Crescent Star replied with a drink of tea, “not one of my best lectures, but it’ll certainly do for the time being.” The two helped themselves to more tea, finally settling on remaining in silence. They didn’t speak for quite some time, the only sound coming from the sloshing and sipping of their drinks. After long minutes, the rushed pattern of galloping hooves twitched at Vicar’s ear.
“Vicar!”
Both Star and Vicar turned their heads as a faint magenta glow of magic steadily grew larger to reveal a tired violet unicorn. “Vicar!” Twilight stopped to catch her breath, “Princess Luna wants to see you right away... and it didn’t sound good.”
She allowed herself a moment’s rest and glanced over to the injured unicorn on the infirmary bed, squealing in happiness as she lunged forward to hug him. “Crescent, you’re awake!”
“And in terrible pain,” he gasped through the pain of his friend’s hug.
“Sorry.” Twilight released her grip and blushed. Vicar shook his head in an attempt to remain on task. “Did she mention why she wanted to see me?”
“No,” Twilight frowned, “Two of the Lunar Praetorian Guards came to me with direct orders and documentation. At first, I was skeptical, thinking maybe it was a joke, but these guards mean business...”
As she finished, the sound of a heavy hoof-fall echoed in the room as two earth ponies in Lunar armor, no doubt the praetorians Twilight was talking about, walked into the infirmary, confidence and seriousness blaring.
“If you want to run,” she whispered, “I’ll be more than welcome to take the blame for you...”
Vicar glanced over at the guards ponies, staring at them for a couple seconds. He tilted his head as if to express a quizzical look, before turning down to Twilight. “No, I’m not going to run, I’m going to stand tall and face this. If Princess Luna needs to see me, then I’ll see her.” He turned back to the guards. “Whenever you’re ready gentlecolts!”
“Then come with us,” spoke a deep, gruff voice. “You too, Ms. Sparkle.”
Crescent Star adjusted himself on the bed and looked over at the burly guards. “Tread lightly, Mr. Saint, it might not be good to antagonize the princess’s services.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Vicar smiled, “I’ll take it to heart while I’m antagonizing her services...” Crescent chuckled slightly as the two of them exchanged thanks for the stories and tea. With nothing else to say between them, Vicar turned around and promptly followed Twilight with the guards. The two armored guards walked in an intimidating silence, not even their hooves making any further sounds.
“So why does Luna want to see me?” Vicar attempted.
“Silence,” ordered one of the guards.
“I do believe I have the right to know,” he countered, remembering something he read about pony law.
“Your Miranda Rights don’t apply here,” the guard replied. Vicar grinned behind their backs, starting to piece it all together. Twilight, however, raised an eyebrow in confusion. She had never heard her rights called that before, but before she could speak up and question, Vicar placed his hand on her mane, silently nodding against it.
The rest of the trek was in total silence, neither party daring to break what some could deem sacred by their concentration. After agonizing minutes, the guards stopped in front of the great door of the main throne room. Through unseen forces, the doors opened up on oiled hinges, making very little sound themselves. The two of them were lead inside and continued on as the guards remained near the door. As they walked forward towards the throne itself, the dark shadows cast over it by the moonlight prevented either of them from seeing its occupant.
“Luna,” Vicar called out, “We were told you wanted to see us.”
There was no reply for a couple seconds, until the shuffling of boots scraped against the floor as two beings exited the shadow. The first was tall and feminine, giving Twilight the idea that it was suppose to be the princess, but it walked on two legs and had white skin. The second, directly behind her, was masculine and far more fearsome. It too walked on two legs, but its flesh seemed to crawl with death, yellowed and necrotic. Its eyes were a predatory black and flashed with dull oranges and yellows in the light. It wore a rich military uniform, a grey jacket covered thick black pants. A red beret covered with an alien symbol adorned his head and concealed darkened hair. Drawn from a simple sheath was a beautiful saber, resting against the first being’s neck gingerly.
“So glad you could join us,” it said calmly, “We’ve been very lonely in each other’s company.”
“Who are you?”
“That is irrelevant,” he said firm, “but what you do need to know, is that I am with the Church of Unitology.”
Twilight snarled, “So you’re with those crazy beasts?”
It smiled, “I’d admit, clerics aren’t the most civilized Inferi you’d meet, nor are they the most effective soldiers. Leave that job to the real thing...”
The room began to echo with laughter. Twilight and Vicar glanced around them as multiple Inferi came forth from the shadows, all wearing the same uniform as their commander. Each had a sword drawn and a strange, oblong box wrapped around their waists. Vicar frowned and turned back to the princess. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she answered before the commander tightened his hold on her arm, “I’ve been better...” Twilight began to channel magic to her in protest.
“Don’t worry princess; we’ll get you out...”
The commander laughed before pointing his saber at Twilight, “I don’t think so... Kraus, Kai... please keep our guests company.”
The ground began to shake as the sound of pounding echoed with the renewed laughter of the Inferi belligerents. Twilight turned around and froze in terror, her horn extinguishing like a dead candle. The two guards from before, previously large earth ponies, were now massive creatures, charging towards the two of them confidently. They too, walked on two legs, their arms fleshy and covered with bony armored plates. Their faces were topped with a tenacular “moustache” that covered large, sharp teeth and draped down to their breastplates.
“I should applaud you, Reclaimer.” The commander brought Vicar’s attention back to him and the steady matriarch. “You pose a severe threat to the Prophet of Truth and his plan. He was willing to go through all of this, for the sole purpose of disposing of you. I don’t know who you are, but you certainly must be a good adversary.”
“What do you even want?” Vicar spat out.
“Well,” the commander sighed, “Since you asked so nicely, and since you’ll be dead in ten minutes, I’ll tell you. Those keys that we’ve been stealing from the ruling family here; they certainly aren’t keys to a door... When combined together, they hold the power to destroy or create anything the wielder wants... ask her, she knows...”
Vicar turned to Luna, who looked down at the floor of his gaze. “He’s telling the truth?”
Luna nodded, “It’s the truth, and the Keys of Astra are capable of such a feat...”
The commander laughed hysterically, “It’s going to be an honor to eradicate your species, Reclaimer, with the very weapon you created!”
“I created?” Vicar gasped.
“The weapon was designed and created by the Precursors, ancient and long forgotten...” the commander pointed his blade directly at Vicar’s face, “You’re ancestors!”
Vicar stepped back as the commander continued his rant, “And now I can destroy you, Reclaimer, with the help of that deranged lunatic... Your blood will spill on this floor and would be the first of billions...”
With solemn eyes, Vicar looked up at Princess Luna, who stared back with anticipation at Vicar’s next move...
Dong!
That was when it hit him... what she said earlier in the dream; the deacon’s tapping during the interrogation and everything that happened in his visions... He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest, feeling nothing: no heartbeat...
Everything about him came back in a flash, impacting him all at once. His previous expression of hatred and shock towards the Inferi commander hardened into a calmer and more collected look. Vicar lowered his hands behind his back, stood up a bit taller and projected more authority as he stared directly at the creature and cleared his throat.
“The lunatic is on the grass...” Both the commander and the princess looked at his puzzled, completely taken aback by his apparently random phrase.
“What?” the princess asked confused.
“The lunatic is on the grass,” Vicar repeated. He waved his hand in front of him as if to further project his voice and took a deep breath as he began to sing.
♫Remembering games, and daisy chains and laughs!
Got to keep the loonies on the path.♫
He stepped back and walked over to the stained-glass windows, extending his arm out to the ponies and Inferi with gusto. Princess Luna allowed herself a large smile as the Inferi captors looked at each other in confusion. Twilight stepped around the behemoth near her with excitement towards Vicar’s sudden outburst.
	♫The lunatic is in the hall.
The lunatics are in my halls.
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day, the paper boy brings more.♫
Vicar sang with a clear, deep voice: deeper and more confident that what it was previously. It was completely unlike everything Twilight figured and knew about him already: as alien as the song he sang, and yet, fitting for him to do so.
♫And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too,
I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon!♫
He finished with his arms up in flair, facing the aggressive creature boldly as it smiled and said, “A good show, Reclaimer, but pointless nonetheless. Did you think that performing for us would make your death any less inevitable?”
Vicar looked at the commander blankly, until he raised his hand and looked down towards the ground as if with disappointment. “Three... I can tell you three reasons why your plan will fail.”
“Oh?”
He walked forward calmly, a hand lazily in his pocket. “The first, and most obvious reason, is that you let me live. You, decided to keep me locked away in the crystals underneath Canterlot, and even after all that failed, you and your precious Church had all this time to dispose of me when I couldn’t protect myself... a terrible waste of time on your part my friend.”
“A mistake that will soon be rectified,” the commander stated coldly.
“Second, and one I just confirmed right now, is your blatant stupidity towards information.” Vicar scoffed as his adversary snarled and growled, angered. “Just now, I told you that you wanted to imprison me in the crystals here... a knowledge that I probably wouldn’t know as an amnesiac, like I was when your timing to kill me was good...”
A bead of sweat began to run down the commander’s face. “Silence!” he yelled, “Shut up if you know what’s good for her!”
He raised the blade closer to Luna’s neck, but Vicar remained cool and relaxed, stepping forward until he was within reach of the commander. “Which leads me to my third, and final reason... the one thing you, personally, shouldn’t have let happen...”
He stopped right into front of the princess, boldly within the range of the now paranoid Inferi. “You really shouldn’t have let me sing that song...”
In the blink of an eye, Vicar’s arm shot out from his pocket and plunged a dagger into the creature’s forearm. With a howl, it tossed Luna to the ground, dropped its saber and pulled the dagger from its resting place. Vicar only backed up, expectantly, and shook his finger at him disappointingly.
“Twelve seconds...”
“What?” it growled in reply, holding a limp and bleeding arm.
“That’s how long it takes for the venom to paralyze your heart.”
The commander’s eyes grew to pinpoints as he shouted murderously. “You, filthy human!!”
He attempted a charge, lifting his blade with his good arm, but only staggered forward. Unable to keep balance, he fell onto the floor, his momentum carrying him to Vicar’s feet.
“Who... who are you?” he choked.
Vicar only looked down silent as the Inferi eventually died without a sound. The remaining soldiers howled an echoing battle cry, blades drawn and waving in the air. Metal crashed against metal, sparks flying with an anger only matched by the soldiers who carried it. In the center of it all, the sole form of Vicar Saint, staring down at the surrounding Inferi. With determination, he clenched his fists as a mysterious blue mist enveloped his hands. Twilight watched in awe as the same mist swirled around and pulled away, leaving two swords with a large, sharpened hook at their ends.
‘How, how did he do that?’ she thought. Vicar stood alone and remained completely calm, as if it was natural, even with the horde of vicious aliens planning a charge. The number of them circled around him, looking for an opening, until one individual shot forward. With a slashing blade, it lunged. Using his swords, he hooked the saber to the side and slashed through the neck of its wielder, making a clean, bloodless cut.
Twilight watched as Vicar seemingly danced with a ruthless style and grace. Two or three would charge and he would skillfully block and repel them all with his dual swords. It became frightening to see such a being so easily shift from one personality to another. That was when Twilight remembered who Vicar was before: an amnesiac. He had no memory of who he was before, so if those memories came back all at once, then the change would come immediately. As she watched this being, this stranger turned master; Twilight could only look back at the story Celestia.
‘Could she...’ she processed, ‘could the princess really be right about him?’
“...Twilight...” she looked away and glanced at a form on the ground, realizing the princess’s presence. Twilight rushed over to Luna, careful to stay out of Vicar’s battle, but she lost the ground under her, unable to move forward.
There was a low snarling sound as a huge bone plate swept under her and pushed her away, launching her towards the other side of the room. Landing painfully on her hooves, Twilight looked up and ignited her horn against her attackers. The two behemoths from before stood straight up, further dwarfing her size, covered in armor. They calmly walked up to the unicorn, not at all threatened by her. With a heavy, armored swing, one of them raised an arm and smashed it into the ground and left a large crater, a small bit of violet hair fluttering at the bottom. To their surprise, the air nearby sizzled as Twilight flashed into existence with a violet burst.
She charged her horn and released a simple blast of magical energy towards one of the behemoths. The magic struck it on one of the armored plates covering the forearm. It sizzled against the bone and signed him slightly, but the massive creature remained unphased, in not more peeved at the annoyance.
Twilight charged another, stronger bolt at her foe. This time, it hit him square in the chest, burning at both armor plate and grey flesh. The behemoth howled in pain, grasping at the blackened patch with sharp claws. Filled with a rage of searing pain, it charged the small unicorn, its partner close at hand.
With one final swing, Vicar had dealt with the last Inferi attacking him. Without breaking a sweat, he glanced over at the sudden roar of anger from the two false guards that had escorted Twilight and himself: both charging at the steadfast unicorn. He spun his swords around his finger, the blue mist from before shrouding the two. The left one dissolved into thin air as the right one continued to rotate slowly. He  extended his left arm out, took a firm stance, and the remaining blue mist caught on his hand and pulled away to reveal a silver barrel that ran the length of his outstretched arm to his right shoulder. Vicar looked down the top of the said barrel, staring down at the behemoth and, with a slow breath, pressed his hand against a lever on the bottom of the barrel.
A hammer near his face came down as the barrel exploded in a pinkish flash. A line of solid light erupted from the end as a small, unforeseen projectile struck the behemoth in an armored plate and pierced into its torso, exploding violently as it ripped through the body with devastating momentum.
The creature was jerked to the side and toppled over to the floor, greenish-red blood pouring out as it slowly died. Its partner stared at its fallen brother shocked, a burning rage building towards this new aggressor. It swiveled around and dug into the ground for a sprint. Vicar, however, remained his unphased new-self, standing his weapon barrel-up as he poured a glowing powder into it, then jammed a rod down, before placing a small, pinkish ball in the opening and jammed it down as well.
The behemoth charged with a violent speed as Vicar removed the rod, lifted the weapon and pulled the hammer back, pointing the barrel straight at his charging opponent.
“Do svidaniya...” He pressed the lever and the projectile shot out, hitting the creature straight in the forehead, piercing down its neck and coming out his lower back, leaving a large cavity running the length of its spine. The creature crumpled down, trying fruitlessly one last time to avenge its fallen comrade, before collapsing under dead weight.
Twilight slowly got back on her hooves and stared at Vicar frightened. He had, single-handedly, shown his true self and killed a dozen living beings in the process. What if he no longer was kind? What if he wanted her and Princess Luna dead too?
Princess Luna! Before she could move, Vicar was already striding towards the princess’s alien form. Her legs wouldn’t comply. She was only able to stand and watch as a very dangerous being walked over to the weakened leader of Equestria. With a stern face, Vicar stood over the princess, staring down as she lay on her back, scraping against the marble floor. Expecting the worse, Twilight closed her eyes, wanting it to be down with...
...but nothing happened...
Her eyes peeked open and she saw Vicar kneeling down to help the princess to her feet. She extended her hand and with one heave, the princess was standing tall with the same stature and form as Vicar. He politely took her shoulder and wrapped her in a hug.
“Thank you...” he said thoughtfully, “Thank you kindly for helping me remember who I was... How did you do it?”
“I am the Lady of Dreams,” Luna said plainly, with a smile, “I knew you the moment I entered your dreams... It was only a matter of pushing you in the right direction so you could break the spell.”
Vicar stepped away and looked directly at a shadowed stained-glass window. “I got to hand it to Rassilon though,” he looked back at the two, “It was no easy feat to produce a spell that could affect me like that...”
He rubbed his chin in thought. “Which means this plan of his is very important. So... why don’t we force his hand and see what it is, shall we?”
Vicar clapped his hands together and took a deep breath. The ground below him lit up with a yellow circle of magic, and a gentle breeze ran through Twilight’s mane as Vicar was surrounded by an amber glow. After a couple seconds, the glow died down and he straightened up, stretching his arms as a changed being. His clothes were pristine: a shirt of a solid white and pants of pitch black. Covering him was a jacket, similar to a military coat, of grey. The cuts and bruises on his face were nonexistent and his eye, previously only bloodshot and tired, was now a solid color of red.
“Now that that’s settled,” he spoke with a deep, firm voice, “On behalf of the Galactic Council of Hutter's Spiral, I personally thank you both, Princess Luna Galaxia and Lady Twilight Sparkle, for helping me.”
Twilight found her able to speak again, though still a tremble. “And who are you?”
Vicar turned around, swiveling on his heels to face the smaller unicorn. “Who am I?” he chuckled with delight, “I can remember who I am! Altman, Samuel M. Grand Commander. 210319-950346-SA...”
Twilight raised an eyebrow in utter confusion, so Vicar cleared his throat and smiled. “I, dear unicorn, am the Didact...”
	
> 2:1- Lessons and a Show
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."
-C. S. Lewis

Act Two


What could be used to describe the feeling Twilight was experiencing this moment? She was reminded of the happiness and contentment from when Crescent Star read to her years ago, when she was bedridden with magic poisoning. She had found a book on corruption magic and, after deciding to practice its contents, was quickly discovered by her mentor. If the resulting punishments and scolding weren’t enough for her, the following month of vomiting, ear-splitting headaches and the omnipresent sense of fatigue and exhaustion surely taught her to never even look at a dark spell book ever again.
Crescent Star, with his willing heart and determined soul, would spend his time after school to make the trek to her house and read her Daring Do every day until dinnertime. He did it the full month with enthusiasm and joy, always willing to pause whenever she had a bad cough or a sneezing fit and would continue without hesitation.
Yes, Twilight remembered the excitement and happiness she would feel whenever his grey horn would peek through the door, aglow with maroon and a floating book. With nothing more to hold onto, Twilight went hooves first into this new experience she was participating in. The only guide she had in this adventure was a being who only called himself the Didact- once known as Vicar Saint- and his renewed memories and experience.
Compared to the feelings she was holding, this felt different and alien. Could it be exciting? Adventurous? She couldn’t conceive what the emotions for this was...
“Better... this plan is definitely better than the last one. I can’t even believe I didn’t think of this before!” The Didact closely examined her stance, prompting a blush to heat up her cheeks.
He called himself a human, and he was only twenty years old. A young man, as his society accepted. As himself, the Didact proved to be brash, indignant and either inadvertent or completely oblivious towards any form of embarrassment or personal being: always being pushy, touchy-feely in example, and in-your-face about teaching things. After a full hour of it, Twilight found it very uncomfortable to be subject of his hawk-like gaze and priority, especially when his cold hands would constantly fondle her legs in an attempt to fix stances...
Her new legs! A part only at the threshold of the new beauty she could feel with this new body. It felt like a magical beauty: slender in nature, a flowing mane that ran down her spine, skin fair and smooth. She looked down and flexed her hands methodically, each finger moving as its own individual, followed by groups of fingers that shifted until she made an entire fist.
This was the new Twilight Sparkle: a nineteen year old woman with a hypothetical knowledge of worlds she had never seen or even heard of before until under an hour ago. The Didact told her of the glory of the Seven Cradles of Humanity, giving her the choice of whichever one she wanted to be a part of...
...Erde-Tyrene... Anacreon... Kalgan... the Cygnus Worlds...
...Only the tip of the iceberg of twenty different planets that humans called home. After careful consideration, she decided on Erde-Tyrene: the Didact’s own world.  Her imagination soared with the thoughts of a blue and green planet, peppered with great, sprawling cities of metal and glass, people only just beginning to reach out into the stars and their sister planets unknown to them. A race almost completely incompetent in the magical arts, but strongly connected to... something that let’s their creativity and imagination leap from their thoughts and become a reality.
Then, she was quick to learn, there were those who could master the magical arts. The select 1% that could manipulate the fundamentals of nature did so with mighty power and an adept skill that would take the average unicorn a lifetime to perfect.
The Didact himself showed Twilight a fraction of his power: first by transforming her into a Terran Homo-Sapien, second by something else she never would have expected. He addressed himself as a Chronomancer: psychophysical manipulator of the fundamentals of time itself. Naturally, she doubted him wholeheartedly: stating that it was impossible to bend or break the carefully defined laws of the six fundamental forces (humans call them Gravity, Electromagnetism, the Strong Interaction, the Weak Interaction, the Higgs Interaction and Time- for those keeping track at home). She even went on to enter a lecture on how the laws of physics prevented such manipulation or control over temporal mechanics through the power of paradoxes, discontinuities, et cetera, et cetera... the Didact himself listening as if he was actually learning something new. Confident that she was satisfied with what she had already stated, the Didact quietly nodded, turned to a window and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly raised his arms from his sides, carefully and painfully inching upward towards his chest. As they rose with a steady pace, both Twilight and Princess Luna watched, dumbstruck, as the sun- stead of Princess Celestia and the sole life bringer of all the known world- peeked above the horizon and began its trek upward at it’s relatively snail pace. Surrounding it in a dimmer, fainter glow was the clear imprint of his ambient magic: a pale violet and blue. His hand was ablaze with a similar blue-violet fire in an impressive show of power and might.
Her doubts were instantly absolved one the sleepy princess cane in, frantic with confusion and disbelief. “What in Tartarus happened here?” she came in, “Who raised the sun?”
The Didact was cool and collected as the flame was calmly snuffed out and he turned to the princess. “Just a simple physics experiment, your Serene Highness...”
The calm smile he had was reassuring to look at, Twilight feelings the same sense of warmth as Celestia herself. The princess was quick to understand what had happened and, with help from her sister, learned of everything that had happened involving the Didact and his person stated. She took it in very well for such surprising information and, after careful thought, declared that the Didact may remain as an emissary of his people. As a token of appreciation, the Didact himself gave Celestia ultimately a promise of peace and offered full heartedly to teach Twilight the fundamentals of using magic as a human being.
She almost jumped at the concept and potential. Since gaining her humanity, she found herself able to think and conceive of new ideas and concepts that would have been the envy of her earlier pony-self. Hands, she discovered, allowed for a greater and more diverse range of use and dexterity that would be unimaginable with a hoof or mouth. As a biped, her flexibility was increased almost tenfold, a fact she learned after losing her balance the first time. With an instinct unknown to her at the time, Twilight’s new hands shot out as her back arched backwards and let her return to her feet with a perfect flip: one leg in front of the other with arms splayed above her head.
It was after seeing this that the Didact decided to switch from basics to a better test of balance and coordination: fencing.

***************

“On guard, if you please.”
Twilight raised her saber, dulled and useless in an actual fight, and assumed her guard. The Didact circled around her, inspecting Twilight’s stance for another good solid minute before deciding to continue.
“More weight on your back foot,” he finally said. “Nonetheless, the stance is adequate.” 
Twilight shifted her weight accordingly, muscles already beginning to cramp. It didn’t require any experience to realize this lesson he had planned would hurt. After her quick shuffle, the Didact took to his own stance, nearly mimicking her in form.
“If you are as fast of a learner as I believe you to be,” the Didact said, “Then it would be no problem for me to call your parries and for you to comply.” Twilight simply nodded and raised her blade slightly higher. The Didact began to attack, calling out various defensive movements as he lunged. “Tierce... tierce again. Now prime! Not good enough: your blade is dropping again Twi’. Now quarte! Awful... once more!”
The Didact’s movements continued, but his voice slowly began to drop off, letting Twilight choose her own parries to counter. Their sabers would flash and their feet would squeak against the marble floor, shafts of sunlight reflecting across their field of play.
After a good five minutes of it, Twilight’s legs began to tremble with pain. She could only imagine how the Didact learned his share of fencing: what subtle variations of today happened years ago to be molded into his head. Nonetheless, Twilight found her focus sharpening as they fought. The sounds of the outside world dimmed away from her conscious. The scraping of unicorns and earth ponies trying to heave the leviathan carcasses through the doors faded from her ears, leaving only the cold ring of steel and the shuffling of boots to be heard.
“Why Serbia?” the Didact suddenly asked.
“May I remind you that I know nothing of your human references,” she replied through a sharp breath.
“Wrong answer.” The Didact pushed aside Twilight’s parry and landed a touch on her wrist, stepping back slightly afterwards.
“Ow!” She cried out, grabbing her hand to rub the pain away. Even with a dull edge, she found, the metal contacting bare flesh still made a bruise.
“The knowledge may be theoretical for you, but it is still their nonetheless.” The Didact blocked her attempt at payback offhandedly. “Just focus on the facts and it’ll come to you. In war, it is important that you make sound and timely decisions.”
Twilight stared intently at the Didact’s saber. She tried to focus, but his oppressive strikes forced her attention back to reality and made her lose ground. The Didact had decided to use his greater strength against his opponent: bad news for the just learning Twilight.
“Why Serbia?” he repeated, pushing her backwards through the large empty hall.
“Because Serbia was allied with Russia!” The former unicorn found herself crying, instinctively.
“Correct.” Under the serious face, below the aching pain, Twilight let herself a moment of inner glee as the Didact backed away at her remark.
“It was an alliance of the Slavic people,” he confirmed, taking up his sword once more. “On guard, madam.”
Twilight approached warily, sword raised. The Didact only attacked again, continuing his previous onslaught. Twilight began to feel that he had abandoned fencing, this battle feeling more like... a proper sword fight. She forced her concentration to narrow, awareness extending down the length of the saber- the only thing in the world to her presently.
“Tell me, dear unicorn, who was most closely allied with the Russian Empire at the time?” The Didact wasn’t even breathless.
“Britain,” came the immediate response. She was happy to be figuring out all this information by herself...
“Not so.” Her joy deflated as the Didact’s blade slipped inside her guard, whacking her right arm.
“AH!” Twilight dropped her guard to rub her newly inflicted wound. “What are you even teaching me now, Didact? Fencing, like you originally said, or your troublesome diplomacy?”
He gave a coy smile to her remark. “You are in need of instruction in both, it seems.”
Twilight’s anger flared, her attacks becoming more of an aggression towards her opponent. The Didact simply countered and parried every one of them. “Russia and Britain had no alliance at this time, only mutuality. That said; who was allied with Russia?”
“France!” she blurted aggressively, “France and Russia had a treaty!”
The Didact pushed her back and traced the air with his saber, taking a pause. “Such a terrible position,” he teased, “Raise your sword, Twi’. I won’t remind you again and nor shall your future enemies.”
Twilight sighed and took her guard once more. With her anger, she felt her grip choking the handle, white-knuckled, so she forced herself to relax.
“I teach you all of this because of its usefulness,” the Didact sliced his saber to where it extended straight to the floor. “As a mancer, weapons only expand upon your magic and skill: especially edged weapons. Focus on my eyes,” he said. “Not the tip of my blade.”
He lunged and Twilight parried, ending in a counterattack. Her saber edge only missed his arm by a hair, but she was forced to step back and cover herself.
“Now, mon beauté, let us review.” The Didact let his sword flash and move with a natural ease. “Austria get’s revenge on Serbia. Then what happens?”
“To protect Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria.” As Twilight spoke, her mind stayed focused on the play of sabers. It was all clear to her now: every bit of it. It was clear enough so that she no longer had to forcibly think about everything happening.
“Und dann?” the Didact asked.
“Germany protects the honor of the Central Powers by declaring war on Russia.”
The Didact lunged toward Twilight’s knee, which she blocked offhandedly. “And then?”
“France makes good its treaty with Russia, and declares war on Germany.”
The Didact smiled and let him hesitate. Seeing an opening, Twilight lunged forward, unexpecting his true intention. As her saber came forward, the Didact pushed it aside with his and lunged forward with his back foot, ending the strike with his elbow inches away from Twilight’s face. She instinctively flinched.
“‘Utilize any and all strengths and exploit the weaknesses of your enemies,’ Sun Tzu.” The Didact removed his elbow from her face and smiled. “So what can we conclude?”
Twilight frowned, “That whatever you decided to do is working.” She looked down and brushed at her pant legs, standing idly by with a perfectly natural stance. “Regardless of how stupid it was, it worked.”
“Good,” he said with a straight face. “I was worried that I might have to use more... persuasive tactics to teach you...”
With a rapid realization at his cocksure grin, Twilight extended her hand out to only slap at the end of his jacket. He let out a low laugh as she, almost second-handedly now, ran after him with an embarrassed rage. After a few laps, the Didact’s feet lifted from the ground and he found himself hovering just beyond her reach, taunting her as her anger subsided.
Twilight slowed down her pace with loud footfalls. Quizzically, she thought back to their conversation. “So what does all that have to do with the problem at hand?”
The Didact spun around on an invisible axis and faced his companion below. “With the genomorphic spell, I placed within you a hypothetical knowledge of a world. My world: the destined center of humanity for centuries and millennia to come. The knowledge of a galaxy, however- beit hypothetical or actual- is beyond any one, individual mancer to instill in a single person.” He floated down gently, his large boots planting soundlessly on the marble. “Even for a mancer of my calibur.”
“Are you trying to have me figure it all out by myself?” Twilight placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one leg.
“I have proven to be didactic and silver tongued in nature,” the Didact played with a jest and a theatrical flourish. “If you are to ever be in my company, I’m afraid you must get use to it.” His face hardened and grew serious. “However, you’re right to properly ask. The galactic political stage, in my several years of watching it play, has proven to be quite similar to that of on Earth (or Erde-Tyrene, officially, he made note to mention). The beings trying to kill you and your friends are from a single party, an ultimate goal teasing at their brains.
“The ones from last night were specifically military, while the deacon and his party from the night before are religious. Nonetheless they both represent the ulterior motives of a political entity known as the Inferi Church of Unitology.
“The organization has the desire for only one thing, Twilight, and that thing is war. Total war; a war for domination of the galaxy, the assimilation of those outside their system and the righteous judgment of their heathen worships, the Markers and Convergence. Under the leadership of a Rassilonian Magesterium, and with the blessing of the Inferi government, the Church plans on making martyrs of the galaxy in the name of their precious Markers and in the names of those like Kur, Xylan and Zeref...”
“...I don’t know who any of those people are...”
“It is unimportant,” he waved off. “What is important is that the Church of Unitology see these keys, as your princesses’ label, as means to fulfill their plans. The only problem, however, is that I can’t piece together why those keys are able to inspire them to think so. Do you have any input?”
“No.” Twilight lied with a quiet and weak voice. “I wouldn’t understand either...”
“She speaks fallacy, even now. A pity: such a skill can more than one allow?”
The Didact’s face lost all emotion. Twilight instead began to frantically search the room for the source of the voice, to no avail.
“Show yourself, demon!” The serious anger in the Didact’s tone was beyond evident.
A quick, barely noticeable flash of light filled the room, their attention being pulled in the direction of the throne. There, sitting upon the golden chair, was a man clad in a black cassock with a large hood. Over his chest rested a blue mozzetta, ornate with golden details, also layered under a white stole. He leaned his head on his arm, his face hidden.
“It is good to see the Didact has recovered his health,” he said. His free claw came up from his lap and grabbed at the hood. “All the more pleasing when I can deal with everything myself...”
The hood came down, taking its new place on the man’s shoulders as Twilight brought in two realizations. The first was his lack of basic humanity. Like the deacon imprisoned, it looked reptilian in nature: no nose, bright, reflective eyes sunken in over a mouth of sharpened teeth. Unlike the deacon, however, the entire right side of this creature’s face was malformed: twisted and perverted with growths of flesh dropping over the eye to cover a paled iris. Where the mouth was parted in a sadistic grin, skin stringed across the gaping maw, taut from the sagging flesh of the lower jaw.
Piercing through its entire grotesque mask of flesh was the dire feeling of this creature’s deceit and unsympathetic nature painted over his eyes and face. He was bored. This creature seemed completely uninterested in whom he was talking to or addressing. Twilight figured that if there was anything that represented the opposite of harmony and truth, this creature was the closest thing. She had prided her recent mantra, “never judge a book by its cover,” but one look towards this being made her abandon it completely.
“Well, well.” The Didact cracked his neck with a methodical *pop* as he spoke. “His Eminence, the Prophet of Truth, has decided to assess the Lord Didact’s presence personally: I’m flattered.”
The creature let out a quiet chuckle. “I deemed so necessary.” His voice was growled and scratched with the malformations, but nonetheless, the rhymes were well sounded. “If not, you would have killed any emissary.”
“An acute observation you have there...”
His remark warranted no consequential response. “Now, now dear human: you’ve proven yourself quite didactic. Would you truly believe I would come alone: a one-on-one battle so great and climactic?”
“That’s the general assumption I have for one I consider an idiot.” His words struck a nerve: the Prophet uncrossing his legs and sitting up straighter, before lunging forward with a speed and viciousness that Twilight thought could match even Rainbow Dash. Within the time it took for her to flinch, the Prophet had lunged forward and was gripped against the Didact’s arm, which served the only barrier between his face and the Prophet’s claws. The sense of rage was evident; burning within his eyes brightly, even the air around him seemingly boiled over with energy.
“You should have it known, didactic man, I do not express all the power I can.” The Prophet’s voice growled with a twisted and sadistic anger. “Of course I came alone. My power sole can tear you into nothing more than bone!”
“Am I to feel threatened, Rassilon?” The Didact remained cool and collected, even when he was facing this monster. “You aren’t the only one in this room holding back. You and your little coalition of mancers and fanatical extremists is nothing compared to me and my Agency...”
“So you think.” There came no following rhyme, his Eminence apparently deciding to abandon that false majesty. “With the help of our new partners, the Archangels can spread glorious Convergence across the stars. All stars: both in our universe, and theirs...”
He turned to face Twilight, sharp teeth bared in another sadistic smile. “Your deaths will be the first that will spark the martyrdom of the blessed millions who will die in holy crusade.”
“How dare you speak to me,” Twilight spat. “I want nothing to do with your hideous genocides...”
The Prophet gave a low chuckle. “Kaius was right. Even now, its holy patterns are able to script and dance across your mind.” His chuckle grew into a hideous laugh. “I’m afraid you’re already a part of it, dear Equine, and your princesses are nothing more than the very center of this glorious nexus.”
“What on Earth are you babbling about?”
The Prophet then proceeded to ignore her, returning his attention to the Didact. “Those keys, Lord Didact, are keys to what you would label as a weapon. For me and those who truly believe, however, it is our SALVATION!”
He let go of the Didact’s arm and backed away. “Even as we speak, my agents and the agents of the Church move across the board, preparing for the final checkmate. This is a plan that represents centuries of psychohistorical preparation. I tell you this, Didact, because I am confident. I am completely confident in the fact that you will lose. There is no force of harmony, no force of piety and no force of will you possess that is strong enough to prevent the eventual domination of the Inferi Coalition and its glorious Church.” With a grotesque smile, he finished, “And you, dear Didact, will be nothing more than a forgotten silence.”
“If you truly think that Rassilon, then you are even more gravely delusional than I previously thought.”
There was no flash of anger or response of action. The Prophet of Truth only dropped his smile and reached up to replace the hood over his head. “In the end, it doesn’t matter. All in all, it’s just a waste of atoms...”
Twilight stared at him in confusion. “What does that mean? Didact, what does he mean by, ‘waste of atoms?’”
Still no response, the Prophet only turned away instead. “Goodbye, Mr. Altman. Say your prayers to whatever sky God you worship...”
The Prophet finally disappeared in a flash of bright light, the Didact himself finally piecing together his chosen message. “It’s a bomb...”
The light of the Prophet’s teleportation expanded out before collapsing in again. Instead of fading out, like usual, the light coalesced together into a orb of energy. Twilight gulped in detestable anticipation of what would happen...
...and her vision flared with an even brighter light as the Didact jumped in front of her.

In the blink of an eye, Twilight began to watch her life flash before her eyes. It wasn’t like the stereotypical playback from start to finish... not entirely. In the blink of an eye, Twilight Sparkle lived through and felt the emotions and feelings of nineteen years. She felt the warmth of the fireplace of her fillyhood home, where she sat and read countless books. She felt the fatigue of many sleepless nights spent in study: the matched excitement of magic learned personally from Princess Celestia. Twilight even felt the emotion and fondness she had centered on Crescent Star, a friend a long time in the making.
In the end, a blink of an eye was too short. In the blink of an eye, the Didact was in front of her, coat tossed to the side and arms out. With his extended hands, he used his own magic to counter: containing the explosion the best he could. Blues and violets and whites coalesced and battled with red and orange dragons of fire, fighting any way they could against each other.
Like the classic stories of a knight in mortal combat with their counterpart, the dragon’s fire burst forth aggressively against an opponent destined to win, no matter how seemingly insignificant compared to it. Against a power Twilight had only seen come from the wrath of the Sun, the Didact held firm. But he wasn’t just holding firm, she realized, he was winning.
With a grace and practice that described his power, his force field pressed strong against the flames, tongues of red and orange having to switch to a stronger white and blue. His arms kept at the spell, denying the heat the satisfaction of pushing him away. Twilight glanced down at the flickering sweat playing kaleidoscope with her eyes. Clear liquid welled and dripped to the floor, before being replaced by peachy globs. At another glance, it looked like the skin of his arm was melting: the thought of which caused Twilight to recoil in horror at the substance that glistened against a reflective, steely underlayer.
As the Didact forced the shield to shrink, making the flames to burn with a violent white, Twilight found herself crawling backwards to avoid the danger of the intense heat. She contemplated how terrible it must be for the Didact- bearing the full brunt of energy- with his skin melting and sweating profusely, but, in the few minutes described within the previous paragraphs, he still refused to relent nonetheless. The shield continued to grow smaller and more controllable, while the explosion continued its futile attempt at escape.
Finally, the shield reached the size of an overblown beach ball and progressed no further. The explosion was no nothing more than a violet sphere of intense radiation: intense enough to leave a good sized circle of near molten marble etched into the floor.
It was long seconds before Twilight found her able to react and, with great caution, began to inch her way towards the violet ember.
“Don’t come any closer.” The hardened voice of the Didact stopped her in her tracks out of pure shock alone, but she quickly regained her composure.
“But... didn’t you stop it?”
“Laws of Thermodynamics, Twilight.” No response. “Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. All I did was keep it from expanding. The energy itself is still existent just beyond its Schwarzschild Radius and, thus, is most potent in its current state.”
The beach ball vibrated in its magic shell and physically rippled with energy, as if to solely prove his point. “The problem,” he continued, “is that it’s also leaking radiation... badly. Any closer and you would be in terrible risk.”
“But what about you?” Twilight pleaded, “Aren’t you in danger?”
“A magical field is protecting everything I need. Unfortunately, that excluded the synthetics... magic is unfaultable.” Twilight’s eyes cast down to where the melted arm hovered. With the “skin” (assuming his statement correct) removed, an understructure of metal and moving parts had become more complicated than anything Twilight had ever seen before in her life.
“But that’s not important,” he rushed. “What is important is that I need my complete focus to work out the mathematics I need.”
Twilight hushed herself, covering her mouth to instill an absolute silence. The Didact himself remained motionless, eyes closed in a deep focus. Isolating himself from outside distractions, numbers and figures flashed through his subconscious, shifting rapidly to match his thoughts and calculations. After painful seconds, the answer revealed itself to him with a simple clarity, and his body sparked to life.
He began to shift fluidly through motions long ago memorized and with magic long ago mastered. His arm became once more enveloped in blue fire and sliced through the air like it was cutting through a still pond. The sphere itself also began to react to his actions, slowly beginning to rotate and flatten into an ovaloid shape. The rotation steadily accelerated and the shape continually flattened until it was a rapidly spinning disk of energy.
The Didact seamlessly shifted his motion into a different tempo of movements and the disk began to separate into a swirling spiral of beautiful specks of light. Twilight stared in awe at the glorified show, jaw open dumbfounded at the cyclone of light before the Didact’s movements slowed down, his arms coming closer towards his center before he stopped altogether, letting his hands lower to his sides with a deep breath. The specks of light exploded in radiance and the orderly cycle was broken up into chaotic flurries that fell harmlessly towards the ground like tiny leaves.
For the first time since the Prophet’s departure, the Didact turned towards Twilight, smiling towards her as his true self. With his jacket no longer covering him, the fitting white undershirt held back the strong muscles he had built over the years. His right arm no longer held any resemblance to the rest of his body, but was completely exposed to be mechanical in nature. Advanced, unknown mechanics shifted underneath a layer of long, stretching fibers, as if to mimic the muscle layout of the previous arm. The irritation in his right eye proved to be a companion machine to the arm: an artificial lens underneath a synthetic cover, now completely gone.
Twilight finally came to the realization of one last, but probably most important truth: this was the real Vicar Saint. The real Vicar Saint was Didact, Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals of the Galactic Council of Hutter's Spiral
It was no sooner than this realization that Twilight saw the Didact, smiling and confident behind the specks of light he created, suddenly collapse, passed out on the charred floor.
	
