Colt of the Damned

Chapters

Trial and Error
Morning Hall
Three for the Slaughter
Past Mistakes
Rules of Nature
Fear of the Dark
Escalation
Consequences
Know No Solace

Trial and Error

Who are you to tell me what is right or wrong?

The chains clinked softly together as the five figures walked down the long, bright hallway.

When did it fall to you to decide what constituted good and evil? When did you stop being a citizen of this world and become a god?

With each step a chorus of echoes rang out as their hoofbeats bounced from wall to wall.

Why is it that no one has come forward to judge you for the deeds you have done in the past? ...Or is it simply that there is no one high and mighty enough to judge one like yourself?

The torches burned and crackled loudly in the midst of the overwhelming silence, casting bright orange light over every inch of the corridor.

If I am as guilty as they say, then you should have been condemned decades ago. And if my crimes are truly as numerous as you claim, then your own must surely be enough to fill these walls a hundred times over!

He stumbled as the group came to a halt before the door, the chained shackles confining his gait tripping him as the old stallion tried to keep pace with his youthful jailers. He cursed something under his breath as he struggled to stand back up, his breath visible in the chilly morning air as it was coughed out in sickly huffs upon the tiles and chains.

Still, perhaps once we are done with this farce today there will be those who finally see you for what you truly are. I do not care if they dismiss me as a lunatic, let them think what they wish of me... But if I can manage to drag you down with me this day, I will consider it all the victory I could have ever hoped for.

One of the guards stepped forward, the chain attached to his front leg pulling taught as he moved away from his charge. He clacked his hoof hard against the massive wooden door and stepped back to stand beside the captive once more.

Just one slip of the tongue, that's all it will take. I will drag this out until the end of time itself if I must, but I will hang upon every last word you say until I find some way to trap you in your own prattling... You WILL learn just how it feels to have your position called into question. To have your life's work ripped away from you. To be cast down by those who once called you their colleague! And I will be the one who grants you that experience. One way or another, by the time this is all over, you will never walk these halls in comfort again! Everywhere you go you will be seen as the monster you really are. And every night you will lie awake wondering how long it will be before someone finally comes to end your pathetic existence...

The door began to open, the torch flames suddenly bending toward the new source of oxygen. The guards began to move and the captive was forced to move along with them. Four young, armored pegasi dragging a broken old unicorn between them. A dark red cloak and hood covered his emaciated body and hid his scarred face from the prying eyes which awaited just behind the door.

One way or another... this ends today.

"ENTER AND BE JUDGED, Ardent the Defiled!" The herald was a massive earth pony with a suit of armor matching that of the four guards ushering in the condemned wizard. His voice echoed off every wall of the small courtroom and turned every head to face the door.

Defiled... Even here they label me. Here, in a place which was meant to determine my guilt or innocence, they have already decided what I am before the trial even began... Typical.

The call had been used for centuries by the unicorn courts, a traditional line which was meant to bare a neutral standard as the trial began. Yet nothing about it sounded the least bit impartial today.

This trial was decided the moment they arrested me. Nothing more than a show for the nobility.

As the prisoner entered the room he was greeted by a sea of glaring eyes and accusing faces. Peasants and nobles alike had gathered onto the overcrowded benches in order to see the conviction of the monster whom many them owed their very lives. The unicorns outnumbered the earth ponies at least ten to one, as would be expected in the capital city of the magically endowed race. A few pegasi could be seen scattered throughout the crowd as well, though most were simply employed as guards for the wealthy.

Upon the throne-like bench at the head of the room there resided three unicorns of unparalleled demeanor, each one more noble and wise looking than the one beside them. In the center, hat tilted down to cover his eyes, sat the one who would be residing over the trial. Seen as the wisest of his kind, it was this ancient stallion that the prisoner had come to hate with such extreme prejudice.

"So it is true then..." The elder spoke with a tone of severe disappointment, as though he had had no knowledge that this particular pony would be the one brought before him this day. In truth, it was he who had called for and signed to have him arrested to begin with, but the crowd would have no way of knowing that. Even the prisoner himself had only suspicion to go on as far as that went. "Ardent, you who once showed such great potential... How could you have fallen so far? What would cause you to do something like this? I beg you, my friend, tell me you are innocent of these charges. Tell me that this is some misunderstanding."

The sorcerer was silent. I will not play into his games.

"The charged refuses to admit innocence. What more proof do we need?" The old, toothless unicorn on the left of the bench peered at the wizard from his one good eye. "Seems to me he understands the severity of his crimes and has simply decided to end the lies here and now. It's almost noble, in a way. Turning from a lifetime of evil at the last possible moment. Repent for what has been done, villain, and we will see that your death is quick. Else wise, it is the stake for you!"

Eager to get this over with I see... Good, I can use that. The prisoner said nothing.

The mare on the right side of the dais spoke last, glancing at the toothless interrogator with a clear look of disdain. "Magnus, need we remind you that this trial is to prove whether or not the wizard is guilty? Not to determine how or if he will be executed. If you are so swift to pass judgment then perhaps you had best step down and give up your position to someone better suited to seeking out the truth of the matter." She looked down at the chained stallion. "Ardent Flame, you have been accused of crimes which will, should you be found guilty, leave us no choice but to call for your execution... Do you understand?"

The wizard said nothing.

"Do you understand?"

"You're wasting your breath, Clover, the fool is not listening. Star Swirl, I call that we bring this farce to a close before we truly waste the time of all in attendance today. Give him back to my guards and they will see to it that the truth flies from his lips before nightfall."

"You and your 'boys' have already caused enough damage here, Harrow. It's no wonder he's not talking after what he's seen down in those dungeons of yours!"

"That's enough out of you, girl! I'm not about to sit here while bleeding hearts like you allow this monster to walk free! Guards, take the prisoner back down stairs until he is ready to talk!"

"You will do no such thing! You guards will remain where you are until the trial has ended. As for the two of you, while tradition calls that we must have three to set judgement upon the accused, I feel it is no longer in our nation's best interest to allow you both to remain. You seem particularly ill-prepared for this task, Harrow. One more outburst from you and I will have your position filled by someone from the crowd... Clover, continue with the charges. It's high time we got this under way."

"Yes sir. Ardent Flame, you hereby stand accused of high crimes against the kingdom. These crimes are both numerous and sinister. Should you plead guilty now, the court may decide to waive the death penalty, but understand that the lightest you could hope for would be life imprisonment under heavy guard. Do you understand?"

The prisoner remained silent.

"Do you understand?"

"...Do you?"

His voice was little more than a rasping whisper, yet it carried throughout the courtroom on a breeze of malice. He had no love for anyone in this room anymore. Hatred of their thoughts and actions had helped relieve him of any sympathy he may once have had for their kind.

"I'm afraid I don't understand your question, Ardent. Do I...?"

"Do you understand the charges you are about to read?" Louder this time, and clearer so that there was no question in anyone's mind about what he was saying. "Do you understand what it is you would accuse me of having done? I have saved this city from certain destruction no less than seven times. I aided you and your mentor in your petty squabbles with the dragons, the chimeras, and the gryphons. Have created cures for diseases that had plagued this kingdom since its very inception... And now you choose to cast me as the villain.

I have dedicated my entire life, my entire EXISTENCE to making this world a better place for our kind. And now you have the gall to claim that I am the one endangering the kingdom and all those who inhabit it. I ask you: do you really understand what it is you are asking here? What would I have had to gain from any of this? Why would I have done any of it? What has made you all so blind to the truth of what is at work here, of what is wrong with this kingdom?!"

He looked around, and was met by the icy stares and hushed murmurs of those he had once vowed to protect above all others. Somewhere in the crowed a young filly began to cry, quickly being ushered out by her mother as the Bearded judge called for order to be restored to the room.

"...You really don't see it do you... Perhaps I was wrong about you. About all of you. And about a great many things beyond this... Read your damned charges."

The Clever judge made no sign of going on with her reading, so it fell to the Inquisitor to do so; something which he proceeded in with much gusto.

"Ardent Flame, you are hereby accused of the following crimes, for which this court will act to prove or disprove according to the laws and regulations of the land."

He tapped a bell on the desk in front of him, sending a brittle note ringing throughout the courtroom as he read out each crime.

"Heresy"

ding

"Theft"

ding

"Writing of Treasonous Documents"

Ding

"Forging of Official Documents"

Ding

"Impersonation of a Royal Official"

Ding

"Undermining the Authority of the Council"

Ding

"Assault and Battery"

Ding

"Possession of Illegal Texts"

Ding

"Grave-Robbing"

DING

"Defilement of the Deceased"

DING

"Cannibalism"

DING

"Undertaking of Forbidden Rituals and/or Experimentations"

DING

"Murder"

DING!

"Sororicide"

DING!

"...and Necromancy"

DING!

Morning Hall

DING!

Morning already?

Clouds moved past the tower window, concealing the streets below form view. The sun rose behind a curtain of fog as the young stallion attempted to free himself from the pile of blankets he had managed to wrap himself in during the night. His dreams had kept him twisting and turning throughout the night, with only the most technical definition of rest occurring. The bell tower down below tolled once again, marking the hour to be 9:00.

Finally managing to escape his bed, he nodded toward the candles lining the walls, lighting them with a silent spell as he searched for his cloak. The light coming through his window this morning was minuscule, with the cloud cover from the encroaching storm blocking out all but the slightest hint of sunlight. On a clear day he could have looked out and beheld the entirety of the valley's landscape for miles around, tracing the river down below from its mouth all the way to the mist-covered peak which marked its source.

He would normally have been treated to the sight of the local gryphon population going about their daily tasks along the rigged peaks to the south while the pegasi of the drums of the northern minotaur tribes echoed down through the valley. Today, though the drums were coming through faintly in the distance, the clouds blocked any chance of seeing the gryphons' splendid performance. He did not dwell on the matter too long, however. The moment he donned his uniform cloak he ran off toward the door and down the long winding staircase to the main castle below.

With his white and gold drape trailing behind him he descended the stairs two at a time. Excited would not even come close to describing his mood this morning, and he had little luck attempting to contain his anticipation for even a second. This proved to be only a momentary issue when he nearly crashed headlong into a cleaning-mare who was making her way up the same narrow staircase as he bounded down it. Coming within inches of colliding, the young wizard jumped up at the last moment and allowed a quickly concocted spell to carry him over the horrified earth pony and her cleaning supplies. He did not have time to apologize for the scare and simply continued his mad dash down the steps, leaving her to wonder for the rest of the day why it was she put up with the horned mischief makers who inhabited the upper towers.

Upon reaching the main floor the sorcerer was greeted by the sight of an entire battalion of earth pony warriors leaving through the main antechamber. Ushering them out, surrounded by a small brigade of white-cloaked unicorns, was quite possibly the greatest sorcerer of the age, and one whom the young upstart was so looking forward to finally getting to meet. He turned back as the last of the warriors left the castle to return to their homeland far to the west, bidding them all a fond farewell and much luck on their journey home.