> 2:2- Omnimancer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It wasn’t long before the Didact found himself being carried towards the infirmary he started the day in. Twilight rushed as fast as she could with the Didact slumped over her shoulder with one arm around her neck. Luckily, Applejack was able to help her, the remainder of his weight resting on the earth pony’s back without complaint.
The two princesses and prince were with them too. Princess Luna and Prince Vulcan took to the sides, using any magic they could to make sure the Didact was alright, while Princess Celestia took to the rear, wings splayed, expediting their progress.
With haste, Twilight pushed open the doors to the infirmary and made their ways towards a usable bed, while a confused Crescent Star stared at them from his own. The room quickly filled with chaos as Twilight flung the Didact onto the sheets and frantic nurses worked their way over to help.
“Will somebody be able to help him?” Twilight asked. Her voice was as frantic as the room.
“Do not worry my Faithful Student.” Celestia’s words were calming, much like how they were suppose to be, but her tone only showed that the teacher shared in the pupil’s worry. “The doctors will to the best they can.”
“Fear not, Twilight Sparkle.” She glanced towards the Lunar Princess. “We will be able to aid the Didact, any way we can.”
Twilight nodded and slowly lowered herself onto a bed opposite of the fray. With her head on the pillow, her lower legs still hovered over the floor. “Twi’,” she heard a careful voice, “Is that really you?”
She glanced over to see both Applejack and Crescent Star staring at her shocked. “In the newly reformed flesh,” she replied.
“By golly,” Applejack said with a gaping jaw. “Twilight, y’all look amazin’. I ain’t seen ya this stunnin’ since the Gran’ Gallopin’ Gala.”
“The Didact- that’s what Vicar told me he was called- he made myself his species and was teaching me some basics at request of Princess Celestia. That was, at least, until...”
Twilight paused, hesitant to say anything more, prompting Crescent Star to ask, “Until what? Twi’ what happened?”
The former unicorn reluctantly told her story to them, the royals nearby listening expectantly as well. She explained what the Prophet, Rassilon, said about his plan of genocide and conquest and how the Didact stopped and contained an explosion to save them both before passing out, sparing no detail.
“This being,” the Solar Princess restated with a shocked expression, “this being stopped a nuclear explosion?”
Twilight nodded stupidly and Crescent Star looked over at the being on the infirmary bed. “So, Vicar’s real name is Didact... it’s certainly fitting for one of his standard.”
“Didact isn’t his name,” Twilight stated, “it’s more of a title. He said his name before, and Rassilon stated it as well, but I forgot it both times; I was too much in awe to pay any real attention.”
“No matter,” Princess Celestia said, “Whoever he is, the Didact seems to be a very, very powerful magician. I only hope he’ll be alright.”
Princess Luna lifted her eyes and focus from her magic, turning towards her older sister. “Whatever Didact did proved to be quite the show. He is suffering from severe magic exhaustion: nothing we can’t fix or heal.”
Crescent Star stared down at the Didact, his form lacking the previous intimidation from yesterday. Black liquid dripped from his nose, sticking to the skin and pooling in a large area around the corners of his mouth, as if his nose was bleeding. “If he really is as powerful as you say, I never would have assumed he was so easily susceptible to magical exhaustion.”
“Perhaps his recent case of amnesia still has him weakened.” Twilight rubbed her eyes clumsily with her palms. “I hope he will be okay... if he’s right about these creatures, then he might be our best hope.”
“You really like to sell yourself short Twi’...” Confusion filled the air as their attention shifted between the ponies as to who spoke. Their eyes finally rested onto Didact, who, much to their surprise, began to slowly lift himself upright. Luna raised a hoof, trying to impede his progress. “Easy Didact. We helped you a little, but thou still suffer from magical exhaustion.”
The Didact grunted and gently pushed her hoof aside, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He sniffled, the sound of liquid being taken in startling him at first, before he began to wipe the liquid from his nose with his sleeve. “I certainly feel desaturated, but it’s been a long time since the last one. Nonetheless,” he sighed, “I can’t be resting, I have work to do. There are Inferi currently plotting to destroy your world and I can’t let them do that. My magic should replenish within the hour and Twilight still needs to learn about hers.”
“Didact,” Luna’s voice was clear and gentle. “Thou needs rest; you’re no good injured and powerless. Please, lay back down.”
The Didact looked at her and the group contemplatively. Several times, he blinked rapidly, as if to think about what he could do, but he nonetheless relented with a brief, “Fair enough.”
He lowered himself while Princess Luna beamed at him with a bright smile, magically adjusting the pillows and sheets under him for comfort. “Just rest, Lord Didact, and thou can work later. Without your power, we fear you may not be able to help like you plan to.”
The Didact glanced at her as he reached under his coat at his chest. “What gave you the idea I’m out of power?” He stretched his shoulders and smiled. “I may have certainly have had my power drained but I can assure you that I’m definitely not out..”
“Didact, no magician can replenish his or her resevoir that quickly.”
The Didact frowned. “Princess Luna... you’ve never met a magician on my level before... tempore statur...”
The break of existence was clean, the Didact simply disappearing from where he laid the moment before: no flash, no shuffle, no sound. One moment there, one moment gone.
The sense of confusion was both immediate and contagious. Applejack and several nurses looked amongst each other, trying to see if anypony had any idea what had happened. The unicorns present, Crescent Star especially and even Twilight, began to feel lightheaded, a sense of vertigo streaming over them like a gentle wind. The princesses and prince keeled over violently, vertigo seeming to rush them like a blow to the stomach.
“What in tarnations jus’ happined here?” Applejack asked, “Where did the Didact go?”
“He can’t just disappear,” Crescent Star mustered through gritted teeth. “He didn’t use magic either: I didn’t feel any magical signature to warrant such a feat.”
“It’s pointless to argue with what happened Star.” Twilight gripped her head to try and stop the ringing. “We should focus our attention on finding him now that he’s gone.”
“Well how can we do that?” he protested. “He can be Tartarus-knows-where!”
Twilight groaned, frustrated. “You know, sometimes I can forget how pestering and annoying you can be Crescent Star...”
“And I can forget how crazy and delusional you can be Twi-”
Crescent Star found himself being cut off by a flash of light and a whoosh of air. The room fell silent as everypony looked over to where Princess Celestia previously stood.

***************

The Didact hummed away as he rummaged skillfully through the dark and damp cellar. He never imagined how exciting it was to regain your memory after a period of amnesia: half a week of wandering thoughts and forgotten realities. It was as if a curtain had been lifted from his hindsight and rhetoric, the whole world taking on a higher clarity.
It had been repeatedly noted to him that he was no ordinary human being. Anyone who’d be in the same room as him for a simple five minutes could tell that though. In the end, any and all could learn to sum him up in any of these five simple words: cynical, charming, romantic, military, smartass...
As Didact, Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals, he could put his chosen education to practice: military knowledge. It made sense too. On a blissfully unaware Erde-Tyrene, he was only a cadet: a student at the prestigious United States Military Academy. Little did anyone there realize that he was a magician of immense power: Grand Commander of the Paradox Agency, and protector of the universe- he who had witnessed that which was both awesome and terrifying, both glorious and monstrous.
In the end, it was tolling and problematic to stay so high on the ladder. He was still a “mortal” (used lightly) human being- a twenty year old with a consciousness almost twice that to top it off...- and even he needed to escape from everything. At an earlier time, he could say he would have escaped through God, but a crisis of faith that had started long ago had him doubt whether one even existed. No, instead he had another hobby that helped him escape: the collection of wine.
As Didact, he was notorious across the galaxy for his enjoyment and critic of any and all wines. Wine was his hobby, and he enjoyed every bit of it with conservative pleasure and taste.
Which brings us to the Didact’s current situation: rummaging through Princess Celestia’s private wine cellar looking for a notable bottle to keep and/or drink while humming one of his favorite songs.
♫ Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar. 
You're gonna go far, fly high, 
You're never gonna die, 
You're gonna make it if you try; 
They're gonna love you. ♫
The princess certainly held a prestigious collection. A Fillydelphian White, 984? Not old enough to warrant the rich enough flavor he always searched long and hard for. A Manehattan, 973? If it was anything like he was picturing (and it generally was with the occasional exception) then it might be too sour or tart. One alone caught his eye: Canterlot Diamond Red, 924. The label read rich, crisp and sweet with age: a wine of his standards if there ever was one.
“An excellent pick. You certainly have a taste for great wines...”
The Didact cleared his throat as he further examined the label, not so much a glancing at his complementor. “I see you found my IOU.”
“I did,” Celestia replied, lifting a scrap of paper with magic. “Celestia: I owe you one bottle of wine. Hope you don’t disappoint, Didact.”
“Well I can certainly complement you, Your Serene Highness, because you certainly didn’t disappoint. I must apologize about the spell back there. I only made it powerful enough to stop time for only a span of 47 seconds but I figured it would have made some effect to you and the unicorns. Magi, with their natural connection to the magical fields might feel a gentle wave of vertigo the first time they experience it: 47 seconds of natural, subconscious straining to reconnect with the lost field. With a bond to a celestia object, however, I presume the withdrawal would be far greater.”
Celestia stared at him kindly. “I admire you for your persistence and your strong will, but I must tell you to still come back with me. This isn’t about whether or not you’re a powerful magician. This is about whether or not you’re willing to let us help you.”
“I can’t,” He said plainly. “I understand that you want to help but I can’t let your nation get involved. If I do, then you’d simply be dragged into an endless vortex of seething politics and technicalities. Believe it or not, the Church doesn’t see you as an enemy. I am the enemy. If it stays that way, then they will ultimately leave you be and would focus their plans on dealing with me and only me.”
“And where would that leave you?” she questioned.
“I can take care of myself: always have and always will.” He took his chosen bottle and stashed it into his coat where it disappeared via magic.
“But isn’t there anyone who can help you from your world?” Celestia kept pressing, not wanted to simply let him be. “I presume there are more magicians and people who can...”
“You’re right, but I’m on my own right now. I can’t make contact with anyone from my universe.” He turned to her. “But it’s no matter. There’s a reason why I’m in charge and why I’m the best of the best.”
“But that doesn’t mean you should do this alone. This Church of Unitology has stolen four of the six swords owned by each of the titled members of my family. Whether you like it or not, we are involved in this.”
The Didact paused. Celestia’s point was valid: the Church did specifically take Vulcan’s sword by turning Celestia’s own prism spell against her. He saw Kaius hand Celestia’s and Luna’s over to his aid and run off with them before they could do anything. The clerics were purposefully taking those swords for something... and it all served as more pieces to the puzzle.
But there was still the matter of her. When the Didact looked at her, he did not see an alicorn: princess of the sun and leader of a million souls. He saw her humanity... the very bias that gave the genomorphic spell the ability to work in the first place with anything and anyone. His mind’s eye saw her as, and only as, a human: as if the pony he physically saw was a spectre or a costume. But it was what he saw of her that worried her. He saw regality: fair sun kissed skin which has never seen a problem or blemish. He saw a tall woman who stood 5’11” in a white dress that she had chosen specifically to show off the amazing curves from her waist and chest. He saw makeup: lipstick and eyeshadow. There was nail polish and manicures, high heels and sun shaped earrings. Violet eyes that knew only kindness and love stared back at him. Admittedly, as it was his own bias, he could not complain. Were this another situation, he would see her beauty as desirable and would love to spend more time with her. But this wasn’t another situation. Rassilon’s clerics had no appreciation for beauty. His soldiers had no desire for love or kinship. They would tear her apart and leave nothing behind. Then he would still be alone in this mission, but with one more on his list of the dead.
“There is nothing you can say or do that would make me change my mind about coming with you Didact.”
He snapped out of his train of thought to find that she was staring at him sternly. “We both know that you know how powerful of a magician I am,” she continued. “While I may not know the extent yours and cannot compare therefore, I’m still experienced with over a thousand years of magical prowess. There are only three magicians who are better at magic than I on this planet, and all three of them are related to me directly.”
The Didact slowly nodded. Again, her point was valid, but that didn’t change the facts. He needed something that could ameliorate his doubts.
“Prove it,” was the only thing that came to his mind.
“Pardon?”
“Prove to me your ability as a magician.” The Didact cracked his knuckles. “I challenge you to a Bellum Magia.”
“A Bellum Magia?” To say she wasn’t taken aback by his challenge would be a lie. A Bellum Magia, simply known to many as a magic duel, has for many centuries served as a fight between unicorns who wanted to test whom was the better at the magical arts. Simply put, it was a gentlecolt’s competition, with common rules and understandings made between the two parties before either move was made. It was common practice to continue the duel until one of the parties couldn’t continue... one way or another...
She found herself parroting her previous words before adding, “Are you sure you want us to compete in a Bellum Magia?” She reflexively cleared her throat, trying to think of anything better to say.
“Yes, I am. If you’re powerful enough, then the clerics might become discouraged to try and go after you and your colleagues, but I can only assess that if you’re in danger and you don’t hold back...”
Celestia looked at the Didact confused. “But Didact, I’m not in any danger here. This is the deepest part of the citadel that not many know about...” she paused and waved a hoof at him, “at least until you found out...”
The Didact held back his emotions, listing off his words like from a cold assembly line. “You are right in the sense that this is the deepest part of the citadel, but I must unfortunately deliver the news to you, Your Serene Highness, that you are in danger...” 
In the blink of an eye, the Didact had spanned the distance of the room and raised a wicked-looking sword, swinging it across the air in a large circle. The princess had little time to react, but when she did, her horn flashed with yellow light and manifested a shield, which collided with his sword and stopped its arc.
“Didact! What are you-” Before she could finish her sentence, he swung his left arm up and, with an explosion of magic, pushed out against her shield. Rather than breaking it, the force pushed her back towards the far wall, where her body contacted with the stone and she lost her concentration.
With a flutter of her wings, Celestia got back onto her hooves, shaking the stars from her head. She looked up from the wood “padding” that softened her hit against the wall and gazed at the Didact. He wasn’t coming towards her, instead resolute to simply stand and stare at her. He seemed... darker, in appearance, the shadows of the dim room hiding several of his many defining features from this distance. His artificial eye shined in the dark: an eerie red glowing... staring back at her.
He was empathic of his resolve to test her right now, and nothing Celestia did could convince him otherwise. For the first time in almost a millenium, the princess was scared... a primal fear, which stuck itself to the back of her mind and refused to unclamp itself.
The Didact began to walk towards her, slowly letting his steps echo with metal and rubber on cold stone. Celestia quickly shook any remaining stars from her vision and charged her horn to full power, a warm yellow color shifting to become a vibrant green, then cyan, until finally it shifted into a cool violet- the most powerful and energetic of her magic- and focused on the Didact. he was moving towards her faster now, rapidly crossing the large expanse at a run. With a discharge of magic she struck at him. Making sure she had hit her mark, Celestia pushed out against his momentum square in his chest and he was propelled to the other side, where he collided with the stone wall and collapsed to the ground.
The distraction was fleeting, as the Didact rose to his feet and craned his neck to the side with a loud *pop*. The previous darkness that had scared the princess so much wasn’t evident in him at all any more. He was completely lucid and in control of the situation, especially when he spoke. “That was an excellent push,” he said, “but you’ll going to have to do better than that.”
He rose his arms up and extended one towards the princess as it glowed with a turquoise fire. With little time to act and with her magic still charged, Celestia released a powerful beam of energy, aimed at the Didact. In near unison, the Didact did the same, a smile forming on his lips as he notices she had seen his plan and countered it before he even performed it. She was scared, and when someone is scared, they learn and react faster and stronger: which was what the Didact wanted her to do.
Their magicks crashed together in the center with a heavy force that shattered wine glasses and bottles throughout the room. While very powerful, and certainly not without caution, Celestia could still feel the Didact was holding back, refusing to use his full power. She presumed he was feeling the same thing with her magic, because she was. Celestia knew her boundaries and limits, and these were nowhere near them. She doubted that this was close to the Didact’s own limits too.
Slowly, the two parties began to increase the strength of magic behind their respected beams, the two of them growing with intensity. Eventually, Celestia reached the limit of magic she was willing to use at once, and her beam stopped growing. But the Didact kept siphoning magical energy into his charge, and Celestia found the pressure between their two magicks continued to grow as the gap between their powers widened. Soon, the pressure became too great, and the princess angled her beam’s focus and sent both of their magicks careening off towards the side wall, where it pulverised the stone and opened up a hole into breezy, sunny sky.
The princess instantly threw out her wings and bolted outside. Sunlight began to beam down upon her feathers. Her coat shined with an aurora of glittering  magic as her reserves replenished themselves. As the sun touched her body, she could feel her power rising. Celestia turned to face the hole near the base of the south tower where she came from, the Didact cloaked by smoke, the glow of his artificial eye beaming a cloudy red.
He too bolted out from the cellar with great speed and a fervent passion. His hands were aglow with magic and he managed reached Celestia’s lazy pace with ease. He rapidly threw punches and kicks towards the princess, which she too magically matched with equally rapid blocks and counters. For a short time, the two of them were stuck in a tiring stalemate, but the Didact’s dexterous form was slowly letting him gain the upper hand.
Eventually, Celestia had to break away and absconded from the Didact. She was keen to realize that the Didact had a major advantage over her. His human form was faster, stronger and, dare she say, better than her own. It didn’t matter how much magic she had, nor how better she was at it: the longer this fight dragged on, the more of a disadvantage she would be at against the Didact.
That was when she had an idea. It was a long shot, and it could very well hurt her more than it could help, but if it worked, she might be able to win this fight. She beat her wings with mighty bursts and ascended into the atmosphere, closer to the sun, with the Didact trying to keep up behind. Celestia charged her horn to its full extent, a cool violet brightening into a boiling amethyst, and released it all into one single spell. She knew what the Didact looked like and she knew what Twilight looked like. She understood the basic concepts of biology and physiology. 
So with all her magic, she guessed the Didact’s genomorphic spell through its effects on Twilight. 
The princess was surrounded in pixelating light that shone as bright as the sun. Her fur painlessly peeled away into peachy skin. Her wings became arms and her feathers, dexterous fingers with fuchsia nails. In essence, she became exactly what the Didact feared her humanity would be, but with one key difference. Her determination to succeed matched her with the Didact, and it didn’t matter what she looked like or how she dressed: she would still put her all into protecting her little ponies and in stopping all those who would endanger her country.
As she twisted around to face the Didact, her flowing dress moved with her like a medusa. She somersaulted weightlessly in the air as a show off, then charged her magic through her hands and unleashed a powerful blast towards her opponent.
The Didact had little time to react, only enough time to raise his arms in a block. Even with his shielding, the Lord of Admirals was pushed back into the ground with a massive force. His breath was knocked out of him as his shield broke and his magic dissipated.
He rose slowly this time, the blast at first taking him aback. “You fight well!” he shouted to her in the air, “Who am I to stop you from protecting your nation?”
With outstretched arms, he lowered himself into a respectful bow to the princess and, as she smiled with pride, shouted back to her. “I concede this Bellum Magia!”
“Does this mean I am more powerful than the mighty Didact?” she asked, shouting down to him.
The Didact let out a powerful laugh. “Of course not! Have you not realized by now that I’ve been holding back the whole time? If I wanted to, I could’ve knocked you unconscious and ended this whole thing!”
“Prove it!” she proclaimed, “I da-”
Before she could finish, he disappeared into thin air and had bolted towards her at lightning speed. Before she could notice he was there, the Didact had already gained momentum and brought down his boot across the princess’ neck.
Celestia was knocked out before she even hit the ground.
	
> 2:3- Voices in the Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Princess? Princess, wake up...”
“Rise and shine sleeping beauty: the sun’s beating you...”
“Tia! Wake up!”
“Your Highness if you don’t wake up, I’ll hit you again...”
Celestia’s eyes fluttered, moving her in and out of consciousness until the bright sun assaulted her into reality. Her vision was blurry at first, but as seconds passed, she was able to focus on the three heads above her: her brother, Twilight Sparkle, and the Didact. Of them, only the Didact was human, Twilight having switched back to her violet unicorn form. There was a look of worry on her face and on Vulcan’s, but the Didact only stared at her with what she assumed was disappointment.
Then she remembered what happened, and extended her hand out and slapped him in the face. “You bastard!”
Twilight gasped quietly. “Princess, why did you do that?”
“No!” the Didact shouted, “There’s no need to get alarmed by this! I deserved this...”
“Damn right you deserved this,” the princess ranted, “You decided to bring your boot across my neck and knocked me out!”
“In my defense,” he said, raising a finger, “You were about to dare me to...”
Celestia got back to her feet and brushed off her dress. The movements seemed natural and fluid, which surprised her for a moment. It felt as if this body was always meant to be hers...
“I’ll give you that,” she said. Quietly, she inched closer to him and lowered her voice to a whisper. “But if you weren’t so intelligent and necessary, I would have you imprisoned...”
“Then I’m glad that I am necessary,” he whispered back. “So, shall we get to work?”
Twilight tilted her head. “Get to work with what?”
“With the truth, dear unicorn.” The Didact’s voice returned to it normal, commanding tone. “The Church wants to steal the keys of the royal family, then I’m going to find out why.”
He began to walk towards the castle, leaving the other three behind. “If you three want answers, you got to keep up with my fast pace...”
The two Galaxia’s and the unicorn looked among themselves before leaving to try and keep up with the Didact’s quick stride.
“Princess Celestia,” he continued, “what’s the status of the deacon we captured?”
“He’s still locked up in the dungeon. We left him there since our last visit. Even with the shadow magic he’s been trying to use to escape, we’ve got him locked up tight.”
“Good, because I need to see him. You’re coming with me.”
Celestia nodded silently and the Didact continued his commands as they walked up to the pillars that marked the entrance to the castle. “This is where we part ways. Celestia and I will be going down the dungeon and continuing the search there. Twilight, I need you to spread the genomorphic spell I taught you to all of your friends and to the remaining royal family members when they arrive. You and Vulcan will try and continue to search with what you know here in Canterlot. It doesn’t take a deductive mind to figure out that Celestia told you information involving all of this.”
The princess and Twilight looked at him profoundly. “As I said, it doesn’t take a deductive mind. You were on the fritz yesterday: all riled up and worried about something. It was obvious that something very important was preoccupying your thoughts.
“That said, I expect you to know what to do with that information when the time comes.” He turned to her and rustled her mane, like what a father would have done to a son or daughter. “You might not have known me long enough to have learned my methods and philosophy, but when this is all over, I’m sure you could become a great student...”
Twilight smiled proudly as he nodded to her to continue on. With a pat of a hoof to his shoulder, Vulcan began to follow her down the hall to the rest of the ponies. The Didact turned to another hallway and began to walk towards the dungeon, like he said. “Come along, your Highness.”
Celestia was reluctant, but eventually began to follow at an equal stride of the Didact. Her quiet steps were drowned out by the loud pounding of the Didact’s boots against the marble floor. As she gazed down at the reflection, even his form dominated over hers.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.” His surprising remark brought her attention back to him. “You’re not the only one who sees she is capable of so much more...”
“For all her life, I have taught her and cared for her. I love her like a daughter, but I also recognize that she is smart enough to make her own choices. That said, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a better magician, or a better tactician or a better fighter: if you hurt her, in any way, I will hunt you down and murder you in your sleep.”
“I know...” He cleared his throat as they approached the door leading down into the dungeon. Two guards stood beside it, making sure nopony went down without permission. As they drew near, the guards stood straighter and extended their wings to block the path. Celestia rose her hand kindly towards them and, after a short explanation, had let them clear the two of them to enter the dungeon. The door opened and Celestia and the Didact made there way down the staircase. The magically lit torches began to thin out in number until they reached the corridor from before. The darkness was all consuming and made seeing the walls a couple feet in impossible. The Didact’s eyebrow twitched.
“I’ve had enough of this darkness,” he said. With a flick of his wrist, the Didact extended his hand out and released a magical burst. “Lumen de lumine.”
The magical burst flashed outward and dispelled the prism spell that covered the walls and air. The corridor brightened and it became easy to see around. “Now,” he said, “he won’t have any advantage on us as we approach him.”
The two of them walked down the corridor, the absence of the prism spell allowing for the two of them to reach the dungeon door quickly. With a powerful shove, the Didact opened the door, the bright light failing in its assault to impede him. He entered the room and looked down at the meditating deacon, who refused to look up even with the loud noises.
“Surprise motherfucker...”
Its eyes slowly opened and it looked up at the Didact and the human Celestia, a smile forming on his lips. “So, have you two returned to try and interrogate me again?”
“That would be a negatory... Archdeacon Abelyne...”
The deacon’s eyes widened in shock at the mention of his name by the stranger from before. He swallowed as he realized that that “stranger” had finally remembered who he was.
His tone was with confidence, but it was no longer bold and brazen. “Lord Didact...”
“Shut the hell up you sniveling weasel.” He grabbed the deacon by the neck and lifted him up, pressing him against the wall he was chained to. “Where’s your previous gall now? You were big and brave yesterday when I had your spell affecting my memories.”
Archdeacon Abelyne chuckled. “You figured that out?”
“It smelled of you and your psychomancy...” The Didact let him go and the cleric dropped to his feet. “But that is beside the point now... The point now, dear archdeacon, is that I need your help.”
The cleric scoffed. “Please. I may be a sniveling, unambitious creep, but that doesn’t mean I’d help you willingly. I am loyal to the Prophetess of Gratitude and the Prophet of Doubt, and they are loyal to the cause of the Prophet of Truth.”
The Didact flicked his arm at his side, and a blade of sizzling plasma energy burst to life in his hand. Slowly, he rose it to meet the archdeacon’s neck and cleared his throat. “Are you convicted enough to die a slow and painful dismemberment?”
“You’re bluffing.”
“And you know I’m not.” The Didact gave a sadistic smile: one that sent shivers down even Celestia’s spine. “Surely you remember the stories of the exploits of the mighty Didact: the Valeyard, the Champion of Risa, the Conqueror of Axio, the Quietus Star...”
“Alright,” the archdeacon growled, “I’ll do it...”
Sword still drawn, the Didact stepped back from the cleric and nodded towards Celestia. The princess charged her magic and dissipated the chains around the cleric’s arms, before remaking them as a set of handcuffs.
“So tell us, how did the Church of Unitology find out about these keys?”
Archdeacon Abelyne paused for a moment, before growling with frustration. “An infantry squad for the Coalition was scouting out a planet on the rim. There they discovered something...”
“What?”
The deacon stared down at him. “A cephalowalker. The Church decided to get involved and interrogated it: tortured it. Eventually, it told the Prophet of Truth about a universe where the ruling class had weapon that could bring limitless power to the Church.” He paused and looked at Celestia. “Your universe...
“So here we are now.”
“Your Church tortured a creature of an already tortured species?” The Didact was furious, but the deacon bore no apology.
“There’s more.” He continued, “Clerics have discovered that there is another cephalowalker here on this planet... they’re...”
He rose his sword again. “Don’t be bashful, share...”
Abelyne growled furious again. “They’re searching for him right now.”
The Didact took a step closer. “Where?”

***************

Within the Everfree Forest rests a ten to twelve acre grove of trees. Much like its surrounding brethren, ponies instinctively knew to simply avoid it. Nonetheless, there were always the exceptions that would find their whereabouts entering the forest for things like exploration, discovery or boredom. This wasn’t the case with this part however. This particular grove was naturally avoided at all times: no exception. This particular grove was believed to have that ability to play with ponies’ minds, and with good reason too.
Within the boundaries of this grove, trees grew with withered trunks and twisted limbs; a powerful facade that covered their actual strength and health. Resting lazily above layers of detritus and leaves, is a thick mist that hangs in the air: impairing vision to only a couple meters and which sapped any color shone by the sun. Absolutely no fauna and only very little flora (mainly, the trees) could be found within this space and a strong magical field weakens spellcasting, giving a haunted feeling to this region.
Many ponies have entered, only to never return again...
This place, the Garden of Silence, sprawled before the Didact, Princess Celestia and Archdeacon Abelyne with an ominous and eerie sense of command. At its boundary, the fog seemingly hugged an invisible line, never really crossing into the open air around it. The forest itself maintained some of its vivid colors and life that would denote a forest, but it was certainly weaker here than anywhere else.
Celestia flexed her fingers cautiously. “My magic feels all muddled standing here. It’s as if something is stretching my aura in multiple directions...”
“I feel it too,” the Didact confirmed. “There must be an intersection of ley lines here or of a similar magnitude.” He suddenly took a long, deep breath, followed by a noticeable pause.
The archdeacon rolled his eyes, his bio-armor pulsing on the inside with his nerves. “So are we going to stand here, or will we actually do what we came here to do?”
Still handcuffed and chained at the ankle with magical bonds, the archdeacon shuffled his way across the detritus of leaves towards the closest of trees, the fog greying his appearance. He paused and turned back to them. “I’m not about to let you leave me to enter this Marker-forsaken place alone...”
The Didact nodded and took to the rear, sword drawn. Celestia walked in front of him, her flowing dress changed to a t-shirt and jeans that the Didact conjured up for her. He told her she was approximately his sister’s size, so he was able to magically produce a set of clothing for Celestia using said sister as the frame. She found it convenient that everything fit her, though slightly loose around the chest. In front of Celestia, at as fast of a pace he could safely keep, was the archdeacon. 
Kysos Abelyne was no coward, though he’d admit he wouldn’t have done half the things he did during his first interrogation if the Didact had his memories and, thus, his powers. Of course, he was instrumental in the Didact losing his memories. As archdeacon of the Cathedral of the Prophetess of Gratitude, he had special ties to the hierarchy of the Church of Unitology, which meant that the Prophet of Truth had for a long time known of the psychomancer abilities Kysos had mastered on Kalgan. That meant that Truth would have asked him to work when they managed to capture the Didact, and one does not simply deny what the Prophet of Truth asks of you and see the light of tomorrow.
Now, all he could do to pass the traveling time was reflect on these facts. He was infuriated with himself at the fact he let himself commit the same folly as that idiot priest, Kaius, and charged, only to be captured and imprisoned by the enemy. He was infuriated that he had to cooperate with the Didact himself: the Destroyer of Worlds and the holder of the Quietus Star himself. It angered him to no end.
“What even is a cephalowalker anyways?” The deacon rolled his eyes and growled quietly at the question. HER VOICE! It made him want to jam a dagger into his mouth to end it all. What was worse was that the question was obviously pointed at him, so he had to reply.
“It is an ancient being,” he replied with a snarl. “There aren’t many left anywhere in the known omniverse, and the fact that they’re solitary creatures makes them hard to find. But it can be worth it if you know what you’re doing: cephalowalkers are wise and intelligent creatures.”
“They’re also a form of angel called a cherubim,” the Didact added as he scouted around the misted forest. “That basically means they’re warriors from before Time. They are very aggressive, and like to play tricks on the minds of their prey or on those who hunt them- like now...”
Both Celestia and the archdeacon stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the Didact, who stood calmly behind them.
The archdeacon wasn’t pleased. “What are you babbling about human?”
“Isn’t it obvious? This whole grove is a part of the illusion. The energy around here creates senses of dread, fear, hopelessness and jitteriness. It’s all apart of its mind games: to put you on the edge of worry and anxiety... to make you afraid... then it kills you.”
Celestia shook her head, “Except that’s not ha-”
Something off in the distance broke a twig, the snap of dried wood echoing across the fog breaking Celestia’s train of thought and prompting her to jump around to find its source. The archdeacon was also startled, though he moved slower than the princess.
“See what I mean?”
The archdeacon growled, “The problem with that logic is that this fear is warranted. There are Coalition infantry squads roaming these regions and I can assure you that when they find you, they will kill you. Plus, there is the cephalowalker that lives here.”
The Didact ran his fingers against the bark of a tree. “Your optimism is duly noted, archdeacon.”
Kysos growled with anger, before another twig snapping shifted his attention back out into the ominous forest, prompting him to growl with anger once more.
“I grow tired of this forest!” The archdeacon rambled about, his chains echoing against the fallen branches and dead leaves. “We’ve been walking here for over an hour, and for what? I’d rather fight! I’d rather die!”
He continued his rant a couple meters away from Celestia and the Didact, who had decided among themselves to rest against a tree as the archdeacon vented his frustration. Celestia turned to the Didact with doubt.
“I’m beginning to contemplate that the archdeacon is starting to become more of a liability. If he’s right about the infantry squads, then his constant shouting might put us in danger.”
“You’re right, but I’ve worked with Unitologist clerics before, and they rarely ever give all of the information they know at once. I adamantly believe he is still keeping secrets from us: secrets we need to know, and that he knows we need to know.”
He turned to look away from the archdeacon, out to the mist of the forest, with Celestia doing the same. “But you’re right about the infantry squads. We need to keep an eye out for them...” He paused. “Celestia?”
“Hmm?”
“Who’s watching the archdeacon?”
The two of them turned back to where the archdeacon had last stood, but were shocked to find him several inches off the ground. His armored frame was dwarfed by the massive creature that held him. It hung balanced in the trees by several white tentacles, the other three coiled around the archdeacon like a snake and its prey. Largely, it appeared humanoid, pale colored with shoulders that held two sets of tentacles that shifted into an abdomen that held four more sets. Where its head rested was a complexion of emptiness. There was no face, only a blank white canvas that seemed to still be able to pierce into one’s soul.
The Didact cleared his throat, obviously perturbed by the sight. “Well, it appears we’ve found our cephalowalker.”
With a good tensing of the creature’s muscles, the two of them heard it break every single bone in the archdeacon’s body with the most sickening sound. Then, though the concept of how eluded them, it’s head opened up into a gaping maw of oozing black slime, where it then proceeded to consume the archdeacon whole.
Celestia recoiled back, the primal instinct to run filling every fiber of her being, but the Didact extended his hand and wrapped hers in his firm grip.
The Didact stared down this creature with a firm gaze, refusing even to blink as his artificial eye rotated with the tiny gears on the inside to focus. “Slenderman...”
“Diiiiieee-daaact...” It spoke with a scratchy and guttural screeching, low in tone but still like nails to a chalkboard. As it spoke, they could see the form of the archdeacon pulsing in the creature’s abdomen, slowly being digested.
“You know who I am?”
“Yessssssss. Even heeeere, your exploits are notorioussssss.”
“Then you are aware of the fact that the Inferi are currently searching for you.”
“Yessssssss.” The creature shifted its balance in the trees, more tentacles letting go of the branches and instead supporting it on the ground. “Alasssssss, it is my time to diiiiie. I have been waitiiiiing for this moment for a long, long, tiiiiiime.”
The Didact nodded, understanding that the cherubim had been waiting for the moment when he could be killed, so he could finally rest. “The archdeacon told us that you knew something about what they were after: something that could give the Church limitless power.”
The creature nodded. “Yessssssss.”
It let go completely of the trees it was holding onto and lowered itself to ground-level. It became less foreboding, though it still dwarfed the two of them height-wise. the two sets of tentacles on from its shoulders congealed into one pair, while its lower tentacles did the same, making it look more humanoid.
“As this marks my final hour,” it said calmly, “I trust you two with the secret that I have bore for many thousands of generations.”
Celestia and the Didact both nodded towards it, so it continued.
“There is no proper translation of the name it had been given, but the closest is Leviathan. It was created long ago, by the original masters, and for many eons, they watched over it and cared for it: making sure it did not fall into the wrong hands. Eventually, there was conflict, and a new species became the masters. Rather than care for it, they decided to leave the Leviathan to deteriorate and become apart of this world. But it didn’t, and eventually, a new sentience came and took care of it. They locked it away and separated the keys so that unlocking it would be a challenge that outweighed the benefit.”
Celestia perked up at the creature’s story, recognizing instantly what he was talking about, and that the Didact no doubt knew as well. “You’re talking about the Tempest...”
“Yessssssss.”
“I’m sorry, o’ wise creature, but I’m afraid that the Inferi have possession of four of the six keys...”
“Soooooooo, it appears they are searching for it after all.” The creature strided around the small clearing, deep in thought. “There is still a chance, to stop the keys from turning. The Leviathan, must still be fooouuund. In exception to the Caretakers, it has been hidden away, only to be located by the Settlements, which should have all crumbled away by now. You can still stop them.”
“But how do we get the keys back?” the Didact asked, “And what does the Leviathan even do that makes it so damn important?”
“When the time is right... the answers will come to you, Didaaaccct. Now, I’m afraid there is no more time...”
The three of them perked up at the sound of several twigs snapping. The sound wasn’t as ominous as before, but felt more like a physical presence. Slowly, the sound of voices began to manifest, growing louder with each passing second. Celestia and the Didact realized what it was.
“They’re coming.”
The creature looked out in the mist towards the growing voices. “Then, you must hurry. Leave quickly... I will try and slow them down...”
Celestia looked back at the creature, worried. “What about you?”
“All things must come to an end... eventually. Mine has been overdue...”
The Didact nodded and dragged the princess behind him, her hand firmly grasped in his own. The two of them ran as fast as they could from where they were, heading in the opposite direction of the voices. The Didact doubted the cherubim would cooperate with the soldiers, in which they would try to promptly kill him, and would eventually succeed. They needed to get out of the Garden of Silence, and they needed to get out immediately.
Every tree looked the same, and the mist made it arduous to try and find anything helpful to their cause. The two of them were lost- that part was evident- but the Didact kept dragging Celestia along with him in the only direction they knew: away from the coming, hostile voices.
Celestia caught a dim sound coming from somewhere else. She slowed down, trying to make out what the sound even was, and it ceased. She turned back... and found herself collapsing to the ground, a powerful and unseen force shoving her down in a disorienting spin.
She didn’t even feel it hit her, but the force that the projectile held as it twisted its way out of her shoulder sent the nerves in her torso to scream at the slightest disturbance. The Didact felt her body dropping to the ground as he turned around to face the assailant. Sure enough, it was a Coalition Stealth Infantryman, and he was carrying an Inferi-made, short magazine, Mk IV Plasma Rifle. As he laid eyes on the weapon, a switch flipped on in his head and the soldier inside of him sprung to life.
As quickly as possible, he crossed the space between him and the soldier. The soldier was incompetent to reload fast enough, as the Didact sidestepped around the barrel, smacked it aside and went to work on the unfortunate infantryman that shot at his party. The Didact was keen to rip the rifle out of his assailant’s hands, then quickly made two jabs at his throat, crushing his airway and ending the fight. As the Didact picked up the rifle and flung it over his shoulder for later use, the infantryman couldn’t do anything to help him as he suffocated and dropped to the ground.
Celestia passed in and out of consciousness through the whole thing, only to find her shoulder buzzing with pain as the Didact lifted her up and carried her in his arms, moving as quickly as he could. 
The breeze had died down, as if to mourn, and the Garden of Silence never held up to its namesake better than it did now.
	
> 2:4- Enemy at the Gates
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia nodded silently and the Didact continued his commands as they walked up to the pillars that marked the entrance to the castle. “This is where we part ways. Celestia and I will be going down the dungeon and continuing the search there. Twilight, I need you to spread the genomorphic spell I taught you to all of your friends and to the remaining royal family members when they arrive. You and Vulcan will try and continue to search with what you know here in Canterlot. It doesn’t take a deductive mind to figure out that Celestia told you information involving all of this.”
The princess and Twilight looked at him profoundly. “As I said, it doesn’t take a deductive mind. You were on the fritz yesterday: all riled up and worried about something. It was obvious that something very important was preoccupying your thoughts.
“That said, I expect you to know what to do with that information when the time comes.” He turned to her and rustled her mane, like what a father would have done to a son or daughter. “You might not have known me long enough to have learned my methods and philosophy, but when this is all over, I’m sure you could become a great student...”
Twilight smiled proudly as he nodded to her to continue on. With a pat of a hoof to his shoulder, Vulcan began to follow her down the hall to the rest of the ponies. She moved with a quick pace, like the Didact would: never wasting time and always knowing what to do. 
As she walked, she let her horn charge with magical energy as it pulsed through her body and changed her form. Without a break in her stride, the violet light peeled away: her sneakers letting her walk silently across the marble. A dim green light caught the edge of her sight: a tall, handsome young teenager with electric blue hair matching her pace at her side.
“The Didact obviously put you in the lead, Ms. Sparkle. So, what’s the plan?”
“First,” Twilight began, “I’m going to try and find Rarity and Luna. The two of them should still be together in the castle boutique and, with any luck, the rest of my friends should also be there. After that, Ignio, we’ll go meet Jovian and Aria at the North Tower.”
The young prince chuckled at his nickname. “You’ve been living around royalty for too long...”
With a flip of her hair, Twilight smiled at Vulcan’s comment. Even so, she quickly regained the composure for her next question. “Do you know whether Jovian is bringing his key with him?”
Vulcan nodded and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. “He wrote back to Celestia’s note and said that he will be keeping it on him at all times.”
“And Sirius?”
Vulcan frowned. “His letter wasn’t as comforting. His key had been taken just before he got our sister’s letter. There was nothing left behind by any would be assailants and thieves: the sword just vanished without a trace.”
Twilight shook her head. “Four keys in two days... those clerics move fast.”
“Your optimism of the situation is duly noted.” Vulcan pushed his cape from his shoulder, the purple flying behind him as it resettled on his back. “I, for one, have confidence in the practice and experience of the Didact and we certainly know that Celestia is capable of making a difference too.”
Twilight nodded as they approached the doors to the castle boutique. Even from the outside, the two of them could hear the murmuring coming from inside. Twilight could make out the wavy, dramatic tone of her friend Rarity and both her and Vulcan could hear the liquid voice of the Lunar Princess far and few between. It was obvious that Rarity was doing most of the talking: small conversation bits mixed in with mental notes she would have stated aloud, or exclamations she would say when she donned on a new idea or a slight miscalculation.
Their presumptions were correct as they opened the door and walked in to the sight of the ivory unicorn using her magic to look over the human princess with a professional scrutiny and constantly fondled or frisked points for her measurements. Luna herself, however, wasn’t entirely comfortable, as Rarity was examining her in her underwear: the only sense of decency and cover being a dark blue bra covering her breasts and a pair of similarly colored panties. Her pale skin was incapable of hiding the dim blush that was painted over her cheeks.
“I don’t know why you’re even getting slightly flustered Lulu.” Vulcan was bursting with snickering laughter at her sister. “It’s not like ponies are the kind of race that wears extensive clothing.”
“I know,” Luna frowned and seemed to deflate in her mood. “But it just feels... awkward, to be standing in my skivvies with someone poking around.”
“Oh, hush,” Rarity politely commanded. Princess or not, Luna was her client and as the seamstress, she was in charge. “Besides, you have a nice body curve and I can picture the best dress for you. Provocative and beautiful, but still with an air of modesty and regality.”
“I pray you aren’t bodging my dress simply because of this form now.”
Rarity paused, confused at the remark. “No, of course not... I think.”
The unicorn at last looked up from her work and stared at Twilight and Vulcan through her work glasses. She was taken slightly aback by her friend and her human form. Granted, the look seemed to work for her: a busty and waisted form under a lavender, short sleeved t-shirt and a darker skirt that only seemed to go down to the middle of her thighs. Rarity saw that is matched her pony form perfectly: a beautiful mare that is either awkward about the way she looked due to circumstance, or was devious enough to think of such a ploy anyways. The seamstress placed neither above her librarian beauty.
It was the young man beside her that stumped her the most. She had never seen him before, yet he was human. Granted, she has only really seen Luna as human, and it was that said person’s statement that made up the extent of her knowledge on the concept. Yet, the stranger with the electric blue hair seemed to be comfortable with the form he took. He had an interesting look: a solid red button down shirt and while trousers, which covered a pair of large black boots that added to his height. Fastened to his shoulders and trimmed with gold was a cape of a royal violet: similar to the colors that symbolized the royalty of previous times. Then it hit her. She had known that the princesses have had three brothers of varying ages, and she had heard one had arrived for the Summer Sun Celebration yesterday.
“May I inquire...” she began with a quiet, giddy tone, “Would you happen to be Prince Vulcan?”
He smiled. “En la carne, and please, simply call me Ignio.”
Rarity almost exploded with happiness and excitement towards the prince. Like spitfire, she began to babble about possible designs for the suit she was to design for him. Twilight, however, placed her hand on her friend’s neck, giving her the cue to calm down and pay attention.
“I’m afraid we don’t have much time for that presently. The Didact is adamant with time management at the moment.”
Rarity wiped several beads of sweat from her forehead in confusion. “I must admit darling that I’m not entirely caught up with what as happened over the past 24 hours. You’d have to explain who this Didact is.”
“Vicar regained his memories,” Twilight explained, “and ever since has been helping with those aliens from before.”
“So our stranger friend managed to regain his memories.” Rarity smiled brightly. “Well, I imagine he is just a smashing and wonderful character.”
Twilight nodded, but kept herself on the topic at hand. “He asked me to do something.” She let her magic coalesce around her hands with a violet glow. “He wants me to teach everypony the genomorphic spell that made me human.”
Rarity’s eyes shot up. “You get to make me human? Darling, what are we waiting for?”
Twilight nodded once more and extended her hands over her unicorn friend. “Wish me luck.”
The violet surrounding her hands grew in intensity as the spell cloaked Rarity with Twilight’s magic. The white coat unicorn hovered  where she was standing, the violet light around her shifting into a brighter, pale color that shined across the room.
Behind the light, Rarity’s form began to morph into something different. Here forehooves and her hind-hooves all stretched out to a longer length and conformed into a pair of arms and a pair of legs. Her horn disappeared into her head and her muzzle shrunk into her face, forming a smaller nose. Her mane lengthened, the curls stretching to fit over her bangs and around her shoulders.
As Twilight poured more of her magic into the spell, something unexpected happened. Unlike when the Didact used the spell on her, someone’s magic caught on several rolls of fabrics as sheets of indigo and blue of varying patterns and designs were grabbed in an aura of pale blue. The fabrics came together around Rarity’s lit form and swirled about as the light grew to a blinding intensity and finally ceased as Twilight collapsed backward and fell on her behind. 
The Rarity before them all was beyond their previous imagination. The fabric that had converged on her form during the spell was obviously her doing: an attempt to build upon her new look. Through some form of “fashionista psychic abilities,” she made it work. Her pants were of a darker, plain indigo, which stopped at the perfect length above her velvet flats of a similar color. A lighter turquoise made up a beautiful, long sleeved blouse that covered her entire torso: a complete, total modesty that still made her beautiful. Resting on her head with a slightly darker color to the blouse, letting only her bangs show with a dull violet, was a headdress that wrapped around her head and went down to circle around her shoulders and chest.
There were only two places where skin was visible on Rarity’s body. The first was her hands, nails painted with a deep, rich violet. The second was her face. Her skin was richly tanned to a light caramel, which only amplified the strength of the beauty in her eyes: a clear, sky blue.
Rarity flashed her hands out above her head and made a stance to show off her new look. The sleeves of her new clothes flew loosely around her wrists and her fingers glowed dully with the light blue of her magic.
She smiled brightly. “Khayaly! I absolutely love this! Such beauty and finess.”
Twilight found herself nodding dumbfoundedly. She couldn’t tell what Rarity necessarily looked like on the top of her head, but she could tell that whatever it was fit Rarity completely. 
The former ivory unicorn gracefully walked around in her new attire and made notes in her head about the room. It needed to be reorganized, fabrics and multiples of her tools of trade laying askew across the marble floor and the furniture. Then there was still Luna, who she hadn’t even started making the dress she had planned for her. She could feel that her magic had increased at least tenfold...
Rarity flicked her finger up in excitement. “Idea!” 
Her magic ignited in her palms and the many fabrics and tools lying around the room began to levitate and move around to either be used or put away. Pins floated around and stuck cloth together midair.
“There is no need to worry, princess.” Rarity began to get focused into her work once again. “I’ll make you a dress that would be worthy of the name of the moon...”
“Of that,” Luna said, “I have no doubt.”
Twilight managed to snap out of her stupor and revert her attention back to the task at hand. “Rarity.”
“Yes darling?”
“Rarity, the Didact had told me to spread that genomorphic spell to all of the Elements of Harmony and to the royal family as they arrived. I need to go meet Prince Jovian as he arrives, so I can’t stay and wait for all of our friends to pass through here. Could you cast the genomorphic spell on them when you see them?”
“Why of course darling.” Rarity only briefly glanced at her friend, too focused on the detail of her work. “I’m sorry if I’m not looking at you, but I’m still listening. Just teach me the spell and I’ll be sure to show our friends.”
Twilight smiled at her friend’s willingness to help and placed her fingers on her temples. Her magic ignited and her eyes began to flash rapidly with reflections of light and energy from the inside. Rarity found her eyes doing the same, and after a couple seconds, could remember the genomorphic spell neuron from neuron.
“I’ll make sure it gets done, Twi’.” Rarity turned her head and looked at her friend straight in the eyes. “I may not know who this Didact is, but one thing I know is that Vicar was nice and kind, so I trust him. You go do what you need to do, darling: I have everything covered.”
Twilight smiled and walked out with Ignio, leaving the fashionista and the Lunar Princess alone to work. Rarity turned back to her subject at hand and smiled towards the princess. “And don’t I have something wonderful planned for you.”
Luna could only blush and cringe at all the ideas she will have to be standing through.
***************
Twilight and Vulcan were quick to reach the northern tower of the castle. Even after exhaustingly walking up the numerous flights of stairs that lead to the observation deck near the top, the two of them stood firmly against a growing breeze. A few loose leaves and a small cloud of dust danced around in a rolling spin, neither deterred or affected by the higher altitude of the tower. That was when the two of them saw it.
The chariot was coming in from the north, pulled by four pegasi that glided with the wind current. As they approached, Twilight recognized them as Chinook Guards: the personal legion of pegasi that were assigned to protecting Jovian Amon Galaxia: Duke of Windsoar and Prince of the Northern Winds. Standing proud on his chariot, the prince was accompanied by his wife, the lovely Aria Cadenza Galaxia, who stood beside him.
Ever since Twilight was a young filly, and Princess Cadence was her foalsitter, she had known Jovian and Aria. She had always treated them like an aunt and uncle, and they always treated her like a member of their family. During the many times her parents were off on business with their respective careers, Twilight would spend the night with Princess Celestia in the large castle. But, every so often, though it was quite rare, neither her parents or Princess Celestia could care for her, so Princess Cadence would watch her at her house in Windsoar, where Twilight would spend time with her and with the princess’ parents.
Jovian was a jolly, boisterous kind of stallion: always loved to entertain the young filly with his numerous stories of adventure and embellishment. As always, his wife Aria would sit by him, quietly like the mare she generally was, and would support her husband. On the occasional visit, Twilight would be able to munch on a platter of cookies that Aria was well known to make, and would sit on a rug and listen to the stories of Jovian and his endless exploits.
Over time, Twilight had come to adore the two of them, as much as she did Princess Cadence, and would always beam with excitement when that rare opportunity to visit them came up once or twice a year. Even now, as they approached on their chariot for the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight felt the nostalgia of the times spent with them.
Jovian was a large stallion as well, as large if larger than Big Macintosh back in Ponyville. Even so, he was a strong flier and could make an excellent pegasi. His cream orange coat was well kept and his red mane and tail were well groomed. Still, even the majesty and awe of an alicorn was no match for the raw beauty and lustrous being of his unicorn wife. Aria was well known in northern Equestria to be perhaps the fairest mare in the land. Many in Canterlot who were of such high prestige to know of the many family members of Celestia and Luna dared to place her beauty above that of the Canterlot supermodel Fleur de Lis, and with good reason too.
Aria’s light pink coat glowed in the sunlight and her mane flew in the wind like a fluttering flag of sparkling lavender. She too had violet eyes, with a similar intensity to Twilight’s, and she had loved to pat the filly on the head and tell her the same thing over and over again. “One of these days,” she would say with her quiet, but beautiful voice, “your eyes will become the most beautiful in all of Equestria. No stallion would even be able to look you in the eyes and not fall head over hooves for you then.”
Thinking back at it, it made Twilight smile. Now, as the chariot pulled onto the observation deck and the Chinook Guards folded their wings and landed, it was Twilight’s turn to impress the two of them.
“What strange creatures!” Jovian exclaimed, “I’ve never seen anything like them in my travels.”
“Darling,” Aria was tilting her head, trying to recognize the two of their faces, “they look familiar, as if we’ve met them before.”
“Well,” Vulcan rang out, his arms outstretched, “at least I’m relieved that my own brother can recognize me before his wife could.” He laughed sarcastically.
“Vulcan, you little tree hugger, is that you?” Jovian was more than surprised to hear his younger brother’s voice from the bipedal creature in the red coat and purple cape.
“In the flesh, hermano.”
“Vulcan!” The large alicorn came forward and embraced his brother in his forehooves. Even as a human, Vulcan was still only as tall as the cream orange prince, and he was still being crushed by said prince’s embrace. Aria, on the other hand, focused on Twilight, still trying to place where she had seen her before.
She was at a loss, and inquired, “Would this be your marefriend, Vulcan?”
Twilight smiled, “I’m afraid not Aunt Aria: he’s just not my type...”
Aria beamed at the voice. “Twilight! By the stars, I haven’t seen you since you were a little filly.”
Jovian removed himself from his brother, who quickly began to gasp for air, as the stallion turned to the young woman. “This can’t be the little bookworm would stay up and listen to my stories...”
“It certainly is Uncle Jovian.”
He too broke out in a smile and began to embrace her. It wasn’t as hard as the embrace he gave to Vulcan, but Twilight could still feel the uncomfortable pressure between the alicorn’s muscles. “I missed you two as well...”
“It has certainly been a long time.” Jovian released her and waved a hoof at both of them. “What has happened to you two. What are you?”
“We’ve been transformed into a race of sentient beings called ‘humans’,” Vulcan explained, “Twilight has learned a spell from a friend to do it. Both Tia and Lulu are also like this, along with Twilight’s many friends.”
“Where are our sisters?” the prince asked boisterously, “I thought they would be meeting us here.”
“I’m afraid something came up that required a change in plans,” Twilight said smoothly. “We can explain more on the way to your room.”
Jovian sighed a hefty sigh of relief. “Ah! after a long trip, it is always good to rest. Come, come you two.” He walked beside Twilight, the dull glow of a pale blue used to keep her close to him. “Now, I have told you many stories over your foalhood, dear bookworm, please share one with your aunt and uncle while we walk.”
***************
“How awful of a situation...”
Jovian clenched his cup of water tightly, tiny cracks beginning to dance across the glass. The genomorphic spell had worked without a hitch on him and his wife, and the two of them sat naturally on the sofa in their room. Twilight and Vulcan had taken seats across from them and, after the servants had delivered their respective drinks and left them alone, told the prince and princess the story of everything that had transpired over the past three days.
“So, they’re after our keys, are they?” Jovian looked down at the sheathed key hanging from his waist and resting on the sofa. “Well to get mine, they’ll have to go through me. I doubt they’d ever be able to even get close to my father’s.”
“Either way,” Twilight spoke up, taking a sip of her tea, “The Church of Unitology still has four keys: Sirius’s, Celestia’s, Luna’s and Vulcan’s. Is the Tempest only operable when all six keys are present?”
“Of course,” Jovian boasted, “When my father fashioned that lock onto the Tempest, he made sure that whomever wanted to enter had to get through the six most powerful magicians in the known lands of Astra.”
Twilight nodded, but Vulcan spoke up. “That may have been father’s intentions, but these Unitologists have been quite resourceful. Once once did they ever get in a fight over the keys, and that was merely because they had to stop and find the Didact before he regained his memories.”
“Do you think I couldn’t handle them?”
Vulcan shook his head. “Of course not, hermano. I’m only saying that you need to be careful.”
“And that you can count on us to help in any way possible,” Twilight added. Jovian smiled as he leaned over and embraced her in a bear hug. 
“Of course we can count on you malyutka.” He chuckled as he let her go to try and uncrush herself.
Aria stood up and stretched out her arms. “Moy dorogoy, let us take a walk across the castle. I haven’t really stretched my legs for hours.”
“Of course.” Jovian extended his arm out and politely lead her to the door. He turned back to face Twilight and Vulcan. “Are you two coming?”
The two of them glanced at each other before both of them stood up and followed the prince out to the hallways.
“So,” Jovian started, “Celestia is working with this stranger who calls himself the Didact. Do you know where the two of them are now?”
“I’m afraid not,” Twilight replied. “When we split up, Didact and Celestia were heading to the dungeon where they were holding a Unitologist who had been captured by her. Knowing the Didact, they had probably already left to some other place by now, searching for answers.”
“Acceptable.” Jovian strolled casually down the hallway besides Twilight, Aria and Vulcan on his other side. “I’d imagine that they will be back in time for the Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia is an adult and can go where she pleases, so I won’t complain of her absence. What of Lulu?”
“Princess Luna is in the castle boutique with an eccentric Rarity, making her dress for the celebration. Sometime over the next couple days, I’m sure you and Aria should go and see her too uncle Jovian.”
“And who is this Rarity, you speak of?” Aria inquired.
“She’s a friend of mine. In Ponyville, she is known widely as the town’s best designer and seamstress. She even managed to find orders from the prestige of Canterlot.”
Aria smiled. “If she is a friend of yours dear, then she is a friend of ours. Perhaps we can walk down there now. The boutique isn’t obscenely far away and I’d love to meet this friend of yours.”
Twilight smiled as she lead them towards the boutique. They made their way through the winding hallways and passages, eventually crossing the center hall on the floor level. Pillars lines their way across the room, eventually leading out to the group’s right and towards the open entrance of the castle. The sunlight of the setting sun made numerous shadows and reflections of orange and pink light through the whole room. Celestia, where ever she was, seemed to still be keeping tabs on the sun, even with all the commotion and conspiracy facing them. Twilight looked at the sun’s rays, felt its warmth, and was reassured that everything would be okay. Somehow.
But, as they continued down the hall to the appropriate hallway, that feeling grew weaker, and an overall sense of dread seemed to cross Twilight. It felt like something was wrong- something was off- and the feeling that she should be trying to do something grew stronger.
It’s behind you.
Her attention was drawn to a soft, but distinctive click. It was clearly not natural, and she wheeled around. Twilight finally found the source of the dread that was beginning to overwhelm her, as she looked down the barrel of an Inferi rifle.
“Get down!” The reaction was instantaneous. As the group dropped to the floor as fast as they could, the Inferi infantryman fired his weapon and the projectile was sent flying across the room at supersonic speeds. Twilight’s warning was only just in time, as the projectile tore through several pieces of her hair and ricocheted off of one of the multiple marble pillars and flew off in another direction.
Vulcan reacted first, his palms erupting with olive colored magic as he shot off several bursts as fast as the projectile. The infantryman was unable to dodge and fell back on the floor, mortally wounded, his gun flying off several feet away.
At the sound of a struggle, several other infantrymen came forward from the pillars, slowly surrounding the group with sabres drawn. The four of them could only back into each other; Vulcan, Jovian and Twilight all taking a fighting stance against their enemy. Aria, who didn’t know how to fight, took to standing behind her husband.
One of the infantrymen, obviously the commander by a more ornate uniform and sabre, laughed at them. “We only want the Key of Wind. If you give it to us, then I’ll make sure your respective deaths are painless...”
Jovian let out one of his well known jovial laughs. “You want my sword? Then you can have it, durachit'.”
With a powerful swing, he unsheathed the key from his waist, and a powerful gale of wind roared through the hall, pushing the soldiers back in surprise. The gleam of steel played against the orange and blue handle, the handguard shaped in the distinct spiral of a roaring hurricane. Engraved with a darker steel were the ornate designs and his namesake. “Ventos Mutationem” on one side, “Prince Jovian Amon Galaxia, Duke of Windsoar” on the other.
The infantry unit staggered back together, recovering from their surprise from the gale. The leader snarled aggressively towards the four of them. “Fine, it was your choice to die painfully!”
Jovian bellowed and pushed out his hands, another gale bending to his will and shooting out towards the infantry. Their leader was unphased, as he rose his sabre and slashed through the incoming wind, some, unforeseen magic separating his control over the wind and pushing it out of harm’s way. He made his way towards Jovian, slashing and cutting through the prince’s magic. With a great swing, he rose the sabre over his head and brought it down, where Jovian caught the blade with his own.
That was one of the differences between the alicorn family members: while most kept the keys as simply nothing more to show than a trophy, Jovian liked to have his key sharpened, and used it as his tool of choice.
He was quick to react and snuck his sword under the Inferi leader’s arms, slicing thoroughly through his chest and leaving a large gash of his rusty colored blood splattered over the infantry leader’s dark uniform. He fell onto the floor, gasping for his breath and bleeding out.
The rest of the infantry squad made their charge on the group. Vulcan and Twilight both shot off bolts of magic against them, but found that their sabres also dispelled their attacks. As they advanced with sabres raised, Vulcan pulled out his own sword, and Twilight manifested her own blade, taking a split second to check that her magic was completely separated from the weapon, then did her best to block or deflect the attacks that came to her. The blows were continuous, and every time the swords clashed, Twilight flinched and was pushed backward. After being pushed into the nearest pillar, the infantryman swung to the side and Twilight ducked, the sword bouncing off of the marble as she came up and shot her palm into his ribs and discharged a burst of magic directly into his torso. He dropped like a ragdoll, paralyzed by her spell of choice and hit the floor, unable to get up.
Vulcan fared better in his fight and was far less merciful. While the swords of him and his opponent clashed, he didn’t wince at the ring of steel and he countered with a straight lunge to the head with his first victim, then a slash across the throat with his second. The smell of blood didn’t hinder him, nor did the splatter of rusty colors across his coat jacket.
Jovian took the bulk of the infantrymen, numbering at seven. The whole time, he stood by his wife and protected her from the incoming slashes and the charging enemies. Aria let herself be a ragdoll at her husband, knowing he’d never let her be put in harm’s way. The prince used his sword when it was necessary and used his control over the wind as much as possible. The Inferi, while well trained, ultimately couldn’t stand a chance towards the prince’s greater prowess with the sword and sky. It was quick work for the three of them to finish off the infantry unit.
Jovian looked down at the group of soldiers. Most were dead, their rustblood pouring onto the marble as their bodies lost any color that may have previously been with them. Few were simply unconscious, unable to move due to the spells cast on them from Twilight. He heaved a heavy sigh.
“Is everybody alright?” Jovian asked. He turned to check on his brother and Twilight, making sure that the Inferi didn’t injure them extensively.
The only reply came from a whimper behind him. “Dorogoy...”
The three of them turned to the voice, Jovian using all his might to hold back the deep rage building inside of him. It was as he expected: Aria was being held with a sabre to her throat. What they all didn’t expect was that it was by the Inferi leader: the one that Jovian let fall to the ground and bleed out. The gash through his uniform was the only indicator that he had ever been hit: his yellowish skin having been completely healed.
“You can count yourself lucky,” the leader said, “that I can regenerate myself. Only the better half of the Hunters can do it, so I’d be wise to sheath your sword.”
“Don’t do it Jovian.” Aria’s weak plea was met with the cool steel being dragged closer along her throat.
He was furious. Jovian couldn’t handle that fact that this creature had the gall to take his wife as a hostage in its ploy. With a crushing grip on the handle, he quietly lifted the sword, and sheathed it at his waist, lowering his fist to his sides.
“Excellent, well done... Now, toss it over here.”
He was reluctant, and neither Twilight or Vulcan could help him. Jovian slowly unbuckled his sheath from his belt and held it in his hands. For long seconds, he stared at it, contemplating what to do. Ultimately though, he gave in, and tossed the key to the floor at the feet of the Inferi.
The leader smiled and, using his own magic, bent his shadow around and lifted the key to his waiting free hand. “You’re smart, dear prince, but now, I have no need for this hostage...”
“No...”
“Now, you can watch her die and realize that you have been b-” Without a sound, something ripped through his eye and silenced him. He fell to the ground like an abandoned puppet, Aria able to push away the sword at her neck and running towards her husband. The two of them embraced for the longest time, Aria crying into Jovian’s shoulder, not wanting to let go.
Twilight heard something drop behind her, the echo of metal hitting the floor ringing in her ears. She turned around to see Rarity, standing with her hands over her mouth, staring down at the rifle that the first infantryman held with tears flowing. Twilight quickly ran over to her friend and wrapped her in hug. Rarity readily accepted it, and freely sobbed into her friend’s breasts. Twilight did her best to comfort her.
“What did I do?” the fashionista would ask her, over and over again. “What did I do? What did I do?”
“You saved Princess Aria, Rarity...” Twilight told her.
“It felt... it felt so natural,” she sobbed. “Holding that weapon and stopping him... it felt... it felt right...”
Rarity continued to cry as Twilight fought to hold back her own tears. When the clerics attacked them in the dining hall, the fear was primal: so great that she couldn’t even cried if she tried. Now it was different. She feared for her innocence: for her humanity and consciousness. These creatures only wanted to hurt, destroy and kill anything in their paths: to simply survive against a foe like that, meant having to turn off the voices and rationale inside of her that made her kind and understanding. The Didact had told her that he had dealt with the Prophet of Truth and with those like him all his career. She respected him, and trusted him, but she didn't want to be like him. She didn’t want to lose her compassion and love...
...and that was why she started to cry.