He wore a vast cloak of black and blue which trailed behind him as he walked back to the center of the chamber. Upon shone a map of the night sky with stars and planets blazing in bright silver patterns while the moon began its arduous journey into the heavens. Bells lined the base of the cape, jingling lightly with every step. Upon his head sat the massive hat of a grand master of the Council, the ruling class of the unicorn kingdom. And at the base of his noble face hung the short trimmings of a grey-white beard which had won him his nickname.

I'll grow one twice as long one day. Ardent the Bearded they'll call me! He could see it now: a glorious testament to both age and wisdom, nearly reaching to the floor and matching his black and white mane in both color and silky texture. I'll have to earn the name of course, though. And that will take something truly memorable to accomplish, considering who I'd be winning such a title away from.

Star Swirl had arrived at the humble little fortress town only a few weeks prior but had had little trouble making his presence known in that short time. In just the first week alone he had managed to turn the minotaurs' bloodthirsty attention away from the from the castle, seal an alliance between their kind and the mages, and use that newfound friendship to quell what could have been a massive uprising of the earth pony population in the lower village. A contingent of no less than thirty armed and armored bulls now patrolled the streets and causeways from dusk to dawn while another group kept guard from strategic points along the walls twenty-four hours a day.

And all that had been accomplished with only the most simple spellwork imaginable. The majority of the changes had been the result of nothing more than his incredible ability to charm and talk things over with anyone around him, with threats and bribes never once having to be made. It was a change for the better from the way the old head wizard had done things and it was something which had one him Ardent's immediate respect.

Alright, you can do this. Just go up to him, bow, and say it. You went over the lines so many times last night you could probably do this in your sleep! Now come on... just...... move!

His hooves stayed planted to the ground right where he had touched down at the bottom of the stairs. His legs were shaking, but he could not get them to move to save his life. A tired looking group of trainee medical mages made their way through the massive entry hall, bowing and greeting the grand master as they passed him. He returned their "Good morning"'s with a respectful salutation of his own, making eye contact with each new mage as they came by. The group passed the trembling young sorcerer as they began their ascent up the stairs without saying a word; though he was certain he heard more than one snicker as they went by.

It was a moment later that a soft voice finally whispered in his ear and managed to break his paranoid trance. "Just go up and talk to him. He's really nice and I'm sure he's eager to meet you. Stop being so nervous and just get it over with!"

He did not turn to see who it was, he did not need to. That same voice had been following him around asking question, giving advice, and jumping on his back for the better part of seven years. And today, he could not have been more thankful to have it there. "Don't you think I would if I could? But this isn't someone I can just rush up and awkwardly introduce myself to. I have to be dignified, clam, collected. I need to make a good first impression here."

"Your knees are shaking."

"Hence why I can't just go up and talk to him..."

"We just learned finished learning a spell to stop heart attacks. Want me to try it on you? It should bring your heart rate to a nice even beat... Although I did sort of break about a dozen of the water balloons they had us practice on before I got it right, sooo..."

"No no, I'll be fine... Just gotta stand here a little longer... and wait it out..."

"Looks like he's leaving. You should go grab the door for him! You can introduce yourself while you hold it open, it'll be perfect! What better way to say 'I'm going to be the one serving you' than to be serving him while you meet him for the first time!"

"...Actually, thats not bad. Thanks, Meli, I'll see you after your lesson's done!" And with that he was off, leaving the little filly to happily skip back up the stairs to join the rest of her battalion. He'd have to remember to properly thank her for that later.

Sure enough Star Swirl and he guards were making their way toward the small oaken door which led to the nobles' quarter of the castle. Ardent quietly raced along the perimeter of the room just out of their line of sight, attempting to reach the door as casually as possible before his new master could. He made it without a moment to spare, with the little entourage arriving just a moment after him. He pretended not to notice them as he opened the door, his horn glowing faintly as the magic worked its way around the handle. Finally, as they came closer, he turned and acknowledged their presence as smoothly as he could manage.

"Oh, Master Star Swirl, I was just looking for you. My name is Ardent Flame and I'm to be your new steward!"

The master sorcerer looked the youth up and down before responding in a friendly, polite, and exceedingly welcoming tone. "You're legs are shaking, my boy. Been working up all night trying to think of a way to introduce yourself?"

YOU IDIOT! "Of course not."

"No?"

STOP LYING TO HIM! ITS OBVIOUS YOU HAVE BEEN! "No, no. I just happened by and thought 'What better chance to introduce myself?'"

"I see, you're certain you weren't standing in the corner by the stairs contemplating your next move for a good ten minutes just now?"

DON'T YOU DARE SAY NO TO THIS! HE CLEARLY SAW YOU! "...Ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes."

"Wow, uh, well... It really seemed like less than that..."

"..."

"...I'll just be going now..."

"Nonsense, my boy! You did just fine! You think this is the first time I've intimidated a perspective steward just by standing there? Why do you think I keep these guards around? If you can work up the courage to approach me while I'm surrounded by a group of unicorns who are paid to act superior and disapproving to everyone around them, you clearly have what it takes to serve someone who is going to be surrounded by these snooty nobles every waking hour."

"You... you mean this was a test?"

"If you want to look at it that way. Personally I never much cared for tests. Think of this as just a judgement of character; and you passed without much difficulty. Though I must admit, that adorable little sister of your's may have said a few things to soften me up to you as her battalion walked by a minute ago. Regardless, the important thing is you're here now and we can continue with the day's business."

The relief he felt at that moment was enough to set his legs shaking once more. This time however, no one said a word about. He didn't even notice, himself. "Of course, sir. You must be very busy. What's first?"

"Breakfast. And you're going to be joining me at the head table today. Don't protest, I'll hear none of it. You'll have plenty of chances to serve me meals after this, but today I want you to fill me in on everything you think I should know about the going-ons around the castle here. If it helps, think of it as another test."

"I hate tests, sir."

"Thats a smart lad. Now, lets be off. I didn't get an ounce of sleep last night and I'm liable to pass out if I don't get something sweet in me in the next ten minutes."

And with that he was in. The group walked through the door together, one of the guards taking over the duty of holding it open as Ardent fell in with his new mentor. He would enjoy that meal more than any he had ever had in his life, spending more of it talking than eating while the grand master listened, questioned, and laughed as their conversation dragged on into the afternoon.

I'm REALLY going to have to find a way to thank her later.

Author's Note

I could not for the life of me come up with a name for this chapter so I essentially just looked at what the next song on my ipod was, removed a letter, and worked it into a title that arguably has something to do with the chapter... Expect to see it reused in a later chapter's title only spelled a little differently...

Three for the Slaughter

Of all the magnificent and bizarre creatures which inhabit this world, none is more blessed and fortunate than the unicorn. Gifted with a natural affinity for magic and an unnaturally long lifespan, every individual is provided from birth with the tools they need to go on to work wonders and change history.

The ringing had stopped and the Inquisitor impatiently awaited his response. The convict simply continued to stare thoughtfully at the dais from beneath his hood.

Granted with the ability to control the very elements and twist reality to their liking, it is hard to pretend there is any creature more dangerous. Perhaps that is why so many have chosen to avoid seeking a name for themselves, instead choosing to adopt the simple, quiet lifestyle meant for earth ponies. Less trouble taking that route, and less chance of hurting someone you care about...

"We will give you this one last chance to confess, sorcerer. After that, your life hangs on whatever story you have concocted to justify your actions."

Perhaps that's the lesson here... No earth pony would have ever found themselves in a situation like this...

"Ardent? Your response? You know the traditions, my friend. We need an answer, innocent or not, before we can proceed."

...But then...

A guard moved to the railing of second floor balcony, forcing his way between a pair of engrossed spectators. "Your Honors, someone is knocking at the upper landing's door. Do we allow them in?"

"Once a trial begins no one is allowed entrance until the final verdict is determined. Those have always been the rules."

"Now now, Star Swirl, your friend here has not even given us his answer yet. As I see it, that means the real trial has not truly begun. If a few more guests wish to witness this monster be convicted, I say we let them. We'd be denying them the chance to see history in the making!"

"One more of your bias outbursts, Harrow, and I'll see you removed from the courtroom by force."

"My apologies, sirs, but do we open the doors or not," another guard asked from behind the benches on the left side of the court. "Theres someone at the side one now as well."

"Master?" Clover concerned. The courtroom had filled up fast as it was. If the crowd grew much more they would run out of benches far too quickly to accommodate everyone.

"...Very well, let them in! But after this I want no more interruptions. I do not wish to make this to go on any longer than necessary."

"Right, let them in!"

"What in th-" a wrought iron horseshoe caught one of the balcony guards in the face as he opened the heavy oak door. He fell to the floor, helmet askew and blood running from the left side of his head. A scream erupted from the crowd as the other doors were forced open. One guard attempted to bar the knockers' entrance by forcing the door closed, but was flung aside as the new visitors cast the it open with their combined strength.

I doubt any simple earth pony could have come up with a way out of a situation like this, either.

From all five of the public entrances a flood of earth ponies and unicorns poured in, many wearing odd scraps of cloth or armor, and all exuded a ghastly smell. Finally, banging could be heard at the door leading up from the prison, where the wizard and his jailers had entered from not fifteen minutes earlier. The two pegasi guarding it backed up a step as the four unicorns who had brought Ardent to the court joined them. The banging grew louder, the sound of hoofs beating against wood echoed through the courtroom. Then, without warning or provocation, it ceased.

A moment passed, during which time the new crowd dispersed and assimilated into the audience. Cries and whimpering could be heard from every corner of the room. The six guards waiting at the door began to move forward.

The sound that followed was enough to stifle out every scream, every cry, every last whimper or plea for help that was coming from the citizens in attendance. A massive CRACK so loud that it shook the very foundations of the castle and rocked the sturdy wooden door on its hinges. A moment later it fell forward, coming within inches of crushing the guards. The four unicorns simultaneously caught it with their minds, suspending it in the air before it could come crashing to the floor. Behind it stood a team of disturbingly pale minotaurs and another crowd of partially-armored earth ponies.

The unicorn guards were about to attempt to restore the door to its proper place and block the passage when something else took hold of the door. The blue aura which had been surrounding the heavy oak planks suddenly darkened. At that same moment the magic emanating from the guards' horns began to shift from its normal hue to a red so deep it was almost black. They struggled to keep their heads up until all four finally collapsed to the floor, seemingly under the weight of their own horns. They remained on the ground, just barely hanging onto consciousness as the small army stepped around them and filed into the courtroom.

A mist of black-red flames trailed from the wizard's horn as he placed the door back in its proper spot, mending the hinges as it settled into place. The two pegasi guards stepped back past him, standing at the base of the dais in a defensive posture. Several pale unicorns came out of the ranks that had just entered the room and formed a circle around the sorcerer, their eyes all glowing with the same dark red flames which had just dissipated from Ardent's horn. The same eyes stared out from the faces of the minotaurs and earth ponies who had broken in as well.

"I suppose I have your attention now, so I think its time this trial got under way."

He shook one of his legs, then another, letting the chains rattle as his shackles confined his movement to simple, awkward jerks.

"You asked me to confess. You asked me if I was guilty. Never once did you ask me to defend my action or explain my reasons. Oh yes, I would have gotten the chance to 'justify' them, but only after I had made a desiccation as to which I was. Innocent or Guilty..."