	
> 2:5- Star's End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia stirred awake, her shoulder stinging with a dull pain as she moved. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked down at what was causing the pain. Her arm was in a makeshift sling, limiting her movement. She tried to wiggle out of it, but the stinging only got worse the more she tried, so she eventually stopped and remembered what had happened.
An Inferi soldier had shot her, and she was bleeding out in the Garden of Silence. The Didact was trying to carry her out when she went unconscious.
Didact! Where was he? She looked around and found herself in a dark cave. She was placed in a particularly dry part, and the Didact was kind enough to lay her on his jacket. Even so, she couldn’t find her partner anywhere inside the cave. 
With some difficulty, she managed to get to her feet. Carefully, she stretched out and uncramped her sore muscles. Her wound was what hurt the most, but when she pushed aside her shirt to check on her shoulder, she only saw her skin bruised terribly: no puncture or shards of projectiles showing anywhere. She figured that the Didact also had something to do with that as well.
As soft breeze rolled into the cave and sent chills across her body, so she picked up the jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders the best she could and made her way to the mouth of the cave. When they left for the Garden of Silence, it was midmorning. Now, the sun was low in the sky, the clear blue having long shifted to a tapestry of yellows, oranges and lavenders. As she stepped out into the open, she could see the Everfree Forest stretched out below her, off in the distance to the northeast were the Canterlot Mountains, her city hidden from view by the low lying clouds that hung around the city, dully lit in the setting sunlight. She figured that Luna would be dealing with the raising of the moon and Vulcan with the pull of the planet. Confident that the royal duties were in capable hands, Celestia wanted to find the Didact.
“I see you’ve finally woken up.” The princess turned around to see the Didact standing quietly next to the cave opening. 
His uniform had changed: his trousers were a solid black, hanging over a pair of boots. Covering him was a large white jacket, extending from his neck almost to the bottom of his pants. There was a cut off in the front, where the jacket went back up from the leg to the waist and fit from there. Overall, it still made him look authoritative, yet more formal.
“Yeah,” she said idly, “Thank you... thank you very much for saving my life.”
The Didact shook his head. “Naw, it was all you: I just helped along. Luckily, the bolt went straight through and didn’t start fragmenting on impact, so all I had to do was kick start your magical regeneration.”
“But still,” she said, “thank you.”
Quietly, he nodded. “So, how did it feel getting shot for the first time?”
“Painful,” she said dully. “How do you get use to it?”
He scoffed. “Pain is relative and only lasts as long as you let it.” The Didact picked himself up from the rock wall and retrieved the stolen rifle from his side. “We need to get moving. The sun is setting and the forest should be crawling with Inferi by now: and it’s not wise to fight them at night.”
Celestia quietly nodded as she looked down at the jacket covering her.
“Keep it,” he said plainly. “You shouldn’t be cold.” Without another word, he shouldered the rifle, took a deep breath and began to walk the small outcropping he used to climb to the cave. Celestia followed quietly behind, neither of them speaking, the crunching of rocks beneath their boots echoing below them. The sight of the forest trees just below them was beautiful. The dark green pines, shaded under the orange hue of the sky, mingled with the thin evening fog resting lazily near the tips of the canopy. Somewhere, obscured by the trees and shadows, rested the Garden of Silence, where the cephalowalker guardian probably laid dead, finally at peace. It troubled Celestia that such a tortured creature could have suffered for this long.
She shook her head of the thought and tried to focus on the task at hand. He hadn’t said anything, but she assumed the Didact was trying to prioritize how they were to get out of the forest and get back to Canterlot. He kept her following at a brisk pace, the two of them reaching the forest floor in little time. There, a forest stream separated them and a length of trees from the rest of the vast forest. Their already muffled footsteps were drowned out by the sound of rushing water next to them.
“We aren’t too far from Ponyville.” The Didact had to speak slightly louder to be made out above the stream. “If we make it there, we can take a train to Canterlot.”
“Why not just fly straight to the citadel?”
“An excellent idea, but the Inferi would find our magical signatures from miles away, and the air isn’t the best place to be.”
“Of course it isn’t.” Celestia tilted her head in confusion. “But, what’s keeping them from tracking our magical signatures right now?”
“A spell called Aura Compressor,” he explained. “It compresses the psychophysical energy that the developed mind naturally emits, keeping the radiation levels nearly untraceable. It’s not a complicated spell, but its effective against people hunting mancers without detailed equipment.”
Celestia nodded, understanding what he was saying.
“However,” he continued, his tone slightly grimmer, “To perform the spell, the targeted aura must be completely independent from any magically radiating body.”
Celestia didn’t understand that, so he said it to her straight. “You’re no longer tethered to the Star.”
The “Star” he was referring to was the Sun. She was unprepared to hear news like that. Since she woke up, Celestia noticed that she felt a little funny... off, as if her magic was out of tune. Now she realized why. She hasn’t been unconnected to the sun for almost a millenium and a half: ever since she became old enough to earn her key and for her father to connect her to it.
After a couple of seconds, she slowed down to a halt, prompting the Didact to turn around and wait patiently for her. Celestia was set to simply stand there and think about it: let the news sink in. Instead, she felt her legs give out under her, and she tumbled into the stream beside her.
“Celestia!” The Didact wasted no time as he dropped the rifle and his coat and dived into the water and swam the best he could to the bottom, where Celestia had descended. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist and began to pull her up to the surface. As they broke, he sucked in a deep breath and found himself being pulled downstream, deeper into the forest and closer to the numerous infantry squads searching for them. He made a corkscrew dash towards the shore and heaved Celestia onto the grass, before pulling himself up out of the water. Refusing to rest, he placed his fingers on her neck and felt a weak pulse. The Didact got up and straddled her, making sure her head was arced back and her airway was clear as he began compressions against her chest.
One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine...
He mentally counted out thirty compressions before bending down, pinching her nose closed and opening her mouth, where he wasted no time to press his mouth against hers and breathed into her lungs. After one breath, he felt water rising out of her mouth and pulled back as fast as he could as Celestia coughed awake and expelled as much water out of her lungs as possible. The Didact sighed with relief as he pushed himself off of her and simply laid out on the grass beside her.
Celestia refused to get up, simply staring up at the trees with bewilderment. That’s twice in one day that the Didact had saved her life. She wondered how much she would owe him her life after this was over: after her little ponies were safe and the Church of Unitology was expelled from Equestria.
For a minute, the two of them just laid there next to the stream, enjoying the fact that they were alive and breathing. It was the Didact who moved first. Slowly, he got back up to his feet and extended his hand down to help up Celestia. She accepted it and was pulled up at a startling pace, the princess struggling to stay on her feet. The Didact reached down to put his coat back on and to pick up the rifle. 
“It’s time to go,” he said.
Celestia wrapped the jacket tighter. Even though it had be plunged into the stream with her, it was only slightly damp, so she felt warmer simply removing the soaked shirt and buttoning up the jacket over her less soaked bra. Confident she wasn’t going to freeze in the chilled Everfree summer night, Celestia followed the Didact like before.
This time around, the two of them walked more cautiously than before. Through the gaps in the canopy, they could see the dark violets and indigos of a sun just past the horizon. The moon was already high and bright in the sky, dominating above the light of the dim stars behind it. Celestia looked up at them and saw that the stars were twinkling ever so brighter than normally, their luster increased slightly. Sirius was going to arrive in Canterlot shortly, she realized, and he would no doubt be happy to help once Twilight explained to him what was happening.
Her foot snagged on a root and brought her back to reality before she fell to the ground. The lack of light within the forest made it hard to walk and see. The running stream water made it hard to make out any other sounds she could use to help.
It was only destiny that her shoe would get caught on a low lying vine, causing her to tumble to the ground. She landed in a layer of pine needles and leaves, cushioning her fall. 
“Here, take my hand.”
Celestia removed her face from the pile and spat out all the needles and leaves that were caught in her mouth as she looked up to see the Didact offering her a hand. She accepted it, and was pulled to her feet easier than last time. When she was on her feet, he kept hold of her hand.
“One of the perks of being a cyborg freak: you can see in the dark excellently.” As the Didact finished speaking, his eye flashed with light, illuminating a small amount of his face with red light. With the light emanating from it, Celestia saw that it was possible to see behind the solid red iris of his eye. Underneath, she could see there was a hole between the tiny gears and machinery that reminded her of a pupil. The alien sight of the artificial eye seemed kinder and more familiar to her with the soft light behind it.
“The edge of the forest isn’t far off: it’ll only be a little while longer until we’re in the open and in Ponyville.” Without another word, he gestured to keep going, keeping her hand in his so it was easier for her to follow. Sure enough to his word, Celestia could hear that the stream they had been following was heading off in another direction, back into the forest. They were left to the embracing sounds of the woods. A few birds chirped about above them, while a timberwolf howled in the distance. Crickets and insects played their nocturnal songs with an endless chorus. The only sounds that was out of place were the occasional crunch of a pile of leaves or the snap of a twig under Celestia’s feet. The Didact walked with perfect clarity and grace, careful to make as little sound as possible, as fast as possible.
At his pace, Celestia and he reached the edge of the Everfree Forest in little time. The moon was peaked in the sky and the night was a beautiful tapestry. The Didact looked up, and took a second to relish in the beauty and wonder that was the universe. With modern slipspace technology, a person could travel across the galaxy his entire lifetime, and still only see a fraction of what was there. On Erde-Tyrene, much of the sky was hidden by light and cities. Here, the stars were painted with whites and reds, plastered across the entire sky. Crossing off near the edge, arcing above the Gryphon Mountains on the west, was the mass of stars and dark clouds that made up this universe’s Sagittarius Galaxy: like drops of milk splattered on a black canvas.
The Didact snapped out of his marveling and looked forward towards the few dim lights of Ponyville. Most of the quiet town was closed down for the night, with very few still open this late in the evening. The signature clock tower, rising above the low story buildings of the rest of the town, was illuminated with light, the clock face reading twenty hundred hours.
Celestia noticed the time as well, and tapped the Didact’s shoulder to get his attention. “We need to get to the train station quickly. The last train for the day leaves in fifteen minutes.”
She ran towards the town, leaving him slightly surprised.
“How do you even know that?”
He rushed after her, easily outpacing her to the point where she began to struggle keeping up with him again. The town paid no heed to the new addition of humans: beings that had never before walked these streets or among these buildings. There was only the rare pony finishing some last minute chores before turning in, and only four even saw that they were crossing the town to the train station. The train was resting in station, the final preparations for departure and the final passengers just boarding. Celestia and the Didact were some of the last passengers to board. The ticket master didn’t question them much about the details of who they were, or even what they were, and the two of them had bought their tickets and were already in their requested stateroom long before the train left.
The only problem was that the train wasn’t heading straight to Canterlot, like they needed. The train was stopping in Stalliongrad first, and would arrive in Canterlot in the morning. It proved to be a setback, but nothing so bad worthy of trekking across unincorporated land crawling with Inferi clerics and infantry at night. It also permitted a night’s sleep, which in the Didact’s line of work was a rare event that shouldn't be passed by easily.
The room was large, taking up half of the train car. There was only a single bed, off to the side with several couches and a tiny kitchen making up the rest of the room. The room was cozy at best, obviously made for a richer crowd who wanted a day trip in comfort. Even with his own wealth (which he refuses to ever keep track of) the Didact could never get used to such blatant over-comfort. Slowly, he walked to one of the sofas, cautious of it as if it would explode in his face. He sat down awkwardly and let the sense of apparent “comfort” sink in.
Celestia huffed with amusement as she casually strided towards the bed and sat down at the end confidently. “I imagine you aren’t really used to posh society life...”
The Didact shook his head. “I was raised in a middle-class house in one of the larger cities of my home country. Even now, with such a high galactic status... it’s not me.”
“I never would have guessed you were raised by a family,” Celestia joked. “I’ve always thought you were like this perpetually.”
He only cracked a smile, before laying back onto the rest of the sofa. “That was a long time ago your Highness: a lifetime ago to be exact...”
Celestia looked at him. For some reason, he seemed depressed. “Didact, you’ve saved my life twice today. You gave me a new magic and outlook towards potential. You even gave me clothes, even when you didn’t have to. Why must you be so formal with me? I, personally, will always think of you as a friend of mine... can’t you think of me the same? Please, just call me Celestia... or Tia.”
He sighed with exhaustion, the soft sofa lulling him. “If you say so...”
“Were you always this stiff?” Celestia teased, crossing her legs and leaning back onto her hands.
The Didact simply remained silent. He knew exactly what she meant, even when she didn’t mean it. If she considered him a friend, then that was her folly. He had very few friends, and that was by design. He could only really name two who’ve stuck with him through the long years: through the school days and the military life. Less people meant less chance that someone or something would go after them.
Certainly, Celestia may consider him a friend, but then that meant it was her choice to get hurt by all of his secrets.
***************
Zero-three hundred hours...
The train had already stopped in Stalliongrad and was well on its way back to Canterlot. Celestia was asleep in the bed, while the Didact himself was resting on the sofa he sat down in first. He was asleep, at least, until he woke up only moments before. He didn’t wake up abruptly, as if from a nightmare or a dream, but instead quietly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Something felt... off.
Unable to find out what was putting him off, and unable to get rid of the feeling long enough to fall back into a catnap, the Didact got off the sofa, stretched his muscles for a second, and walked over to the tiny kitchen off in the corner. Underneath a small counter that separated the space from the rest of the room was a tiny refrigerator, stocked with drinks and snacks. Glancing around, he pulled out a glass bottle of milk and opened it for a drink. 
A quiet moan snapped his attention back to the train car. Setting the glass down, he found that it came from Celestia, only turning underneath the sheets. He wondered what could possibly be going across her mind. She’s been through this situation almost completely side by side with him. When he was younger, only starting his training, a cleric had challenged him and completely wiped the floor with him. The Didact had never previously faced such fervent and terrifying conviction and determination in the magical discipline. The night after in the hospital was the first of many where he would suffer traumatic nightmares from the aftereffects of the cleric’s magic.
Yet, the princess slept peacefully in her bed, not waking up even slightly due to the trains motion or bumpiness. There were no nightmares plaguing her subconsciousness or her dreams. She was sound asleep and cut off from the rest of the world. The Didact walked around the car as quietly as he could, sipping his glass of milk. He heard Celestia take in a sharp breath and shiver in the corner of his eye. Respectfully, he pulled the sheet over her chest and shoulders and picked up the discarded jacket of his from her arms. She subconsciously grasped for it, trying to pull it back, but he freed it from her grip and laid it over the back of a sofa.
“Sweet dreams, Tia.” He finished his glass and left the empty bottle on the counter. With nothing else, he sat back down on the sofa and took a deep breath.
“So that’s how it’s going to be...”
Like a flash, he reached over behind him and flipped the shadowed cleric to the ground in front of him. This cleric was the embodiment of why no one ever fights a cleric at night. Its shadow magic was crawling over its body, the armor and flesh darkened to a near pitch black. Its eyes glowed with a vicious luminosity, as if it was staring at its first real meal in weeks.
The Didact blocked its claw strike, before lashing out with an elbow from his other arm, then following up with a knee to its stomach. The cleric was pushed back and avoided hitting a sofa. It crouched low to the floor and pounced up like a spring, claws and teeth bared. The Didact wasted no time, as he charged his magic to its full power and released it onto the cleric’s chest. Without a flash of light, or even a sound, the shadow cleric dissolved into atoms, and the Didact sat back down with a sigh, pulling out from his coat pocket a lone cigar.
“All roads lead to Trantor,” he said as he cut and lit his smoke, “and that is where all Star’s End.”
He puffed and exhaled, growling his next words. "Come on Rassilon... make your move."
> 2:6- Twyla
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight sat outside of the castle’s boutique as Aria, Jovian and Vulcan were fitted for their suits for the Summer Sun Celebration. She couldn’t believe that the celebration was only two days away. She assumed that her friends were still busy with the preparations: Applejack with her catering, Pinkie Pie with her party planning, Fluttershy with her birds and Rainbow Dash with her practicing. Even Rarity had her job, one which she was performing right now to try and take her mind off of what happened earlier in the evening.
Just like with what happened to Crescent Star, Twilight was the only one without something to distract her, and she was the one who was suffering on the inside because of it. She wanted to just stop everything, curl up and cry, but the tears refused to come. Twilight Sparkle had finished her crying: the unicorn from before that cracked under the immense pressures of life was no more. From that point on, she made a vow to herself to become a beacon of humanity.
Twilight, simply sat in one of the chairs besides the door, deep in thought. She was thinking about many things: herself, Celestia, Crescent Star, the Didact, but especially about the Inferi. They were a persistent group, always able to pop up when one least expected it. It was also obvious that they knew about the power of the Tempest and of the Elements of Harmony. It was unfortunate that she couldn’t retrieve the Elements herself: they were safely locked away in the vault and could only be accessed by Celestia, her older brothers Jovian and Sirius, and her father. Twilight felt that if she had the power of the Elements with her when Rassilon had showed his ugly face...
She sighed heavily as she dismissed the thought. Right now wasn’t the best time to be thinking about what could’ve happened if this was that. No, right now she needed to be focused on what to do with what she had. They had four of the six Keys of Astra, she had the other two. They have the backing of a large interstellar organization, she had the backings of the six most powerful magicians of Astra and the Didact.
It didn’t take much to see that, while the Inferi largely disrespected and looked down at humans, the experienced ones who’ve seen action- the leaders and the commanders- still feared and respected the Didact for his apparent ability and skill. Even Rassilon, the Prophet of Truth and head of the Church of Unitology, an apparently vast and powerful institution, was weary of the Didact’s power. Rassilon was keen to hide his magical aura from the two of them, so she couldn’t think of how powerful of a magician he was.
Her concentration was broken when she heard the patter of boots approaching her. They were lighter than the Didact’s and the step was bouncier, so she could only presume...
“Well howdy, Twi’.”
She smiled as she looked up to see Applejack walking up and sat down in an adjacent chair. Like with everypony else she saw, humanity seemed to be suiting her. Her skin color was a tanned caramel, like Rarity’s, but her look was far different than their friend’s. She wore a pair of well made and well fit denim jeans, covered by a set of brown chaps. Tucked in under her belt, she wore a red flannel shirt, with a brown leather jacket over it. Her hair had been extended down the long of her back, tied off at the end with a band and kept in check with her signature brown stetson resting on top.
Twilight cleared her throat as she composed herself. “Hello Applejack. I’d imagine that the catering you’ve been working on is going well?”
“Yup!” Applejack leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily. “It’s been some hard workin’ in the kitchen, especially with much of the Apple clan unable to help, but Big Macintosh and Applebloom have been wonderful help, and so has the kitchen staff: puttin’ up with our eccentricities an’ all.”
Twilight turned with a cautious look. “You’re trying to tell me something, are you?”
Applejack sighed again. “Can’t fool you, can I Twi’. Rarity told Rainbow Dash an’ I about what happened.”
“Oh dear.”
“Are you alright Twi’? I mean, dealin’ with some alien conspiracy?” Applejack put her hands up and leaned back slightly as Twilight looked at her peeved. “Now ah don’t mean y’all can’t handle it: ah know you can. What I am trying to say is that we’re all worried, and we don’t want ya’ to get hurt.”
Twilight cast her eyes down to her feet and silently nodded. Applejack had a point. She knew very well that these soldiers and clerics were resolute to kill her if necessary, and she was purposely make it pretty necessary for them to do so. She felt way over her league, but there was more. She felt like she was obliged to help, and that the Didact was depending on her to do so now that she made herself involved. There was something else too, the distinct feeling of hope: that through everything she and her friends have been through- through all the suffering and pain- there was something that made her hopeful that everything will turn out okay.
“I appreciate it Applejack.” Twilight turned to look at her friend again, a smile forming across her face. “But I’m sure everything will be alright in the end...”
Applejack looked back at her, an eyebrow raised in question. “Twilight...”
She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and continued to smile. “It’s okay AJ, I have faith.”
Applejack looked down for a couple seconds, unsure of her friend’s smile. Personally, she felt like the Didact was leading them on, but Twilight wasn’t ignorant, or stupid in any way. If the Twilight trusted him wholeheartedly, she trusted Twilight’s judgement. Applejack nodded and raised her head back up.
“Okay Twi’, if y’know what you’re doin’, then ah trust ya.”
Twilight nodded back as Applejack stood up and stretched, about to leave again. “Oh, Princess Luna had ‘nvited us all to dinner in an hour. Are ya gonna be able to make it?”
Twilight thought about it, wondering what else could she possibly do that would interfere with dinner. Thinking of nothing, she looked up at her friend and nodded happily.
She hadn’t eaten in ages.
***************
Twilight opened the doors to the dining hall and walked across the room to a waiting chair. Luna sat at the end, where Celestia normally sat, and was flanked by her friends and the royalty. Twilight smiled when she caught sight of her foalsitter, Mi’Amore Cadenza, and of her brother sitting next to her, glad that Luna had invited them too to join them. She also noticed a key, obvious fact: everypony was a human being. She was happy that Rarity kept her promise like she always did. Now, they all sat awkwardly on the chairs designed for ponies.
Luna looked up at her as she walked closer, and gestured to a chair next to her. Twilight obliged, and sat down with a smile at the promise of food.
Luna stood up, her blue military tunic straightening out with her with silver medals jingling as she spoke with a gentle accent. “Before we eat, I’d like to make some announcements. First, my sister and the Didact have not returned from their current enterprise and it seems that they most likely will not be joining us. I have also alerted the chefs of our current ‘situation,’ for lack of a better term, and they will have an assortment of omnivorous foods for us tonight. I’d also like to add-” She cut off as she diverted her attention from the table and looked up at the door. “Ah, professor... so glad you could join us.”
“I’m glad I could make it too... thanks to Rarity here...” Twilight looked up towards the door of the dining room, her eyes watering with delight. With his right arm in a carefully made sling and cast, Crescent Star slowly made his way towards his chair, having to lean on a cane to help stay up. The genomorphic spell seemed to have helped with his healing: the metabolism of a magically adept human doing wonders as his new body did it’s job. There were still a wrapping of bandage that covered the side of his neck and shoulder that was hit, a loose tunic covering his torso.
Twilight was quick to get up from her chair and to rush over to him, adamant to stand by his side and to help him walk. Crescent Star couldn’t complain: he definitely needed the help.
“You’re a godsend Sparks...” The solemn comment from the suffering professor made Twilight smile even brighter as she guided him to the open chair next to hers, helped him sit down and then sat down herself.
Luna nodded with a pleased look before she cleared her throat. “Ladies and gentlemen... dinner is served.” The pony waiters knew their cue well, entering the dining room through the large kitchen doors almost immediately after she said ‘served’. Platters and plates were levitating around them, covered by silver domes that prevented any hint of their contents from leaking.
They set them down at the center of the table, between the thirteen and uncovered the assortments of fruits and vegetables cooked to their enjoyment. In addition, there were a variety of cooked meats, straight from the freezer for use when gryphon ambassadors came, and were laid out to be eaten by anyone who wanted it. Jovian, Vulcan and Rainbow Dash went straight into it with enthusiasm, focusing their dinners around the meat products. Luna also ate with a prefered carnivorous diet through the meal as well, though her professionalism kept her calmer about it than her brothers and friend. Aria and Fluttershy choose to ignore the meat, solely keeping to their previous, herbivorous pony diet. The rest mixed the two together into a delicious blend of taste and nutrition. Overall, the fact that they were consuming something that many of them never would have thought to do before didn’t bother them. Twilight was reminded of the old pony saying “When in Roan”, but it didn’t seem to give the situation justice.
Primarily, she kept her focus on Crescent Star. The genomorphic spell had made him tall, almost as tall as the Didact, and kept the look in his green eyes that he always seemed to have. His skin was paler, though she thought that could be attributed to a lost of blood. Nonetheless, regardless of his currently frail appearance, the professor seemed well with the transformation. As he ate, he would use his free hand or his magic, for things that his hands couldn’t hold or he was unable to grasp firmly.
“I haven’t seen the Didact since his stunt in the infirmary,” he said, trying to strike up conversation with Twilight. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen Princess Celestia since then either. Is she well?”
Twilight nodded, quickly swallowing the food in her mouth. “She’s just fine, and so is the Didact. Earlier today, the two of them went out on a hunt for the truth about what’s going on. I haven’t seen them since then.”
Crescent Star acknowledged her as he levitated his fork to his mouth, his hand currently too shaky to do any good. Taking a bite, he chewed and swallowed. “So how have you been? Dealing with all this I mean.”
Twilight looked down into her plate, solemnly. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “It feels wrong that anypony or anyone would have to do things like this, yet at the same time, I can’t stop myself from justifying it. I... I even killed one: directly, by my own hands and actions. I know that that is a fact that might scar me for life but, at the same time, I can’t stop myself from telling me over and over again that there was nothing else I could do.”
“Was there something else you could’ve done?” he asked politely.
Twilight only shook her head slightly, a deep sigh ringing. “No, there wasn’t.”
Crescent Star turned his body to face her as he placed his hand on her thigh, trying to comfort her. “Sparks,” he whispered reassuringly, “I’m not even going to pretend to understand the turmoil you’re probably going through right now. I can’t begin to imagine what killing a person would do to my consciousness. I cannot try and rationalize to you that it’s ‘survival of the fittest’ or that you were justified. It’s not my place. I can only tell you that it is your responsibility and your choices, and that whatever you chose, should be for the best of those around you.”
Twilight looked up as he finished. “You’re a strong girl Sparks, and I’m sure you can get through this.” She nodded, deep in inner thought as he patted her.
“I think I should head back to the infirmary,” he said. ‘I still need my rest and I still need my wounds taken care of. Twilight, can you please help me?”
She stood up and did so: helping him get onto his feet, handing him his cane and holding onto him so he wouldn’t fall down. The two of them bid the rest of the party goodnight, Twilight telling them she would go straight to bed after she helped Crescent to the infirmary. They made their way down the echoing corridor at a slow pace, but Twilight was once again adamant to stay by Crescent’s side. As they walked, several guards passed, each one offering his or her assistance, but Twilight would always kindly refuse it, telling them that she had it handled. Crescent Star would only smile each time, letting Twilight lead him to where he needed to go.
After long minutes of winding corridors and hallways, the two of them reached the doors that lead into the infirmary wing of the citadel. Crescent Star slowly released his wrap around Twilight’s arm and shifted to face her.
“Thank you for taking me back,” he repeated, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“I’m glad I could help,” she could only mutter through a half-smile. Though she hated to admit it, she was completely lost in thought about the Inferi, and Crescent Star could see that.
“Twilight, it’s very important that you understand that death is a natural part of life. I don’t believe I told you, but while i was on my expedition, I knew several ponies who were killed on the way. During our trek through the Gorgon Desert, two of our group of ten simply fell over due to dehydration and died there. It was a similar fact when we went over through the Muudi Desert with another pony. When I told you guys about my exploration in the jungle for the ruins of Dust, I purposefully left out that I had a team go with me, and that every single one of them died. A few were killed by wild animals, while the rest died from malaria: Tartarus, I would have died of malaria out there if I didn’t make it to Zebrica like I did.”
Twilight didn’t expect hearing that. When Crescent Star originally told her about his expedition before he left, he had sounded unquestionably excited about the concept of being able to research what he wanted first hoof. Even after a year, he had still seemed to possess that pride and excitement when he retold them his stories: as if he had experienced only the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.
Now, Crescent Star looked tired. She knew he was only nineteen, like her, but with the moon and starlight gently reflecting off of him, he looked as if he was fifteen years older. It reminded Twilight of how the Didact was, what he told her.
“I am young,” he had told her with a blank expression, “I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, Death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I have seen how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.”
Twilight now understood how any experience like that could make turn a man into something beyond his years. She understood why Crescent Star was so calm and collected about her problem of her consciousness: because it can be justified. If any, one person resolved to themselves that enough was enough, then they would do anything to stop it from continuing on- even if it meant being the last one to pull the trigger.
She had wanted the clerics to stop attacking them and to end their genocidal crusade against the humans and ponies. She still wanted that, but now she realized that she needed to act to make it stop: to fight fire with fire.
“Even after going through all that,” he continued, “I wouldn’t change it for the world. Through all the pain and despair, I have found triumph, accomplishment, camaraderie, experience... love.”
Twilight paused at his last statement, taken aback by his stressing of the word. Before she could react or comment, Crescent Star pulled her into a kiss. Twilight found herself kissing back, never realizing until now how deep her feeling for Crescent Star went. For long seconds, they stood there, unwilling to break away.
It was Twilight who broke away first. Something, a rat she presumed, made a small noise and ruined the happiness and romance in her head. Crescent Star heard it too, and his head bolted to see what was behind him, causing him to wince in pain at the rapid movement. Twilight kept him from keeling over, and decided to lead him to his bed. As they walked into the doors, two unicorn nurses rushed to his side, keeping a respectful distance from the two but close enough to help in any medical way. Twilight half-led, half-carried, Crescent Star to his given bed and sat down next to him, gently setting him down on the mattress.
“Thank you,” he said again. Twilight smiled and leaned in to kiss him and stood back up.
“If you don’t mind, I had a long day and would really like to get some sleep.” Crescent Star nodded to her as she walked away, only turning back to add. “I’ll come visit you in the morning.”
“I can’t wait,” he smiled and laid down carefully as Twilight made her way back into the hallway and closed the infirmary doors behind her. For a couple seconds, she stood there dumbstruck, before she broke out into a giddy squeal. She couldn’t think of how many times kissing Crescent Star had crossed her mind throughout the year of his absence. Now, with him back, she could and she did. She skipped down the hallway, bubbly with exhilarating jubilation. Everything seemed to be brighter in the world around her. The moonlight shined with a more vivid glow against the pale marble, and she loved it. Nothing: not the aggressiveness of the clerics, or the cynical attitude of the Didact, or even the squeaking of the rats, could ruin her mood now...
...except rats don’t squeak that loud on marble...
A voice in her head seemed to snap her back to reality with the cold fact. Her logic was right, of course: no rat made as much squeaking like that. Something was following her, and it was purposefully letting her hear it. She stopped and glanced around, trying to make out anything in the dim moonlight.
“Hello?”
The squeaking stopped, hinting towards the being having halted. “I know you’re there. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to!”
“Please, I mean you no harm.” Twilight was taken aback by the voice. It wasn’t quivering or afraid, but was rather firm and authoritative. It was also clearly not a pony. “Didact?”
The voice came again. “No, I’m not the Didact, but I am a friend.”
“That’s impossible,” Twilight said, “The Didact said that he can’t have contact with his universe at all.” She then paused as she thought about what that could mean, a hypothesis developing in her mind. “Wait, you’re Inferi.”
Her hands ignited with her violet aura as the moonlight was outshined by the light emanating from her. The shadow that the being had been using to had was evaporated away by her magical light, and he distanced himself from her.
Twilight looked up to gaze at his face. He was certainly an Inferi, the yellowed skin color glowing in her violet light. His eyes were a dull orange and his bio-armor shined with silver, spine-like formations running the length of his arms and legs, covering a black suit of under-armor. Admittingly, Twilight realized this was the closest she had ever been to an Inferi soldier without it trying it’s hardest to kill her. She was weary of the large hammer that swung from his hip, always glancing back to it.
“Explain yourself,” she ordered.
He rose his hand, which easily reached the level of her head due to his near 7-foot height. “Twyla Spark... my name is Kotec, and I don’t have much time. If they find out I’m here, then we’ll both have hell to pay. I need to speak to the Didact, so where is he?”
“Why the hell should I tell you?” Her hands glowed brighter as she further charged her magic for a potential attack. Kotec, as he named himself, seemed to become more riled up as she did so.
“Ms. Spark, please extinguish your magic, it won’t help you.”
“And when I do, you’ll be free to kill me.”
He sighed with annoyance. “If I wanted you dead I would have killed you by now.” He paused as he let that statement sink in. “Your magic would be ineffective either way: I’m quite adept at the practice of Gravity Magic.”
Twilight was frustrated that he had a point with her. He had purposefully let her hear him following her, so he obviously wanted to attract her attention, and now it was because he needed to speak to the Didact. Cautiously, she decided to extinguish her magic. Kotec didn’t dissolve back into the shadows, instead resolving to let the moonlight wash over him.
“He’s not here,” she said slowly and with a dim hostility, “and I don’t know where he is.”
Kotec was visibly disturbed, “Kur be damned... Twyla, I need you to listen to me carefully...”
“...Why the hell do you keep calling me Twyla? My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”
Kotec was annoyed at the new disturbance. “Its the same thing: Twyla is an Inferi derivative of Twilight, Spark of Sparkle... Now listen carefully: not everybody in the Inferi Coalition agrees with the policies of the government or of the Church of Unitology. Most are just too afraid to do anything, but I’m apart of a small group of high ranking officials called the Valkyrie. We’re trying to reform and change things on the inside... recently, I got hold of valuable information that I need to get to the Didact.”
“How do you know the Didact?” Twilight asked.
“We’ve been colleagues for a long time. Since he’s not here, I need you to be the one who relays him the message, can I count on you Ms. Spark?” Twilight nodded and Kotec crouched down to her level. “Okay, I need you to tell the Didact that Kamendando Abernathey has discovered that Richard of York gave battle in vain. He’ll know what it means.”
Twilight was confused at the cryptic nature of the message, but she promised to deliver it to him nonetheless. Kotec stood straight up and towered over her once again. With a calm demeanor, he extended his arm and placed his hand on her shoulder. His grip was strong, but gentle enough to tell her he still meant her no harm. “I need to go. Twyla, I need you to stay on your guard. None of the administrators backing this expedition are particularly happy with your meddling with our plans. They will stop at nothing to make sure that you die, even if this current plans of theirs fails and even if it means going to the ends of the universe. There’s greatness in you Twyla, so don’t let me down...”
He smiled and disappeared in the shadows, never coming back again. Twilight was left there to only contemplate the severity of Kotec’s visit. This situation, these clerics and the involvement of the Inferi were growing into a full conspiracy.
...On the bright side at least, Twyla certainly was a fitting name...
	
> 2:7- Human Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Didact and Celestia had arrived in Canterlot early in the morning. Even with the sun only just peeking out above the horizon, lazily illuminating the white clouds that have been covering the city all week, the city had been bustling with activity as ponies, zebras and even some gryphons and elk made their business around the city. The Summer Sun Celebration had the city filled with visitors and tourists from around the known world came to see the rising of the sun for the longest day of the year. Even with the streets packed with ten times more visitors than normal, the Didact and Celestia had reached the castle well before breakfast.
From there, Twilight met them in her given bedchamber, which she had only just been woken up when a Solar Guard came in to tell her of their arrival. For approximately ten minutes, the two of them sat down in the room’s lavish chairs, while Twilight sat groggily at the side of her bed, wrapped in sheets to cover her body. The first thing she told them about was the visit from Kotec, his message for the Didact, and that he told her that he would know. The Didact only nodded in response to her regurgitation of the situation, hinting to neither his understanding or lack thereof. 
Afterwards, he went on to confirm to her and Celestia that he did know him personally, and that Kotec Abernathey, regardless of his intimidating size and personality, was kind and could be trusted with doing what is right. “Kamendando Kotec Abernathey,” he said. “Commandant of the entire Coalition Armed Forces. Every general and every admiral answers to him, and he only answers to the President himself. Think of him as something like the Minister of Defence, but without all the politics. Not only is he a high ranking official, he is one of the stauch public supporters of the Valkyrie, and is keen to relay his opinions of the necessity of reform and change in the Inferi Coalition.” 
He told her that the problem with the Inferi wasn’t them, but was the current regime in power. The Didact even went on to explain to her that the situation was similar with the Church of Unitology: noble teachings and solemn truths having been perverted into a massive lie by the current Prophet of Truth.
After having relayed the Kamendando’s message, Twilight decided to tell the two of them something else she decided. Celestia was confused as to why she had decided to do what she said, but the Didact completely understood, even when he was hesitant.
“Twilight,” he paused as he said her name, “Are you completely sure about this decision of yours.”
She nodded almost immediately, totally confident that what she was doing was right. “When those Inferi attacked us in the hall yesterday, I paralyzed the first one who came after me. When I did, I miscalculated, and the paralysis spell I used had stopped his heart, so he died. He was the first person I’ve ever killed, and I’ve decided that he will be my last.” She sighed heavily, looking down at her lap. “My new name will be my promise to that vow.”
The Didact was still unsure. “I understand that you want to do this, but a name isn’t just limited to the severity of the vow itself... it also becomes what you are. Everything you will ever do and become will be reflected on your name, and it will be burned onto your soul for as long as you live. Now, are you sure you want to do this?”
Again, Twilight nodded almost immediately. “Didact, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle is dead. She died at the hands of those monstrous beast who justify themselves in the name of faith and patriotism. From now on, my name is Twyla Kassandra Spark, and I, will never, kill.”
Celestia could only stare at her student and her determined spirit. The Didact, however, decided to stand up straight, facing her, and gave her a salute. Twyla looked up at him, and raised her arm to return a sloppier version of his own, which he lowered after she did.
From that point on, Twilight Sparkle chose to be henceforth named Twyla Spark, and she severed all ties to her former self.

***************

The day before the Summer Sun Celebration marked the arrival of both Crown Prince Sirius, with his Nova Guards, and of their father, with his unknown entourage. Everypony in the castle knew to expect the two of them later in the evening, so the only thing they had today was absolutely nothing but waiting, so the Didact decided to continue his training with Twyla.
The two of them stood outside in the castle gardens a chilled breeze running through the grass as clouds perpetually covered the sun, giving the world a grey color. A gentle mist lingered and clinged to the numbers of plant life, a solemn calm echoing across the flowers and trees. The Didact sat in the lotus position on the grass, Twyla imitating him across from him.
“Brothers and sisters, we rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering creates perseverance, perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint.”
Twyla tilted her head. “What are you going on about?”
“I’m trying to teach you something: several things actually. The first is that even though I am not spiritual, even I can see wisdom from something that is. The second is that I’m trying to get you to truly understand the severity of your choices.”
Twyla sighed with annoyance. Since she had told them about her changing her name and her promise to herself, neither the Didact or Celestia had left her alone about it. She supposed that it was understandable that they kept babbling about it: it was a drastic decision that took a lot of thought, but that didn’t mean it was any less aggravating that they continued nonstop.
“Twyla.” He made the transition from Twilight to Twyla almost immediately from the point, and hasn’t messed up yet. “This isn’t me trying to convince you otherwise. This is actually the opposite: this is me making damn sure that you stick with this through to the end. Taking an oath to never kill a sentient being is a vast undertaking.”
As he spoke, little specks of magical light levitated in front of his eyes and danced around each other in his magical grip, giving the Didact focus. “Human nature is one of violence, so you will be tempted and seduced every day of your life to give in. You will suffer and hurt, and you will have to endure. Paul said that by enduring your suffering, you will gain character, and character that will give you hope. Do you understand?”
Twyla hesitated before answering. “I think.”
“There is no ‘I think’,” he snapped back at her, “You either understand or you don’t understand!”
“I understand,” she restated. The Didact nodded and stood up, gesturing for Twyla to do the same.
“Stand with me,” he said, “We still need to continue your training.” Twyla nodded and stood next to the Didact, again mimicking his stance as he faced out towards the landscape in the distance, eyes closed. In front of both of them , the gardens dropped down in a cliff, which let any pedestrians in this area see the magnificent view of the landscape of the country below. Here, the calm wind made a serene place to focus, while the view below, a sense of clarity.
“You are already a powerful unicorn,” he said, not moving any further than to talk, keeping his voice quiet, “so you are not in need to learn spells or magicks. What you need to learn is the finess of humanity. Spellcasting and psychophysics isn’t just about rigorous thought and practice, but of the economy of motion. You need to learn time management and how to regulate your aura and your magical reserves. Focus your thoughts and your energy.”
Twyla did as she was told and tried to focus the best she could. She took in deep breaths from her nose and breathed out slowly through her mouth, as her magic teachers long ago taught her to do. She shut out any and all external stimuli, excluding the Didact and his current teaching.
“As I said before,” he continued softly, “to make an oath against killing is a constant challenge. When I was being taught magic and the defensive arts, my teacher and my sensei always told me to do whatever it takes to first survive and escape, even if it meant taking another life. That will obviously not be the case with you. Your magic will then have to become fluid and responsive on a moment’s notice, able to bend and be manipulated like water. This will be hard, and you will fail... constantly, but in the end, you will have complete awareness of your magical aura and of your abilities.”
She entered a meditative state. Meditation was a bizarre concept to grasp, for any sentient. Within the realm of the known world to Equestrians, meditation was form of relaxing and a mode to release stress. To humans, primarily on Erde-Tyrene, meditation was utilized more for the spiritual and mental aspects. Human meditation went beyond Equestrian meditation, in which the practitioner induced a form of consciousness that let him contemplate and reflect on a certain mentality or emotional state. The result, was a clearer sense of thought and understanding.
To any who practiced magic, such as the mancers of the galaxy or to the highest levels of unicorns in Equestria, meditation also served as a means to visualize, measure and sharpen one’s magical aura. Trying to explain this form of deep meditation to a non-magical user, and even to a lesser magical user, was hard. Twyla saw herself almost like in an outer-body experience, floating on the inside of a bubble. The world around her was darkened, as if in a moonless night, while objects were surrounded with tendrils of violet colored lights, swirling around as if in some ethereal fluid. On the outside, it would appear as if Twyla was standing still with her eyes closed, as if she was dreaming.
That was the best way this form could be ever explained by a non-magically inclined human: like trying to explain color to a blind person, while being blind to it yourself. Regardless of whether or not the reader or the author could ever understand, Twyla herself floated stationary in front of her body. Here, the tendrils floating, as if caught by a rock in a stream, were the brightest: the source of her magical energy.
The magical aura is broken into three parts. The first is the fount, which comes from the body of the magician in question. The psychophysical energy of magic is radiated out from the body into the aura. The more powerful the magician, the brighter the tendrils of the fount become. Surrounding the fount is the aptly named empyrean of the aura. Here, the magical energy floats around unhindered and free, similar to how the air within a bubble moves around while the bubble was intact. The final part of the aura was the shell. The shell marked the point in spacetime where the magical energies of the magician could no longer compete with the natural psychophysical energies of the dark matter of the universe. The colliding energies literally made a shell that encases a perfect sphere of magical energy around the magician. The more powerful the magician, the stronger the fount and the larger the sphere.
Twyla had a very strong fount, the violet light translucently dominating her vision of her body. As such, she knew she had a large aura shell, just larger than her entire library back at Ponyville. For most unicorns she knew, their shells only went past their own bodies. The only exception she’s seen with this was with Crescent Star, who’s fount and shell was similar to her’s, and the royal family members she’s met, who’s founts were so strong that she has yet to feel their shells.
Her’s was like a second nature. She knew every ebb and every current that moved in the empyrean of her aura. The process of focusing one’s magical energy was harnessing these flows so the magic was easier to use. That was where the deep meditation came in: her actual body and mind were focused on dealing with the aura, while her ethereal form of consciousness could probe around and make sure nothing happened to the body and mind. Only some of the highest level unicorns could accomplish this, and from what she heard about mancers from the Didact, Twyla assumed that not many of them could do it either.
While as a being of pure energy and consciousness, there wasn’t much for Twyla to do other than to think and to contemplate. The death of the Inferi soldier played out in her consciousness over and over again, an onion layer covering her better judgment. No matter how much she tried to focus on a different subject, it would always lead back to her accidentally killing him due to her negligence. Granted, neither Crescent nor the Didact, or while we’re at, Celestia or her friends, would treat as such, she thought of it as negligence. She neglected to care about her magical output into the spell, so the paralysis had completely affected him.
She didn’t even realize she had killed him at first. It wasn’t until after the guards had come to help and remove of the remains/prisoners that she realized that the first one she paralyzed wouldn’t move period. It troubled her deeply, and even now, hours later, she could not shake the thoughts of what could have been if she had succeeded in the proper spellcasting.
As she thought about it, she found herself glancing (as a being without a physical body, it’s safe to say she had no eyes to even glance but, for all intensive purposes, we will say that she did) at the Didact next to her body. While hers was covered in tendrils of violet, he was covered in a pale yellow. She was slightly surprised, due to the fact that he had repeatedly shown his magical aura to be blue, not yellow. It was peculiar, to say the least, enough so that she decided to exit her aura and inspect his. The energy between the two of their auras were great enough for the shells to cave in and form between them. As Twyla passed through, she felt the energy change, like a wave of vertigo that almost broke her concentration. She knew the Didact was powerful, but this was a completely different level that she previously thought.
His fount was almost as bright as the sun in the sky and the energy shifted around like a violent storm. To say that he was unfocused would be an incorrect statement; she could feel that he was focused and that he was in fact controlling his energy on a higher level than she ever could presently. Twyla supposed the proper term would be he was mainly vagrant in his thoughts. He didn’t have any deeper sense of purpose or understanding. It was confusing for her to put into words, but she guessed the simplest way she could put it was that his thoughts were in focus, while he wasn’t.
As she contemplated on this, she let the energy fling her like a ragdoll; moving with the currents and ebbs. That was when she realized two things: first, that she was yet to even feel the shell of his aura, and that her aura was almost completely encased in his.
Twyla then thought about something: about how out of focused the Didact was in spirit, which she could only question. “Didact... were you ever a spiritual person?”
The bubble popped and she was jerked back into her body and consciousness. The Didact broke both of their meditations and sighed heavily. “Sit down,” was all he said. So, she sat down on a flat rock nearby and waited for him to sit himself.
He took his time with it. He sat on a rock adjacent to hers, pulled out a cigar and offered her one. Twyla respectfully declined, so he put it away and prepared his own. The Didact remained silent and sat there for long seconds as he smoked. The smell of tobacco assaulted Twyla’s nose. She remembered how her father always had a cigar whenever his colleagues were visiting the house, and that she was forbidden to touch them for a long time. The scent wasn’t necessarily appealing to her, but at the same time she didn’t find it as repulsive or abhorrent as many of her friends did.
“I’d be lying if I told you wasn’t spiritual in my younger days.” He always spoke as if he was an old man, with years of experience behind him. Twyla didn’t find it comforting. “I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. My parents weren’t the most enthusiastic of Christians, but we always went to church and we had faith.”
“What happened?”
“Things change; that’s what happened.” He tossed the cigar over the cliff of the gardens and stood up. After moments of fixing his uniform, he started to walk away, leaving Twyla to stare at him with annoyance.
“When are you going to realize that we’re your friends?” she snapped at him. He stopped, only turning to look at her. “We want to help you,” she continued, “but you need to realize that things work differently in this universe than in yours. Here, we can’t help you if you don’t trust us!”
He didn’t yell or even raise his voice at her, only taking a step closer. “We knew the world would not be the same. Few people laughed; few people cried; most people were silent. I remember a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu was trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says: ‘Now I’m become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
“You don’t even know who I am. If you did, then you wouldn’t want to. Hell, I don’t even want to know who I am. The whole reason that amnesia spell even worked on me was because deep down I let it. I am neither proud of what I have done, or who I am. Tell me Twilight, what is my name?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but realized that she had no idea. He had said it openly when he regained his memories and Rassilon had stated it when he threatened them both. Even through all that, with every other detail of the past few days seared into her brain, she couldn’t remember something as simple as his name.
Twyla looked down at her feet in silence, so the Didact continued. “My point exactly. The reason I’m not spiritual is because God and I aren’t in the best of terms. God has ripped everything I loved out of my life, and I have committed atrocities that would make any normal man squirm. You’re welcome to do any and all the soul searching you want Twyla, but leave me out of it.”
He walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.

***************

It was another five hours before the Didact saw Twyla again. He was sitting in the forum that lead to the reserved apartments for royal guests and dignitaries, as well as the bedchambers of Celestia and Luna. In the chair next to him was Celestia, who was more willing to one of the Didact’s cigars.
“Hey.”
The Didact looked up from his conversation with the princess and faced Twyla. “Good afternoon...”
Twyla couldn’t think of anything else to say, simply standing there in the Didact’s imposing silence. Celestia, however, would have none of it, so she cleared her throat obnoxiously.
“Twyla, I want to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you in the garden for simply wanting to find out more about me...”
Twyla nodded, still averting her gaze from him. “Apology accepted...”
Celestia cleared her throat again, hinting that the apologies weren’t done. Twyla huffed. “And I apologize for probing into things you obviously didn’t want to discuss. It’s your past and your life, so it’s not my place to go meddling in it if you don’t want me to.”
“No... it’s not, but apology accepted.” He stood up and offered Twyla a hug, which she happily accepted. The two of them embraced for a couple seconds, before the Didact pulled away and grasped her shoulders. “Twyla, even though I may not say or act like it... you are a friend of mine.”
She acknowledged him and Celestia looked up at her and smiled. “I believe it’s safe to say you don’t need to write a friendship report for this event.”
The Didact glanced over at her with slight confusion, but Twyla rolled her eyes in amusement. Celestia gestured for her to join the two of them in their talk about the Ineri. She explained that the Didact was telling her about the Unitologist religion and of several adventures he had dealing with them. Gladly, she accepted the invitation and sat down. When the Didact presented her a cigar, she didn’t refuse. While she wasn’t keen to smoking, she wasn’t against it; primarily when there weren’t pressing matters she wanted to attend.
For almost an hour, the three shared stories and tales from their numerous adventures. Twyla spoke mainly of the antics that her friends and her were involved in due to their being the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. Celestia talked of the bore and responsibility as the Grand Duchess and as the eldest sister of the Galaxia siblings. Between the three, they enjoyed most of the Didact’s stories. He spoke of what it meant to be apart of the Paradox Agency, and as an Executive.
It was when he was in the middle of telling them about how had first met Kotec Abernathey that a detail of Solar Guards entered the room, their golden armor and white coats shining in the afternoon sun. Celestia was the first to react to their presence.
“Ma’am,” the lead guard said as he approached. All of their helmets floated off with respect to their superior.
She sat upright and stared at them with her full attention. “What do you need gentlecolts?”
“Crown Prince Sirius is waiting for you in the dining hall, ma’am.” Celestia stood up at the report with haste. “Well we don’t have time to waste then.”
The Didact, Twyla, her guards and her all left together, heading to the dining hall.

***************

It was well known that there were five Galaxia siblings. In order from youngest to oldest, they were Vulcan, Luna, Celestia, Jovian and Sirius. Of that list, it was Sirius who was last to arrive.
At first glance, the alicorn was clearly the eldest and the most experienced. He walked with a stride of one who as seen enough things to be cautious. His wings were missing a couple feathers, but nothing beyond the ability to fly. Nonetheless, he kept his navy blue coat to a shine and he tried to maintain his mane and tail to a respectful extent.
As Celestia walked in, accompanied by the Didact and Twyla, she had realized that her older brother had changed quite a bit since she had last seen him a generation earlier. He had grown a full beard and moustache, which covered his mouth to a respectable degree with his pale cyan hair. His eyes were duller, having seen better days. Most noticeably, resting on his back to only just cover his wings, was a grey winter pelt, giving him more of an outdoorspony look over the regal image the other four kept.
As they approached, Crown Prince Sirius was too distracted from a conversation with Crescent Star and Luna, who had been in the dining hall before he arrived.
“Hello brother,” was all Celestia said. The prince turned his head as his face lit up with happiness at hearing his sister’s voice.
“Tia...” He rushed over and embraced her the best he could with her new form. “It’s been a long time kleine schwester...”
She tearfully returned the embrace. It had been a long time; previously mentioned a generation. Even for alicorns, beings who can live for millennia, a generation is a long time for separation. From all of his travels, Sirius became no stranger to separation, so it was always incomparable to the feelings he felt whenever he met another of his family.
“Meine sternen, you’ve changed little sister.”
“I guess that makes two of us brother. When did you become fluent in Gryphon?”
Sirius smiled. “It becomes natural after speaking it among gryphons for almost twenty years. That was in part to my absence for this long: I’ve been in the Gryphon States, living with them and learning their culture.”
Celestia nodded, turning to Twyla. “Sirius, this is my Faithful Student. She wasn’t even born before you left...”
“So this is the legendary Twilight Sparkle?” He said this with bemusement. “Even in the Gryphon States, you are well known as a powerful magician...”
“I prefer to just be called Twyla,” she said, extending her hand to Sirius’ hoof with a smile. As an alicorn, and as the oldest of the Galaxia siblings, he was taller than her, his longer horn extending noticeably past her.
Celestia then turned to the Didact. “This is a newer friend. He goes by the Didact and I suppose is the reason for all the ‘change’ around here.”
“So you’re the culprit behind all of this,” Sirius boasted with enthusiasm. When the Didact silently offered his hand, the crown prince took it and then proceeded to wrap him into a hug. “You certainly are different from any of the species I’ve seen in my travels with our father.”
Celestia cut in. “Where is father, now that you mention it? I thought he was coming with you?”
Sirius waved her off. “He decided to walk and should be up at any time, but back to our freund here. Tell me, what is your species?”
The Didact cleared his throat to answer. “I am human,” he said with confidence. “Specifically  Homo-Sapiens-Sapiens.”
Crescent Star, who was sitting at the table with Luna as this was happening instantly perked up at his words. “What?”
The Didact glanced over towards Crescent Star. “What do you mean, ‘what’? I am human, which we all knew...”
Crescent Star nodded rapidly. “Yes, but it also sounded like you said Homo-Sapiens. ‘Wise men’,” he translated.
“Yes,” the Didact stated plainly. “That is the species classification of humanity in general. How is this so significant?”
“It’s because, son, that it means you are the same race of the Precursors of Astra.” The entire room stopped as it looked towards the door. Standing there was a tall unicorn with a white coat wrapped around his build. His fur was an unnaturally dark black, contrasting his almost translucently white mane and tail. From the angle, they could see his cutie mark: a black circle encompassed by a stream of whites, blues and reds in a swirling motion.
Crescent Star was the first to react, standing up to the best of his ability. “Mr. Event Horizon, I had no idea we would be expecting you too...”
The Didact turned back to Crescent Star. “You know him?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who sponsored my expeditions to find the Precursors of Astra. He came to me at the university a year ago and told me he was a wealthy philanthropist.”
“I wasn’t lying to you when I told you that Mr. Crescent Star.” The unicorn stepped forward into the dining hall, closer to the group. “I just didn’t tell you everything. I understand your shock, and even the shock of Ms. Spark here... but have I failed to raise my children enough to not be so dumbstruck around me?”
Twyla and Crescent Star were confused as to what he could possibly mean. The Didact took one look at Celestia, however, and understood perfectly. While neither Celestia or Luna had seen Sirius in a generation... they haven’t seen him in over a millennia. None of them had. Now, the very stallion who cared and raised the five of them for all of their foalhoods stood before them after having vanished for so long.
As the coat came off, and the great black wing of their guest spread out in the highest of regality, it was the Didact who stated it first.
“Event Horizon Galaxia... King of Equestria.”
Everybody but him bowed to the presence of their king.
	
> Third Interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The living earth... the moon... the sun... the dust... the stars... the singularity...
That was all that Twyla could think about in her restless dreams. Finally, after the longest week of her life, the entire royal family was here, in Canterlot, to see the Summer Sun Celebration. The entire city would be awake and in a perpetual party that will last the entire night. There will be food, and drinks, and games; all until the break of dawn, where Celestia would raise the the sun in a magnificent show. This year, she remembered, Celestia and Luna had concocted a plan to dazzle their own father, the means of which was a secret even to Twyla.
That was why she was in bed, asleep, instead of at a party like the rest of the city. Everybody apart of the royal entourage; the princes, the princesses, the king, the Didact, her friends, Crescent Star and herself, were all resting for the morning: the morning which Twyla thought could become the most memorable of all time.
It would be fantastic.
As she drifted off into sleep, she felt the clouds of the dreamscape caressing her form, lulling her deep into her subconscious. She floated there for what she perceived to be hours, while only minutes had really passed by in the outside world. As Twyla floated, she found her senses clarifying, the clouds parting as her dream manifested.
She found herself in a solid white room. There were no lights or sun, but it was blinding to her eyes. As far as the eye could see was white. A pure white. An unnatural white. Her dream self wasn’t in the nude, like she was sleeping, but she was in a comfortable, almost military-like garb The clothes reminded her of how the Didact was dressed when they first met him. Instead of a white jacket, she had a magenta one, covering black clothing underneath, and it all fit her to a letter.
Twyla only stood there, examining herself, before something came into view. Off to the side were two chairs, across from each other near a table. Sitting in one of the chairs was a person. Curious, she walked over towards it all. As her dream self, she reached it in no time, and was soon standing behind the empty chair, staring at the person.
He was a teenaged boy, approximately Luna’s age. He was tall and lanky, not particularly larger than most, like the Didact was. He had pitch black hair and a firm look, obviously one who wouldn’t cower. He wore the exact same uniform as the Didact did last she saw him. The key differences was that the coat was an ink black, with the length traveling down the right side, instead of the Didact’s left. Where the Didact wore black trousers and boots, he wore trousers and boots of a rich alabaster, as if he was some polar opposite.
While Twyla stood there, examining him, he was reading something on the table, something that appeared to be a newspaper. He never looked up once, not even when he took a sip of his drink. After what appeared to be long seconds, he finally acknowledged her existence.
“Please sit down Ms. Spark. I’ve been expecting you.” He didn’t look up.
He spoke with a rich baritone, never once tripping over his fast pace words. Twyla obliged, promptly taking a seat in the empty chair.
“Would you like some tea?” he asked politely. She nodded, after which he gestured out his hand and showed her a steaming cup of tea next to her arm. She picked the cup up and inhaled the warm, rich aroma of Andromeda Leaf Tea. Twyla sipped it and found that there was a dash of lemon in it... her favorite.
“I would like to state out plainly that I am not a figment of your imagination, or this dream.” Only then did he bother to look up at her. He had green eyes. “I am, in fact, a real person.”
Twyla only had one thing to ask. “Are you God?”
He paused, before letting out a gleeful chuckle. “No... no I’m not God. I could never compare myself to his majesty. My name is Zero.”
Zero. It meant nothing. Nil. Zilch. For all intensive purposes, she was talking to nothing. How anyone could be named Zero was beyond her, but she had other pressing matters she wanted attending to.
“How did you get in my dream Zero?”
Zero smiled. “I didn’t kidnap you or molested your deep thoughts if that’s what you’re asking about. I’m not even in the same universe right now Twyla. I’m currently in a deep meditative state inside of an ice cave on Gravius, in the Didact’s universe.”
“Do you know the Didact?”
“Everybody and their mothers knows the Didact, sweetheart. He isn’t exactly an obscure person...”
She felt a twinge of anger flare inside of her at his “sweetheart” comment. It was obvious that he was belittling her to purposefully get on her nerves. “Do you know the Didact personally?”
“Yes,” Zero answered straight, “I do know the Didact personally. We are close colleagues and mancers... almost equal to each other in both stature and ability. The key difference between us though, is that I’m not suffering from PTSD...”
Twyla perked up at this. “PTSD?”
“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He’s insane, sweetheart. Watching his beloved get murdered in front of him pushed him off the deep end long ago.”
Twyla was shocked. His beloved? To imagine that the Didact had things that he honestly cared for deep in his heart was foreign to her. She had never seen him show much emotion at all, let alone one as powerful as love. “Why the hell is he some ‘Lord of Generals... Master of Admirals’ or whatever then?”
“Relax... while he may be insane to an extent, he’s still cognitive and incredibly smart. You’re not even in the same league as him in the brains department. He isn’t dangerous...” Zero paused on his last words. “Well, dangerous by being a psychopath...”
Twyla sank a little inside. The Didact, the single most greatest hope of saving Equestria, was a giant mental timebomb. She pictured the tragedy that would ensue if he ever lost himself... all the blood that would be spilt.
“Why are you telling me this?” she finally asked.
“Because, he’s not beyond saving. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious thing. A soldier like him would be flat out lucky to never have to experience anything like it. It’s the reason he seems so depressed all the time. It doesn’t manifest itself as anger, so he’s not a threat to your safety. Believe me... I am far more insane than him.”
She tensed up and stared him in the eye directly, careful to say her next words clearly. “What do you mean?”
A voice came from behind her: a terrifying, demonic voice. “I’m SaDiStIc, SwEeThEaRt.” Twyla was immobilized by terror as she stared at the empty chair in front of her. She was unable to react as Zero placed his hands on her shoulders and breathed sensually down her neck from behind. She shivered as he ran his hands down her sides in an obvious, sexual fashion. He was keen to graze his nails down her neck, across her breasts and down on her legs. Even so, she couldn’t move herself to do anything, the primal terror keeping her from moving, and from holding back the distinct feelings of pleasure at his touch.
Zero stopped, settling to grasp her shoulders. “It’S a ShAmE tHaT sUcH a BeAuTiFuL w0mAn LiKe Y0UrSeLf IsN’t My TyPe... It’s the wh0le reason 0n why I can even c0ntact y0u a universe away. That ‘Marker’ th0se Unit0l0gist thugs keep blabbering 0n ab0ut is real t00. Since their arrival, it’s been active and has been imprinting its magic and c0dex int0 y0ur brain... which is h0w I can c0ntact y0ur beautiful mind. The Unit0l0gists are after the Tempest... perhaps the m0st p0werful machine in this universe... They d0n’t want it because they’re l00king f0r kicks 0n a saturday night. The reas0n that machine is s0 p0werful is because it is p0wered by a Marker... I kn0w... I can feel it.”
She could only stutter against the imposing, fear-filling voice and magic emanating from behind her. “W-W-What do you mean?”
He reached his arm over and covered Twyla’s mouth with his hand, causing her to squeal in terror. “The rules 0f this game are simple. First, y0u will n0t speak at all until I let y0u. Sec0nd, y0u will listen t0 everything I am ab0ut t0 tell y0u because it will save y0ur life, understand?”
Twyla nodded her head the best she could, not making a sound. From behind her, Zero smiled with delight. “Y0u must st0p the Pr0phet 0f Truth bef0re he manages t0 unl0ck the Tempest and gain access t0 the Marker. If he d0es, then y0ur w0rld and mine will end. Keep the final tw0 keys safe! If Rassil0n gets his claws 0n them, then n0thing c0uld st0p him fr0m finding the machine. There’s n0thing y0u 0r y0ur allies can d0 presently, s0 all y0u can really d0 is be 0n the l00k0ut f0r anything devel0ping. As l0ng as the Didact is here, the Inferi will be 0n the defensive, s0 beware a third party: s0me0ne wh0 is native t0 the land and als0 wants the end 0f y0ur pe0ple, s0 remove that false sense 0f pride and safety fr0m y0ur mind this instant. Are there any questi0ns?”
He removed his hand and Twyla gasped at the sudden release of pressure. “W-What is a Marker?”
“It’s an ancient Precurs0r bi0rec0mbinati0n machine... an artifact that can create and f0rge life 0n the cellular level... The pr0blem, h0wever, is that the life it creates is s0ur- gr0tesque. It can 0nly create ab0minati0ns... which is why the Precurs0rs buried it here and trapped it behind the p0wer 0f their machine t0 seal it away.”
“H-H-How do you k-know all of this?” Once she finished, she could feel something strange coming over her. She was very afraid of it... yet at the same time, tiny waves of pleasure crossed her. She could feel his magic all over her, playing with her body and messing with her mind. Zero was doing this because he wanted to... and he had the power to do as pleased, when he pleased. He was purposefully pushing her over the edge for his own amusement, and no matter how much her psyche and instinct told her to fear him and his influence, her body and loneliness had other desires. She enjoyed every moment of it.
“Because Twyla... I’m that Marker...”
As the final, strongest wave of pleasure crossed over her, she let out a long, satisfied moan as he completely vanished from her psyche. Every trace of him ever being there was removed; the magic, the table, even the chairs, causing her to fall onto the floor flat, simply laying there as her body enjoyed any lingering effects.
Twyla vowed to herself that no matter how long it took, or how far she would have to travel, she would go out and search for this Zero... then she would murder him for violating her in her own dream...
> 2:8- Eclipse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Even after the events of the previous week, no one could have expected what happened next; not the king, not the siblings, not Twyla, and not even the Didact...
Twyla awoke from a start from her dream. Even in consciousness, she could feel the goosebumps covering her body from the terror and pleasure her mind imagined. It was chilling to know that Zero, the self-acclaimed equal to the Didact, had such power... or that said power was so high for either of them. She looked out the window next to her bed and stared down at the city. Even in the artificial twilight, she could see that much of Canterlot was already heading towards the festival grounds, where Celestia and Luna would raise the sun together, in the first time in a millennia.
She grabbed her clothes and was quick to dress. As Twyla finished, a heavy knock came from her door, two guards- one Solar and one Chinook- opening and peeking behind the door, sent to wake her up for the festivals. At the sight of her already awake and dressed, they swung the door wide and stepped inside.
“Ma’am,” the lead guard said, “We’ve been sent to escort you to Miss Rarity for your dress for the celebration today.”
Twyla put on a smile and nodded, “Of course.”
The three of them left the room, Twyla following the two guards to Rarity’s impromptu workshop in the castle boutique. At this early of an hour, the sun was nowhere close to being raised. The moon had set much earlier in the night, it’s cycle different from its solar partner in dance. Even so, the halls were streaming with activity. Everywhere around her, ponies and even some humans were busy with the final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, trying to get as much last minute details finished before the event. Magical torches gave adequate light, shadows dancing across tapestries and bodies, making a beautiful picture in Twyla’s mind.
Twyla herself reflected back on her dream from before. Casting aside all the... inconveniences, Zero had explained to her much, though a vague much, about what the Inferi were searching for. The Tempest was the obvious answer, but she had never realized that within the Tempest, was an object that crafted the entire focal point of Unitologist belief: the Marker. She wondered what else Celestia had kept out of her story to her about the Tempest and the Elements of Harmony...
...But she couldn’t be thinking about that now. Zero had said that all they could really do for now was to wait for the Inferi’s next move, which he also mentioned might have involvement with a third party... all very interesting and necessary facts for Twyla.
Then she wondered whether or not it was necessary to tell the Didact the information Zero gave to her during her dream. Twyla admittingly had absolutely no idea on how bad this Marker could become. Zero mentioned that in Rassilon’s hands, it could even destroy the world... something she felt the Didact probably should know. At the same time though, she figured that he would already know that about the Marker in general. It didn’t sound unknown to him in anyway. Also, the way Zero talked about him, it sounded like the Didact sorta needed to do this, or at least help. Then, to a more selfish point she was afraid to admit, she didn’t want the information that she orgasmed inside of her dream to be accidentally slipped.
Twyla concluded that she should hold on to the information for the time being, and that the Didact should be able to work without it. As she finished thinking, Twyla realised that they had already reached the boutique, the doors wide open for the royalty and for their friends to come and get their attire for the event. She felt happy that Rarity pulled everything off: like she knew she would, of course.
Rarity herself stood inside, talking to someone who was behind a curtain. The seamstress was already wearing her dress for the celebrations. While it wasn’t as extravagant as some of her greater works, it was still beautiful in it’s modesty and simplicity. Dark green covered with shiny gemstones, all equally placed along the length in key areas, made the majority of the fabric that extended from her shoulders to her ankles, as well as much of the long sleeves. At the waist, the dark color began to cut off and turn into a lighter pastel green, which highlighted the lovely apparel that signified Ponyville’s very own.
It made Twyla wonder how her dress would be, seeing as she had only been measured once as a human after the event in the halls. 
Finally, the curtain pulled away, to which Twyla was shocked by the image of the human king, Event Horizon. Her first instinct was to bow, but before she could, he put out a hand and gave her a look that made her think it was okay not to. Black dominated his suit. His tunic and trousers were the same intensity of the deepest onyx color she had seen. Adorned on his chest were golden symbols and relics, which displayed his status as King of Equestria. Tied on his back and hanging over his shoulder was a cape of white fur that ran down to gently drag on the floor. Real fur. It didn’t have the look of the fake fur that was common in Equestria. It was real fur.
“Isn’t it just superb, Twyla darling?” Rarity took a step back and marveled at her own work. “I managed to make something that told power and royalty...”
Twyla realized that Rarity must have been working all night to finish the king’s and Sirius’ formal dress. “It looks like something fit for a king...”
Horizon chuckled at Twyla’s joke. “I could not have ever pictured something better myself Ms. Rarity. You have certainly done an incomparable job...”
Rarity blushed. “Oh my... well... thank you, your Highness.”
The king turned back to Twyla. “I believe I must excuse myself ladies... if I recall correctly, someone needs to see their new dress.”
Twyla smiled. After he met them all, his Majesty Event Horizon had shown himself to be a relaxed and collected kind of pony. Even after he stated to the Didact that he was a Precursor of Astra, he was calm to explain everything. That was when all the secrets became exposed to everyone. He explained to everyone what Celestia had told her about the Tempest: it’s connection to the Elements of Harmony. He told them what the Cephalowalker told Celestia and the Didact: that is was an ancient weapon created by a pre-equine race long ago, whose myths and legends had become what is today known as the Precursors of Astra- the very same race that he stated was the Didact’s own.
Precursors...
Homo-Sapiens...
They were one and the same. The only ironic part was that the Didact had already known this too, which was probably why, Twyla thought, the king had taken an instant liking towards him. The Didact’s own explanation was met with as much awestruck as the king’s. He explained that modern humanity- in all of it’s diversity and sub-species- while not the exact race of the Precursors, the ones who built the machine, but were still descendants down the evolutionary ladder.
Despite the events of the past week, and of the new information came to light, the king stated that the Summer Sun Celebration should still go on. He said it had something to do with the public: that they can’t begin to make assumptions about things should the Celebration be canceled... so they shouldn’t cancel it.
As he walked out of the boutique and became the new escort of the two guards, Twyla thought about how his argument seemed perfectly logical at the time. She was quickly rushed into the dressing room, though, so she began to focus her attention on the task at hand: her dress.
Rarity walked over to the rack that held everybody’s formal attire for the event. There, she pulled out a lavish dark blue dress and held it up to her friend. “You looked so amazing in this dress, I thought you’d like it if I altered it to fit you now."
“Whoa...”
Twyla instantly recognized it as a modification of her Grand Galloping Gala dress. Even so, it still seemed to be more lustrous and magnificent than before. The blue fabric was adorned with sparkling stars at the waist hem and along the bottom. The top was held up by a strap that sparkled just as much in the light. Rarity even made a pair of gloves that ran up to her elbows. There was no doubt in her mind that it looked more amazing than at the Gala. Twyla could only look at it with watering eyes and hug her friend.
“I cannot thank you enough for it...”
Rarity held back her own tears of joy as she hugged her friend back. “Come now darling; we can finish this happy moment later.” Rarity broke the hug and held Twyla by the shoulders. “Now, you need to put it on.”
Twyla nodded and giddily bounced back into the dressing room, ready to put on her new dress.

***************

There was only an hour left until the rising of the sun. After having received her dress, Twyla had decided to stay and keep Rarity company. She also wanted to see Crescent Star when he came in for his suit. He was certainly getting better from the injury. While the doctors gave him a couple weeks to heal, his human self managed to largely do it in two days, thanks to no small part of magic, of course. What was covered in a large pad of bandages and gauze patches two nights before only needed to be wrapped in one layer. The wound was easy to conceal underneath clothing, and his limp was getting better, though he still needed a cane to walk or even stand for long periods.
Twyla wanted to personally be with him during the Summer Sun Celebration. She was in love with him. The very stallion that had known her almost all her life and had been unable to make any connections of friendship with her for most of that turned out to be the very stallion she had fallen for. The only problem, was that he hadn’t come into the boutique at all yet.
“I wonder why Crescent Star hasn’t come in yet...”
Rarity, who was currently standing outside the dressing room while Vulcan was inside, perked up at Twyla’s idle comment. “That’s because he already came in dear.”
“What?”
She nodded slowly, still looking at the dressing room curtains waiting for the results of her work. “Yup, he came in before the king did. Got his vest and suit and everything.”
Twyla looked down at the floor pouting. “I’m sorry to leave you alone, but I hope you don’t mind if I-”
“Oh, of course I don’t mind.” Rarity turned her head. “Go ahead and go find him... and, if you’re ever wondering... I approve of him.”
Twyla smiled as she walked out of the boutique. “I’m sure to remember that...”
She walked down the hallway and out across the main hall. She didn’t want to just ask if he’ll be with her for the celebration, she also wanted to tell her these said feelings. It was very important to her that she did, today. Twyla guessed as to where he could possibly be in the entire castle, and if she didn’t find him there, then she would keep searching.
Sure enough to her first guess, he was in the personal library. She remembered that it was the very room that she placed the Didact in before he became Vicar Saint to them. She remembered that it was the very room that she saw Crescent Star for the first time in a year.
Twyla found him sitting in one of the chairs, sipping at a cup of Andromeda Leaf Tea, while across from him sat the Didact. Crescent Star was wearing a fancy grey colored, pinstripe suit, with a maroon vest and tie over it, ornate with golden details. He looked ready for a business deal, over a big national celebration. 
Surprisingly, even the Didact seemed better dressed for the occasion. While he still wore his black clothes and white coat with the cutoff, it was neater, well cleaned and pressed, compared to the fresh from the woods dirt that coated it earlier. On his chest were about ten rows of countless military ribbons, below which were two rows of eight or nine medals, glistening in the library candle light. A rich sabre hung from his waist, and a black beret rested in his lap, covered by his hand.
“Ah, Ms. Spark,” he said with a joyed tone, “care to join us?”
Twyla said nothing, and took a seat closer to Crescent Star as the Didact continued. “We were just talking about his Majesty, Event Horizon. Crescent was sharing with me on how he had been sponsoring his expeditions across the known world.”
Crescent nodded, taking a sip of his tea. “I must say that, throughout the whole year of me and my team even working with him personally, I had no idea he was the king himself. He is very generous and patient, always willing to help us out.”
Twyla smiled. “He certainly is a kindhearted man. Over five thousand years is a long time to live.”
Didact smiled himself. “It’s interesting how that works. It’s almost more like an alicorn’s body clock is a hundred times slower than a normal sentient being. I’ve learned that Sirius is almost 3’500 years old; Jovian, 2’700; Celestia, almost an even 2’000; Luna, 1’700; and Vulcan, 1’500.”
Crescent nodded, “It’s hard to imagine...”
The Didact leaned forward in his chair. “Well it’s easy if you try.” He stood up and straightened out his coat, the medals on his chest jingling as he moved.
“I’m sorry to leave you two, but I’m afraid I have somewhere I need to get going to right now.”
Crescent Star looked up at him in confusion. “What’s that?”
The Didact only looked ahead at the door, speaking with an even tone. “Celestia had asked me to be her escort...” He didn’t speak again as he walked out, too quickly for either of them to retort. Twyla and Crescent Star only stared back at him as his heavy footfall began to fade off in the distance.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” she whispered in slight shock.
Crescent couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. “You know, I think so...”
The two of them glanced at each other and couldn’t quell the laughter coming from inside of them. For long moments, the two of them just laughed. It wasn’t just because of the Didact’s statement. It was because they were happy. They were alive.
When the two of them finally stopped, it grew silent. After having gone across the castle to talk to him, Twyla couldn’t find the courage to say anything to Crescent Star. She just sat there, eyes downcast, unable to even look at him because of embarrassment.
Crescent Star spoke instead.
“Twilight, I just wanted to let you know that I love you.”
Twyla inhaled a bit sharper than normal. She looked up over at Crescent Star to see that he was staring straight ahead, focused on some distant point on the wall, too afraid to even breathe. “There,” he said briskly, “I said it...”
She didn’t know what to feel. Sad? Angry? Most likely joyous? Ultimately, she felt sorry. She felt sorry that she hadn’t said it first after all these years of knowing each other. She felt sorry that he could only say this now, after having traveled for a full year, and after having been almost mortally injured.
“Crescent...” Twyla put out her hand and placed it on his own, resting in his lap. “Crescent Star I want you to know that I love you... I love you very much and I’m sorry I never told you this before...”
She wanted to cry, and she supposed he saw that in her eyes, because he immediately wrapped her into a hug and kissed her forehead. “Not the most romantic moment I’ve seen,” he joked, “but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Twyla smiled inside of his vest. She was very pleased; happy that he was with her. Crescent Star stood up, pulling Twyla to her feet. “I’m sorry to disturb you,” he stated with a posh accent, “but I would like to ask if I may be this fair maiden’s escort to the Summer Sun Celebration.”
He lifted up his arm to his side and Twyla pulled her arm through it. “I’d be delighted.”
So with that, they went.

***************

The Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot, no matter how you cut, was perhaps the biggest festival of the year. In Ponyville, the Celebration was met with a party and excitement at the rising sun, but here in Canterlot, that party was always at least fifty times larger. No matter which city or town held it, Canterlot would always celebrate and would always attract the most visitors.
This year was no exception. Ponies and visitors from across the known world were jam packed below the observation balcony where the princesses would come out and raise the sun. With only a couple minutes before the two were to come out, ponies were still making the necessary arrangements for the guests to be present at the ceremony: chairs, side tables and glasses of water included in these preparations.
On the inside, Celestia stood behind the large curtain separating her and her party from the outside world. She was nervous, her arm tightly wrapped around the Didact’s.
“Your Serene Highness, that may not be a real arm you are holding, but it still hurts.” Celestia looked down at how tight she was holding his arm, and promptly loosened her grip with a swift apology.
“Didact,” she followed up, “What about the fact that I’m no longer connected to the sun? How can I actually do what I’m suppose to if I can’t control my own domain?”
The Didact turned his head and gazed towards her. “I don’t believe I ever was able to explain the extent of severing your tie to the Star. Yes, since you went into shock and began to drown in a river, I never had the chance. As you are severed from the Star, you are no longer dependant on it magically. Your aura is no longer parasitizing upon the Star’s magical energy.  Now, you’re own magical energy is separated and is, distinctly, yours. That doesn’t mean you can use that magic to control the “movement” of the Star... only that it is no longer bound and, if left alone, will “move” normally across the sky.”
Celestia looked ahead at the dark curtain. “So, it’s still possible to perform the iconic Raising of the Sun today, as well as the special stunt planned?”
“Yes.” The Didact rose an eyebrow. “Though I’m not certain about the stunt... you haven’t had time to practice all week.”
Celestia smiled as the cue was signaled to open the curtains and to send them through. “We don’t need to practice.”
Without another word, she stared straight ahead with confidence and the two of them walked out from the hall and onto the balcony. To his surprise, it brought a distinct feeling of pride and joy to the Didact at the sounds of the confusion made by the ponies and visitors below at the sight of the Princess of the Sun. He could only imagine what was going on inside of their heads: to see their princess as a strange creature.
She let go of the Didact’s arm and stepped up to the microphone. Her dress flared with the colors of white and with the beautiful phoenix feathers that lined across the length. Even as a strange creature, the audience couldn’t help but gasp and exclaim in awe at the beauty of their princess.
“My little ponies,” she started with her serene, smooth voice, “do not be startled by my change in appearance. I assure you that this is nothing more than magic, and that I am still I. Here, I stand before you as a changed mare; not just in looks but in philosophy. Over the course of recent events, I have learned to understand a whole new world that we have never seen before, and of the privileges and wonders that it holds.
“Which leads me to the introductions of our esteemed guests at this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.” The crowd cheered as Celestia turned and extended a hand to point attention towards the Didact, who stood a couple steps behind her. “Here, representing the Kingdom of Humanity; a place with storybook wonders and people never before seen in these lands; the Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals; the man, known as the Didact.”
He stepped forward and the crowd cheered to him with great enthusiasm. After a couple seconds, he stepped back and sat down in his assigned chair as Celestia continued.
“Also, together with us for the first time in a millennia; my sister, Princess Luna!” The Lunar Princess stepped out, wearing her dark blue military uniform. She smiled and waved at the audience, who didn’t relent from their continuous cheering. She promptly sat next to the Didact.
“Hailing from the Court of Fillydelphia; my brother, Prince Vulcan!” He stepped forward, a group of Fillydephians screaming with excitement at the announcement of their local prince. He wasted no time for waves or stances, moving from the hallway and straight to his seat.
“From the northern region of our beloved country: Prince Jovian and his wife, Princess Aria!” The two moved forward onto the balcony gracefully. Aria looked absolutely stunning in her sparkling pink dress, while Jovian looked powerful: his fur uniform doing nothing but increasing his imposing stance.
“Returning from his travels across the Gryphon States: Crown Prince Sirius!” The crown prince gave the most theatrical entrance yet: his arms splayed out and his black cape fluttering on his back. The crowd loved it, and roared even louder. When a particular group of visiting gryphons flew up above and cheered, Sirius stood firm and gave them the gryphon salute, before hastening to his seat.
“Now presenting, the esteemed heroes of Equestria: the very women who saved our nation from the return of Nightmare Moon, who stopped the chaos of Discord and who helped thwart the Changeling Invasion only a month ago. May I introduce, the Elements of Harmony!”
The six mares turned women walked out and the crowd cheered louder than ever. Each one of them waved and smiled with joy towards the audience, Rarity and Pinkie Pie even going to blow kisses out towards the air. After a second, the six, plus Crescent Star at Twyla's side, sat down and took their seats in the second row, behind the royalty and Didact.
Celestia paused from her announcements, clearing her throat into the mic to squander a couple seconds. As the crowd quieted down on their own, she continued with her final guest.
“And finally, after over a millennium of travels and exploration; the very stallion who before then had arisen to help this beloved country against the mighty demons and enemies who sought to harm us. He is the stallion who put an end to the reign of Discord and who stopped King Umbra the Terrible from his conquest of our land. Introducing, for the very first time in a long time; our father, King Event Horizon!”
He came forth without a sound or word. The audience’s cheers were less of joy than it was of shock. As the king walked out onto the balcony, most of the crowd had no idea what to do. That was until there grew a tiny murmur of voices. Soon, that murmur grew, and the entire crowd then began to sing the Equestrian National Anthem. Not a voice quivered, and not a single pony in the audience was quiet. On the balcony, everybody stood up and faced towards Event Horizon as the hymn was sung proudly throughout the entire city. Even the Didact, who wasn’t of the land and wasn’t of Equestrian blood stood, and saluted to the king: the utmost champion of Equestria.
As the song ended, he took his seat, separate from the rest, and looked forward towards Celestia. He didn’t say a word, only smirked with pride towards his eldest daughter, as if to say ‘This is your moment... so do not wait for me to approve.’
She nodded ever so slightly, and turned to Luna, who stood up and took her position behind her sister. Not a word was spoken between them as they put their hands together as if in prayer and filled their bodies with their magic. Celestia could only smile as her body became encased in a white glow, her eyes bright with magical energy, and she began to float in front of the audience She outstretched her arms and raised her head, the glow of her magic intensifying to become the brightest thing in the sky. As this happened, the most beautiful of wings unfolded from behind her.
Celestia became not just stunning, or alluring, but angelic.
As she reached high into the sky, the sun finally erupted from the horizon, its lifegiving glow casting down upon the earth and reflecting through the princess as a kaleidoscope of light.
That was when Luna became encased in her own blue magic, and when a Celestial Firestone lifted from her enclosed hands and began to glow fervently with magic. Like her sister, Luna floated upward and became a smaller Angel of the Night, easily outshined by her sister’s greater light. As the two hovered high in the sky and the Celestia Firestone between them shined like a star in between, the sky darkened and the gentle glow of Luna began to grow.
Soon, she had grown become as radiant as her sister next to her. The sky had taken a dazzling violet and orange color, as if in the dusk of the evening twilight. The sun itself still shined, but was only a ring of yellow behind an orb of pitch black.
For the first time in a millennium, the sun and the moon reigned in the sky together, in harmony: one never able to outshine the other.
The whole show lasted a total of eight minutes, and the entire audience was captivated by it all. Eventually, the two princess had descended back onto the balcony, and the sun had risen to become the great orb of the sky. The moon had moved off to the side, still aglow by the sunlight even when it was no longer covering the magnificent star of day.
It was evident that some had even been moved to tears, too stunned to react to what had transpired in front of them. Slowly, the sound of clapping rang out, the first to share his thoughts being the Didact, who stared towards Celestia with his own watering eyes. After that, the sound could be heard from across Canterlot, as every pony and every being living in the city roared and clapped in astonishment.
Celestia and Luna both walked towards the mic, the eldest speaking with a tone of pride and joy. “May this ceremony remain as a symbol of harmony and unity. Only together can our nation survive: both from outside, and within...”
She turned back towards the group, her words no longer amplified by the microphone. “Rainbow, if you would be so kind...”
The woman stood up and cracked her knuckles. “It’ll be my pleasure princess...”
Rainbow Dash lifted up and flew from where she had stood high into the sky, preparing for her signature move. That was when the Didact finally saw it. It stabbed him in the heart like a dagger. He was astounded that he, one of the greatest tacticians of an entire galaxy, had not realized it sooner.
Richard of York gave battle in vain. Kotec’s message had been lost to him in its blatant simplicity, but he finally understood what the Kamendando meant.
“Twyla.” He rapidly turned back to the seat directly behind him, grabbing the woman and bringing her closer so she could hear. “Twyla, the message!”
She was growing frantic by his urgency. “What about the message?”
“It’s a mnemonic device! It’s one of the ways used on Earth to help memorize the colors of the rainbow!”
She was wide eyed as he continued. “They plan on using the Sonic Rainboom as means for their next part in the plan!”
Twyla looked up towards her friend and realized that it was too late to stop her now. By now, Rainbow was already beginning her descent and was gaining speed... fast! “Didact... what do we do?”
He frantically looked around in the sky, before the words came from his mouth. “I-I don’t know...”
Rainbow Dash reached her velocity, and the sky erupted forth a magnificent rainbow. The sonic boom dimly echoed through the area, quickly dissipating as she made her rapid arch through the sky...
...That was when a louder boom rang out in the sky, followed by a series of booms...
“It’s a slipspace rupture...”
The sky was torn apart as a rip in the fabric of spacetime was instantaneously created and mended. Floating lazily above the outskirts of Canterlot, barely missing Rainbow Dash as she was sent careening off to safety, was a ship. Its kind was never seen in Equestria before, the audience gathered for the Summer Sun Celebration now awestruck by the appearance of this alien object. But the Didact knew exactly what it was. He knew that it wasn’t something promising or hopeful: it was an Inferi Prophecy-class corvette. Painted across the side, written in the Inferi language, was the name of the ship: ISC IOSEPH KALEIR.
The Didact instinctively backed up, knowing that there was now a crew of over 400 Inferi soldiers resting over their head: a hornet’s nest ready to attack. What was worse... corvettes never were alone.
“GET DOWN!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, everyone on the balcony dropping to the ground as his words were followed by more explosions in the sky. The following tear was far greater than the previous, the air pressure released breaking every single glass object in the city. The ship was much larger and more menacing than the previous one. Hovering above Arcem Solis was a Reclamation-class destroyer; almost a thousand men and women trained for war and conquest. ISC ABINADI CKES was scrawled out neatly across its side in Inferi.
This wasn’t an expedition group anymore; this was an army ready war. War with Equestria and with whoever stood in the way of finding the Leviathan.
The Didact stood up, the relaxed demeanor he held about the celebration gone. He was in full general-mode. “Everyone up! Galaxias; I need all of you to prepare the city and country the best you can. Try and evacuate as much ponies and visitors as possible, then get any and all forces prepared for a combat situation. We don’t have much time so make it quick!” No one on the balcony doubted that he was in charge now. Vulcan and Sirius nodded in confirmation. The Didact turned to Fluttershy and Rarity.
“Shy, Belle; I need you to get Rainbow Dash up here ASAP. You can fly and you have the best eyes, so try and find her and make sure she is okay!” They nodded.
“Spark, Jack and Star! You three, stay with me. I’m going to work on a plan to try and get those warships out of the sky, so I’ll need some muscle and some magic. The rest of you...” he huffed with what sounded like amusement. “Gentlemen! Prepare to defend yourselves!”
He took off at a sprint, Applejack, Twyla and Crescent finding it next to impossible to keep up. Celestia, Jovian, Sirius and Horizon also followed close behind, heading to both prepare the castle guards and thinking it would be best to deal with the crowd at ground level. The eight of them were quick to reach the great halls of of the citadel, only needing to cross the wide expanse. They were unprepared for the appearance of several guards, each holding their spears towards them
“Halt!” The Didact wasted no time, pushing one of the spears aside and quickly burst forward to incapacitate the guard holding in it. He shot out his hand, aiming for the fur of the neck, which would knock out the guard, but when he hit it, felt strange. It didn’t feel like fur at all, but something hard and solid... almost like chitin.
“What the hell?” The explosions of green flame around him danced around the room, each of the guards, as well as a number more that came in during the event, slowly being engulfed by one.
Celestia shook her head in disbelief. “No... it can’t be...”
They were humanoid, each covered in a shell of black chitin and snarling with a gaping maw of sharp fangs. The insectoid group was quick to surround the group. Their hands were bound and they were force to their knees, unable to anything but comply at the moment.
Twyla looked up at their new captors... their third party. She knew them well. She knew what they were and what they were capable of. She knew they wanted to destroy all of Equestria, and that they would do anything to do so.
She knew that they were the Changeling Swarm.
Her thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps. The woman walked erratically, swaying back and forth with each step. Her skin was the palest of whites and her neon green eyes were fixated on Twyla, refusing to even blink or look away. Her voice was as erratic as her footsteps, clearly marking her insanity.
“So, do you like our new invasion force?” She tilted her head and huffed as no reply came. “Well, it took some bargaining on our part, but it helps that as a swarm we don’t care about the status of the world either way. Hehe... I’m sure you’re just dying to find out why we chose here instead of the machine... oh yes, we know about the machine...”
Twyla looked up at the Changeling Chrysalis, who had skipped Crescent Star and Applejack and had stopped in front of her. She bent down to Twyla’s level, sharp angles in her stance from her insanity. “I’m sure you, precious, are wondering how I survived that blast from your older brother. Well, I must say it wasn’t easy. It certainly, cost, my, sanity; thanks to your meddling and your interference! Now? Now, I’m going to make you pay. Our new allies said that I have claims to your demise... how does that make you feel?”
Twyla’s only response was to spit in her face. She recoiled back in disgust. “Bad pet!”
Chrysalis bend down and punched Twyla square in the jaw, sending her to the floor. Finished with her, she moved on to the Didact. “And what about our stranger here? We all know that he is probably the worst of anyone present in this room. Does anyone here know how many people have died in his name and cause? I certainly don’t.” 
She laughed at him, but he refused to respond or even look up at her. “Hm... you’re a boring pet.” She then kicked him in his ribs, a hard crack echoing around the room. The Queen moved on, skipping Celestia and Sirius, choosing to stand in front of Jovian and Horizon. With Jovian bound,  she simply bent forward and reached out to retrieve the sword hanging from his uniform.
“I hope you don’t mind that I’m borrowing this,” she said playfully, “All you rich boys have such wonderful toys.”
“Release these binds,” Jovian growled, “then we’ll see how much of a toy that is!”
She ignored him and leaned over to the king. “Well, well, your majesty. I’m flattered to be at your.. hehe... service.” She flirtingly tapped his nose with her finger, which he tried to bite.
“Go to hell.”
“Now, now,” Chrysalis pouted, “That’s no way to treat a lady, and this lady wants your sword...”
“I would die before I give it to you!”
“Well good for you! But would you let your children die for it?” At her cue, three changeling warriors came forward and drew daggers to the three siblings’ necks. Event Horizon stared at them with fear.
“No...”
Sirius protested. “Father... don’t do it!”
“Quiet pet!” Chrysalis kicked Sirius and knocked the breath out of him.
The king looked down at the floor before sighing with regret. “Don’t hurt them... please.”
It was Celestia who protested next. “Papa... stars be damned, don’t do it!”
Chrysalis, sure enough, kicked her hard in the chest, causing Celestia to keel further over. Instead of Horizon, it was the Didact who reacted, three changelings having to keep him on the floor.
“You bitch!”
“So your Majesty... what’ll it be?”
After a long pause, he finally said it. “It’s my sword... the one hanging from my waist.”
Chrysalis looked down at it and then looked back at Jovian’s. The two looked nothing similar. “Are you sure?”
“Yes... take it and check it! It is it!” Chrysalis did so, removing the sheath and then pulling out the blade. The sword was completely black, save some gold details in the handle. Even the blade was a dull onyx. Inscribed in lighter letters were the namesake of the Keys of Astra. On one side, “Umbra Stellarum” was etched, while on the other “Event Horizon Galaxia, Master of Equestria”.
Chrysalis nodded with satisfaction. “Hm... it seems you weren’t lying to me. However, just so you don’t get any ideas... you must forgive me... business and all.”
She casually stepped over to Sirius’ limp body, had him lifted up and then, with all the force she could muster, jammed a dagger into his heart. The crown prince desperately gasped for breath, as the changelings holding him simply let go and let him fall to the ground. Everyone kneeling cried in shock, but Horizon, Jovian and Celestia screamed in anger and sadness.
Chrysalis remained oblivious to their cries, instead taking interest to something in her nail, waving them off. “Take them to the Ioseph Kaleir and have them locked up. I’m sure some of Rassilon’s delegates can find something useful for them before their creative executions.”
The changelings dragged the living prisoners away to carry out their orders, leaving Sirius to bleed out on the floor of the great halls.
	
> 3:1- Desolation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“A single act of love makes the soul return to life.” 
- St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Act Three


A dark a lowly prison cell. The sound of water dripping slowly from the roof and of the occasional rat scurrying across a no-man’s land. The only light came from a slit window in the door, only large enough so a hand could just barely slip through, and from the dull violet glow of magic.
Twyla had discovered early on that she could unleash her magic on these walls and door and still not do a single thing to come closer to freedom. The Inferi made these cells for magicians like her; impervious to any spell she would ever be able to imagine.
In that back, sitting on the edge of one of the beaten and worn beds of the cell, was Crescent Star. It was well into the night, she presumed, and she had volunteered to keep watch for anything outside while he got some rest. Twyla couldn’t blame him for not though. The mattress was old and stiff, giving no comfort. They were provided no blankets or pillows, so the two of them were left to the cold chill of the metal cell. 
It was miserable.
From what she could hear, Twyla assumed that it wasn’t any better for anyone else in their cells either. Across from her, Celestia and Jovian had remained relatively recluse over the past three days. Twyla understood that they were mourning; mourning over the loss of their eldest brother. What pained them the most was that he died a pointless death: one that held no greater meaning of honor, or glory, or even sorrow and grief. Sirius Luxio Galaxia died only because Chrysalis wanted to make an example of them, and for no other reason.
Next to her, Rainbow Dash and Luna were also quiet, but their occasional voice reassured her of their existence. King Horizon and Vulcan were next to her on the opposite side, but, like Celestia and Jovian, were emotionally quarantining themselves from the rest. Only the seldom cough, or the episode of fury on the metal walls, hinted to her that they were still there.
The rest of her friends, the rest Elements of Harmony, were in cells beyond her listening and limited sight. The Didact, the only person who had previous experience with the Inferi, was nowhere to be found. After their capture, he was taken to a separate part of the ship than them. He was completely cut off from them, and they were completely lost without him.
This was their life now; three days of solid misery; three days of hopelessness; three days of captivity. Twyla seemed like the only one who was active in her cell. Even Crescent Star; the awkward adept of magic who barely had the courage to confess his love for her; who loved history and who had a thirst for adventure that could rival even Daring Do herself; was beaten. He was contempt to sit on his mattress and to stare off at the wall; the fight inside of him completely lost.
Twyla found his hopeless attitude nearly contagious.