A spark leapt from the horns of one of the ghostly white unicorns and alighted upon the chains connecting Ardent's shackles. All at once the metal began to rust and disintegrate, turning to dust as a thousand years worth of decay rotted it from the inside out.

"Had I said I was innocent, you would have listened to my story and, regardless of what I said, determined that I was either lying or guilty nonetheless. And if I said I was guilty... Well, I guess that one really explains itself now doesn't it?"

He stepped forward, his thralls remaining in a circle around him as he approached the judges. "My soldiers will not harm this little audience you assembled unless you give them reason to. Should I die here, they will slaughter every last noble and peasant that you thought it so clever to assemble here today." His eyes met those of Inquisitor Magnus Harrow. "You wanted so desperately for there to be an audience. For there to be a crowd present to watch the ultimate downfall of the only one whose ever managed to make a you look like an even bigger fool than you normally do."

He turned his attention to Star Swirl next. He met the old master's cool, even gaze with a glare so full of malice that his own eyes seemed to be mere inches away from leaping from his skull and assaulting the old stallion themselves.

"You thought yourself so clever holding this trial, presiding over it, constantly appearing as though you were on my side. The fall of the favorite ploy is best used on the masses, I suppose, and you've no shortage of witnesses here... Now's your chance to speak openly, my old friend. How do you really feel about who I am, about what I've become. How do you feel about the part you played in all of this? I'm sure there must be plenty that you wish to tell us."

The old unicorn said nothing, but nor did he drop his gaze.

"No? Well the day is young. Perhaps we'll be able to wring something interesting from you once our little trial really get under way."

He moved on to the final judge. "And Miss Clover... I'm sorry, but to the best of my knowledge you are neither a corrupt schemer nor a sadistic monster as your benchmates are... What could possibly have brought you into a situation such as this? Rest assured, you're free to go the moment this dreadful business is over." He turned to face the rest of the room. "As are the all the rest of you, of course. My soldiers are here strictly to keep Star Swirl and the Inquisitor in line. You have nothing to fear from them unless you are planning on striking me down or attempting to escape. We're all here for the long run now, so I suggest you all get comfortable."

Ardent looked around the room and then turned back to the dais to address the judges once more. "I did not want it to have to come to this... but you left me no choice. There would be no fair trial for me here unless I came with a little extra insurance. However, I am no judge. That task will remain in your clearly-experienced hooves. We will proceed with the trial as you intended to be..."

A low guttural growl began to emanate from several if the reanimated soldiers around him. "...Only now, we will proceed with it as it should have been..." The minotaurs moved up to the dais, flanking either side to prevent any of the judges from getting up. "From this point on, consider all three of us on trial for these crimes..."

The minotaur nearest Harrow reached across the half-blind unicorn's desk and lightly flicked the bell which sat upon it.

Ding!

"And since you have waited so patiently all this time, allow me to give our answer. In answer to the charges brought against all of us, we plead..."

The bull tapped the bell once more.

DING!

"...Guilty..."

Author's Note

My sincerest love and respect to the Mentally Advanced series as I blatantly rip one of my favorite lines straight out of it... I owe you one Greg!

Past Mistakes

"Guilty? So then, what happens now?" The little filly's eyes had grown wide as the realization dawned on her.

"Well, I'm not really sure... This isn't exactly an every-day occurrence around here. Trials are rare enough on there own, but trials for inciting an uprising... I can't even remember a time I've read about this happening."

The candles had grown low as their conversation progressed, the early evening hours quickly giving way to the black emptiness of midnight. The turret was well furnished, as befitted the room of a Grand Master's steward. The siblings sat together on the large bed in the corner of the room, just beneath the large, thick window overlooking the river.

"But... But it wasn't his fault? I told them what happened, I told them the truth! Every word of it! How could they still find him guilty?" Tears were welling up in her large, red eyes. Ardent had done everything he could to keep his little sister from hearing the news, but in the end it had down little good. When she had come to him earlier that evening and asked him directly, all the misdirection in the world could not save him from having to explain the situation to her.

"Hey, hey now, don't cry. This isn't the time for tears, Meli. Now look; I'm going to see Star Swirl first thing in the morning. You know the kind of influence his word carries around here. I'll talk to him about the case and see what I can do about getting him to discuss it with the judges. If there's anyone around here who can see the truth of the matter, its him. And if there's anyone who can get those three pompous nobles to listen to reason..."

Meli sniffed and wiped the tears from her left eye, accidentally displacing the bandage covering her forehead in the process. "...It's him. You're right, of course he'll be able to help. Thank you, big brother!" She threw her forelegs around him and hugged him tight as he shifted the cloth bandage which was covering a quarter of her face back into place.

He walked her back down to the medical ward an hour later, once she was confident that she could maintain her composure if any of her friends were still awake. "No more tears?"

She shook her head. "I'm counting on you, big brother. Good luck!" She hugged him one last time before heading back in to join her sleeping squadmates.

The rest if the night passed in a torrent of silent screams and vivid nightmares which kept Ardent from getting more than a few hours worth of sleep. One moment he was lying in bed, nearly passed out from exhaustion, and the next he was back in the dungeons, surrounded by all the most cruel devices pony-kind had ever invented. The walls were covered with a thick black tar, concocted to make the chambers soundproof. The ceiling was riddled with chains, shackles, and terrible twisted hooks. The ground was stained red by the blood of countless victims who had inhabited the room decades before he had even been born. The chambers had not seen true use in almost a century, yet they still stood as a constant testament to the horrors which had once been conducted beneath the castle.

By the time morning threatened to arrive he had managed to, once again, constrict himself in his blankets to the point where he was nearly unable to break free. After a solid ten minutes of struggling he finally squeezed out of the knotted quilts and was left to rummage around in the predawn twilight for his cloak. The sun was just barely creeping into the sky when he reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the small corridor connecting the tower to the small personal library of Star Swirl the Bearded.

The young unicorn was surprised to find his master not only awake, but already hard at work on some complex equation which covered an entire wall of the chamber. A chunk of chalk floated eerily above his head as the sorcerer paused to consider some aspect of the process he was working out in his mind when when Ardent cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Master. I see you got up early to continue work on the ritual then?"

The only old unicorn laughed. "Well I suppose you could say that. I'm afraid it would be more exact to say I never really made got around to sleeping, though. Is it morning already?" The library had no windows and, though a rudimentary of the wizard's own design hung in one corner, a small mountain of books blocked it from view.

I suppose I really should have seen that coming... He was already three months into his service with the grand master and these sort of meetings were growing more and more consistent. Ardent could not help but wonder when the old stallion actually did find time for rest.

"It is, sir. I have your breakfast here if you want it. Otherwise I can leave it in your solar for you to get around to later."

"No no, quite alright. I'll take it now. Anything to get me away from this damned wall. If you didn't keep coming in to interrupt me with meals every day, I swear I'd wither away to nothing in front of this thing." He laughed again, letting the chalk drop to the floor as he levitated a table and a pair of cushions out from behind one of the nearby bookcases. "I trust you'll be joining me for breakfast, Ardent? You look like you have something on your mind."

"I'm afraid so, sir... Though its not exactly a pleasant topic to discuss over breakfast."

"Well that's all the better really. The food should help dull the severity of the conversation and the conversation should take some of the bite out of this food. I swear tho chefs are just ding everything in their power to make me regret stopping to eat anymore."

Ardent allowed the platter of clearly overcooked bread and mildly singed oats to lower itself onto the table as he took the cushion across from his mentor. "Well, you see sir, there was an... incident, down in the lower village last week."

"Ah yes, the rebellion. I heard a bit about it. Nasty business, by all accounts. How many dead?"

"Fourteen, sir. All earth ponies. One of the minotaurs came away with a fairly severe concussion but that was the closest thing to a casualty that the royal forces suffered."

"A damned shame too. I instated those brutes as guardians, not as a private police force for the nobles... I'm sorely tempted to do away with the entire battalion of them... Don't look at me like that, I'm talking about firing them! We'd be sending them back to the mountains, not killing them."

Ardent switched his gaze to the disturbingly crunchy bread before him. "Of course, sir. I assumed that was what you meant; it's just gotten a little hard to tell after listening to the judges for so long."

"Bah, those three are a disgrace to the position. They've completely forgotten the old ways. Everypony who walks in there these days is instantly guilty until proven innocent... And even then it doesn't always seem to work out the way it should. But, petty politics aside, you were saying?"

"Uh, well no, that's actually exactly what I was getting to. You see, one of the survivors of the... 'rebellion' is a good friend of my sister's. In fact, she was with him when it all happened."

"Good heavens! Fourteen dead and she was right there in the middle of it?!"

"She's likely the only reason there weren't more deaths." It made him proud to be able to relay that part of the tale, if nothing else. "I've told you what a little prodigy she is with healing spells, right? Well, she was down in the village because this friend of hers had asked her to take a look at his father. He had just broken his leg in the fields the day before and... well you know how expensive it is to hire any of the full-fledged Green Cloaks."

"Mmm. Indeed I do. I take it this friend of hers is an earth pony, yes?"

Ardent nodded. "The son of a local smith. His family makes all the nails, chains, and horseshoes that the local garrisons make use of; not to mention the ploughs that the farmers use. In fact, his father was out mending one of those ploughs when he got injured."

"Mhmm... Smithing is a worthy profession, but a great deal of work for very little money around here. A year's salary might buy them five minutes of the Green Cloaks' time... So naturally, since Meliora is training to be one, she volunteered her services free of charge?"

"Anything for a friend. Besides, she doesn't see her powers as a way of making a profit. She's in this field to help those who need it... And this time, I'm afraid she's the one who ended up having to pay for it."

"They didn't!"

"They did... To be fair, they were in a blood-rage, they couldn't differentiate friend from foe, much less pick out one little healer in a group of potential revolutionaries. She managed to protect her friend from the brunt of the swing, but the beast broke through her barrier without much difficulty. From what I understand, he was using a plank that had been laying on the ground. One of the earth ponies he cut down had managed to knock his actual weapon away... Small miracles, and all..."

"So, what sparked all of this madness? Does she remember?"

"Oh she remembers. She testified before the entire court about what she saw, for what little good it did. They listened, they saw her bandages and the way she was limping, and they ignored it all."

"This friend of hers was on trial, wasn't he? That's why this is troubling you so much." It seemed like a question, but there was no uncertainty in the old unicorn's voice. "Tell me everything."

"Sir, if I may, I think it would be better if you spoke with Meliora directly on this matter."

"Oh I intend to, but later. First I want you, as my steward, to tell me what you know of this."

"...Of course, sir. Forgive my indigence, I just... I guess I'm still just a little angry about the whole t

hing."

"As you should be. Now out with it."

"Alright. Well, from what she said, it all started when she had been leaving her friend's house...."

* * * * *

"Exactly, just stay off it for a few days and you'll be just fine."

The old smith bowed as best he could from the awkward position he was stuck in on the bed. "Ye have me most sincere thanks fer all yev done here, little one. If thurs anythin I can ever do for ya, ye just say the word... OREN! DUN JUS SIT THER! Thank yer friend! F'weren't fer her ye'd be the one workin the forge from now on! She jus save ye a whole mess a pain!"

The tan/gray colt was a good five years older than her, yet aside from the possible exception her brother he was easily the closest friend the little filly had ever had. He got up from his spot in the corner and thanked her as he showed her out of the little house he shared with his family when he wasn't off training with the rest of the local militia.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry about my dad. He's a little.... umm... Uncultured?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. The huge slab of meat and muscle that was Oren's father may have been the walking definition of uncultured, had his leg not prevented him from fulfilling the first portion of said role. However, he was also by far one of the kindest, warmest, and most welcoming ponies she had ever met. "Are you kidding? He's great! He even said he'd teach me how to swing a hammer properly if I ever felt like learning. I'm totally coming back once he's up and about again!" She giggled to herself, imagining it as they walked out onto the street.

A wagon had broken down on the other side of the heavily trodden dirt road and the pony who had been pulling it was in a heat argument with the one who owned the corn stand it was blocking. Meliora and Oren walked past, discussing the local happenings as they went. A festival was going to begin at the end of the week, a celebration for the successful harvest which would traditionally last for at least eight days and nights. This year's would only get seven, due to how late the harvest itself had been. However, the palace had promised that they ensure that each day was so packed with celebration that no one would even notice the missing day.

All around them earth ponies of every size, shape, and color were going about there business. A few unicorns, all hooded and cloaked, could be seen standing at some of the market stalls. One particularly shady looking mare in a pitch-black cloak ducked into an alleyway as a small contingent of minotaurs made their way down the street, clearly not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary to herself. Oren and Mel kept walking, not once thinking about how quiet it had suddenly gotten until a cry and a sudden THWACK broke the unnatural silence.

Oren turned first, his eyes narrowing as he saw four minotaurs break into an attack formation, spreading themselves out to block the entire width of the street. Several uninvolved earth ponies went running off down the road as the scene began to unfold. Mel got one good glance at the situation before Oren took off without her, running toward the chaos rathe than away from it.

One of the minotaurs was pulling his mace out of the ruined remains of the corn stand while two of the others began obliterating the broken-down cart with theirs. The proprietor and the driver stood there, dumbstruck, too afraid to object. It wasn't until several other members of the militia arrived one scene that they suddenly realized that their little argument had sparked something far larger.

Oren was the second to arrive, with a mare of the same age racing to the scene just a few steps ahead of him. She had a chain whip clutched between her teeth and a fire-hardened lance strapped across her back, ready to be drawn if needed. Four other arrived moments later, with a dozen more just behind them. Oren made the first move. "What's going on here? What started all this?"

The bull who had just destroy the corn stall snorted, steam erupting from his nostrils as he hefted his large bronze mace onto his shoulder. "What's this? Someone call for the Peasant Patrol already? And here I thought we had this all under control ourselves. Guess these little mud ponies don't think we can do our job well enough, huh fellas?"

His comrade to his right laughed at that, a thunderous sound that shook Oren to his bones. "Looks that way, Corgan. Maybe we should show them just how well we can do it."

The mare with the whip swung her chain, wrapping it around her foreleg to free her mouth. "You ain't doin' nothing but startin' trouble. Now put those clubs away and walk in before we have ta make ya leave."

"That what ya plan on doing with that little poker of yours?" The one on the left motioned toward the Marie's spear. "And here I thought you were off to a sewing lesson, what with your string and needle there. Bwahahahaa!"

Oren spoke next, not about to be shown up by Bera and her blind courage. "We'll take over from here. This was clearly nothing but a little misunderstanding. The four of you turned it into far more than it needed to be. Now get out of here before this gets bloody. We've got you outnumbered five to one."

The first bull laughed again, a smile growing on his scar-covered face. He turned to face Oren. "Well well, you see; what I tell ya, boys? Are we good at our job or what. We break up a street argument and it uncovers a bunch of traitors trying to usurp our authority." He slammed the mace into the ground with all his might, shaking the street itself. "These peasants think they can overthrow us! Lets out them back in their place, boys!"

A roar erupted from one of them, or perhaps all four, as they charged at their targets. The mare with the whip and spear dodged out of the way of the first swing easily enough and retaliated with her own barrage of strikes as the little disturbance suddenly broke into an all out street fight. Oren, however, was not nearly as agile as his rival and managed to nearly trip over himself while backing up and drawing his hammer. In the blink of an eye the bull was on top of him, bringing his mace down with enough force to shatter every bone in the stallion's body.

The swing came down heavy and awkwardly as it glanced off a pyramid-shaped barrier of crimson energy. The minotaur stumbled forward as his weight of the unexpected miss pulled him along. A split second later a small filly in a light green cloak was standing beside him, kicking him as hard as she could with her hind legs. The impacts were about as painful as being hit by a leaf, but the humiliation of the entire situation was enough cause him to retaliate. He swung around to bat her away with the back of his monstrous hand, but she dove under the strike and disappeared as three colts charged in to help the brave little unicorn out.

One managed to drive a wooden spear into the minotaur's chest, only to have it snap as it connected with his muscles. For his trouble, he was pounded into the ground by the mace. The next was less fortunate, as the bull was unable to bring the mace around to kill him with a single hit. Instead he was grabbed up by the foreleg, swung in the air, and thrown into the shattered remains of the corn stall; leaving him impaled on a pile of jagged wooden planks.

Oren had managed to jump back as the monster freed his mace from the crater he had made out of the first colt. The upswing missed him by a few inches and gave the third earth pony the perfect opportunity to take a Jane with his spear. Learning from his comrade's mistake, he avoided the obvious target of the bull's chest and instead stabbed at his hand, knocking away the mace as it reached the climax of its swing. Enraged, the minotaur grabbed the spear away from him, jammed it through the colt's leg and into the ground, pinning him in place. He then proceeded to pick up a nearby cart-plank and spent the next minute-and-a-half beating the brave warrior into an unrecognizable liquid state with it.

By the time he was finished Oren and Mel had worked their way to the rest of the militia which had formed up on the opposite side of the street where the filly was tending to as many wounded ponies as she could. The bull roared as it spotted them and charged headlong toward them with its new wooden weapon. Oren spun and threw his heavy iron hammer at the monster, but it bounced harmlessly off the creature's reinforced skull, right between his massive horns. Discouraged, Oren took a step back, but Meliora stood her ground, her eyes and horn both glowing with a dark red light as she threw up another pyramid of energy while simultaneously mending their nearby allies.

Without the element of surprise on her side, however, the barrier proved to be far less effective. The first swing split the board, but it also cracked the crimson shield. Mel worked quickly to fix it, but as she did her rage subsided and the blood-red glow faded from her eyes. Without any anger left to fuel her, the new barrier was far weaker. This time the bull's swing shattered it completely, though it also reduced his board to a hail of splinters. Unfortunately, many of these caught both of the young ponies directly in the face, with both falling to their knees as blood began run down their necks.

Meliora had only received minor wounds to her cheeks and forehead, while on of the splinters had taken Oren directly in the left eye. The little filly saw this and prepared to do what she could to mend it before he lost his vision on that side entirely. "Oren, just hold still, please! This is going to sti-GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH"

The bull had clearly not been satisfied with simply maiming the pair. As Mel was focusing on healing her friend the monster had taken the shattered remnants of his plank and brought it down with all his strength on the little filly's leg, separating it in two with the board wedged so tightly between them that it effectively held back what would have otherwise been a fountain of blood.

The filly's scream must have been what finally pushed the old smith over the edge.

* * * * *

"...By the time the other evokers and myself arrived the street was bathed with blood. The other three minotaurs had stopped when they saw Lade shamble out of his house."

The old wizard nodded. "The way you described that smith, I can't say as I could blame them. Even a minotaur would know he's beat when a mountain of muscle armed with... What did you say it was he bashed the beast's head in with?"

"An anvil... on a chain. I didn't ask why he had it or what he used it for under normal circumstances. I just know it was enough to shatter the minotaur's skull right at the punt where its horns connect."

"That would be the thickest point in its head... No wonder the others gave up."

"...Yeah... It was, uh... It was quite a site..."

"You're not telling me something, Ardent. Out with it."

"What? No, no that's it. The others and I arrived just as it was wrapping up. They got to Mel in time to reattach her leg and get her back to the medical ward without incident. The minotaurs were locked up and the earth ponies were put on trial. That's the extent of what I know."

"...You don't trust me, do you Ardent?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why do you continue to lie to me?"

"Master, I swear I don-"

"I put together the minotaur brigades, I know how they function. Every single one has exactly five members at all times... So tell me, and this time don't leave anything out... What, exactly, happened when you arrived?"

"......"

* * * * *

"Ardent, stay back! She's going to be fine but she needs space. I need you to stay back while we get her stabilized."

The Green Cloak was tending to her and the young earth pony at once; a great wave of energy leaving his horn as he channeled his power into the two of them. The Evokers blocked his path to his little sister, not wanting to take any chances after what they had just witnessed. The old smith was standing nearby, casting glances at Mel and his son whenever he wasn't looking distrustingly at Ardent.

A few feat away, the bull who had had its skull shattered lay groaning as his squadmates were rounded up. Another yard to the left of him were the remnants of what appeared to be a small black campfire, its embers smoldering coldly as it slowly died out.

"Ardent, I'm not going to warn you again, stay back! Go back to the castle, we'll handle this from here. Go take some time to cool down before you do something you'll regret!"

He suddenly realize that the war-mage was shaking. He had stood his ground, true enough, but if Ardent had taken even one more step toward him or the injured ponies he was guarding, the Evoker likely would have backed down without so much as a whimper.

The sergeant came up from behind him and pulled him aside, drawing his attention away from his broken little sister for a brief moment as they prepared to move her. "Ardent, your not needed here. I know you want to remain with Meliora but that simply isn't going to happen. She's going back to the medical wing, she'll be just fine, you have my word... But you cannot accompany her. Do you understand the severity of what happened here today?"

The stallion said nothing.

"You understand the part you played in it, at least? I cannot condone the use of that sort of force against non-magically-sensitive combatants. If it had been another unicorn they might have been able to save themselves, to keep it from turning into such a ghastly scene at the very least. But a minotaur is no mage. You light one of them on fire from the inside like that and they are going to burn all the way to the ground... Slowly. You knew that full well when you cast the spell, did you not?"

No answer. His eyes drifted away from the sergeant to the smoldering pile of ashes and cinders that may once have been sentient creature. Somehow he doubted the universe would hold it against him.

"Are you listening, Ardent? You can't go throwing that kind of power around at those who can't defend themselves from it! That kind of display is all that's needed to spark an all out revolt. Imagine how this must look, having a royal steward come charging into the lower village just to assassinate a guard in cold blood."

"You think the ponies down here stood any chance against these monsters without our intervention? The minotaurs came here just to throw their superior strength around, to keep the populace afraid of them. They got what was coming to them. Now if you'll excuse me," he stepped past the sergeant and the Evoker. "I'm going to accompany my little sister back to the castle."

"Ardent, get back here! ...Ardent!" The sergeant cursed under his breath. "And just what am I supposed to tell the captain when he asks what happened to you?!"