***************

Activity stirred outside of Twyla’s cell. The distinct sound of the heavy boots of the Inferi echoed through the halls. The jingle of a ring of keys; the sound of the lock on her cell clanking through the heavy metal; the smell of starch and an expensive cologne. An officer appeared as the door was opened for him, the glowing hall light silhouetting his form. He wasted no time or words.
“You two are to come with me to the Diagnostic Room on deck 12 immediately.” He swiveled around and exited the cell, saying nothing more, both Twyla and Crescent Star being dragged behind him with three non com. guards at their sides. They didn’t bother to handcuff the two of them. It was an Inferi warship anyways; neither of them would be able to go far if they bothered to try and escape.
Twyla couldn’t help herself from staring at the various hallways and gizmos that lined them. When she put aside the fact they were xenocidal, she saw that the Inferi were leaps and bounds ahead of Equestria. More starling, as her knowledge of Erde-Tyrene and the galaxy magically seeped into her mind over time, she realized that they were also noticeable ahead of the galaxy as a whole. The ancient culture of Unitology and the Inferi were evident in the swirling designs on the walls and the curved nature of the halls and passageways themselves. As they walked, they never truly moved in a straight passage, the hall always bending and curving. Some adjacent hallways would appear, and their swirl would continue on in another direction. The shape and layout didn’t deter the Inferi personnel in the slightest. It was as if their brains were hardwired to see circular patterns over perpendicular ones. It would certainly make an interesting study; that is, when she isn’t being imprisoned and hunted down by them.
Twyla stumbled a bit as they stopped short in front of a closed door. Luckily, both Crescent Star and the Inferi officer were able to help catch her before she completely tumbled to the hard metal floor. The officer seemed more relaxed around them; not constantly babbling to them about how worthless and pitiful they were, like the cleric with a green sash that has been coming into their cell twice a day.
He stared straight ahead at the door, as if willing it to open. “We need to wait here a bit.”
Twyla looked up at the letters above it and read that it was a lift. Elevators were not an alien concept in Equestria; several buildings in Manehattan and Fillydelphia had at least one. When the officer meant “a bit,” it was more along the lines of two seconds, faster than any elevator she had previously ridden in or seen before. The door opened in front of them with a hiss, muffled by the metal walls, and the group crammed inside.
“Deck 12,” the officer said, and the door promptly closed and the ephemeral feeling of weightlessness washed over Twyla as the elevator descended. The silence was only broken by the various breaths of the party. No one talked, and it seemed no one wanted to.
It was Twyla who relented first. “You don’t seem like a xenocidal maniac, officer. Are you here because you want to be, or because you were forced to?”
“I am neither inclined nor at liberty to discuss that with you Ms. Spark.” His tone was even and clear, as if he had been saying that particular line to numerous people for numerous years. “All I can tell you is that my orders are to take you to the Diagnostic Room in the Science Lab on deck 12.”
Twyla didn’t press any further. As she stared and examined the officer, she thought she saw him flicker his eyes downward after he finished speaking. It was almost unnoticeable; one of those things that one wouldn’t give a second thought to. The elevator reached its destination too quickly, and he looked forward again and erased the emotion in his face as the door opened. Any further gestures to his opinion were gone.
They walked out into the hallways of the Science Labs and continued on. Here, the soldiers were primarily in a different uniform than anything she had seen previously. The clerics had their robes and sashes, while the “Hunters” had their utilities and dress uniforms; these soldiers had white lab coats and the occasional gown. The whites were all mixed with another color that made the flap to the said coat or gown worn. There were greens, yellows, reds and even blues: each one no doubt signifying to one’s role in the sciences.
The officer made a gesture to one of the scientists: a female with a red front. She was as tall as Twyla, and of a similar build. She even had a similar shade of violet hair, but it was cut shorter and only barely touched her neck.
“Dr. Aurel, please take Ms. Spark and Mr. Star here to your ocular retrieval machine in the Diagnostics Room.”
The doctor glanced over to Twyla and Crescent Star. “So they are the special keys,” she retorted. She had a firm alto of a voice; steady and rhetorical. “It shouldn’t be a problem Minor, you are dismissed, or relieved, or whatever.”
Twyla cleared her throat. “I know you’re supposed to be the bad guys and everything... but would you care to explain to me what an ‘ocular retrieval machine’ is and why we are ‘special keys’...”
The Minor looked back at Twyla, as did a slightly bemused Dr. Aurel. “I see why...”
The doctor moved with quick bursts, “Hello Madam Spark, I am Dr. Alektra Aurel; Chairman of the Psychophysical Studies at the Anacreonian Institute. As for your questions, they will be answered momentarily in the Diagnostics Rooms. Come, come...”
She talked excitedly, with a hyperactive and passionate rigor that almost made Twyla exhausted from listening. Dr. Aurel was keen to lecture the two of them on how the Inferi Coalition had given her research such a generous and prolific funding to her research. For months, church and government officials had been breathing down her neck, which she was adamant to remind the two of them a thousand times, reviewing and watching the progress of her experiments.
Dr. Alektra Aurel was kind, boisterous and a true scientist, but Twyla had to remember that she was the enemy. Dr. Aurel, who had a perfect manicure on her nails and complained in the slightest when a lock of hair moved out of place, would kill her in a moment’s notice if her superiors ordered so. Twyla forced herself to realize that they were not friends; not friends of science; not friends of magic.
Crescent Star was less reserved. Where Twyla shied and only listened, Crescent Star was able to pull himself from his state of melancholy to talk to the doctor. They conversed only slightly; the complicated scientific words and phrases only gliding across the emotions held deep inside. It took several minutes for the group to reach their destination. In bold letters, “Diagnostics” were painted across the door itself. When they approached, the metal entryway slid into the wall with a mechanical whirl and hiss.
At the sound, the Didact lifted his head and stared at the two of them from inside the room.
“Didact!” Twyla and Crescent both rushed towards the magician. He was hanging a couple inches from the floor. His hands were bound by a suspension field, created by a machine that whirled and hummed around him. To prevent suffocation, he was angled slightly downward and his feet were held in the same field.
It was clear that he had been beaten and tortured. His clothes were tattered; his face scarred and covered with dark marks of black liquid; he sagged and hung from his binds, not bothering to try and keep himself straight.
At the sound of Twyla’s voice, he smiled weakly. “Twyla... I was getting bored with this present company... I’m glad... that they let you... come visit.”
His breaths were short and he could only wheeze his words in small bursts. Twyla tried to come closer, but was pushed back by the two non. coms. that were assigned to guard her.
“Didact, what did they do to you?”
“Nothing I’ll be doing to you, if that is what you are worried about.” Twyla glanced to the side, where a scientist with a yellow front stood next to a cylindrical machine. He was alien beyond the alien Inferi: a shield of flesh-covered bone extended across his head. His skin was a rocky grey; his body built with armor; his fingers and hands were long and thick. The black lens of two eyes reflected back at her, a crest of bone bumping out in between where the nose would be.
“Forgive me,” he said. His tone was educated, even posh to an extent. “I am Master Engineer Soong; Chief Engineer of the ISC Ioseph Kaleir. Dr. Aurel, my assistant in this current endeavour you already know, so I’ll cut right to the chase. First off, I would like to apologize for the brutality done to Lord Didact by our resident Non-Commissioned Officers; the military, as you know, isn’t so kind to enemies. However, Mr. Kalek, if you would be so kind as to let our superior go...”
One of the guards broke away to move to a control panel that was connected to the suspension field machine. At the click of a button, the Didact was released and tumbled down to the metal floor with a heavy thud, where the guard then quickly bound him in a pair of cuffs. The Master Engineer continued his statement. “Next I would like to show you this machine I am standing next to. This, is an ocular retrieval machine.”
It was about the size of a human being. The cylindrical shape was connected to an uncountable number of wires and controls. The inside was hollow; padding and machinery glowing dully on the inside. Crescent Star stared at it suspiciously. “What does it do?”
The Master Engineer pat his hand against the metal. “Invented and created by our lovely Dr. Aurel here, it accesses the lateral geniculate by inserting a needle through the ocular cavity. Once there, the needle reads and records the neural signature of what the subject’s brain has been seeing. Memories, emotions, hallucinations, thoughts; the machine reads it, and projects it on the screen above me.”
Crescent Star wasn’t pleased. “Why would you need a machine like that?”
Soong was more hesitant with his words. “Um... there is no easy way to say it, so I’ll just say it. We need it for you two. In your case Mr. Star, we need to extract the information you had seen during your travels to the Forgotten City and to Dust. Yes, Mr. Star, we know of your travels. We also know that those cities were Precursor/Forerunner monuments that were used to pinpoint the location of the Leviathan all those eons ago.
“As for you, Ms. Spark, we need you for the Marker Codex that is imprinting itself in your brain. With it, we can actually access the Marker itself and unlock its potential for the galaxy.”
“First off, what made you think I would willingly let you poke a needle into my own eye to help you people? Second, what are you going on about this apparent ‘Marker Codex’?”
The Master Engineer looked at her with shock. “While the Marker may be divine to Unitologists, to the galaxy, it is so much more. The Markers possess the ability to supply a limitless energy to those who know how to harness it. We want to access that energy so that we can lead the galaxy into a new age. I am not here for salvation, or for Convergence, or for their petty beliefs, I am here for the improvement of omni-kind...”
“You really don’t know who you’re working for,” Twyla mouthed, careful that the Master Engineer didn’t hear her.
“As for the Marker Codex in your brain, it’s been imprinting on you since this event started. Surely, you have been noticing voices in your head; small minute details of things you’ve never thought of...”
He had a point. She had been thinking differently. First, she instinctively knew to duck when the soldiers attacked her, Jovian, Aria and Vulcan in the great hall of Arcem Solis. Then she realized she had noticed when Kamendando Abernathey had visited her in the night near the infirmary to deliver his message. She originally thought it was the sound of rats, but then knew it was something else.
Zero said the same thing to her during her dream. He said that it was imprinting its magic and codex into her mind. She thought nothing of it at the time, because Zero was clearly insane and thus, she didn’t trust him in any way. Master Engineer Soong’s and Dr. Alektra Aurel’s presence and statements seemed to validate the schizophrenic dream spectre’s point.
“So what if I am?” Soong’s head tilted up a degree, as if he was raising an eyebrow.
“He’s right about you, y’know?” Twyla glanced back to the Didact, who had managed to get back onto his feet. His tone had returned to its previous steady bass.
Twyla was confused. “You’re agreeing with him?”
“Twyla,” Crescent Star had walked up to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. He gazed at her with a worried look. “Twyla, how do you know what they are saying?”
Everybody looked at her, Soong being the first to speak. “I had explained to you the effects of the Marker Codex in Inferi; our friend the Lord Didact also speaking in the Unitologist tongue as well. This is another effect of the Marker; you can understand its language...”
Twyla looked at the Master Engineer, still standing next to the machine and still expecting her to go in. “This is why we need you Ms. Spark; the future of the galaxy can be determined by what happens now, in this room...”
The Didact spoke next. “I’m sorry, but perhaps we should go along with Dr. Aurel’s and Master Engineer Soong’s work for the time being...” She was about to protest, but the Didact shushed her. “Trust me, apprentice...”
Crescent Star went first. A cushioned platform extended out from the cylinder, which Dr. Aurel gestured for him to lie back on. As he did, she gave him an anesthetic through injection, the platform retracted, the machine whirred to life and Soong started to fiddle with the controls. Crescent Star was silent as the occasional whirl of an unseen mechanism rang in Twyla’s head. After a few seconds, the screen flared to life behind Soong, and the images of Crescent Star’s memories appeared. The flashing lights slowed, and the scene of Crescent’s Star’s travels to the Forgotten City played out in the most minute details of his memories. The screen was focused on the part of his travels where he found the map; the light that reflected and focused on the four points that were highlighted by the setting sun.
Soong flung his hand across his control panel, and the image froze and shrank into a corner of the screen. The majority resumed its rapid pace of moving through his memories, then slowed and stopped again as it approached his trek through the jungle. At Dust, it played through his sight of what he found. He was in a room, and he was looking straight at the wall. The stone was imprinted with an image of two curves, swirled around each other into a single point at the base, and two spikes at the top.
“The Marker,” the Didact retorted. “Crescent Star found the Settlement that was charged with protecting the chamber itself.”
Around the carving were numerous glyphs in an unknown language. Calculations; directions; it could be anything related to the Marker depicted, or it could be something to stop it.
Soong swiped at his controls, the image shrank and the screen went blank. “Ms. Spark,” he said, “We are ready for you.”
The platform extended out and Crescent Star leaned on his elbows to get up. His left eye was closed tightly, a line of blood traced across his cheek. Dr. Aurel helped him to his feet, and he walked over to stand next to the Didact. Twyla was hesitant. She walked to the machine slowly, try to pass as much time as possible. Dr. Aurel gestured for her to sit and she did. The platform was cushioned, soft to the touch, and supporting. The doctor pulled her arm, rolled up Twyla’s sleeve and injected her with the anesthetic she gave Crescent Star. Her body went numb almost instantly. It didn’t make her delirious, but only numbed the feeling in her. Her mind worked automatically.
Step one: crawl inside...
She laid down, and the platform retracted into the cylinder. The inside was bright with the glow of plugs and lights. Above her, the mechanism that whirled with Crescent Star hovered. It was a large needle, attached to a belt that moved it around for the eye, no doubt...
Step two: the screws go tight all around...
She felt the top of her head press against the top, the twist of the head clamps moving down and held her forehead. The needle whirled to life, and moved with her eyes. She could feel it coming closer, the sharp point making its way to her eye...
Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye...
Without pain, she could feel the sharp needle pierce into the film of her eye, tugging as it continued to lower down into her brain. For the first time, she began to question why all these thoughts were crossing her mind. Why was she so adamant to take the vow of her new name? Why did she instantly trust Kotec, who she had every right to rebuke? How did Zero connect himself to her through her dream? Why did those particular thoughts cross her while she was in the machine?
All of this she began to question in the span of a couple seconds. Images flashed across her eyes; blurry and undetailed fractals that she assumed were her memories and thoughts. They were more ambiguous that what she saw on the screen with Crescent Star, something that might be in part to the machine. Indecipherable alien letters and glyphs flashed with an orange and red tint. The images stopped, and she could feel the needle tugging at her again; the infinitesimal sound of resistance ringing loudest in her head. It pulled all the way out, and her vision filled with a dark red before she shut her eye tightly.
The platform extended out again and she was back in the open. Twyla struggled to get up, and was surprised to find that Dr. Aurel wasn’t helping her up. Her impaired vision made it hard to see, Twyla having to move her head more to scan the room. Her left eye was the one that the needle had entered, and everyone else was to her left. Swiveling her head, she glanced over at them, and at the Inferi officer who had brought them here. Twyla remembered that Dr. Aurel had called him a Minor.
“If you are done here,” he said authoritatively, “I am to take you all to the bridge to meet with the Shipmaster. The Didact-” He growled slightly at his name. “-and Dr. Aurel are to come along as well.”
The two guards understood and began to herd the four of them together so their could go. Before she could be pushed out the door, Twyla called back to Master Engineer Soong. “You’re here to turn it into a power source, and you know that the Unitologists want to use it for their own agenda... so what if they decide to double cross you, and leave you to dry when they’re done using you?”
Soong tilted his head, having obviously never thought of that. Even so, he did not need to take time to think about his answer. “The Lord is my shepherd; and in him, do I trust... he will protect me from harm.”
The guard pushed her out before she could comment. As they walked away, she looked back to see the two soldiers walking into the lab.

***************

Her eye never got better. Where Crescent Star had already managed to see again out of his, without pain, she couldn’t open it to the slightest of disturbances. Even the anesthetics she was give offered no source of comfort. Dr. Aurel had used some of her magic to stop the profuse bleeding, but she couldn’t do anything more to help. Twyla could only keep her eye as tightly shut as she could, while covering it with her palm.
With her depth perception impaired for the time being, the Didact helped her in any way he could to keep her from running into things in the curved hallways. The march to the bridge was relatively uneventful. None of the crew talked to them; neither the Minor or the guards spoke to them; they weren’t allowed to talk. Silence; that was what they were allowed.
e	The bridge was a large room. Consoles lines every inch of the wall; Everywhere, officers stood in front of their stations, never looking away from their work. Dominating in the center was a giant holographic sphere of the planet: Astra. The great orb of water and land was far beyond what any Equestrian knew- far beyond anyone they knew, could know. What many ponies have thought to be the center of the world would be indistinguishable to Twyla, had it not a mark above the sphere, indicating where the ship was and has been. They had traveled well beyond the known world; beyond the reaches of Event Horizon, Celestia and Luna, and their influences.
The group was lead to a ramp that lead to a platform overlooking the entire hologram. As they approached, the silhouettes of five beings came into view. A woman stood at the far end, her head tilted as she focused on the massive viewing window and the scenery below. It was clearly Chrysalis. To her left were two men; easily identifiable as the Shipmaster and his second. Behind them, much to the surprise of the Didact and Twyla, was Event Horizon and Celestia.
They broke free from the company of their guards and rushed over to the two. Celestia and her father were just as surprised to see the two of them as they were. The princess wrapped the Didact in as tight of a hug as she could muster, her eyes watering, but not quite in tears.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
“They were smart enough to keep me occupied,” was all he said, with a humorous smile. Celestia was unable to say anything else, the Shipmaster speaking up.
“Are you impressed, Lord Didact?” he boasted, “Only a couple months of planning and look at all our nation and church has accomplished! We are about to enter a new age, Lord Didact; the age of peace and prosperity envisioned by the great First Prophets of Old!”
The Didact was calm. “Then we’ve interpreted the Canon of Moroni very differently from each other Shipmaster...”
“It does not matter whether you understand the truth of the First Prophet of Strife, what matters is that I believe, and now have the keys to fulfill my belief and obligation. Were you so foolish, Dr. Aurel, that we would let you take part in this magnificent Great Journey and use our sacred Marker as an energy source? Blasphemy!”
Dr. Aurel was perturbed. “Shipmaster, the Prophet of Truth and the Anacreonian Institute as an agreement in place; if you break that-”
“The agreement is off! He has been lying to you all along!” The shipmaster turned back to the window, Chrysalis cackling like a madwoman. “Now,” he continued, “You all may be wondering why I asked you to join us up here on the bridge...”
“Because you’re incompetent?” the Didact retorted.
“Because I want you to see this!” he snapped back. “Ahead of us are what our dear royalty here call the Astral Mountains. Very soon, the Ioseph Kaleir and the Abinadi Ckes will pass and reach our destination.”
In the window, the massive shape of a mountain range dominates the view. Clouds stick to the peaks and darken the sky, snow perpetually falling onto the rock.
“Why?” the Didact asked, “What are the Astral Mountains?”
“Why don’t our king, explain to you himself...”
The Didact turned to Event Horizon, who looked back with solemn and wizen eyes. The king needed no question. “For a millennia and three centuries, the alicorn family Galaxia has been in Equestrian history. We’ve served as rulers of Equestria, Crystalia, Arcadia and the Coltstantine Empire for almost as long, and no pony questioned whether we were capable; we were. Very few, almost none, recognize a time where we weren’t there to lead and protect them. We challenged and defeated Discord, Sombra the Terrible, even others that are only spoken as rumors.
“Nopony understands that we never hailed from Equestria. While Equestria was only just forming; and the ancient empires of Crystalia and Arcadia stagnated; and the Empire of Roan was collapsing at the seams, the alicorn family Galaxia was one of many alicorn families that lived. While we were certainly of prestige, we were no kings or queens. Alicornia was a thriving empire that the world had never known. In their prime; Roan, Crystalia and Arcadia combined could never compare. Then, over two millennia ago, tragedy struck; we found what you call the Marker. Like Dr. Aurel here apparently wanted to do, we used the Marker as a power and beacon to our might. With it, we reached our absolute strongest, but we were weak to its influence. Alicorns soon began to worship it as a god, a god of Death and Destruction. They called themselves the Nightmare, and thought of all alicorns as impure and as cretin. 
“Ultimately, there was a civil war. Brothers and sisters who were once friends and allies turned on one another. There were mass slaughters in the streets. Everything was destroyed and lost. My wife and I were able to escape, and, as far as we know, are the only ones to; the last Alicorns. Sirius was only 13 hundred years and Jovian was 7. Celestia, you were too young to remember it; only an infant...”
As he spoke, the mountains had grown and were now completely filling the window. The harsh winds struck against the ship in a losing battle of science, while the ice of the clouds attempted to freeze all it could. The view went dark as they entered the clouds and continued barreling through to their unforeseen destination. Event Horizon could only continue.
“The Astral Mountains served as the border of our once magnificent nation, but now it serves only as a curtain to hide the shame. Past the mountains, withered by over two millennium of wind, rain and time, isn’t the remains of a powerful empire that serves as a beacon of hope. It is the remains of our greatest sin; the sin of millions murdered and molested by the power of the Marker.”
The clouds began to part, and a vast, dark plain opened up to them.
“It is the Astral Desolation.”
Not a thing lived; not a thing moved; not a thing stood. It was a land covered in a layer of ash. All around were ruins of what could have been once magnificent buildings. Now, the wear of 2’000 years have withered them down to nothing more than stumps of stone and steel. It was easy to imagine, buried under the rubble and the ash, were possibly millions of bones and remains; and under all of that was the Marker.
A sound beeped far below on the bridge, and an officer spoke up. “Shipmaster! We’ve located the Marker’s signal deep underground!”
“Excellent work, Ensign!” The Shipmaster turned to the group. “Commander, go to the Abinadi Ckes and take Dr. Aurel and the magi with you. MPs, take the other three to the cargo hold; don’t worry Lord Didact, the rest will join you soon enough to die...”
The Didact growled, as if he was a dog threatened. Eventually, he was pulled along with Event Horizon and Celestia. Twyla and Dr. Aurel were dragged behind them, but were subsequently pulled off in another direction. Dr. Aurel cursed at the Shipmaster and at Unitology, while Chrysalis cackled madly from her position.
	
> 3:2- Ioseph Kaleir
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Didact, Event Horizon, Crescent Star and Celestia were thrown violently onto the floor. Had he not been wearing magically infused cuffs, the Didact would have murdered the guards responsible, but it was irrelevant. As he slowly got up to his knees, Twyla and Dr. Aurel (whom he didn’t recognize as an ally- only a casualty of war) were being lead away to the stronger and faster stronghold, Abinadi Ckes. Were he alive, Kysos Moroni would be proud of such a ship, christened in the name of his long time friend, but for the Didact, it meant serious problems. He had to think fast, flexibly; make broad calculations.
Celestia swiped at her mouth and looked around at their surroundings. The room around them was larger than the bridge, though not at roomy. Crates of varying sizes compacted together into large towers of wood and metal. The only room to move was through the small passageways that zigzagged through the formations and out of sight. The three of them (plus the two MPs that brought them there) were in a well sized opening; perhaps the only one in the whole room.
Event Horizon got up to his feet, only stepping an inch closer towards the guards. “Please, you need to listen to me; you don’t know what you are stepping into! If you unlock the Marker, then everything we know will end!”
“Horizon!” It was the Didact who spoke. “Horizon, of course they know what they’re doing. They’ve tasted what power and domination was like during the Anacreonian War and now they can’t get it out of their minds. As Inferi (and as Unitologists, he was keen to state as well), they themselves are immune to the effects of the Marker, but they know that most others aren’t. They’re plan isn’t a religious one: it’s a total extermination of every single sentient life form that isn’t Inferi.”
“Stop your ranting,” one of the guards snarled. “Or don’t. It will not matter either way in a couple minutes.”
The door behind the two guards hissed open and even more guards walked in, each carrying a prisoner with them. The Elements of Harmony and the remaining royals were half-dragged, half-lead into the room, the guards jeering and insulting each of them as they walked in and threw them with the four of them. Fluttershy instantly lunged at the Didact’s chest, frantically sobbing into his coat. Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately got to their feet and took a stance against the guards, who all laughed at their attempt. From his distance, the smell of alcohol was only faint to the Didact, but their jerking movements and incessant laughter made it clear that they were nearly drunk.
Were this the Constellation, or the George Washington- were this one of his ship- each of these guards would be jettisoned. The Didact doubted that would happen here, with the Inferi; especially since the guards were only dealing with them as prisoners. Their commander would probably scold them, and reprimand them, but in the end would still invite them for a drink to talk of the details.
After their several minutes of incoherent laughter, the guards recollected themselves long enough for them to start talking again. “The officers have their keys,” one of them jeered, “and now they get to go down to the surface and get all the glory. We non. coms. need some entertainment as well, so let’s see how long you last inside the Games...”
They stumbled out and the door shut rapidly behind them, the clicking of the lock echoing; the cuffs on the Didact’s arms beeped and unlocked, clattering onto the floor. Now, he was perturbed. 
“Everyone; everyone get close around me.” The large group did so just before the lights in the cargo hold dimmed to where it was almost too dark to see. Almost. The metal crates scattered to and fro in the multiple towers glistened with the dull light left; the floor was dim with the emergency lights that shined close to the ground.
Celestia glanced around at the top of each of the towers, trying her best to never blink. “Didact, what are these ‘games’ those Inferi were talking about?”
“Nothing good I suppose...” There was a roar, muffled by distance and by towers of crates. A couple seconds after, a second roar was heard. It was impossible to find out where they were coming from; the crates creating echoes that rang in every direction.
Fluttershy cowered further into the Didact’s coat, much to his dissatisfaction. “What’s going on?” she whimpered.
Something lunged out at them from the towers of crates. The girls screamed and everyone jumped back. Instinctively, the Didact kicked out and it was gone again; disappearing in the shadows of the dark room.
“What was that?”
The Didact moved around, trying to get sense of the surroundings. “It’s survival... they place us in here, lock us in and have us try and survive against whatever beasts or mutations they decided...”
“Mutations?” Crescent Star asked.
“Did I ever mention that the Inferi are excellent bioengineers...”
There was a snarling sound close by, and everyone jumped around to see what it was. Emerging from one of the passageways in between the crates was a creature. It walked on two legs, with giant blades for hands and a twisted, grotesque form. Shining on its back, like a large porcupine, were numerous arm-thick spikes that increased its threatening look.
Without warning, it charged violently towards them. Instinctively, the Didact shot out his hand and released a magical bolt at the creature. From his aiming, the bolt cut in half and sliced through the creature’s bladed arms. It paused, stunned, but eventually, a sickening sound of flesh and bone twisting and tearing came from its arms, and a new pair was rapidly regenerated to take the place of the cut off ones; no doubt the effects of the Inferi bioengineering.
“Run!” Everyone of them turned and ran away from the creature, who in turn began to chase them. They moved through the corridors between the crates and made as many turns as they could to try and shake it, but to no avail. As they ran, the sound of more creatures filled their ears. The Didact looked up to see creatures with long muscular tails crawling on the sides. Several; uncharacterized creatures ran at the very top of the crate towers, the shadows of the lack of lighting hiding them from sight.
These were the Games: survival of the best as long as possible against an unstoppable and uncountable enemy that will eventually hunt you down and kill you anyways, even if you survive. The number of them reached a point where the thin passageway split into several different directions. The grown diversity of the pursuing creatures made it so sticking together would be the death of all of them, so they split up into smaller groups. The Didact, Fluttershy and Celestia took the middle path, with the first creature and several others still chasing them. It was then that the Didact realized that this cargo hold was designed specifically for these Games, they were “participating” in. The towers of crates were ordered in such a way as to turn the whole room into a winding labyrinth of danger. They turned with the passageways and made decisions when it was necessary to choose one corridor over another. For an eternity, they ran; the snarling of the beasts behind them keeping them from slowing down. The only comfort the Didact knew was that there were no screams yet; so everyone was still alive...
They ran as fast and as far as they could, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually, they reached a dead end and they ran into the wall of the cargo hold, the snarling of monsters close behind. Fluttershy cried into her hands as she crumpled onto her knees in sobs. Celestia did her best to not show how much she too wanted to just shut down and cry.
“What do we do now, Didact?”
The snarling got noticeably louder, and the Didact found himself stumbling on his words for the first time in a very long time. “What I did... I did without choice.”
Celestia slid her arms around his own, and buried her face into his sleeve. “I’m know...”
“It was all in the name of peace and sanity...” he stated absentmindedly, never once breaking his stare away from the open passageway. Celestia felt the tears rolling down her eyes as she closed her eyes, prepared for the end. “I believe you...”
The Didact gulped with anticipation. “I’m sorry master... but I must break the Taboo...”
Celestia’s eyes shot open as a powerful magic formed around her. The energy was unlike anything she had ever seen from any unicorn she had even known of. It was incomparable; it was unmatched; it was transcendent. The Didact was ablaze with a fire of the deepest ultramarine, the energy exploding around him in a gargantuan amount. Celestia had never known that one individual could hold so much energy and magic. Even in the physical world, she could feel the vehemence and potency of his aura: the likes of which none on the planet have ever felt or known.
“My dear Princess.” His voice was filled with energy, as if lighting was crackling in his throat. Celestia took a step closer, her tears soaking her cheeks. “My dear Princess... who made you cry?”
She froze, feelings inside of her swirling like a tempest of thought and fascination and wonder. Celestia couldn’t guess why he had asked her that, but when he did, the tears could only stop, as she was unable to weep in fear anymore. She looked down at Fluttershy, who was similarly staring up at the Didact with awe at what he was doing. The girl wiped away the tears on her face with her yellow dress and glanced back at Celestia, then back to the Didact as the creatures chasing them rounded the final corner. At the sight of them, Fluttershy and Celestia would have been back in tears, were it not for the Didact growling with a vicious tone.
“Who DARES to make you CRY!” At his words, his energy cascaded outward in a titanic explosion of anger and emotion. The Didact opened his mouth as wide as he could, drawing air in a rapid amount as he built his voice, and roared. It was a colossal roar; a roar that echoed across all of time and space with his power. The creatures stopped and reeled back a distance. Celestia and Fluttershy themselves cowered at the mighty sound, but at the same time, for the first time in three days, truly felt safe.
In his realm, he is known by many names; the Didact, Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals; the Valeyard, Inquisitor of the Paradox; the Quietus Star, He who watched a Hundred Worlds burn. To Celestia, he is only the Didact, even when she knows of the many other titles. Even so, at the moment, he had become something beyond the Didact. Since he had been in Equestria, he had never once used his full power. This was his most powerful; his Chronomancy reaching its highest level. Here, he revealed his undeniable strength and ability as perhaps the strongest magician to have ever stepped foot in Equestria. He was a Dragon: the highest level mancer that ever existed. In his realm, there were no stronger mancers than Dragons. Among their ranks, the most powerful weren’t the ones with the most magic- at their level, the amount of magic was irrelevant- but the ones with skill and ability. The Didact was the first to master the advanced Chronomancer art called Mobius, but that wasn’t what made him powerful; that wasn’t what earned him the title of Dialga, the Paradox Dragon. He was beyond the conventional magic of what the modern galaxy knew. What made him powerful was the secret magical art that was long ago forgotten since the time of the Precursors before him: Dragon Slayer- a magic so powerful and old that it was said to have been used in the mystical age before the Precursors.
With a burning passion, eyes aglow with magic (his left with bright white, his right with red), he swung his arm out in front of him and the air exploded forward and struck the creatures with such force that regeneration was irrelevant. They all crashed into the wall of crates, which buckled under the force and shot outward to destroy the labyrinth that they were chased through. The creatures who were not killed scampered away in the deepest and most primal of fears. The raw force of the Didact’s magic began to die down, but Celestia could feel that he was no longer suppressing it, the energy still noticeable radiating out. She could feel the extent of his aura and it was  larger than the cargo hold itself. He was a force to be reckoned with, and none should ever be so moronic or courageous to ever face him at his full power.
The others were quick to rejoin their group, and they were all huddled around in a circle in silence. Fluttershy, while still afraid, was silent and, for the first time, didn’t feel like crying to help her fears. She didn’t need to do that anymore; she was brave.
“Canon 42 is irrelevant.” Here, the Didact spoke with the most commanding and authoritative tone he had yet. He was completely confident, never once thinking against his words. “As such, this is now a total war to stop the officers of the Ioseph Kaleir and the Abinadi Ckes from gaining access to the Marker Chamber and activating it. In the Paradox, this would be classified as a Code White.” He beamed with excitement. “Anyone want to guess what that means?”
“What does it mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
With a smile, the Didact swung his arm across in front of him as magic swiped across the air and clung to certain spots. “Use any and all necessary force.”
The arsenal that manifested in front of him was perhaps the most impressive sight any of them had seen. Several rows of swords and guns they had never seen before were displayed in front of them all. “Weapons on the left side are stunning, while the ones on the right are lethal: choose wisely.”
The Elements of Harmony immediately turned to the left. Rainbow Dash smiled excitedly as she picked up a metal staff. When she touched it, the ends crackled with the pulsing of electricity, dancing across the tips where it came from. Pinkie Pie picked up a snare shooter, while Rarity a tranquilizer gun. Applejack’s chosen tool was a lasso: made of specialized mercury that expanded and contracted better than any rope could.
The others, primarily Jovian, Vulcan, Luna and Crescent Star, leaned more to the weapons on the right. Jovian was instantly attracted to a bolt action rifle: armor piercing, naturally. Luna herself picked up a large gauntlet, similar to that of a sword’s, and discovered that a great blade of plasma came to life at the push of a button. Vulcan and Crescent Star both went for pistols, both priming and loading their weapons instinctively, without any thought to what they were doing as if it was second nature.
Only Celestia, Fluttershy, Event Horizon and the Didact did not pick from the selection. Fluttershy was adamant to remain a non-combatant, while Celestia and Event Horizon were confident in their magic alone, no longer being held by a magical prison cell. The Didact let a magnificent and beautiful saber materialize in his hand: the blade made of the clearest steel and the hilt of what many of them believed to be the purest gold they had ever seen. When everyone had selected their tool, the Didact let the arsenal evaporate into the air magically, and he made his way to the door with the others close behind.
His ears flickered with sound; the creatures that were hunting them were still inside the cargo hold, but they were now keen to keep as much distance from the Didact as possible, too afraid to move towards anyone. He mentally declared this survival game to be over, and for this mission to begin.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said as he approached the door, “We are taking control of this ship.”
With a powerful magical burst, he kicked out in front of him and the door buckled with such force that it shot several meters out into the hallway. The force that met them were not Inferi, but was in fact a squad of changelings. Their humanoid bodies gleamed in the hall light with green and black reflections. Sharp teeth hissed and gnashed at them, each of them ready to fight. One jumped before the rest, and straight towards the Didact in front. Even with all the magical energy ready at his fingertips- as his disposal- he didn’t use much to finish off the poor, unwise minion. He merely sidestepped and with little movement positioned the saber blade up into the changeling’s neck. The poor bastard had to only let gravity slit his throat for him as green blood splattered over the tail of the Didact’s coat. Behind him, Jovian cracked off a shot from his rifle, which hit one of the waiting ones in the shoulder. Rarity, with much better and more accurate eyes, fired her tranquilizer after Jovian and it hit its mark of the targeted changeling’s arm. The insectoid armor wasn’t enough to stop the needle from piercing and he was instantly knocked out. Both reloaded like experts. The Didact walked forward and with a slash of saber hit the remaining Changeling in the face and killed him, without even looking down or aiming. His eyes were straight ahead, never peeling away from what might be down the hallway. 
After a few more corridors, the changelings were swapped out for the actually Inferi, and the sound of gunfire began to echo across every hallway. Jovian and Rarity, with their rifles, and Pinkie Pie, with her snare shooter (which the Didact was surprised to see her pick up so fast) dealt with the marksmen, while Luna, Rainbow Dash and Applejack dealt with the sword wielders and unarmed attackers. Any who came from behind was quickly dispatched by either Vulcan or Crescent Star. Event Horizon and Celestia offered support when needed, but overall left it to the others, who were doing fine on their own with the occasional skirmishes that had happened.
Eventually, the group reached a point where the Didact made them stop. The intersection was relatively clear, and he took the time to look up and read the directions painted on the walls. He finally found the one he was looking for.
“This is where we split up,” he said. “I need to get to the hangar and take a shuttle to either the Abinadi Ckes or down to the surface if necessary to save Twyla and possibly even Dr. Aurel. Crescent Star, I presume you still remember how to get to the bridge?”
Crescent nodded: photographic memory was a useful thing to possess. “I won’t forget it.”
“Excellent. All of you need to get there and commandeer the ship, they you are to control it until we get back.”
Celestia spoke up. “Didact, I hope you realize that none of us are qualified to even be close to being able to pilot this vessel.”
“You’d be wrong, you are.”
“Didact, what on earth could you me- hmmpp...” Before she could finish, he pulled her in and gave her a kiss. It was a long, passionate kiss, and she honestly didn’t want it to end. She found herself grabbing his arms gently, and kissing back. He was the one who pulled away first, at which he then smiled and tapped his head. With some magic known to him, he had transferred the necessary knowledge to her thoughts: the process and skills needed now seared into her brain.
“No matter what happens,” he said, “I will always consider you my closest friend here, Tia.”
With that, he turned and hurried down the adjacent corridor, quickly disappearing. For a couple seconds, Celestia stood there dumbfoundedly. She absentmindedly reached her fingers up to her lips... longing the feeling that was there. For the first time in a long time, feelings tugged at her heart, not her head.
“Sorry to ruin the moment for you sis,” it was her sister, Luna, who snapped her out of her stupor, “but we have a bloody tight schedule to keep.”
She was right, and they went along. Celestia figured, if they were lucky, that there would be more time to ponder on it later.
***************
The route to the hanger was relatively clear; never once did he have to slow down to fight and when he did fight, the situation was quickly handled without the use of strenuous magic. The Didact was dead set on his goal: rescue Twilight Sparkle from the Inferi. She may have made the ultimate promise to one’s self- the promise and vow of the name- but that didn’t mean the Inferi would care. Twyla was his friend and mentorship; he could not let her be harmed at the claws of the swine and parasite that justifies itself in the name of faith and “goodwill.”
Twyla Spark may have made the Vow to Life, but the Didact would enjoy every one of his enemies deaths. Nemo me impune lacessit.
With a violent kick, he smashed open the door to the hangar. The room was large; it extended out several hundred meters in length and completely hugged the outside hull of the Ioseph Kaleir. In space, an electromagnetic field would have been carefully maintained across the openings that lined the far wall of the hanger; here, in atmosphere, there was no need, and the openings serves as gigantic open-air windows to the outside. Dominating the view was the Abinadi Ckes, its own hangar lazily positioned higher than the Ioseph Kaleir’s. Gleaming in the bright sunlight, only just docking with the sister ship, was the distinct shape of a shuttle: the very shuttle that the Didact presumed was carrying Twyla and Dr. Aurel.
“If you want to get there dear, you’re gonna have to get through me...”
The sound of mad laughter filled his ears. Looking down into the hangar, he saw a pale woman standing at an unusual angle. The Didact instantly recognized the cackling voice and the pale complexion, and frowned. “So that’s how it’s going to be...”
He could feel Chrysalis’ energy. While she was nowhere close to the level of a Dragon, as he was, but the Didact realized that using his full power against her own could and would be able to severely damage the ship. Because of this, in a logical sense, she was his equal. It was irrelevant either way, however; the Didact would still defeat her and continue his objective.
“You think you can handle me, lover boy?” Chrysalis laughed.
“A month ago, you came into her house and attacked her little ponies. You decided to come and attack a friend of mine: that is not a safe thing to do!”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going to teach you and those like you what happens when you attack my friends.”
	