"I couldn't care less. Tell him I overpowered you, if it will make you feel better. He'll believe it..."

* * * * *

"Blackfire? My, my... I had no idea you had an interest in that sort of magic. Where exactly did a colt your age pick up knowledge of something so... dark? If I may be so bold?"

Ardent shifted uncomfortably on the cushion, the story was a long and arduous one, filled with terror and painful memories. "I read of it once... In a book..."

"I see. I would very much like to see this book at some point. But we'll discuss that later. Right now, I feel there may be a little filly down in the medical ward who I should go have a quick chat with. Thank you for bringing all this to my attention, Ardent. I'll see what I can do about straightening out this whole situation."

He left his assistant to finish clearing the remnants of their overly crispy meal. The door closed behind the old wizard, Ardent found himself gazing around the library. As Star Swirl journeyed further away from the room, the pale lanterns hanging from its walls began to dim. By the time his master had made it the medical wing, Ardent was left in complete darkness. Left alone with the books and memories, the young sorcerer was forced to light a candle.

Rules of Nature

The little flame flickered as the sickly unicorn entered; the first in a long line of pale, thin-skinned candle bearers who quickly stationing themselves all around the courtroom. Whether they were living or simply more of the necromancer's risen army was difficult to discern. Their heads were covered with hooded cloaks similar to that of their master, obscuring their faces with shadows. Their fur was mostly gone, with only the thinnest hint of a coat covering what the cloak did not. Not one made a sound but for the flat, even hoofbeats which echoed as they moved to their designated positions among the crowd.

Each unicorn had brought a small, yellow candle with them to illuminate the windowless court. The lights hovered eerily in front of their faces, suspended by the same black aura which emanated from the wizard's horn and the risen soldiers' eyes. One came to stand beside the sorcerer, while two more took their place on either side of the judges' dais.

"Now then, I suppose its high time we got this trial under way... Would one of you be so kind as to mind me just what it was we were being charged with again?" Ardent looked to the Inquisitor, clearly hoping for the half-blind pony to make the first mistake in their little game.

To his surprise it was Clover who spoke up. "You know full well what it was you are charged with, elsewise you never would have bothered to amass an army to defend you here. An army which, if I may be so bold, is currently acting as all the evidence anypony here should need to prove your guilt." She looked disgustedly at the candle bearer to her left, cursing him with her eyes.

Star Swirl was the next to address the court. "The charged are high crimes against all the kingdom, nature itself, and very likely the world as a whole... And I must agree with my apprentice, Ardent, this army of yours is doing nothing but making any defense or justification you may have less and less believable. I beg of you, call off this unnecessary show of force before the situation escalates any further than it already has! Let me help you, my friend!"

His plea fell upon deaf ears, ears turned stone from decades of accepting lies and schemes as simple facts of life. But no more... No, your words will never again hold that kind of power over me. And soon, with any luck, no one else will ever have to suffer your manipulative tongue agin, either...

"High crimes against the kingdom and the world... So you have said. Yet everything I have done I did specifically to help this kingdom. This world! Crimes agains t nature? Was it not nature itself which gave us these powers? Is it not our responsibility to use these natural gifts to make life better for the rest of the world? I submit that that is all I have worked toward."

"All you have worked toward I'd your own damnation, monster! You've turned yourself into an abomination and everything you touch becomes an affront to the very nature of life itself!" The Inquisitor was had been leaning across his desk to glare menacingly at the wizard. It was not until the minotaur to his right began growling that he suddenly remembered the full extent of the situation he was in.

Ardent let his gaze leave his old mentor for a moment to set his eyes heavily upon the wrinkled old interrogator. "I find it odd that you of all ponies would be the one to accuse me of going against nature, Oren."

The old unicorn nearly left onto the desk in front of him. "DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT, MONSTER!" The risen minotaur grabbed him by the scruff of his wrinkled neck before he could continue, dropping him back in his place behind the desk before he did something he would truly regret.

"Ah, yes, of course. How foolish of me. I suppose you wouldn't want me using that name, now would you. Tell me, did they let you choose the name 'Harrow' yourself or did it simply come with the horn? Did they even tell you what the word means?" The interrogation master looked as though he would have liked nothing more in the world than to have cut down the necromancer right then and there in front of the entire crowd. Had he any teeth left they would have been clenched so hard that they most likely would have cracked apart all over again.

"I wouldn't expect a simple earth pony to have come across such a word in their normal life, but seeing as you've taken to calling yourself a unicorn, its only proper that you adopt our linguistics skills. As it would happen, to harrow means to cause distress, discomfort, or pain; both mental and physical... Oh I see now, yes how clever. They turned you into an interrogator, gave you free reign of the dungeons, and just for laughs decided to give you a name to match that most honorable profession... Your father must be so proud, may he rest i-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT YOUR DAMNED MOUTH!!!" The air grew hot as the old "unicorn" leapt onto his desk, his horn aglow with a bright yellow aura. Clover moved as if to stop him but her old mentor merely put his hoof upon her shoulder and kept her in place. A split second later a massive spear of flames shot out across the courtroom, garnering screams and cries of terror from the captive audience. It sped toward the old wizard with the force of hurricane, incinerating one of his risen unicorn guardians as they gathered to defend their creator.

It caught Ardent square in face, causing him to reel back from the impact. Yet as the flames carried onward toward the door, their course seemed to shift. Suddenly the entirety of the firestorm was pulled back, sucking into a spiral like water being pulled down a drain. The necromancer regained his footing and allowed his head to ease back into the position he had just been in; looking grudgingly at the dais as the fire swirled around his head.

The fire began to shrink as it was siphoned off; pulled into the darkness which coated the wizard's horn. The flames were sucked away, leaving the courtroom far darker than it had been. Harrows bid for vengeance had extinguished every other flame in the room, stealing away the illumination of the torches and candles. All that remained was a the dark glow from the fiery eyes of the Ardent's risen. In the darkness they seemed to glow with a tone more blue than black, casting just enough light to brighten the area immediately in front of each soldier. It left an eerie, unsettling effect upon the entire room.

A few seconds later a scream broke out from the judges' stand while light suddenly returned to candles. While Ardent went about sending a small tongue of fire to each of the little wicks, the minotaurs had converged upon Magnus Harrow. They grappled with the old pony, easily wrestling him off the desk and onto the floor.

"A pathetic imitation of true magic... Pyromancy may prove useful when you interrogate your helpless, restrained prisoners; but against anyone who has learned to properly wield true magic, your little parlor trick is no more threatening than you are yourself." The minotaurs pulled Harrow into the air. Gripping all four of his legs and his horn, they carried him over to stand in front of Ardent. "Now, is there anything else that you wish to say to the court before you are relieved?"

"Relieved? Relieved?! Star Swirl are you just going to sit there and let him make me look like a fool?!"

The bearded unicorn looked to Clover, then gazed darkly back at his colleague. "I warned you before. 'One more outburst.' That's all it would take to have you ejected from your position as judge... I'm afraid Ardent has every right to demand your immediate removal." He looked at his former steward. "Though for the sake of whatever case he still hopes to make for himself, I would hope that he has the sense to allow the guards to escort you out, rather than have his own soldiers do it."

"You seem to be misunderstanding my meaning. I already made it perfectly clear than no pony was leaving this room until our case is settled, and that included him." He pointed to the old stallion being held aloft by the undead minotaurs. "His guars can do what they like with him in just a moment, provided they remain in the room. First though, he needs to be 'relieved,' as I said..."

Clover spoke up as the minotaurs placed Harrow down upon his stomach, his limbs still outstretched between them. "Master Star Swirl has already stated quite clearly that we no longer recognize the Inquisitor as a judge. He's officially been fully relieved of his position."

"And the kingdom will be a better place because of it, but that is not what I was getting at, my dear." He nodded to the closest minotaur. "Incidentally... you may wish to look away, your honor. And you'll certainly want to cover your ears."

The great hulking brute bent down and gripped Harrow's horn tightly in his muscular hand, holding the pony's head down with the other. The interrogator's screams were muffled; muted by the stone tiles of the floor pushing against his muzzle. The fear and desperation those cries conveyed were not.

Now it was Star Swirls turn to stand up in protest, his front legs planted firmly on the desk before him for balance. "Ardent stop this madness at once! I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and a chance to explain yourself, but you have taken this too far! I will not sit by and allow you to continue acting in such a manner. Call off your monsters this instant or I will be forced to put an end to this charade here and now!"

"I am merely setting things back to the way nature intended. That is what you wanted, was it not? Your argument against my actions was that they went against nature. Well then please, allow me to begin righting such offenses by returning one of your own abominations to the way he was. Then we can speak more on my own creations once that hypocrisy has been cleared up." He nodded to the minotaur once more.

The Inquisitor's screams grew ever louder as the creature bore down on top of him, pinning him to the ground with one knee as he adjusted his hold on the old pony's horn. Just as he seemed to find a grip that satisfied him, Star Swirl's horn lit up with a pale violet light.

"Release him, aberration!" A bolt of pure energy exploded forth on a collision course with the minotaur. It ripped through the air, seeming to cause the very fabric of reality to ripple around it as it moved.

"That is not your call to make!" The necromancer's eyes and horn lit up with the ghostly blue flames that inhabited his risen soldiers. Star Swirl's attack was immediately drawn toward Ardent who, in the same manner as before, absorbed the magic into his horn. Seconds later he let out a scream as that same spell escaped, hurtling back toward the bearded wizard.

"Master!" Clover was up in a flash, her horn glowing pale green as a a barrier formed in front of Star Swirl. The bolt impacted upon it, sending a shockwave through the room as the air reverberated with the energy of the explosion that her quick thinking had just prevented. The barrier of emerald magic stood for another few seconds before cracking and collapsing into a flurry of bright green sparks.

"Ardent, you've gone too far! I'm putting a stop to this before your madness harms anyone else! Say goodbye to your minions and prepare yourself for true judgement!" The old wizard was now standing upon his desk, his horn lowered directly at Ardent as it began to glow once more.

"Killing them once wasn't enough for you, then? Fine! Let us end this, Star Swirl!" The necromancer mirrored his old master's movements, his eyes and horn once more alight with red and black flames. In the blink of an eye both wizards cast their spell, and in the blink of an eye both wizards watched helplessly as their incantations canceled each other out. Star Swirl released a wave of energy over the entire room, meant to destroy any of Ardent's risen servants, just as Ardent bathed the room in protective energy, shielding his soldiers from harm.

The auras intersected, mixing together in a dazzling whirlpool of color. Both wizards clenched their teeth and concentrated on the other as they focused their spell on a new target. Yet with neither willing to give way to the other, the spells continued to negate each other. At last, through gritted teeth, Star Swirl the Bearded spoke up once more.

"You can't win, Ardent... We can keep each othe-grrrr... in check all day, but sooner... sooner or later... reinforcements WILL arrive." Seeing that his opponent did not have the strength to speak and cast at once, the old wizard let out a strained laugh. "You didn't... didn't really think your little insurrection would go... unnoticed did you? No. I'd wager even now the guards are working their way up here as we... as I speak."

The crowd was in terror but Ardent's soldiers kept them from moving from their benches. Screams and shouts were erupting all around as the power of the two sorcerers began to shake the very foundations of the castle itself. The air began to lose its color as the ocean of magic began to focus into two narrow, concentrated beams of energy between them.

Finally, unable to keep up with the old unicorn's constantly increasing power, Ardent felt his legs buckle beneath him. He fell to his knees, still maintaining the spell but quickly losing all feeling in his outer extremities as he poured everything he had into the curse. His gaze shifted for a moment and, still unable to speak under the great strain of the duel, he managed to nod once more to the minotaur. The oaf had stopped moving when his master's attention had been forced onto Star Swirl, but now that he could feel some portion of the necromancer's will upon him again, he continued forward with his duty.

"Wha-aaarrgghh... What are you playing at over there, Ardent? Keep reminding me like that and I'll destroy... destroy every last one of those beasts of yours!" The old unicorn gave a mighty cry and a tendril of energy separated from the beams surging between the two wizards. It had nearly reached the minotaur when a similar tendril of black and red energy intersected it and brought it back into the arc.

And that was all it took. Star Swirl could not risk any more energy protecting the third judge. He had brought him along solely for the purpose of having someone else present whom he knew would want to see Ardent torn down from his spot of power. But seeing as the wizard had already revealed himself as a necromancer on his own, the former earth pony was of little further use. Either way, he did not dwell on it. Leaving Harrow to his fate, Star Swirl returned his attention to the task at hand; redoubling his efforts to crush Ardent's will.

The minotaur readjusted his grip one last time, with one hand wrapped around the Inquisitor's head and the other firmly grasping his horn. His muscles bulged as he tightened his fist around the ivory spike proudly protruding from the screaming pony's skull. Then, with a mighty cry of his own, the bull-monster followed through with what he had been ordered to do.

Author's Note

And they run when the sun comes up.
With their lives on the line.
Alive, for a while.

-Jamie Christopherson

Fear of the Dark

The CRACK was ear splitting, more than enough to wake up the entire tower. The young mage cursed as he began to hear the sound of hoofbeats coming down the wooden steps; dozens of them. He had to work fast to mend the fragments of the lock back into one piece, desperately ushering out the cage's inhabitant as he refitted the massive iron device back onto the door. He had barely managed to restore the cage to proper working order when there came a sudden knock at the door.

"Ardent? Is that you in there?" Somehow Star Swirl had managed to get there first, even with his chambers being at the very top of the tower. "Ardent if that is you, I need you to answer me. Otherwise we are going to blow down the door. I'd prefer you not be behind it when that happens."

Fear racing through his mind as he opened the portal, he frantically searched for a believable story. His eyes came to rest on the sewer grate below the room's alchemy lab. The metal bars were rusted and bent, and the old wizard had been saying earlier that day how they are just waiting to give way. Pushing the little creature through the portal he had made, Ardent focused his mind on silently shattering the grate and slowly levitating himself and its pieces into the black waters below. "It's me! Just, just give me one second!"

"Well, get on with it, boy! Open the damn door. Half the castle's gathered upstairs wondering what exploded down here."

Calling up from the tunnel and its modestly-running waters, Ardent put his plan into action. "It was the sewer cover, sir. I'll be up in just a se-" A small explosion above him cut him off as a pair of guards filed in, accompanied by his master. Portal the young wizard had opened vanished the moment the door was blasted off its hinges, leaving no trace of itself nor anything that passed through it.

The old unicorn peered down through the hole in the floor, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness as he spotted his steward; soaked in what he could only hope was just water. "Quite the explosion for a rusted iron grate to make... What happened?" He did not seem to have any interest in helping his student back up up until he had a story he would be satisfied with.

"I was mixing something up and the grate just suddenly gave out underneath me. Some of the vials fell in with me and sort of... reacted when they will hit the water together." Part of it was true at least. He had indeed been concocting a mixture which he planned on using as an alibi, had he been caught. Many of the ingredients and vials were still scattered across the surface of the ebony mixing lab.

"Hmmm... Yes, a pain tonic by the look of it... For Meliora, I assume?"

"Yes sir. She had been complaining about headaches, fairly severe ones by the sound of it." Again, the truth of the matter made the lie that much easier to believe. The headaches had started almost a week before, and not a day had gone by that they hadn't troubled her.

"Mmmm, yes, of course. Enough if those ingredients mixing together in such a volatile base as sewer water could form a makeshift bomb, I suppose. Though certainly not one with enough force to do any significant structural damage. Still, just to be safe, I'll have to remember to send a few architects down there to examine the walls later... How exactly did you get out of the blast?"

"I didn't, sir. I threw up a shield around myself when I felt the bars give way. I wasn't entirely sure how far the fall would be and I didn't want to take any chances... Good thing too, I guess."

"Good thing, yes... Funny though, I'm not detecting any residual essence from a shield spell. If it all happened the way you claim there should still be a considerable amount of arcane energy in the air." His eyes had narrowed and grown far more stern as the questioning had continued. Ardent was certain that he had performed the duplication spell correctly, but being that he had not gotten a good look at the final result, doubt was beginning to seep in.

He knows... He knows and that's why he's keeping me in here. I must have left something out, gotten some detail wrong. Either that or he can simply sense that its a fake. The fear was eating away at him as he desperately reached out for some way to convince Star Swirl of his innocence, or at the very least keep his attention off the cage and the duplicated creature sleeping inside it. "I... I uh.... Master, I'm sorry... I panicked."

Star Swirl the Bearded continued to gaze down at him through a pair of less-than-forgiving eyes. He said nothing, however, which helped give Ardent the confidence he needed to carry on with the charade.

"The moment I felt the bars break I... well I... I used the first shield spell that came to my mind. And since we had just been discussing THAT book..."

Understanding finally began to show on the old unicorn's face as the story started to add up in his mind. "Ah yes... I suppose one of those spells wouldn't leave anything noticeable behind... You had me worried there for a moment, Ardent." Star Swirl's horn began to glow and Ardent suddenly felt himself being lifted upwards.

Relief washed over Ardent's mind as the cage came into view. The tiny monstrosity sleeping inside was a perfect copy. Everything about it seemed to be exactly as it should be, which in turn made it one of the most bizarre little creatures the young sorcerer had ever seen.

"Guards, you may return to your posts. It would seem this was nothing but a very loud little accident. Thank you both for your diligence on the matter." The guards bowed and exited the laboratory together. The charm Star Swirl had left upon the cage would have kept them abomination invisible to their eyes, but the old wizard did not seem to want to take any chances. So far as Ardent knew, the creature's existence was a secret only the two of them were privy to, and Star Swirl seemed adamant about keeping it that way.

Thankfully, with the duplicate in place and suspicious about his motives averted, Ardent was free from having to discuss such things with his master. Instead, their discussion turned to the matter of a certain book that had weighed heavily on both of their minds for the past few years. "You understand, of course, that I cannot simply allow this incident to pass by without reiterating how important it is that you refrain from using those spells. I know you did not mean to call upon that power, but the fact that you are capable of using such spells without meaning to is something that could prove quite dangerous for yourself and everyone around you. We don't yet fully understand this form of magic or where its power comes from."

"I know, master. I really am sorry and I AM trying to work on repressing that power. TI's is the first time I've used any sort of abyssal magic in months."

"I understand, but you need to realize, such things are not common knowledge to the general public. If word were to get out that such things were being taught here, or worse yet, that my own steward were practicing such spells... well I don't think I even have to begin explaining the kind of political backlash such a revelation might cause."

Ardent shifted uncomfortably as the old sorcerer moved to the other side of the room to check on his precious cage. Desperate to keep his attention off the creature held within, the young wizard dove at a question which he knew would divert his master's thoughts. "But... why? Why is it that these kind of spells are so mistrusted? Their powerful, their simple to learn, and they produce the same results as any normal spell of the same nature. What makes the the use of these ones such a taboo?"

Star Swirl continued watching the creature sleep for a moment longer. Then, with a sigh, he turned back to his student. "Ardent... You know as well as I do that there's no good reason for it. Truth is, the spells are disliked because of their color. Simple as that."

A tinge of annoyance crossed the Stewart's mind. He had hoped to drag his master into giving a long winded lecture on the nature of good and evil and the gray area between the two. He had not for a split second thought that the answer would be as brief or unsatisfactory as the one he just received. "Their..... Their color, sir?"

The old unicorn closed his eyes for, trying to find the best way he could to explain his meaning to his young apprentice. Finally, he opened them and walked over to the wall behind the cages. "Show me the spell you used to shield yourself. You have my permission to cast it this time."

Ardent hesitated for a moment, frantically thinking back to the spell he had claimed he used when the fictional explosion went off. Once he was certain he hadn't given any details the the couldn't duplicate he closed his eyes and focused on the darkness that flooded in. He spread his legs further apart and bent his neck so that his head was bowed, his horn pointing directly ahead of him. It soon began to glow with pale, blue energy, only to then have its color shift to a pitch black tone. Little motes of red and blue and silver danced within the shadowy aura as it spread out across his body, covering him in a spectral coat of black energy.

He shifted back into a comfortable standing position, his movements slow and drawn out in the improvised armor. "This is... umm... this is the one I used when I fell." His voice came out distorted and mechanical, as if it were echoing from a great distance away.

"Indeed. And now take a look at the color of the spell you've cast on yourself. Pitch black, aside from the tiny specks of red and blue swimming in it. Now, consider the colors you see in the castle, the town, even the ponies themselves.. They're all bright and vibrant. So full of life and hope, while the darkness speaks only of death and despair. All the colors of the rainbow are reflected in every aspect of our world. And here you stand, completely devoid of all those magnificent hues. Can you see how it might bring mistrust and superstition down upon any magic which rids the world of such brilliant colors? It makes them remember that life is not as perfect or as hopeful as they make it out to be. And there will always be those who wish to rid the world of anything which might bring that realization down upon them."

"But... but that's stupid! These spells could do so much good for the world. Why outlaw them simply because of their color?!"

"Well, perhaps I over simplified that a bit. Of course there are other reasons, but few are as blatant and as ridiculous as that one." The old unicorn sat down upon one of the cushions which had been placed along side each table in the cramped laboratory. He shut his eyes as his horn lit with a ghostly purple aura. Then, with a great groan from the boards beneath him, his eyes flashed open to reveal blinding light where his pupils once were. The air around him rippled as the fabric of the reality began to wane. Finally, as the light faded form his eyes, a grim tome began to phase into existence in front of him.

The book was grey and brown, bound with metallic stitching which resembled some form of thick steel wire. The material which made up the cover was unlike anything Ardent had come into contact with anywhere else in the world, though in truth it was a substance that was closer to him than the cloak he now wore. Upon its cover, etched in a script that seemed to writhe and slither as one read it, were a series of symbols he had never been able to translate.

The book was thick, far too vast for anyone to hope to read in a reasonable amount of time. After having inherited the tome when he was still a foal, and reading anything he could from it every day since he had first learned how to translate it, the young mage was still less than a tenth of the way through its forbidding tale.