> 3:3- Dragon Slayer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The battle started before either of them even moved. From the Astral Plane, their auras clashed together. If a person could actually see what was happening, they would be able to see two magnificent creatures across from each other in a fierce contest for superiority. Where the Didact stood, could be seen a great wingless dragon of blue energy; electricity danced across its spine and around great teeth. Poised opposite from it, with a maw dripping of slime and venom, was a giant insect of green energy, akin to a great centipede with sharp wriggling claws and legs. One roared with relaxed authority and burning passion, while the other only clicked and swayed eccentrically with large chitinous movements; the Great Serpent of Time versus the Great Parasite of Love.
Chrysalis made the first move, bursting upward towards to the Didact. She moved fast: so fast that the Didact almost didn’t catch her in time. His arm raised and he wrapped his hand around the top of her foot; their contact made their auras explode with energy, causing much of the objects around them to shatter and fly off away from them. In an instant, he brought his arm back down, Chrysalis’ foot still in hand, and crashed her down to the floor, another explosion of astral energy bursting from them.
Chrysalis kicked out with her other foot and separated herself from the Didact, getting upright as swiftly as possible. From there, she swept out her leg and caught the Didact. Like she planned, he was pulled to the ground and she turned to pummel him. Chrysalis only managed to land a few punches before the Didact countered and began to block the rest with matching speed. When he saw her hesitate, the slight millisecond that counted, he shot his palm up into her stomach and popped a burst of energy into her body, getting her off of him. Both managed to return to their feet before either could do anything with their compromised position.
It is important to state that in the span of the few minutes of the last paragraphs, neither party had used any substantial amount of magic. Both Chrysalis and the Didact were completely charged with magic, and both were on even footing.
Like everything before, it was Chrysalis who changed that first. Using her changeling magic, she was split into three different versions of her; each as real as the original. “I outnumber you three to one Didact...”
“Then it is an even fight.” The Didact wasted no time moving to more advanced magic: a specific technique known as the Mobius Form. Starting with his legs apart and his hands to a shoulder height, the Didact swung his arm down in one, brief motion. The result was an explosion of temporal energy that slashed through the air in front of him towards the Chrysalis’. A duck; a flourished kick outwards; an explosion of venomous magic to counter. The Didact leaped up and cleared her blast. With a combat roll, he made his way closer and found himself in front of the first clone.
The Chrysalis seemed to move as fast and as aggressively as the original: her punches and kicks assaulting the Didact with a good amount of force. Nevertheless, he blocked every single one, without a single bead of sweat forming on his brow or a single bit of fatigue. Then came his turn to counter...
One: 360 defensive block... Like when he killed the cleric in the dining room, time itself bent as his thought, everything slowing down as he took it all in. The Chrysalis punched, her fist glowing with green-colored magic. Without second thought, he raised his arm and caught her forearm with his wrist.
Two: wrap and contain... His hand snaked around her forearm and moved with a methodical and breathtaking speed. Before the Chrysalis clone could even react, he had her arm being crushed against his muscles and his side, unable to break free.
Three: strike... Final results: dislocated shoulder, split skull, death in under a minute and a perfectly executed three-point... Like clockwork, the Didact’s body moved in sync with his thoughts. He lifted his elbow up into a 45 degree angle and lashed out. The metal bone structure landed across her head and, combined with the force of his movements, caused the elbow to depress into the grey matter and for his other side to jerk backwards, leaving her arm ripped from its socket. With nothing else needing to be done, he let the clone drop like a ragdoll to the floor as green blood slowly pooled around her head.
The second Chrysalis charged her magic into her fists, the insane smile on her face was erased and a look of psychotic rage was seared into her eyes. She sprinted forward, crossing the distance with little trouble, and raised her fist to his head. The Didact leaned back, still focused with austere concentration, and Chrysalis’ blow only struck the air in front of his face. As it glided harmlessly in his sight, he lifted a hand and pushed her arm further across her chest, making a second strike from her improbable. With her body tangled, he could now focus on the-
His head was thrashed to the side with violent force. The Didact was kicked to the ground, the third, main Chrysalis having appeared behind him and struck. He felt thick for not having remembered that he was fighting two people, and that both were insane: meaning psychic incalculability, eccentric unpredictability and a great determination than any sane person could never achieve.
He didn’t have time for this; he needed to get to the Abinadi Ckes as quickly as possible, before the Inferi could do anything to Twyla or even Dr. Aurel.
No, he needed to focus. This was survival, and a Graduate 3 rank in Krav Maga was only helpful when he focused. Nothing would break his concentration; nothing could break his concentration. If he broke his concentration, he would surely lose: and losing, meant certain death.
The Didact cleared his mind and let his body move like clockwork, never once taking a move back or having to redo a motion. A punch; a jab; a kick thrown at his head; each one was nothing more than an equation to be computed into his mathematical head. Both of the queens were attacking him from the front, and their moves became more and more predictable with each step or swing. With patience, he waited for the right moment; calming striding backwards with their momentum and aggression; careful to keep his arms up and hands blocking his head.
His patience was worth it; after a couple more seconds, the time presented itself and he swung his arm to the side and landed a blow on the right Chrysalis’ neck: which recoiled her into the way of the other. Both stumbled over each other, the main queen finally giving up on her number’s game. The clone became a green fluid and was absorbed into the queen like a ravenous meal to her body. She took a step forward and her head dropped down, as if she was stumbling.
“You...” The voice was merely a whisper. “You... insolent... pompous... nobody!” The rage inside of the changeling queen was sweltering. Her aura glowed, physically glowed, with fiery emerald. Her sharp fangs were bared and clenched to the point of her mouth bleeding, the lime liquid let flow from her lips like little streams. She snarled like a wild beast, and, even with all of his experience, the Didact felt a twinge uneasy.
“DIE!” She surged forward and landed a blow in the Didact’s stomach before he could react. The force shot through his spine, and he reflexively collapsed so the alloy wouldn’t break. The action, however, left him open to the full mercy of her anger, and her speed made further blocking impossible. He was utterly defenseless, and was suffering terribly.
Chrysalis brought her knee up, and the bone struck him directly across the head. She stopped and only stood over him as the Didact dropped to the ground, limp and pathetic, coughing up what seemed like gallons of the black liquid. The changeling queen was completely disregarding her limits, and had resolved to attack him with her full power. She didn’t care whether the ship was torn apart in the process or not, as long as it meant she defeated her enemy.
Looking down at the form on the Didact hovering above a pool of petroleum, she couldn’t help but let out a slow chuckle. The Inferi had filled her head of stories about him since their agreement began. They told her about some titan- a monster that was the stuff of the worst nightmares- the Man who had caused the deaths of millions upon millions, innocent or otherwise (it mattered not to her). They spoke of the greatest Chronomancer since the Master himself and of a soldier who had the blood of a dragon. As she looked down at him, all she saw was a pitiful excuse of a creature; a man grovelling for his strength at her feet.
“Killing you would be a kindness,” she said, interrupted only by his coughing. “You’re not worthy of all the fear-filled stories that the cowardly Inferi tell me. If they are afraid of some pitiful excuse like you, then perhaps I should simply let my changelings kill all of them here and steal the Marker for myself. Then the world would die by my hands, instead of some weak species from another land.”
She kicked at his stomach, causing the Didact to roll over onto his back. The queen bent down and picked him up by the neck. With her magic, it was no strain to her to lift his large form. She lifted him higher than her head and smiled a gentle, psychotic grin.
“Goodbye Lord Didact... enjoy the afterlife...”
He coughed once more, and realized that there was no other option.

***************

Crack! Whiz, whiz! Crack, crack, CRACK!
The remaining guard fell with a bullet shot directly into his throat by Jovian. The group- the five Elements of Harmony, the five Galaxias and Crescent Star- now stood in front of the door to the ship’s bridge. When the Didact kissed her, Celestia’s mind was flooded with information, including how to get to the bridge from where they were. She knew what to do when they entered; commandeer the room, pilot the ship, and wait for any further orders from the Didact himself on the Abinadi Ckes.
“Are you ready Rarity?” The arabian nodded firmly and Celestia stood at the door controls and typed in the appropriate code to open them.
“Now!” The door opened and Rarity burst forward.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Four of the bridge officers were tranquilized before anyone inside the room knew what was happening. While the remaining eight thought to look towards the door, two more were incapacitated. Another was stuck when they finally thought to get to cover. Only five remained as the rest of the group poured inside.
“What is the meaning of this! Where are all of the guards?” shouted one of the officers from behind his cover, to no one in particular.
“They won’t be joining us,” Celestia only replied, “We’re taking this ship.”
The shipmaster descended from his observation deck with a pair of pistols ringing in his hands. They all dove for cover quick as the rain of bullets came upon them and, luckily, none of them were hit. Pinkie fired her snare gun and the electrified ropes were launched, wrapping around the shipmaster and causing him to spasm off the ramp and onto the deck below.
“Rarity, if you could?”
She nodded and moved towards another position as she reloaded her tranquilizer rifle. It was a blessing that Rarity had as good of an eye as she did. She never missed her mark, not once, and that meant that the bridge crew could be spared from a death by their hands.
Not that it mattered, Celestia thought, it seems like leaving them alive to face the wrath of their Prophet of Truth is a punishment worse than death.
The muffled sound of a tranquilizer fired was met each time with the dull thud of an Inferi officer collapsing to the ground unconscious a few moments later. After five shots and five thuds, Celestia motioned for the rest of them to stand.
“Fluttershy, can you take the communication’s chair over there on the side? Yes, that one. Excellent. Rainbow and Applejack, take the pilot’s chairs in front. Vulcan, you’re gonna be here and monitor engineering. Jovian and Rarity, you two will station at weapons. Luna, take the ops. position.” Celestia strided up to the observation deck and gestured for her father to follow her. As she reached the top, Celestia snapped her fingers as she remembered the important part.
“Kemput...” The machine dinged in acknowledgement as she spoke, “plas al zuruck kamenda funktier die parai Inglisch.”
The ship computer hesitated for a second, but eventually chimed in response. “All command functions set to English. Awaiting orders ma’am.”
Celestia smiled with satisfaction. “Excellent, thank you; please standby.”
“Princess Celestia... you might want to take a look at this...” The princess gazed down to see Crescent Star, leaning over the shipmaster’s unconscious form. His hands were aglow with his maroon aura, hovering above the man’s head.
“Dr. Star, what on Astra are you doing?”
“Sire, princess, the shipmaster’s brain is being affected to an advanced dark magic. Someone purposefully placed an enchantment on his thoughts...”
The king raised an eyebrow to this, before turning to Luna below. Understanding what he wanted her to do, she moved to the closest bridge officer to her and performed the same magical scan on the body that Crescent Star did.
“Tis the same with this one as well, father.”
A wild thought crossed Celestia’s mind. “Could that spell be the cause of their blatant aggression?”
Crescent Star thought it over. “The magic is affecting the parts of their brain that deals with logic and emotions... so it’s highly likely. I can try and work to de-spell it if you’d like, princess...”
“Try it only on one of the officers, just in case it doesn’t do anything to help.”
Crescent nodded and gestured for Luna to help him remove the spell on the shipmaster. It would take time; anywhere between ten minutes if they were lucky or an hour if they were excruciatingly careful.
Celestia was assured that she left in in the right hands, so she continued with what she was going to do.
“Jovian, what are the weapon capabilities and the classifications of this ship?”
There were a couple buttons pressed on the console in front of the prince. After several failed attempts, he finally managed to pull up the ship’s information.
“ISC Ioseph Kaleir; Inferi Prophecy-class corvette. 6’000 tonnage with a crew of 390. We have two missile launchers at both ends with 200 missiles in stock, six standard cannons and a special armament that runs the length of the top labeled as a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon.”
“Any information on that?”
“Nothing in detail, but by the looks of it, it isn’t something to take lightly. We also have several gyrokopter drones in the hangar that can apparently be used as scouts and as cannon fodder should it be necessary...”
“Please see what buttons you can press to launch one or two of those to scout where they said the Marker is.” Jovian nodded and then went to doing just that... pressing which buttons eventually lead to their deployment.
“Give me a moment...” he pressed something and the gyrokopter indicators lit green, signaling their departure. “I have it. They’re on their way now Tia...”
There was a large bang and the entire ship rumbled as if there was a massive earthquake. Metal creaked with strain and the thick glass window began to crack with spiderwebs. Everyone on the bridge was thrown to the ground, but ultimately the ship remained intact and everyone unharmed.
Rainbow Dash picked herself up off the floor. “What in the name of Tartarus was that?”
“Jovian, did something happen to the drones?”
“Nothing I can see from here sis; the console says that they are completely operational and just left the hanger.”
Celestia grimaced with frustration. It wasn’t good to not know what was happening around her. There were still hundreds of Inferi soldiers on board and she doubted that they would approve of their prisoners having commandeering their ship. Anything could have happened, and she wouldn’t be able to know whether it was for better or for worse until it was too late.
Deep down, she hoped that the Didact was alright...

***************

“Goodbye Lord Didact... enjoy the afterlife.”
The Didact coughed out the little of blood left in his mouth, the taste of petroleum making him want to vomit. Chrysalis was purposefully making this difficult. Surely she understood what’ll happen to her if he went all out on her, right? Either way, ignorance was no excuse. He was getting pissed that he was being left with no choice; now there was nothing more left to do.
The hanger suddenly was filled with a low humming, which was soon replaced with the dull roar of motor engines coming to life. Two drones began to hover above the floor, their helicopter blades deafening the room and creating a fierce gale, and rotated around to leave the hanger. Chrysalis was instinctive to turn her head to see what was going on. This was the Didact’s chance; that split-second opportunity that made it that much easier. With a powerful breath, he sucked in as much air as he could, charging the magic inside of him.
“Roar of the Temporal Dragon...” He breathed out with massive force, and a powerful magic came from his throat and mouth. Chrysalis recoiled in anger and pain, the magic breaking through her protective aura and scalding her skin. The powerful blue flames pushed her back and crashed her into one of the deactivated drones. The roar simply dragged it along in its force, and the drone eventually smashed into another close by. They both exploded violently and shook the entire hanger; the roar itself seemed to shake the air, a massive quake echoing through the walls.
The Didact clawed his way to his feet. With the queen off of him, he could finally focus on healing himself. The dark energy around him was absorbed with such ravenous force that his aura glowed brighter than ever before; the blue-white light as blinding as the sun in the sky. His cuts closed; his bones returned to their places; his blood was once again flowing through his veins, through his mechanical heart. Chrysalis wanted an all out fight, she finally had one. Come what may, he will not hold back against her again.
The explosion that caught her didn’t do any damage compared to what his magic achieved. Chrysalis emerged from the flames relatively unscathed. The anger in her eyes were beyond anything that a normal person could feel. It was a psychotic bloodlust; the queen didn’t just want him dead now, she wanted him mutilated; torn piece by bloody piece.
She charged at him, screeching with rage and with fists ignited with green fire. The Didact didn’t even flinch and when she pulled back, ready to punch, he lifted his hand and caught her fist in his palm. The colliding force exploded to the side and Chrysalis’ eyes grew wide with disgust.
“Claw of Time.” Without strain, the Didact lifted his foot above his head and then brought it down upon her head. She was flung downward and to the side, blue flames flickering on her head and cheek, searing into her flesh. The pain only made her even more furious, and she charged him once more, without thinking.
“You say I am the pitiful one.” As she assaulted him with a flurry of blows, the Didact calmly blocked or dodged each and every one. “You tell me that I am scum and dirt, but look at you now...”
His words only deepened her primal rage. “Shut, UP!!!”
“You’re the one who is pitiful here. I feel sorry for you; for what you have done in what you thought was right; how you lost everything in the process; I feel sorry for you...”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!!” Green fire and venom spewed from the queen’s mouth.
“You’re right; why should I waste such words on someone as lost as you?” His game was over. With one swift movement, he planted his palm into her stomach. Chrysalis gasped in pain at the blow, and slowly, quietly, found herself collapsing down onto his palm.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear, “Time Dragon’s Pulse.”
There was only a dull thud as a flash of light burst through his palm. The effect of the magic was evident; as soon as he had finished, Chrysalis dropped down to the ground in silence; the battle was over.
	
> 3:4- Apologia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twyla rolled her eyes around, making sure she could see everything properly. Her vision had become unbalanced; her left held greater, almost intoxicating clarity. It was as if the entire world had become crystal clear to her left, and fuzzy on her right. Deep in her head, she could feel the click of the mechanism moving about dully; like wasps hovering about their hive in the distance.
The operation on her eye was impressively painless, and quick too. Shortly after her arrival to the Abinadi Ckes, it became evident that the needle had infected her visual membrane. If she would have been lucky, then she would have lost sight in that eye completely, but, again, it was clear that she wasn't. Within five minutes, she had been moved across the massive ship, then knocked out and had her eye removed and replaced with a mechanical one. Afterwards, she and Dr. Aurel were moved into the deep interior of the ship and thrown together into a cell.
Twyla noted that the cell she was in now was cleaner and more cozy room than the metal one from the Ioseph Kaleir. Here, the beds were washed and softer, the room was sealed and kept dry and there was a comfortable warmth to it, though still not something desirable. Here, standing in front of a metal mirror that was bolted to the wall, Twyla stood looking at her face.
The operation hadn’t required anything but her eye removed or pulled or grafted; it was a clean and immaculate cut. Her eye was a newer model than the Didact’s; instead of the harsh solid red lens, her’s was designed to look like an actual eye, with a white and iris. There was still no pupil, but if she looked close enough, she thought she could see the tiny whirl of gears behind the violet film in the center...
Dr. Aurel sat on the bed cushion, distressed terribly. “It’s all my fault. I made this machine and I gave it directly to the people whom I’d invented it to try and stop. Why, God; just... why?”
“Do not be afraid or dismayed, be firm and steadfast. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies against whom you fight...”
Both Twyla and Dr. Aurel were startled by the voice. It wasn’t harsh with the Inferi accent, but smooth and lulling, like a mother talking to a young child. They both turned to the clear door of the cell, where a cleric stood almost proudly, as if her words were true, though daring. She wore a red sash with her black robes, which Dr. Aurel recognized almost immediately as the symbol of a Lesser Prophet.
“Your Excellency?” she said reflexively.
She smiled weakly and raised a hand. “Do not fret; I am the Prophetess of Apologia, of the Court of Truth and Reconciliation.”
From Dr. Aurel’s surprise, Twyla assumed that in general, a prophet never really gave personal visits to people, let alone two women in a prison cell.
“Joshua 10:25,” she said plainly, “While many of my level have their biases, I think that all faith can learn from one another.”
Twyla raised an eyebrow. Where was the heathen speech; when will she start ranting out that they were the scum of the earth; or that only the Marker and all its divinity can lead to glory, truth, salvation, etc.? No; since she arrived, the prophetess had said a Christian-Judaian quote, nothing involving the Markers or the Church of Unitology.
She smiled. It was a strange sight for Twyla; she had never seen a cleric smile, only snarl or growl at her in disgust. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and Twyla instantly felt more relaxed in her presence. It wasn’t forced or artificial, but a genuine smile- and she liked that.
“What brings you to visit us?” Twyla wasn’t harsh, but she still wasn’t ready to completely trust the prophetess.
“I’m aware that you have been moving around a lot recently, but I’m here to prepare you, Twyla- if I presumed correctly that you are Ms. Twyla Spark- for our descent to the surface and into the Marker Chamber; on orders of the shipmaster of the Abinadi Ckes. It isn’t much: just washing you and dressing you in clean and practical clothes.”
“But why send a prophetess to fetch me for such a reason? Why not just have a soldier?”
The Prophetess of Apologia smiled playfully. “Ms. Spark- or Twyla, either you prefer- as you can see from your moving about, there isn’t much women on board; a commonplace fact on an Inferi starship. I can personally say that myself and Dr. Aurel here are the only ones on this particular voyage. It is absolutely improper for a man to help a lady of age wash... so here I am.”
Twyla could feel her eye whirling as she squinted at the prophetess. No doubt she understood that she was only trying to make sure she was telling the truth, after having been lied to and forced to since her imprisonment. The prophetess only stood there, smiling peacefully and patiently. It was almost hypnotizing: her smile and her words. She spoke clearly and without a single misstep or draw back; surely an educated person if Twyla ever met one.
“What about Dr. Aurel?”
“Dr. Aurel, I’m afraid, has to stay here. I will make sure that she is treated properly though, so you don’t need to worry about that?”
Twyla remained hesitant, looking down at Dr. Aurel as she sat on the bed cushion. “Don’t worry Twyla, I’ll be okay.”
Twyla nodded firmly and the prophetess opened the door for her as she stepped out of the cell and walked with her through the halls. This was the first time that Twyla had seen a full blooded Inferi female (Dr. Aurel was half-Inferi, a fact that she stated in the lengthy conversation that was kept out from a previous chapter, so she didn’t count). The prophetess was about the same height as most of the soldiers who walked past. The hood of the cossack was kept up by a length of snow white hair, tucked neatly into her clothes. The robe covering it was smaller, and more form fitting to her than the male clerics she had seen, with their robes loose; the robe she wore hugged tightly to the cossack under it. Her eyes were still a clear orange-white, and her face only had a minute few wrinkles from age.
The two of them walked in silence, neither striking up a conversation with the other. The soldiers who passed them didn’t disturb them in any way; every one of them were busy with their own task and responsibilities, and didn’t have to time to question why a prisoner was walking with a prophetess.
The room they walked to was akin to a private chamber. In the center, raised up from the plexiglass floor, Twyla saw a bath, obviously prepared for her use. Resting on a table to the side were several washcloths and a set of clothes for her to use when she was finished.
“I’ll be waiting outside the door if you need any help.” The prophetess gave another smile towards Twyla and closed the door behind her as she went out. Twyla looked at the door; she was still a prisoner on this ship. The only reason she was even still alive was because the Inferi still needed her. She was still a tool for them and their goal for destruction.
She blinked the tears forming in her eyes away. Why was she crying? Twyla felt her unbalanced vision giving her a headache, and she wanted nothing more than to take a bath. As far as she knew, it could have been her last, so she might as well make use of it.
Maybe it was because of his solemn appearance, or perhaps it was because of the headache, but Twyla didn’t become startled by the sudden appearance of a strange man.
“Hello Ms. Twilight Sparkle...” He spoke with a tone as solemn as his eyes. It sounded like one who was joyous beyond imagination, but trying to hold it all in inside. He was nearly completely bald, save some grey hair on the sides. He was aged, with experience, with a healed anguish, and he looked calmly above his pair of wire glasses. He wore the robes of a cleric, but it was tied at the waist with a white rope over a sash; written in white stitching on the chest were the numbers 16670, which rested on top of a red triangle with a giant “P” inside.
She felt... calm in his presence; it was as if she was looking at an old friend, or at her own father. She felt like he could be trusted, instead of just not feared. Even as the sound of her own name, it sounded like the way her father would say it whenever he wished her good night or goodbye; the sound of “go in safety.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I am, who I am. You have been suffering Twilight, and God has listened to you and weeped at your pain. I am before you to tell you to be not afraid, for your actions are not in vain...”
Twyla was suspicious. “God? Why would God weep for the pain of one, if he existed that is?”
Her response did not anger him, the smile never fading. “What Father would abandon His child?”
Twyla felt like he was simply trying to trick her. “I have never experienced anything in my life to show me the existence of a God, let alone the God of Humanity. Even the Didact, the human, doesn’t believe, why should I?”
“Oh my sister, why do you have such little faith? Behold, the power of the Lord...” Without the slightest hesitation, the man plunged his left arm into the water and the water began to bubble violently and boil with energy. The water was transformed,  turning into a honey color and the strong scent of something sweet and tarry filled Twyla’s nose. He pulled his hand out, and the cloth of his robe had been dissolved into nothing, while his arm returned completely unscathed. Twyla instantly recognized it as carbolic acid, and she knew of no magic or spell that could turn water into it. As she stood dumbstruck, he walked over to her and placed his hand against her cheek. Not a drop of acid was on his hand, and there was a steady pulse and warm touch.
“W-Who are y-you?” she stammered.
“I am only a man; a man who believed and was rewarded with the treasures of the Lord...” He smiled. It felt different; after watching him perform that act, the smile seemed more like the smile of a closest friend, of someone who would try and protect you no matter what. “Trust in God Twilight, and you can do wondrous things; things even greater than what I showed you. The Spirit will erode even the most unyielding of stones, and no false idol can withstand the winds of God, for His love is a relentless storm...”
As he pulled away his hand, Twyla’s vision blurred for a moment, then grew in strength. He had balanced her sight and her headache was slowly going away. She was about to tell him ‘thank you,’ but he had vanished. The acid had been turned back to water, still steaming with warmth, as if nothing had happened to it in the first place.
Twyla walked over to the bath and placed her hand into the water. She could feel the cleansing water seeping into her skin and revitalizing her health. After a couple minutes of waiting and testing, Twyla willed herself to take a bath. It was exactly what she needed, the feel of water caressing her and of the dirt and grime of the past days leaving her made her feel as if everything was alright- everything was like it was before. Twyla thought that if she closed her eyes, she would open them to find herself back in her library, with Spike ready to help at a moment’s notice.
Spike. With all that has happened, she never once had thought of her number one dragon assistant. She wondered about him; where he was, what he was doing, and whether he was worried for her. She hoped that Spike was alright and that he’ll still be at the library when she got back. ‘When’, not ‘if’, when. She will get back.
“I will come back again,” she silently whispered to herself. “I will come back again...”
After letting herself sink in the water for a solid ten minutes, Twyla got out and prepared herself for the day. By the way everything was here on the Abinadi Ckes- by the better care, by the bath and by the clothes- she wondered whether the Inferi, deep down, actually believed that the Markers were their salvation to a glorious resurrection. Then she wondered if they were the ones who were right. It was chilling; she questioned whether it was the Didact who was here to bring destruction and harm to Equestria and that it was the Marker that would save them. She didn’t trust the Inferi; she couldn’t trust the Inferi, because they have attacked her and her friends too many times, but she felt willing to question whether the Marker, as an entity, was an ally.
The man had told her to trust in God, and while she wasn’t prepared to devote herself to a being she had never heard of before these times and she never believed in in the first place, she was willing to admit that the man wasn’t a normal magician, and that his words should be trusted. But who did “God” support; the aspirations of the Didact, or of the Inferi?
She was even more confused about the situation than before! Everything was deeper and more psychological than she could possibly keep track of. What compelled the Didact to go along with their plan in the first place? Was it so that she could live, and for him to be able to rescue her with everybody? Or was it because he, himself, wanted to see what the Marker would do? Did he even know anything about the Markers and Unitology? Was this “God” that has now entered into her life creator of the master plan of the Inferi, or of the Didact’s or even of some unseen third party?
No! Twyla could not start questioning herself now, not this late in the game. She had to continue going on with the hope of stopping the Marker, and that in this process she will learn whether it was right or necessary. Until then, the Inferi needed to be used as much as possible; Twyla needed them to let her access the Marker herself, or at least get her to the surface or in the Machine, so that she could help the Didact. He had helped Equestria enough times within the past couple days by stopping the Inferi, and several times helped her personally.
Twyla clothed herself in the garments provided for her on the table. They were made of a some form of silk, reddish-violet in color and smooth to the touch. It was nice to feel the smooth softness against her body as she moved. After walking around the room and reveling in the feeling for a few minutes, she moved towards the door and the now familiar sound of hydraulics hissed as the panel pushed itself into the wall and revealed the hallway. The Prophetess of Apologia sat next to the door, meditating for Twyla could only guess how long. As she finally stepped out, the prophetess opened her eyes and looked up at her calmly.
“Are you ready, Ms Spark?” Twyla silently nodded, and the prophetess stood up. “Will you follow me to the main hangar then?”
“What for?”
“To witness the divine Convergence. We are due to head down to the surface and to the machine in thirty minutes.”
Twyla only shrugged. She was indifferent; it didn’t matter whether she was there or not there, only that it was stopped, so she willingly followed the prophetess through the halls. They walked and continued walking, the officers and soldiers not paying a second thought to them, like before. The only difference from before were that the soldiers were moving with a greater sense of urgency and rushed past the two of them as quickly as each could. There was a heavy bustle about where the hallways joined, and voices were frantic in the spreading and sharing of information, orders and tablets.
“Prophetess,” Twyla called her, as she knew no other title for her, “what is going on?”
The prophetess quickly flashed her eyes around, making note of the situation before she reached up, donned her hood and covered her face in a magical darkness. “I do not know,” she said, her voice changed with the magic, “but I’m certain we must expedite our progress to the shuttle. Here, take my hand.”
Before she could respond, the prophetess grabbed Twyla’s hand and began to drag her at a brisker pace. Twyla continually had to catch up, the prophetess always moving faster once she did. Eventually they were in a full run through the halls, trying to keep up with the bustle and pace of the frantic soldiers who pushed past them and shouted with their urgency. Hallway after hallways; corridor after corridor; the prophetess let nothing slow them down, at least until they reached the bulkhead.
It had closed on them suddenly in front of them, the heavy metal crashing together and blocking their path. After a couple seconds, the prophetess barked out at another corridor and then dragged Twyla down it. Several more bulkheads closed around them, but none of them ever were in front of them anymore. It was as if they were the ones the Inferi were sealing away. The prophetess made a turn and ran into another hallway when a bulkhead closed behind the two of them. It became clear that they were now in the area the Inferi wanted to close off. Not a single being was in sight from where they were, and the halls echoed an eerie silence. It was so silent, that the sound of the ship intercom startled Twyla as it rang out its message.
“All combat-ready personnel,” the voice was in garbled Inferi, but Twyla could still understand it, “please report to hangar Alphalon.”
The prophetess frowned under her hood. “That’s the hangar we’re heading to. There isn’t time to waste...”
Once again she lead Twyla through the halls with a run. Nothing blocked their way and no soldiers pushed past them in a rush. The hall only echoed with their own footsteps, and besides that, there was silence. 
The two of them turned into another hallway and the prophetess stopped in surprise. At sight of the hall, Twyla herself became too stunned to speak. Littered about like discarded puppets were the fresh corpses of what could be a whole platoon of Inferi soldiers. Blood painted the walls and floor close to each of the bodies and everyone of them were presumably killed by a blade; a very skillful blade.
“Moroni’s wisdom...” the prophetess was careful not to step on any of the bodies and silently whispered a prayer to them all. Twyla herself only followed the prophetess in silence. It didn’t take a smart person to know who did this; the Didact was on board and was making his way towards hangar Alphalon.
After that, the two of them didn’t stop running until they reached the hanger. The Prophetess of Apologia rarely spoke, and when she did the kindhearted words from before had disappeared. Her voice became harsh and condescending, like the rest of the clerics Twyla met, and the prophetess was keen to push her around when it was necessary for her to do so.
The door to the hangar opened and the prophetess pushed Twyla inside. “There,” she said, “That’s the shuttle we need to board. Quickly!”
Twyla was forced to run, even though she was tired beyond anything else she felt. Her legs ached and her lungs burned, but the prophetess still pushed her on, refusing to let her rest until they were on the shuttle. A dim crash echoed in the wall as something hard collided with the metal. Twyla instinctively looked back to see what it was, but only could see that the hangar door was still open. The prophetess pushed onto the shuttle and forced her to sit down. She then made a gesture to a pilot and the door began to close.
Twyla looked out at the hangar as the door closed, and watched as an Inferi behemoth out in the hallway was killed in front of the open hangar door. The Didact appeared afterwards and, at sight of Twyla in the leaving shuttle, made a dash towards her.
The shuttle wasted no time in setting off.

***************

The Didact didn’t have time to lose. The Abinadi Ckes was a massive battleship, and thus was a maze. His battle with Chrysalis had burned his time and he missed the opportunity to catch Twyla in the brig. Luckily, he had found Dr. Aurel, and after her brief explanation as to the whereabouts of Twyla, and to his fears, of her companion. Afterwards, he freed the doctor and told her to take one of his pistols, commandeer a shuttle, then take it to the Ioseph Kaleir and to tell Celestia to take the ship down to the surface and to meet him at the Leviathan entrance with her father.
When Dr. Aurel set off, he moved in another direction, towards the hangar on the other side of the ship, where Dr. Aurel told him the Inferi had planned to leave from. With almost a thirty minute head start on him, he needed to reach the hangar and thus, Twyla and the Prophetess of Apologia, with haste. After his fight with Chrysalis, he was quick to simply dispatch the Inferi who opposed him and blocked his path; with the thought of killing his enemies safe, he let nothing really slow him down.
It was a long and tedious assault through the halls before the Inferi officers began to close bulkheads on him, trying in vain to guide him into loosely planned traps. Naturally, it didn’t work; each time the Didact approached a bulkhead, he would use his magic to phase through, completely undeterred.
Turn; enemies; strike; kill; sprint; phase; turn; turn; repeat. The process was simple and flawless in execution. Within reasonable time, the Didact had crossed the length of the ship and made his approach towards the hangar. By the time the large steel doors were in his sight, only two guards remained in his way. Unlike the ones from before, these two were behemoths: two meters of muscle and armor of bone and steel. 
“Well gentlemen... en guard.”
They shared a look with each other, seemingly not threatened by the human challenging them. Together, they stepped forward and pounded their fists together in a threatening manner.
“Was hadau noc dos heir?” one asked the other. The other only shrugged and bolted forward with surprising speed. With a great fist, he swung up and brought it down when the Didact sidestepped and flicked his blade upward, indenting in the the armor of the behemoth’s arm. With the same motion, he swooped the blade down with stronger force and then sliced into it’s arm, breaking clean through the armor. The behemoth reeled back, making a high-pitched sound of pain at the large gash in its arm.
Angry, it charged again, this time more conscientious with the threat in front of him. What he didn’t realize was that it didn’t matter either way; he and his partner stood in the Didact’s way, and nothing could stand in his way now. As the behemoth lumbered forward aggressively, he sidestepped and thrusted his blade upward into the its chest. The sharpened blade had some difficulty piercing the thick armor, but the result still ended with the blade protruding from the behemoth’s chest. The blade had then become useless, nothing more than a metal paperweight, unable to be pulled out, leaving the Didact without a weapon. He reflected back to his Krav Maga training. This was survival; the remaining behemoth was trying to kill him; to survive, he must do anything. The first week of his training, his sensei explained to him how hard it was to get past the grueling details that come with surviving an attack; what a person may be forced to do. All these years later, the thought had only just crossed him, and even then made his stomach twinge. The behemoth raised its fist to attack, and the Didact bursted in towards its chest. With a great leap, he pounced, securing himself by grabbing its shoulder in preparation for what he would do. Without winding his arm back or adding momentum from what he already did, the Didact pushed out his free hand, the mechanical claw of sharpened fingers, and jammed it into the behemoth’s eyes.
The response was instantaneous, and desired. Blood poured out onto the Didact’s fingers, mashed with gruesome matter, and the behemoth reeled back, screaming in excruciating pain. The Didact wasn’t done; with as much force as he could immediately muster, he jammed his fingers in further, pushing at the inside of its brain and ripped through before pushing the behemoth back and landing on his feet. As the behemoth cried through his remaining eye, slowly, painfully dying, the Didact decided to put it out of its misery. Without hesitation, he reached up and snapped its neck, cold and methodical.
Nothing else was in his way. The shuttle engines roared to life and the Didact turned to see the shuttle door closing. Sitting in the back, belted in to prevent her from standing up, was Twyla. For a moment they locked eyes, and the Didact realized he was so close. He set off at a sprint as the shuttle lazily lifted off the floor with a violent shake. It moved towards the hangar bay, but he moved slightly faster. He reached the end of the hangar shortly after the shuttle had made it outside, and he jumped.
Falling from this height would mean an almost certain death without intervention, but he did it anyways. He pushed out from the hangar and reached for the shuttle’s tail, grabbing on with dear life. He could feel that the ship became upset with his weight and his momentum. The engines sputtered; the shuttle circled about; the jets coughed smoke. He clawed at the smooth metal as the shuttle lost control, spinning wildly in a downward spiral. He could hear the computers inside, beeping crazily with emergency messages and malfunction warnings. The pilots couldn’t do anything to fix it; the shuttle was beyond saving.
As the fatal tailspin continued, the Didact’s cybernetic grip began to tear back with the magnificent force. The metal peeled with his fingers, and he tried desperately to claw his way back to relative safety. With a violent sputter, the engine finally exploded from under him, and he was sent flying out into the open air and began his plummet to the ground.

***************

The shipmaster of the Ioseph Kaleir came to with an ear splitting headache. His mind was on fire, and the slightest disturbance creating a persistent pain.
“Sister, the shipmaster is waking up...”
He glanced over towards the voice too quickly, and his head punished him for his sudden movement. “My head...”
The voice returned and he felt gentle hands on his shoulders. “Be at ease, shipmaster: I may have removed the spell on your mind, but you’re still suffering from lingering effects. Tell us, what is the last thing you remember?”
The shipmaster shook his head slightly, trying his best to do what the nice voice asked him. “I-I think, I think I was in a meeting... there were other shipmasters present and we were talking about... something. Then the Prophet of Truth came in and... that’s it.” His voice was not longer bloodthirsty or zealous, but still firm in his confusion. “Why am I on my ship? Where are we? Who are you?” He looked up at a woman with pastel colored hair standing at a vantage point. “And why is she standing at my observation platform?”
“Shipmaster, the Prophet of Truth had cast a spell on you so you’d do what he wanted you to do, which was to invade mine and my sister’s and my family’s country. I am Luna, Princess of the Moon and my sister is standing there because she is the only one of us who can really run this ship.”
“And why would you need to do that?”
“Because we need to stop the Marker from being activated.”
The shipmaster’s eyes widened and he brushed Luna away to stand up, even when it made his head feel like a hornet’s nest. “Truth that swine! So that was what he was after all along; undermining the teachings of Unitology and to use others to destroy the world. Even he should know that the Markers are too holy to be used by any mere mortal.”
“What do you mean?”	
“The Marker... Unitology proves to the believers that it isn’t a machine, or a tool, but a living thing. It sees, hears, breathes, speaks... It is sacrilege to release its wrath or to use it as if it was a puppet.” The shipmaster moved as quickly as he could, Luna following as the two of them ran up to the observation platform and stood besides Celestia. “Woman, please hear me out. We must protect it and destroy any way to get to it. The Ioseph Kaleir has the proper armament to do so.”
Luna blinked in surprise, “Destroy the machine?”
“Anything to stop Truth!”
The change in Luna was almost instantaneous. She became physically upset at his words, and she was filled with rage. “We can’t do that!”
Celestia reeled back at her sister’s outburst. The shout was loud enough for the rest on the bridge to hear here, each one of them equally shocked, almost scared.
“Luna.” Celestia raised her hand to her sister’s shoulder, but she shook it off violently.
“We can’t destroy the Marker! We need to use it ourselves; stop the Inferi with the very weapon they are searching for!”
The shipmaster shook his head in protest. “No, don’t fall victim to that delusion.  It will shine its wrath down on you too.”
“How can we trust you?” Luna shouted, her voice filled with anger, “You’re one of them!”
“Luna!” Everyone turned their heads to the new voice. It was Event Horizon this time, and he was unyielding as Luna was. Whatever rage Luna had was quickly dispersed, and she began to cower under her father’s gaze. “I’m sorry father, forgive my outburst.”
Celestia cleared her throat and made herself turn away from staring at her sister and remembering long forgotten times. “We won’t destroy the machine, or any place in the desolation. We have a person who is working to stop Truth, and I trust him.”
The shipmaster shook his head, but yielded to her confidence. “This person better be the best in the galaxy there is...”
Celestia smiled. “Don’t worry, he is.”
> 3:5- Convergence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“This ain’t good,”  he heard a voice said.
“Damn… How far did he fall?” asked another.
“Two kilometers, easy.”
“Stay sharp!” barked a third.
He felt a presence kneel by his right side, a face staring into his own...
“His armor’s locked up,” stated a fourth, “Gel layer could’ve taken most of the impact.”
His arms fell to his sides as his muscles released from some strange force...
“I-I don’t know, Sergeant Major…”  the same voice continued.
He could feel a tug at the back of his head. It felt like he was wearing a helmet and heavy armor... it didn’t feel like him...
A long pause ensued, followed by the third voice again.
“Radio for V-TOL. Heavy lift gear. We’re not leaving him here.”