As the old sorcerer drew the book out of its hiding place between worlds, more and more of its sinister nature seemed to reveal itself. The light seemed to disappear from the air around it, the ancient tome drinking in any form of illumination that might lay near it. Ardent levitated a small table over to the space in front of them and as his master lowered the book onto it, the shadows it cast began to twist and squirm, working their way over the table and onto the floor in long, slithering tendrils.

Yet for all the over-dramatics that the volume displayed on the outside, the spells and stories contained within were by and large the same as the spells taught to all mages who trained at the castle. There was a section for healing, a portion dedicated to transformation, a wide assortment of concealment and illusion spells, and thousands which addressed basic needs that one might encounter on a daily basis. The only difference was that the spells themselves did not draw their power from the caster, but instead relied on something that Ardent had only been able to translate into meaning "The Empty."

Despite the versatile compilation of spells found within, the thing that had truly drawn the young wizard's attention was the occasional mention of what the book called "rituals." Most were spells of such absurd complexity and power that it required no less than five bodies casting the same spell at once to accomplish. The idea intrigued Ardent to no end. While rituals of a sort were no rare occurrence in the castle, they were always a means to an end that never truly came to fruition. Most had given up on the art because, due to the energy required to complete one, the end result was never as strong as it should have been and left the participants dangerously drained.

However, with these rituals drawing their power from the mysterious force of The Empty, that would not be an issue with one of these rituals. And the ones he had managed to translate seemed almost too good to pass up attempting. One promised to turn back time, allowing a single being to step back and alter past mistakes. Another acted as a beacon of healing energy which was so powerful that it would actually ward off Death within the spell's radius. The latest he had managed to decipher claimed that, if preformed correctly, it would unlock a path to limitless wisdom; though it also warned that failure would seal the caster away in an empty realm for all eternity. He was sorely tempted to bring that one to his master's attention, but common sense had gotten the better of him at the last moment. That had been when he had turned the book over to the old sorcerer, several months ago.

Now here it was again, still just as vast and full of forbidden knowledge as he remembered. "You explained to me when you gave me this that it spoke of something called 'Emptiness.' I've studied it extensively in the time since and I believe you may have made a slight error in that translation. While it appears at first to be speaking of a power source called 'The Empty,' I believe it is actually referring to an entirely different plane, which I translated as meaning 'The Void.' A simple alteration of the words, yet the meaning makes all the difference. These spells don't derive there power from some mystical source of energy floating above our heads."

His horn let up and the book began to open, its pages flipping by in a torrent of dimly-lit text. "They draw it from an entirely different dimension, one comprised of absolutely limitless magical resources. The spells are literally spun from nothing. It's magic in its purest form, pulling power out of thin air... And THAT is what makes these spells so terrifying to the uninitiated."

He stopped on a page that Ardent was all too familiar with. "I see you recognize this one. So lets use it as our example." His horn lit up with its usual pale energy. A split second later Ardent became painfully aware of something trickling down his neck. Agony shot through him as the cut became deeper, the blood rushing faster. He opened his mouth to speak only to find that he could barely do anything more than gasp for breath as his throat began to open from ear to ear. Blood filled his mouth as his front legs buckled and he fell to his knees.

The old sorcerer looked at him unapologetically. Finally his lips moved to form the word Ardent had been waiting to hear. "...Verrimorae..." The energy emanating from Star Swirl's horn twisted and writhed as the color drained out of it and the aura shifted to shadow.

It was over in the blink of an eye. A tenebrous arm stretched out from the ground and gripped the young mage by his eviscerated neck, squeezing him until he was certain he was about to pass out. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone; the shadows disappearing from around Star Swirls horn. Ardent was panting heavily as he tried to catch every last bit of breath he could, his throat perfectly mended as if nothing had happened.

"A magnificent spell, one which could work wonders if our medical teams were taught to properly use it. Yet as you can see, it is a ghastly sight to behold." He got to his hooves and walked over to his apprentice. "Can you imagine the fright that would spread if a whole contingent of medical mages began summoning ghostly claws from thin air to wring injuries out of other ponies? Somehow I doubt it would catch on, regardless of its effectiveness..."

Ardent's eyes were still wide and strained from the experience of having his throat opened. He was not so naive that he would believe that had merely been a demonstration of a spell he had used countless times before. He knew how to recognize a warning when it was given to him, particularly one as thinly veiled as that. "I..." He coughed as more air rushed in to his desperate lungs. "I understand... master..."

"You've used this spell quite a bit in the past, haven't you?"

He nodded, still having difficulty breathing properly as he attempted to calm himself.

"Why? And on whom? Does anyone else know about the existence of it or were they all your own injuries that you healed with it?"

It took a moment and all of his willpower, but the unicorn finally managed to find his words again. They came out thin and shaky, but they came nonetheless. "They... they were mostly mine. I've used it once on a guard who fell down a flight of stairs and once on an Evoker who had suffered an aneurism while examining a prisoner's memories. Both we unconscious and nopony else was around when I did it."

The old unicorn's eyes narrowed. "What have I told you in the past? Don't say that, its a degenerate term and its far beneath us. It makes you sound uneducated. It's 'no one' not 'nopony.'" He looked directly into the Stewart's eyes. "I've not heard you say it in quite some time... Not since the last time you tried lying to me. So lets try this one more time. Does anyone know of the spell's existence or that you know how to cast it?"

Star Swirl's stare left him powerless, no lie was likely to let the truth slip past now that he was looking for it. I'm sorry. Forgive me, sis. It looks like your big brother wasn't able to protect you after all. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...

"Just... one other. When we were younger. Back in the orphanage. Meli wanted more than anything to be a pegasus, to be able to fly over the walls and see outside of the city. I... I had just found the book by then, had just started translating it. I found a transformation spell that could give us wings.... temporarily..."

The memory was more than he could handle. He couldn't go on. The images began to flood back into his mind before he could throw up the usual barriers. The city disappearing behind them. The clouds dancing around them as they soared over the walls. The smile on his sister's face, lighting it up with a joy of an intensity he had never thought possible. Sun rising before them as they reached the mountain peaks just beyond the city. The smell of pine needles as they dove closer to the forest.

And then there came the scream. A sound so bloodcurdling that it could only have come from some demon out of a nightmare. The air had been cool, the mountain winds blowing against their backs as they soared, alerting the hunters downwind of them of their presence long before the first one even came within sight. By then it had been too late. By the time the little colt had realized what was happening three of the beasts had already descended upon them. The scream came again, echoing across the valley as a victory song of a successful hunt.

That scream had mingled with a second. "We... we strayed into gryphon territory. Needless to say two little ponies like us would never have been a match for one of them, much less three." Before he could go on the memories rushed in once more.

A flurry of wings, a storm of feathers, the scream of the hunters and that of a tiny filly falling through open air to the forest below. Talons as sharp as any blade tore through the conjured wings he had granted her, ripping them to shreds in a matter of seconds. His own had held up no better. A slash to the back, a cut to the face, the ground rushing up to meet him. All of it had happened in the blink of an eye. He remembered clutching the book, screaming for his sister, and shouting some incantation he had practiced only once before. Then the darkness had rushed in, embracing him in its loving caress, wrapping him in a coat of black energy just as he reached the treeline.

The shadows had taken care of the rest.

The imprint he had left would be covered by snow a few days later, the shouldering remnants of the two gryphons who had followed his descent would meet the same fate. No evidence would remain of him ever having been there. He walked between the pine treed, needles grinding beneath his hooves as the Void's whispers directed him. She was close, he had known that much, but it was only the shadows that knew exactly where.

Tears began to run down his face as he spoke, involuntary testaments to the trauma of that bright, sunny autumn morning. "When I finally found her she was... she... She was...."

The gryphon hadn't belonged to any major clan. She and her two brethren had been outcasts, starving and desperate to get something in their bellies before the first snows began to fall. The little filly must have seemed like a godsend when she descended upon her, nature's way of ensuring her that she would make it through the winter after all. So she had wasted no time helping herself to the meal. Besides, warm flowing blood would always taste better than the cold fetid juices of a dead pony. No point in finishing the job. The filly was sure to pass on eventually; nothing survived long once its best parts were all eaten.

She had just started digging into the tiny Marie's stomach when something warm began to work its way up her left wing. It was a strange, tingling feeling; not quite an ache, but more of a dull stinging sensation which seemed to be coming from the tips of her feathers. She lifted her head from her adorable little meal long enough to get a quick look what seemed to be tiny black stars dancing across the edges of her wings. Then they spread to the rest of her feathers, strange ticklish little sparks of darkness playfully lining her wings, then her back, then her legs and tail and head.

Then she heard it, something approaching from out of the forest. She turned her head and came face to face with what could only have been some sort of demon, straight out of a nightmare. A pitch black coat with a ghostly mane and tail, seemingly made of shadows, billowing in the wind. It's horn appeared to be on fire, though the color of the flames as all wrong. She opened her mouth to deter the beast, perhaps to intimidate it with some half-thought-out remark about its stupid swirly eyes. What came out, however, was a cry far more terrible than any she thought herself capable of making.

The sparks had ignited into a full-blown inferno of jet black fire, engulfing her with its fiery hunger. It burned her to the bone as it worked its way through feathers, skin, and muscle. She attempted to fly away, only to have her wings snap off as the thing bones that supported them were reduced to cinder. Her cry only intensified as she realized, with no small amount of horror, that the flames were killing her, yet at the same time not allowing her to die. By the time her flesh had all burned away she had become fairly certain that attempting to make a meal of the little filly had been a mistake.

She ran from the edge of the forest in agony, a horrible burning figure that only vaguely resembled the skeleton of a gryphon. Her scream died out as her lungs and vocal chords melted away. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of burning, she reached the due of the nearest cliff and hurled herself into the valley below. She wouldn't have to worry about starving to death that winter after all.

"And... And by the time I got to her, her stomach was... it... she was... Oh please don't make me say it! Se was still alive! The fall, the rocks, the gryphon. None of it had killed her, it... it wasn't right. It wasn't fair! She shouldn't have had to live with all of that. Knowing it all happened. I should have just let her pass on. I should have eased her suffering." He looked to his master for any hint of understanding, but found nothing in his eyes that would comfort his mind. If Star Swirl had an opinion on the matter, he was keeping it to himself. He motioned for his apprentice to continue.

"...But I... I couldn't. I couldn't just let her die there. I... It was selfish of me. But I just couldn't bare to lose her.... So I used it on her. She was still conscious through the whole experience. If you ask her today she can probably still recount every second of what happened... And that spell is in there with the rest of those memories."

He could not stop the tears this time, nor the sobs which accompanied them. Crying was something he thought he had left behind when he first became a sorcerer, yet here it was sneaking up on him again so many years later. Shame washed over him like a tidal wave. He could not stop no matter how hard he tried.

It was not until he felt the pressure settle onto his right shoulder that his breathing finally began to calm. When Star Swirl's had placed his hoof on the young mage's shoulder it seemed to draw away some of the trauma that the memories carried. It was not until he looked into the old stallion's eyes again and saw the full extent of the compassion within them that he was finally able to take control of his breathing. "I'm... I'm sorry, master. I didn't mean to... to... That is, I thought I had better control over my emotions than this."