***************

///...systems off-line...///
///...status report...///
...damage to internal organs and internal bleeding discovered...
...mandible and right shoulder dislocated; right clavicle and right humerus broken; five ribs cracked, three broken; multiple carpal and metacarpal bones shattered...
...blood flow at 25% normal capacity and dropping...
...neural activity at 18% normal capacity and dropping...
///...attempt reboot...///
[ACCESS DENIED]
(please enter proper .exe and passcode to perform manual reboot in accordance with Canon 117-142)
///...access: PROJECT_LAZARUS.exe, passcode: 01000111, 01000001, 01001101, 01001101, 01000001, 00110111...///
...processing...
encoding...01000011011001010110110001100101011100110111010001101001011000010010000001101100011011110111011001100101011100110010000001110100011010000110010100100000010001000110100101100100011000010110001101110100...accepted...
encoding...01010111011001010110110001100011011011110110110101100101001000000111010001101111001000000111010001101000011001010010000001101101011000010110001101101000011010010110111001100101...accepted...
...sufficient clearance [ACCESS GRANTED]
///Good morning Samuel... its time to wake up.///

***************

“No... you’re not...”
The Didact awoke with a start and immediately began to cough up blood. The cherry-black liquid was a bitter poison in his mouth as he tried with all his power to get it out. With the petroleum fluid expelled, he slowly gathered the strength to stand up. His body was stiff and refused to move the way he wanted to, greatly restricted by the suit of armor that encased him. It was that suit of armor that had saved his life; were it not for the gel absorber inside of it, he would have died from a fall of that height. Even with the armor, he didn’t escape unharmed. He could feel the machinery and the nanotech working inside of him to fix the damage. The buzzing heated him up and made it even more difficult to move. Slowly, he unlocked the gel layers and let the nanotech do its thing. It was the least he could do for all the times that tech saved his life.
The Didact took the time to look at his current surroundings. From the ground, the ruins of the ancient alicorn city were more dynamic than the homogenous sight of ash from the air. Here, vines grew on the degrading stone walls, which stood weakly at two stories; birds fluttered quietly among the ruins in the distance; a hungry cat ran across in front of him, chasing a mouse. The Astral Desolation was still very much alive, just in a different way than when the alicorns were here; the Didact has seen this happen before, with many empires throughout history.
As the fire running through his veins died down and the armor ceased to constrict his muscles, the Didact began to walk. He had the direction of the Leviathan entrance memorized, with help from the afternoon sun, and began his trek towards the machine. He decided to go parkour style, and to not entertain the running mazes of degraded streets and crumbled buildings. The Didact gripped at a particular crevasse in the stone, and pulled himself up, beginning his climb to the window hole, left by the millenia of degradation. Lucky for him, the stone walls were thick and relatively sturdy this close to the ground. Reaching a window with little effort, he propped himself up and looked out at the world below him. The crumbling walls and thin streets turned the charred land into a massive labyrinth. The sky was clear for miles, except for the perpetual clouds of the Astral Mountains on the horizon. Above, the hulking lengths of the two Inferi warships blotted out the sun, casting their long shadows across the dark landscape. In the distance, he could see the plume of smoke made from the crash of the shuttle; a bit past it, there was a clearing in the stones and plant life, the Leviathan.
As it was on the way, the Didact decided that he should check in on the shuttle to see whether Twyla could be there, passed out and in need of help. He doubted it, but at least it was directly on the way, so there was no harm in at least checking. He flung his legs over to one side and pushed off from the wall, launching himself at the next stone  structure standing. His accuracy was impeccable, and he was now gripping the top, his legs already prepared to step up and lead to the next jump. He climbed, jumped, climbed, rolled; he moved with grace and skill, the world set out before him as equations to solve and physics to break.
With some effort, he managed to cross the large expanse within the hour. As the sun rested above the horizon, crawling its way downward in a sky of blue and orange, he pulled himself up to the top of his current stone wall and looked down at the torn apart clearing in front of him. The shuttle itself laid askew a bit off to his right, the large crater having carved through several streets, stone walls, even the occasional low lying tree, which were spread out far and few. Carefully, he jumped from the wall and rolled onto the ground. Coming out of the roll, he readied his holstered boltshot- a plasma weapon commonly used as a pistol through human space- and proceeded cautiously closer to the crashed shuttle.
The insides of the craft were ripped apart and long abandoned. As he stepped inside, glass would crunch under his boots and the emergency lights flickered dimly. It became clear that Twyla wasn’t here, and that most of the people on board managed to survive, though the pilot and two others were not so lucky. With nothing else keeping him there, and with the threat of five clerics somewhere he did not know gnawing at the back of his mind, he exited the shuttle.
A cough tore him from his focus and he jumped away from the shuttle, boltshot drawn and widely alert. Something moved in the shuttle, enough so that he grew on edge. With the plasma of his weapon glowing a brilliant blue, he cautiously stepped closer to the shuttle. There was another cough and something moved again, followed by the familiar click of a seatbelt releasing. Weapon still raised, he stepped up to the form. It was a cleric, his body covered in the ooze of its orangish blood. He stirred at the sight of the Didact in front of him, but could only weakly protest against him.
“You...”
The Didact crouched down to meet the cleric’s dull gaze. He understood that he wouldn’t be alive for much longer. “Your mistress, Apologia, what did she do with Twilight?”
“The same thing she will do with all of your putrid race... Convergence is at hand; all... believe, shall... be saved.”
The cleric slumped down pathetically, his chest struggling to heave in shallow breaths. The Didact chose to leave him to his fate, walking out into the oranging sunlight. He stared up into the sky, facing where the Leviathan was suppose to be, then glanced up at the ships floating lazily above him. The Ioseph Kaleir had moved a bit away from the larger Abinadi Ckes, Celestia apparently giving herself an air cushion between her and the more menacing, deadlier warship. He began to step forward, continuing on his trek.
The distance between the entrance and the crashed shuttle was miniscule compared to the hour long travel he had just made. Like most of the Precursor and Forerunner structures he had seen, the facade of low lying, vine covered machinery hid the true size and ability of the Leviathan, sprawling out possibly for miles below. The door had shaken free its vines and foliage, freshly opened. The Didact stepped closer, the soft squish of moss and grasses underneath his feet was quickly replaced with the cold clunking of solid metal.
“It’s about time you showed up...”
The Didact wheeled around, gun primed, and pointed it at the voice. Celestia instantly threw her hands up. “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot!”
She slowly stepped out from behind her chosen foliage cover, followed soon after by her father. The Didact lowered his weapon. “That was an unwise move...”
Inside, the Didact commended Dr. Aurel for delivering his message in time. “We don’t have time to talk about it; we need to get inside and stop them from activating the Leviathan.”
The Didact nodded. Celestia was right; the Leviathan needed to be their main priority. “Let’s go.”
The three of them stepped through the door and it closed behind them silently. Celestia gasped at the beauty of the machinery. It wasn’t clunky or cantankerous, but elegant and polished. Even after millenia of abandonment, the silver shone in the dull glow of the ambient, pulsing lights that ran the walls, ceiling and floor. As they walked, some of the mechanism would move, float out and shift to a new place, as if preparing for their arrival to a closed door ahead of them. They approached closer, and the door silently unlatched itself, the mechanism shifting about, and opened.
They stepped through, the door closing behind them, and were faced with a massive chasm in front of them. The floor ended abruptly in a sharp cut, creating a large expanse of empty space between them and the door on the other side.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Celestia frowned, “What would be the point of making the only hallway into the machine and lead it to a point where it cannot continue?”
Event Horizon simply huffed. “You still have some more to learn, daughter.”
The king stepped around the Didact, careful not to accidently step off the platform, and walked towards a walkway next to the wall. Off near the corner, a flicker of light caught the eyes of the Didact and the Celestia. Event Horizon stepped in front of it and, placing his palm on the console, activated it. “It’s necessary that I remember how to access the machine... in case someone decided to try and find it.”
The air between the two platforms began to hum with energy, before igniting into a blue light that spanned the entire chasm. The Didact hesitantly put his foot out towards the light, and found his entire weight being supported by it.
“A working hard-light bridge... after all this time?”
“I found the technology crafted here incredibly resilient to wear,” Event Horizon said, making his way back. “I have a feeling this will even work long after my lifetime...”
The Didact nodded, holding back his scientific excitement. “Fascinating... I knew the Precursors were great architects, but not like this...” The Didact continued to walk forward, the hard-light bridge still unyielding to his weight. Shortly afterwards, Celestia followed, then her father behind her. As they cleared the room, and the bridge evaporated behind them, the Didact’s excitement towards the Precursor technology dimmed compared to the growing acceptance to the importance of the situation. His generalship-side was beginning to regain control of his actions and thoughts. Eventually, only one real question remained in his head.
His voice was steady and low. “Can you tell me how you locked away the Marker’s power?”
Event Horizon raised his head at the question. After long seconds, he sighed. “It really starts with my family and I leaving Alicornia after the Reign of the Nightmare. Vulcan and Luna were newborns by alicorn standards, but to the Equestrians we met... they were already near full maturity to them. After the long travel northeast, it certainly was a blessing to meet others. To them, we were beings they had only heard of in ancient legends and they treated us as if we were gods and goddesses. It was then that we met their Mad Tyrant. When Ms. Sparkle and her friends found him, he was only just breaking free from his imprisonment- only able to tap the shallow depths of his potential. Back then, Discord was chaotic to the point of destructiveness, irreverence and to where he held a complete disregard to life.”
“Sounds like a mad tyrant indeed...”
“What made it worse was that he was completely sane in the process, “Celestia added to her father’s point. “We were able to meet him before we fought against him in the War of Madness; he was... polite, quick-witted, and outspoken but very well mannered and respectful to a degree. Were he a pony, he would have been a master in debate. He excelled in manipulating others through twisted logic, pushing the correct emotional buttons and even lying. He had one goal: destroy the world in chaos. Nothing would ever change him from that ideal. To fulfill his dreams, he planned, meticulously and expertly. To an average being, which at the time included even us, they seemed disjoined and without sense or purpose, but they always came together in the end...”
The Didact understood what she meant. “Even in the deepest realms of entropy, order still exists.”
“Indeed,” Event Horizon nodded, “but what made it worse was that it was all a game to him. In this game, the goal was always pure chaos. It went beyond mischief and pranks; it was pure, methodical annihilation. The stories you’ve no doubt heard from Ms. Sparkle about what happened to Ponyville in his brief freedom; they would be far worse should he have been free any longer...”
“Sounds like my kind of guy...”
Celestia felt a twinge of anger at such a remark. “Anyways, after meeting him we had decided that he reminded us too much of the chaos that consumed our home, so we took the chance to fight against him. It soon became clear that even with all of us together, it would be perhaps the greatest challenge we’ve ever undertaken.”
“Even with the power of eight alicorns on their side, three of which being myself, my brother Umbra and my wife; fully matured.” Event Horizon recollected the troubling times that resulted in the War of Madness. “Luckily, Celestia and Luna had stumbled upon an artifact of immense power that helped in our plight to stop him...”
“The Tree of Harmony.” Celestia smiled with pride. “With it’s power, we managed to forge the Elements of Harmony and quickly thereof defeated Discord. But it became more than that as well. With the Elements of Harmony created, we also found a way to stop the spread of madness at home as well; a way to stop the Marker.”
“By the time we got back to Alicornia, however, it had become too late. When we left, the descent of madness had begun to fabricate riots, aggression, murdering and suicides into commonplace. When we returned- Celestia, Luna and I- the entire civilization had already destroyed itself. We could still, however, stop the madness from spreading. Using the magic of the six Elements of Harmony, which at the time were celestially attached to myself and my five children, I created a magical barrier that blocked it’s energy from escaping to the outside. The energy feeds back to the Elements themselves, adding to their power and ability, making them stronger than originally possibly by the Tree alone. This process is what creates the field of harmony known as the Tempest.”
“What will happen when the keys unlocked the barrier?”
“The energy the Marker radiates off isn’t dispelled by the barrier if that’s what you’re asking, merely reflected back. When the barrier goes, the energy of the Marker, contained for a millennium, will explode out, the Tempest will collapse, and the world might be plunged into madness.”
“Then we don’t have time to lose.” The Didact primed his weapon and kept his quick pace, now preparing for any confrontation. They were getting close to what was titled the Cartographer Room, which, according to inferences from previously known Precursor/Forerunner architectural information, would contain the Marker. The motions of the mechanism became more common, and more areas of the walls moved as they approached. It was as if they were coming to the throne to a mighty king, where their fates would be decided by a single swing of a scepter. It wasn’t too far from the truth, the Didact thought.
Only the final door stood in their way. For a couple seconds, they simply stood and stared at it. It was the Didact who spoke first out of them. “They are already inside and waiting for us.”
Event Horizon flexed his shoulders, adjusting his vest and shirt. “I suppose this is it; win or lose, the fate of the world will be decided in the coming minutes...”
Celestia simply stated the obvious feeling. “It feels... too simple; anticlimactic almost.”
“Things like that are unnecessary.” The Didact walked forward and the door automatically opened to his presence. It opened up to a large room. The floor they stood on was suspended from the bottom and extended out into the chamber, before splitting off into a large circle that encompassed the Marker. It was massive; several stories of rock and metal. It was an earthy black, the two spirals twisting out from the thick base into two spikes at the top.
In front of it stood the Prophetess of Apologia, Twyla held in front of her with a gun drawn to her head. Several other clerics stood around the several consoles, particularly the large one in the center, and moved slowly, several limping. The Prophetess herself didn’t escape unharmed either. Even at his distance, the Didact could see a trickle of the bright orange blood running down across her eye. She stood, preferring her left leg over her right, meaning it was either sprained or even broken somewhere. Her look was overall grim...
...So the Didact decided to make a joke. “Dr. Livingstone I presume!”
The Prophetess let herself chuckle. “So... you’ve become the Didact that the universe so greatly fears; it’s been years since our previous encounter, Mr. Altman.”
“I’m a lot stronger, and a lot smarter than when I foolishly challenged you to a Bellum Magia all those years ago.” The Didact instantly got serious again, his weapon primed. “You know I won’t let you succeed here Prophetess.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” she calmly retorted, “The Marker will bring about a new age and will mark the beginning of a great journey to Convergence. And I wouldn’t keep stepping closer, because I will kill her.” The Prophetess brought her gun closer to Twyla’s cheek, prompting a whimper. The Didact stopped.
“Are you okay Twyla?”
“I could be better,” the librarian said sarcastically. “Didact, I’m scared...”
“Everything will be okay.”
The Prophetess of Apologia scoffed at their banter. “It’s too late Didact.” As if to prove her point, her servants held the six keys, each hovering near their slot. “Give up.”
The Didact frowned. “I was about to say the same to you.” He glanced at Twyla, careful to make sure she noticed. His eyes spoke the only words he needed to tell her. Do you trust me?
She had hardly nodded before the Didact had bolted forward, magic accelerating him to breathtaking speeds. Before she could react, all of the servants were dead, throats slashed, and the Prophetess of Apologia was thrown to the floor, away from Twyla, her wrists broken in the process. The gun that was at Twyla’s head was now held in the Didact’s hand, ready for use. The Prophetess tried to scramble upright, wincing in the pain from her wrists and other injuries. “You insolent little-”
“Don’t give me your pompous higher attitude to me Prophetess.” The Didact’s voice was cold and harsh. He let his sword materialize in his hand, raising it high above her form. “You’re not as good at it as Truth is. In reality, I can see you’re afraid- very afraid- of the man standing in front of you right now. Nothing you say can hide that from me.”
The Prophetess paused on the ground, trying to think of something to say, something to come back at him with. She couldn’t think of anything. The Didact towered before her, a titan of magic and warfare. She remembered all those years ago when he was only a child, foolishly challenging her, an Unitologist bishop, to a duel. She remembered how quickly she was able to put that imprudent boy into his place, to scar his mind with nightmares and suffering. Now the tables were reversed; now she was only a tiny girl in the shadow of the great Didact, Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals.
...and she was very afraid.
All the while, both Twyla and Celestia stood away and looked at the Didact and the Prophetess. If the Prophetess’s eyes were anything to go by, the Didact was surely a monster of great power. Celestia could see her trying to hide the fear welling inside of her as she cowered, in agony and pain, under his menacing form. When she looked at the Didact, she saw a cold passion and rage that comes with years of death and destruction. He was driven, filled with the rage to complete his task- to save the world- but it was clear that he was willing to do anything to make sure it was accomplished, even eliminate those in his way.
Twyla saw everything Zero told her; a soldier who lost everything. The Didact became a man who had nothing left to lose, who had suffered too much, and simply lost the willingness to truly care. She feared for anyone who stood in his way, for the Prophetess, and for the Didact. She feared the Didact might go too far and be unable to come back...
Celestia found courage. She felt the ability to stand up, strongly, and help him. “Didact...”
“What!”
Even with his tone, Celestia was able to remain calm. “Didact, if you kill her now, you won’t be able to live with yourself.”
There was something inside of him that responded to her, but was struggling against his cold anger. “One death is a tragedy, Celestia; a million is a statistic. What is a billion deaths, or a trillion? I have seen worlds burn into nothing more but glass. I have seen people tortured, wishing for the ease of death... What is one more...” He prepared to plunge his sword down.
“Listen to yourself!” The Didact froze as Celestia shouted at him. Tears rolled from her eyes as she screamed at him. “Can you not hear yourself talk, Didact?! The Didact I know is kindhearted, and daring. He is loyal and honest, generous and filled with laughter. When he is faced with a problem, he will always try to find the solution that helps everybody. Sure, he has a obscured and pained past, and sometimes his anger will consume him, but he’d always come back and help! Most importantly, he would never kill out of cold blood! How dare you still call yourself the Didact while walking down the road you travel now!”
The voice inside of him grew as it pried away the cold anger embracing him. The Didact stumbled back a step, dropping his sword and letting it evaporate at the floor. His voice remained steady and deep. “You’re right; not like this.”
The Prophetess only let herself smile. “Even with all of your power, you’re still too afraid to use it...”
The Didact turned back to face the Prophetess. His face no longer carried the blood-lust and icy rage from before, but he was still no less stern. “You are still not excused for your actions and your crimes. Krishya Jamela, Prophetess of Apologia, you are hereby charged for the illegal military involvement of a Class 4 planet by a galactic entity, pursuant Article 2, Section 12 of the Construct of Trantor, and for the attempted genocide via use of a superweapon, pursuant Article 3, Section 8. Do I need to tell you your rights, Prophetess?”
“No, Lord Didact, you don’t... because in twelve seconds it matters little either way.” She threw out her hand in front of her, refusing to acknowledge the pain to muster all the magic she could. The keys, left discarded on the ground next to the dead servants, were levitated and thrusted into their sockets. “Kur be praised...”
The machine reacted instantaneously. Lights began to glow and the keys turned within their locks, air hissing from the console. The air around the Marker seemed to solidify, the magic around it gaining form in a milky white. The field rippled with energy, and currents of clouds manifested around the Marker, creating a giant swirl up its length of glowing energy.
Crrrraaaaaacccckk!
The magical barrier spiderwebbed with cracks, growing in size and covering the entire field. Soon, chunks began to fall down, gravity taking hold. Some would evaporate, while others would hit the ground with a ear-piercing shatter before turning into a milky mist that slowly dissipated. The console went haywire, while the energy around the Marker continued to build. Eventually it became too much to hold...
VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRR!
Everyone was thrown back as the large, horn-like sound, pierced lowly in the air with great force. The Prophetess threw her arms towards the Marker and began to spurt praises and prayers towards it. “Convergence is at hand! Salvation for all!”
The force that had thrown them all back, away from the Marker began to reverse, pulling them in towards a certain death. The corpses of the servants were flung into the air, straight into the vortex of the spiraling pillars, while the Prophetess put up no fight as she too was sucked up. Twyla crashed into the console, her breath knocked violently out of her. Using as much energy as she could, she flung her arms out and managed to catch Event Horizon, pulling him into the safety of the console protecting them.
The Didact and Celestia were pulled in as well, both desperately grasping at the floor to try and stop them. Both missed the console, and the Didact was flung against the railing, pushing him further into the deadly winds of the Marker. His arm shot out and caught the rail, swinging him around before the vortex began to pull him straight. Celestia, just behind him, missed the rail completely, nothing stopping her from flying directly into the Marker. She managed to find the grip of the Didact’s free hand.
They flew there for long seconds, the pull of the Marker’s vortex growing stronger each moment. The chamber buckled under the force of the magic, building up stronger and stronger.
VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRR!
The energy exploded out once again, jolting the Didact and Celestia from their rail back onto the floor before they were grasping at the metal once more. The pull of the vortex doubled, the chamber walls now breaking apart and falling victim to the Marker’s deadly grip.
Celestia tried to power her voice over the roaring windstorm. “The Leviathan is being torn apart!”
The Didact struggled as well. “The Prophetess had triggered a Convergence event! The entire planet will be torn apart if we don’t stop it!”
Twyla shouted from her place behind the console. “Can we activate the barrier again?”
“No,” the king yelled, “the power of the Marker is too great for even the combined power of all of us!”
“Then we need to do something else,” the Didact stated absently, “before all is lost!”
VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRR!
They were thrown out again, and once more pulled back in. By now, the entire superstructure, previously below the surface, had been exposed to its first rays of sunlight in millennia. The clouds of the Astra Mountains were siphoned from their perpetual haze and swirled above the Marker in a storm of brutal winds. The two mighty warships, pride of the Inferi Interstellar Fleet, were finally meeting their match. Lights flickered like candles, and the engines sputtered with mighty death throes, unable to match the powerful vortex sucking them in. The Didact glanced above at the Ioseph Kaleir, the faint blast of an escape pod, followed by over two dozen more, bursting away from the Marker towards relative safety.
Celestia struggled to hold her grip on the rail and the Didact before the metal buckled and tore from its base. The two of them were sent flying, Celestia bracing for a coming impact. She found herself embraced, the Didact using his magic to keep them flying against the pull of the Marker. He managed to overcome the pull long enough to move close to the console, where Celestia managed to take hold of her father's hand and was pulled to protecting from the wind.
“Thank you.” The Didact let go and was pulled away from them.
“Didact!” The only thing keeping Celestia from lunging out into the open to get him was her father and Twyla, holding her back.
The Didact stabilized himself, simply floating in the winds of the Marker. “Thank you,” he repeated to himself, “Thank you for everything...”
Tears rolled down Celestia’s cheeks. “Samuel...”
“We will meet again... in this life or the next...” He propelled himself further away and moved with the winds.
The floor began to buckle and crack underneath the immense pressure of the Marker’s magic. Chunks ripped apart, becoming a piece of the massive storm. The console protecting them, previously seeming to be immovable and absolute, began to tear apart.
“We’re running out of time here...”
Almost soundlessly, a large flash of white light erupted on the other side. It was an extremely bright light, seeming to dwarf the sun in luminosity. Twyla shielded her eyes, “What in Tartarus is going on here?”
The light exploded out again, this time closer to where they were. It wasn’t the Marker causing it, but something else.
“Didact...”
His form pushed out from the far side, using the inertia of his magic and the Marker’s to make an orbit around it. His hands were splayed out in front of him, facing the Marker, the aura of deep, vivid blue glowing strongly around his body.
“He’s trying to stop it...”
Event Horizon looked himself, following his path through the air. “He’s trying all by himself...”
His body exploded with the white light again. This time, it lingered, as if it was tangible, wisps being absorbed by Marker’s own vortex. With each explosion of light, more and more lingered as wisps of air. Eventually, there became so much that the only thing the Marker was absorbing was the light itself. The light began to completely cover the stone, perpetually hazing it from view.
“What is he doing?”
The Marker was completely covered in solid white clouds, only the occasional explosion of orange from beneath it indicating something beneath. The Didact himself orbited just above, the light emanating from his gradually diminishing.
Suddenly, he stopped, mid-orbit. With a powerful roar, he swung his arms down and finished his spell. “Paradox Breaker!”
The white clouds cascaded inward, the Marker underneath seemingly disappearing into nonexistence. The energy sucking inward increased violently, the console finally ripped from its place. Expecting the worse, the three of them who covered behind their shelter found themselves unaffected by the force. The clouds continued to rush inward until they all disappeared, before, finally, they exploded outward in a magnificent blast.
The Didact, whose whole body was aglow with magic through the whole thing, disappeared behind the powerful, nearly blinding light. With its mission completed, the light began to fade away, slowly returning to normal. The clouds that had swirled around the Marker had disappeared, along with the two warships that had fallen in.
Celestia shakily stood on her feet, looking up at the void of sky and metal that was once dominated by the Marker. Only the view of the faraway mountains was visible.
There was no more Marker... no more threat... no more Didact. The tears in her eyes would not stop, her body slumping back down to the floor in great sobs. Both Twyla and her father crouched next to her, but she paid no attention to them. She quietly looked up at the mountains with tear filled eyes. They were clear and crisp; not a single cloud covering them, as if a testament to the millennia-old sin that had simply vanished in front of their eyes...
...And it was all thanks to him: the Stranger from the Mines, the Didact. She had wanted to say something to him, but it was deep in the back of her mind, covered in the fear, adventure, pain, death and sorrow of the past two weeks. Now, as the sun set and the sky turned dark orange, she found the words she was looking for...
...there was only three of them...
	
> Epilogue- Things to Come
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was a miracle that everyone was still alive in the end. All of those who were on the Ioseph Kaleir had managed to escape the ship before it plunged into the vortex, primarily Crescent Star, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony and the rest of the royal family. Joining them were the Inferi soldiers that had managed to escape after the spell the Prophetess had placed on them was removed at her death; a number of over 140 out of the original 600 that were assigned.
The weeks following the failed Convergence were met with great challenge towards reconquest and reconstruction. Here, the Inferi, no longer in contact with their Coalition, fought under the banner of Event Horizon, King of Equestria, repelling the hordes of purposeless and lost changelings that roamed the cities and lands of Equestria. As a reward, the king granted them citizenship, amnesty and the chance to make a life for themselves. These “New Immigrants” of Equestria would become leaders and pioneers in Equestrian business and in exploration, setting the stage to a new age of history.
Crescent Star himself became the youngest Chairman of the Royal Magic Society, an honor bestowed upon him personally by the king, and took his new residence in Canterlot. The wielders of the Elements of Harmony gradually resettled back into normal life. The Galaxias held a proper ceremony for the loss of their eldest, Sirius, and laid him to rest in Stalliongrad, his home, and with his key: the testament of his strength and leadership during his life. Each of the royals eventually returned to their cities. Vulcan returned to Fillydelphia and, after a brief exchange with their beloved daughter, Jovian and Aria returned to Windsoar, their own duties calling for them. Luna, while technically having her own duties in Hoofington, had left them to her advisors, and choose to stay in Canterlot with her elder sister for another season. King Event Horizon was the last to leave, needing to return to his duties in Manehattan and in the houses of the other sovereign nations. With Convergence, a new Age of Discovery was sparked, leading a rapid expansion by aspiring explorers, inspired by the tales of such as Daring Do or Crescent Star, leading to the growth of the kingdom. Just before he boarded the train home, he pulled Twyla over. 
He told her, “You are filled with magnificent potential young student. Seize the day, young one, and you might become a greater soul than I.” Without any further words, he hugged her and left. 
Celestia herself was still hurt by the sacrifice of the Didact. Without it, none would have been possible, and Equestria, along with the rest of the world, would have been destroyed. Knowing that didn’t make the loss any easier for her. She delegated her duties to those below her, her trusted advisors, Lords and Ladies, and shut herself away in her room. She would only accept food and water, and would only leave to relieve herself or to walk in the garden, still secluded from others. Rumors spread about her and her health, but they would all be brushed off and dismissed by the new Camerlengo of the House Sun, previously the captain of the Ioseph Kaleir, and the first Inferi to pledge allegiance to the Equestrian crown.
This continued for about four months, until the Camerlengo came to her door with news.
“Princess, you are requested in the Great Hall.”
At first, there was no response, but the gentle moan let him know she was still in there. “Tell them I refuse.”
“I am obliged to state that this particular request is very important.” The Camerlengo frowned before he pushed open the door. The blinds to her room were drawn, letting very little light enter. Where he no wiser, he could mistake the room for Luna’s, but the tall, slender and curvy form of the princess at her desk told him otherwise.
“Tell them I still refuse, and close the door on your way out.” Even from his distance, he could smell a faint lingering of weeks old liquor. He looked door to see one of her bed sheets at his feet. Much to his butler title, he reached down, brushed it off and began to fold it.
“Milady, this is unbecoming of a lady of your status...”
“What are you, my father?”
He simply stared emotionless at her, patting the folded sheet clear of dust before clearing a nightstand of empty liquor bottles to set it down, letting the glasses clatter on the floor. “Are you drunk?”
The princess paused and sighed. “No, I’m not drunk.”
The Camerlengo quietly walked across the room to stand next to Celestia, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Milady, while I may presently be your trusted chamberlain and steward, before so, I was a soldier. I was no stranger to remorse, sorrow or pain, nor of the bottle and its effects. You have shut yourself in here to mourn, but now you’ve secluded yourself for too long; people and ponies are starting to gossip and to spread rumor about you and your health- have been for quite some time.”
“Let them!”
“I will hear no such thing! This is no longer mourning: this is childish behavior. Now clean yourself up!”
Celestia groaned as the Camerlengo pushed her up to her feet. She had not changed her clothes since Convergence, and she smelled of lingering alcohol and of filth. He half-pushed, half-carried the princess over to her shower and set her into the tub before turning the cold water on.
“I want you cleaned up and presentable for a foreign delegate in thirty minutes. I will tell our guest that you will take him in the Dining Hall afterwards for lunch.”
With that, he left, leaving Celestia in a gaze as the freezing cold water ran over her and her soaked clothes. She thought she might as well fancy the Camerlengo and his wishes. Admittedly, she was surprised that he had assimilated into his new duties so quickly, though, presently, it served more as an annoyance. 
Discarding her drenched clothing and undergarments, she washed herself of the filth and grime of months of disregard. Scrubbing, shampooing, lathering, rinsing and repeating; over and over again. It took a long time for her to feel she had cleaned herself enough to be presentable. One look in the mirror at her body and she could definitely tell the difference; her hair glistened with the shine of the sun itself, her eyes gleamed with clarity and her skin was fresh and clear once again, not so much as a single imperfection on her body. Celestia strode over to her closet, filled with fresh, never worn clothes for her new human-self: a thing she had told almost immediately upon her return to Canterlot as permanent. Noting that the Camerlengo had told her “presentable for a foreign delegate,” she chose a white tunic and white dress pants. With her hair pushed back out of her face, and her key and sheath (for she never put it back on display) tied at her waist like a sword, she created a strong, military look, while still keeping the image of compassion and love that she was known for.
Had been known for, she noted.
There was a distinctive knock at her door when she finished. “Enter.”
The Camerlengo opened the door and stood respectfully by it, in view of the mirror in front of Celestia. “I have come to fetch you, milady.”
“Yes,” she said calmly, “Thank you Kaval. However, I think I will hold a more informal meeting over lunch, so I will not need your accompaniment. While I am there, can you clean up this mess?”
The Camerlengo smiled faintly, “As you wish, milady.”
Celestia bowed her head at her chamberlain, which he promptly returned and began working. The princess then made her way to the dining hall. As she walked, several of the castle staff would pause to look at her and smile. Some would call to her passing by, “Welcome back milady,” or “It’s a pleasure to see you again princess.” Celestia admitted that she may have let the sorrow take control of her life, and in doing so hurt her and those who trusted her. She supposed that this could be one of the greatest lessons in friendship: to know when to move on when a friendship ends. Move on? Celestia promised herself that she would now move on from losing the Didact, one of the greatest heroes of Equestria and one of her closest friends. Forget? Never. Celestia would never let herself forget.
The princess pushed open the doors to the great dining hall. She calmly looked around, unable to find the said “delegate” anywhere. For a moment, she wondered if this was a trick engineered by Kaval to get her out and in public: bless his heart and diligence.
Quite to her surprise, the form of a man instantly stood up from behind the table. He was clad in a green cover over a white robe, which was secured at his waist with a large, bright red sash. He was young, a pair of wire glasses resting over his closed eyes. His skin was tanned, similar to Rarity’s color.
She approached him quietly, standing at the side of the table. “Are you the delegate Kaval told me about?”
Her sudden voice seemed to startle the delegate, as his green eyes shot open quickly. He had an accent similar to Rarity’s as well. “Ah, Princess Celestia I assume. My apologies, but I much complete my business with Allah before we continue...”
Celestia looked over at him to see he was standing on an ornate and beautiful rug of red and gold. “Please... do not let me interrupt, if I may watch.”
The delegate smiled. “Of course ma’am.” He closed his eyes again and continued. As Celestia watched, she realized that he was praying. Every so often, he would drop down to his knees, then bow with his body against the rug, before standing up again and repeating the process. She wondered from where in the world such a custom would exist. His clothes and rug reminded her of Concordia on the continent to the south, or even so of the Zebric styles even further. His mannerism, however, spoke of someone from a land never before seen. The only problem: humans only lived in Equestria... until now, she supposed.
After some time, the delegate finished, opening his eyes and reaching down for his rug, rolling it up before it disappeared in a flash of magic. Celestia was genuinely surprised. “You can use magic?”
The delegate smiled. “Yes ma’am; it is a gift from Allah himself... I suppose an introduction is in order. I am Commander Marik A. Kosan, or Marik ibn Adwin al-Kosan.” He extended his hand to Celestia.
“Commander Kosan...” Celestia looked at his hand for a moment. She had never really had a delegate shake her hand (or in those times, hoof) as if an equal. However, she accepted it. Kosan gently turned her hand on top of his and bend down to kiss the air above it. “It is my pleasure to accommodate you and your party.”
“I fear that it is only I for this meeting. May we talk over lunch, ma’am?”
Celestia brightened up at his suggestion. She too, was hungry for lunch. “With pleasure Commander Kosan.”
The two of them sat down at the table, Kosan pulling out the chair for Celestia like a gentleman at the head of the table, himself sitting near her at the side. In soon time, the two of them were dining on a pre-lunch salad, idly chit chatting on events in Equestria. The man continued to surprise the princess, now with his apparent knowledge on current events in the nation. It made her wonder what he was here for. Soon, the main course for lunch came out: pork, taken from the non-sentient pigs of Crystalia and northern Equestria. While Celestia dined on the lunch, Kosan simply looked at the meat on his plate as if he was no longer hungry, refusing to even touch it.
“My apologies for not feasting with you,” he eventually said after the princess finished, “but it is taboo for a Muslim to eat the flesh of a swine.”
“Is that what you are here to represent?” Celestia asked, “A people known as the ‘Muz-leems’?”
Kosan blinked several time before he quietly chuckled. “No... oh, no princess. A Muslim is a person who submits to Allah, the Almighty God, and followed his word of Islam. That is my faith, but not my business here.” He paused and took a drink of water, careful not to touch the pork in front of him. “I am here to ask you permission of air space.”
Celestia parroted his words. “Permission of air space? What for?”
Kosan smiled. “I am here to represent the Galactic Council of Hutter’s Spiral.”
Celestia froze at the statement. The Galactic Council of Hutter’s Spiral. The Didact was Lord of Admirals and Master of Generals of their entire military force. This man came from the same universe as the Didact, and had managed to break through the divide to come to Equestria.
Kosan nodded. “We had heard of the Church of Unitology and their actions in this universe and the Council wanted to send me here. I would like to tell you first that they didn’t not escape scrutiny in our realm either...”
Celestia nodded. “Thank you.”
Kosan cracked his knuckles and smiled, “But onto the present. I am here to ask you permission to allow the GCS Constellation into your airspace to begin a possible discussion to accept you and your world into the Construct of Trantor.”
Celestia leaned back into her chair. “Care to explain to me what that means?”
“Certainly. The Construct of Trantor is a political treaty that recognizes the sovereigns and planets of the galaxy.”
“But we don’t live in your galaxy, Commander Kosan.”
“Indeed, but after the Galactic Council discovered the location of your planet, an emergency session was convened to discuss the... situation...”
Celestia remained cool. “And what situation is that?”
Kosan cleared his throat. “The Inferi Coalition and the Church of Unitology weren’t supposed to be here, that part was clear. The problem was that they raised an important point, saying they weren’t here ‘illegally’. It threw a huge wrench into the system, princess, because they’re statement was, in technicality, true; as you were not of our galaxy, the laws of the Construct of Trantor didn’t, well, apply to you.”
Celestia lowered her head and voice, indicating that wasn’t something she wanted to hear. Kosan quickly continued. “But, it exposed a huge flaw in the Construct: how do planets and species beyond the galaxy apply? How can they be protected by the law? As we speak, an amendment to the Construct is being ran through the Council, and they have formally sent the Constellation to invite you to discuss the terms of representation.”
The princess relaxed again. Representation and participation in a Galactic Council: the very Galactic Council that the Didact died to uphold. She started to smile, shortly before she began to quietly laugh.
“Is something funny princess?”
She snapped out of her stupor and looked at Kosan. “No Commander... I’m just happy I guess. You have my permission for the Constellation to be here.”
Kosan smiled in return, standing up to shake the princesses’ hand again. “Thank you ma’am, and, as a token of gratitude and hopeful friendship, the Captain has asked me to invite you, your sister and the Elements of Harmony onboard for dinner, should you let us.”
Celestia took his hand and he once again bent down to kiss the air above it. “Then we shall prepare for it. All of the Galactic Commanders will be there.”
The Princess raised an eyebrow. “All of them?”
“All eight of us.” Kosan stood up straight and saluted the princess. “Permission to be dismissed, ma’am?”
Celestia stood up and returned his salute. “Salaam,” he told her with a smile, “Go in peace, Princess Celestia.”

***************

The GCS Constellation was even larger than the ICS Abinadi Ckes, which filled the sky all those months ago. It was slick, even aerodynamic, over the bulgy shape of an Inferi warship. Its bright silver hull glistened in the sunlight ferociously. Written along its front were several words: in Inferi, Konstalar; in Skarian, Constella; in Progenitor, Cyklostatum; finally in English, Constellation; its name in the great languages of its service. Throughout the day, officers and midshipmen roamed through Canterlot, as if on a vacation or leave, collecting supplies and souvenirs. 
Princess Celestia moved through the market center with Commander Kosan and with another commander, a tall, slender and blonde woman named Nicole Brennan. Long, flowing clothing seemed to be a popular trend for them. Commander Brennan wore a solid white long-sleeved coat that completely covered her from the neck to her ankles. It was fastened around her large chest with black straps that connected at the hips and ran up to the neck like a sash, keeping the coat tight to her frame. A similar strap was wrapped around her waist, giving the coat freedom to move over the legs with her incredibly fast stride.
Together, the three of them moved around, shopping at the recommended vendors and bazaars approved by the princess to pass time. Commander Kosan thought to buy a new prayer mat, while Commander Brennan took an affinity to the possibility of some jewelry. As they walked, the distinctive odors of meat and food filled the market, and reminded Celestia of the dinner they were trying to pick out.
“I am looking forward to this dinner,” Commander Brennan said. “This world seems to have many great and unique things to it. The people are nice, the town is lovely and the sun is shining. I applaud your administrative skills, Princess Celestia.”
The Princess, walking beside her, smiled and pushed her hair out of her face. “Thank you, Commander. It means a great deal to hear so positively of our nation and city from an outsider.”
Kosan looked down at his watch and cursed in Arabic. “Ladies, the dinner is in thirty minutes, so we need to leave.”
“How unfortunate,” Commander Brennan commented, “I’d love to have stayed longer.”
“Perhaps on another visit,” Celestia chimed in. “Do you two know whether the rest of the guests are already on board the Constellation?”
Commander Brennan shrugged. “I only assume so. If they are, hopefully by now they haven’t been bored to death by Blackwell and his terrible jokes.”
Kosan scoffed, “Or captivated by Commander Mellark’s show of skill.”
“Fire Princess...”
Kosan swatted at Commander Brennan’s stomach. “Show some respect; Katniss has earned her place and her command.”
Celestia only listened to them continue their conversation as they walked back to the castle. There, the Constellation was docked in an improvised fashion to allow ease of access to those who needed it. There was some distaste at the ship’s presence in the city, many residents remembering the ships from months ago and several none too happy about it. Naturally, to discourage any “genius ideas” of some of the ultra-patriotic residents of Canterlot, the Constellation was guarded and on stand-by for any trouble. It was one of the reasons why Celestia was yet to even meet the captain of the mighty vessel, as he locked himself on the bridge and even she was refused access. Personally, she hoped that he or she would join them for dinner, but Commander Brennan told her that there weren’t any promises.
The three of them strode confidently through the castle halls and up to the tower tethered to the ship. As they approached, the familiar, slender frame of Twyla appeared near one of the guards standing firm next to the extension bridge connecting the ship and the tower balcony. At sight of the princess and the two commanders, she finished her conversation with the guard and joined them.
“I thought I would wait for you three out here and help you any way I could.”
Commander Brennan chuckled. “I’m flattered, Ms. Spark, but we are aware of our own ship and how to get around on it.” She paused and pressed one of her hands against her ear. “Understood. My apologies, but I have some business on the bridge so I must leave you for the moment. I shall see you all at dinner shortly.”
The commander dipped her head before excusing herself. Twyla frowned as she left. “I don’t like her.”
Kosan laughed heartily. “She isn’t the friendliest of people, but Nicole is kindhearted and means well. We all do. Come you two, we have a dinner to attend.”
The Arab commander led them through the corridors and halls, bustling with activity, and to the officer’s dining hall. It was a larger room, dominated by a large, well-polished and beautiful wooden table. Surrounding it were a tens of matching chairs. The whole look reminded Celestia of the dining hall in Arcem Solis, the same sense of regality and luxury emanating from the room.
There, the rest of the Elements of Harmony and commanders mingled in varying conversations. Kosan smiled and pointed out each and every one to both Twyla and Celestia. As the minutes passed, everybody made their way to a seat. Celestia chose the chair next to the head, opposite of Commander Mellark, whom even all of the other commanders regarded as “ma’am.” Twyla chose a chair next to Rarity, who sat next to Commander Kosan in an apparently fascinating conversation, judging from Rarity’s smile and focus on what the commander was saying.
Shortly after, the door into the hallway opened to reveal Commander Brennan. She had an air of prideful joy to her as she walked in and stepped next to the door, standing firm. “Room, attention!”
Each of the other commanders gracefully stood up from their chairs and looked ahead. The Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia, who weren’t military, simply followed everyone in standing up. Down the hallway, the echo of heavy boots falling filled the room, coming closer and closer with a casual pace. Eventually a boot appeared in the doorway... then a great white coat... finally a face.
Celestia and the six Elements of Harmony gasped in great delight. Celestia and Twyla, particularly, found themselves in tears.
“Didact!”
He stumbled back, carrying the weight of both Celestia and Twyla in an embrace. “Girls! Calm down... please; I don’t think I can handle a teary reunion right now...”
Twyla backed away, while Celestia embraced him alone, her head resting on his chest. “I thought you were dead...”
“It’s going to take a lot more that a stupid rock to kill me, princess.” The Didact smiled into her hair. “I’m so proud of you: all of you. You all were fantastic.”
Each of the Elements nodded with watery eyes as the commanders applauded their superior’s arrival. The Didact let go of Celestia and lead her back to the table.
“I have so many questions,” she said excited.
He chuckled. “I certainly hope so. We can talk about it over dinner; we have time.”