The old wizard just sat there for a moment. Ardent knew he had said more than he had needed to, but it had all come out before he could stop it. "...There's no need to be sorry. And don't worry, I'm not about to check that story with your sister. No no, don't deny it. I can see how worried you are. Trust me, I have no intention of following up on it. So long as Meliora is the only other one who knows of the spell, I think we can just let it slide... You really care for her, don't you?"

Rage burned away every last bit of pain and regret he had been feeling. What sort of question is that?! Of course I care for her! "Of course I care for her!"

"Of course you do. So I don't want you to ever, EVER doubt what you did on that mountain again. You saved her bloody life, be thankful you see able to do that much in time. If need be, memories can be removed or altered, but only if someone survives to have them in the first place. If she ever wishes it, we can make it so that, for her at least, such a grisly event never occurred."

Ardent was not certain how to respond to that. He was thankful, to some extent, but the mere thought of asking Meli if she WANTED such a memory to begin with sickened him. "I... Of course. Thank you, sir." But that wasn't it. Something else bothered him about the entire reaction. "But... If I may ask, why? Why would you even offer such a thing when you can simply remove the memory at any time you wished? Why give us the choice in the matter?"

"Because such memories might be jut the sort of thing that pushed her to become one of our city's top healing students. What would her life be like if such a vital memory was suddenly missing. No, I'm not about to remove it unless she asks to have it taken away... As for the other 'why'..." He moved back to his spot across little the table from Ardent. "You know why I took you on as my apprentice, don't you Ardent?"

The young mage merely looked at him, he had no intention of answering that question.

"It's because you remind me quite a bit of myself when I was your age. Or at least, what I could have been had i made better choices earlier on... Did you know I had a younger sister as well?"

That actually was news to him. He had had no idea that Star Swirl had had any sort of family. The bearded unicorn had always seemed more like the sort of enigma that simply had always been the wise old wizard he was today. "I... I did not, sir. Is she..."

"The word is 'dead,' boy. Get used to saying it, its a fact of life that isn't like to go away any time soon. But, yes... She's dead. We all have a chance to do something heroic during our lives, Ardent. I'm afraid I wasn't as prepared to play that role when I was called to the stage as you were. My weakness cost Soliria her life, and I've never forgiven myself for it. As such, do not for a single second allow your moment of strength be something that haunts you. I'll say it one last time and then I never want to have this discussion with you again. You did the right thing. Abandon any doubt you may have about that here and now. Otherwise, you can consider your days as my apprentice and steward over."

"I... Of course. Don't worry, master. I'll never look at it that way again... And thank you. Again." The old stallion nodded to him and, after banishing the ancient book back into its hiding place, got up and left the laboratory.

A sense of deep relief filled Ardent the moment the sorcerer was out of the room. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it certainly got his attention off you... Ardent sniffed away the last of his tears as he examined the disturbing little monster he had left in the cage. Now to figure out what to do with the real you...

Author's Note

So this chapter touches upon a few very important plot points, none of which are particularly well fleshed out in the chapter itself. Their all merely mentioned, hinted at, or implied. It also bares the major connecting detail which I've decided makes this the prequel to my other story "Come Dawn or Darkness." That ones more of a spiritual successor that a direct sequel, but it definitely now shares a single history with this story. This was never the original intention of this story, but now that its happened, there ya go.

Escalation

Such an abomination had no place in the courtroom, so while Ardent continued to hold the old wizard in check one of his minotaurs hoisted the broken interrogator off the floor and bolted toward the side door. He continued down the long corridor beyond it until he found a suitable room to lock the screaming judge away in. Someone would likely let him out once this was all over, and if not it would be no great loss to the kingdom if he rotted in there until the day the castle crumbled to dust.

As the crowd and its captors remained locked in place the two old mages continued their duel. Starks rained down as the embodiments of their power clashed in the air between them. A river of arcane energy flowed from Star Swirl's horn as it drove directly toward the necromancer like a brilliantly blinding spear. The tendrils of Ardent's own dark sorcerer swirled about him like a nest of serpents, writhing and slithering, constantly moving as they suck out to defend the wizard from the onslaught.

The ethereal black whips had spun themselves together before necromancer, catching the old master's spell in their net-like grasp and holding it off little more than a from where Ardent stood. The former-steward's magic was nothing short of mesmerizing, his tenebrous spells painting the air with a tapestry of forbidden power. Yet for all its glamorous might, the pale old unicorn was struggling just to maintain his footing. He had already been reduced to a near lying position, essentially kneeling before the sheer force of his former master's energy.

His spells could only hold off the old unicorn's attacks for so long. Eventually, the darkness would fade before the strength of the grandmaster's incantations. Star Swirl knew that, and was fully prepared to press his advantage the moment it became clear that Ardent could no longer maintain his defenses. The necromancer's spells were intricate and incredibly complex, yet they all worked to serve the same purpose: they had to prevent Star Swirl's attack from ever reaching Ardent's physical body.

The tendrils were his last-ditch effort to buy more time. With so much energy being focused into the defensive spells he was unable to do much more than send incredibly simply messages to his servants. Due to the severity of the situation, all of those messages thus far had been of a similar nature.

Do not harm the civilians!

Don't let the guards interfere!

Keep that one on his bench!

None may leave!

That guard is planning to run, stop him!

The heart of the old mare in the back of the room is about to give out, heal her!

Keep them on their benches!

Harm none of them!

None! May! Leave!

So many minds in such a small area; Ardent was frightfully less prepared than he had originally thought. The strain of maintaining the connection to all of his undead while also scanning the minds of the crowd for any who might cause a disturbance left little room to focus on the duel itself. Second by second, the length of the tendrils decreased, allowing Star Swirl's channeling to grow closer and closer to him. The beam emitting from the old unicorn's horn was so radiant that it may as well have been coming from sun itself. There was in his mind that being struck by such a spell would be anything less than detrimental to his physical well-being.

The necromancer was losing ground fast as Star Swirl's spell drilled harder and harder into his defenses. The tendrils continued to swarm forth, growing out of the floor and traveling forward to help reinforce the shrinking wall of shadows that were holding off the old unicorn's energy. There was still little they could do against the onslaught of light plowing into them.

This is going south much faster than I expected... The spell continued to deteriorate his defenses as it pushed closer and closer. The shadowy strands of the web he was forming to stop its advance withered one by one under the vast power Star Swirl was pouring into the beam. So much planning, so much effort... How could I have misjudged his power by so much?

The ray suddenly to grew both in size and intensity, the light emanating from it immediately lighting the entire room and drowning out Ardent's shadows. The tendrils began to fade far more quickly, so much so that in a matter of seconds the entire web of black, ethereal tentacles had completely disintegrated. A sudden fear flashed across the necromancer's eyes as he lowered his head, bracing himself for the imminent impact of the blast. Its all been theory up til now. How do I even know these spells will work? Of all the ways I could have chosen to test this plan, this was easily the worst option... Please, for the love of this world and all within it, please just.... work!

The spell was frightfully powerful and far heavier than he had imagined. As it connected with he immediately felt the last of his strength drain out of him, with the sheer weight of the magic forcing him into the stony tiled floor. His legs completely gave out as he fell to the ground, yet he was not about to let the old wizard win quite so easily.

The beam remained confined in its path, locked between the two mages as Ardent siphoned the power into his horn. He suddenly found himself able to stand once more, his body feeding directly off the incomprehensible power of Star Swirl's attack. The energy of the cosmos filled him, giving back his strength and renewing his hope for one brief, shining moment... And then ceased.

The energy filled him with enough energy to create a small star, and for a moment he felt he would have been capable of anything. But any single vessel can only hold so much, and his body reached its limit only a few seconds after the spell connected. A searing pain began to grow just below the surface of his skin and a screaming agony immersed within his horn. Small cracks began to form along the pointed bone protruding from his forehead, filled with a bright golden light that was so blinding it was almost painful look upon.

Alarmed by the gruesome turn that their battle had suddenly taken, Star Swirl the Bearded began to cut off power to his spell, crying out to his opponent as the beam running between them thinned out. "Ardent, give up this pitiful course! It does not have to end this way!"

The spell had been meant to overpower the necromancer, but its vast energy would never have been enough to kill him through sheer bodily harm. The old wizard had simply meant to break his spirit with a spell which would appear far more intimidating than it actually was. It was not until Ardent had begun absorbing the energy from it that the ray suddenly became a fatal attack.

By that point it was too late. The condemned unicorn's mind was too preoccupied by the sudden influx of raw power to focus on anything around him. He did not hear Star Swirl call to him. He did not hear Clover screaming to him from the dais. He could no longer communicate with his servants, nor hear the voices of the crowd's minds. All he could hear was the sound of fire raging within him, and all he could feel was the terrifying fury of the sun attempting to sear through his very flesh.

Please... Just let.... Just let it work!

He prepared to cast a spell, his horn suddenly glowing with the black aura of the Void. Perhaps it was meant to be a shield. Perhaps an attack in retaliation to Star Swirl's strike. Perhaps he meant to conjure something impossible, in some vain attempt to siphon off a bit of the energy that was tearing him apart from the inside out. Whatever it was meant to be, it failed. Just as the aura solidified around his horn, the bone itself split.

There was a crack, followed by a scream of absolute agony as Ardent fell to his knees once more; his front legs buckling first, the his hind legs. Hs head remained in the same position it had been, with his horn pointed directly at Star Swirl to absorb the oncoming blast. The glowing cracks running along the tip of his horn began to spread rapidly as the catalyst of his power split. Then, before they could even reach the base of his forehead, they erupted with that same golden light, ripping the necromancer's horn asunder.

As he screamed, the cracks began to move once more, migrating from the shattered remnants of his horn down onto his face. They work themselves into his skull as the power sought out a new path to escape through. The crowd was in a panic, but with the undead surrounding them they had no choice but to look on in horror as their captor slowly overflowed with arcane energy.

It took a full minute for the cracks to spread across his entire body, burning away his hooded cloak and melting the unchained shackles on his legs. Star Swirl tried to reverse the spell, then tried to draw some of the power back to himself, rather than let the horrible display continue. Both attempts were deflected by the outpouring of raw energy being released from the necromancer's body.

His last thoughts were a convoluted mixture of fear, pain, and the pestering of an incessantly nagging voice in the back of his mind assuring him that he had failed. "Oh please let it work, let it work!" The voice mocked him with his own words right up until the point when, after two full minutes of agony, the power finally proved to be to much for the ancient unicorn's body to take.

He screamed one last time and then, with a golden flash that mirrored the raw intensity of the sun itself, his body exploded in a sudden rush of flames. They engulfed him from within, turning the spot where he stood into a raging ball of golden flames for several seconds. The inferno reached only a few feet from its epicenter, devouring the four undead unicorns who had stood beside him through his trial. The crowd remained unscathed, as did the two remaining judges.

As the fire subsided Star Swirl and Clover peered down at the scorched tiles for any sign of their former friend. The necromancer, his four retainers, and the entirety tile layer he had stood upon were gone; swept up in the localized firestorm that had erupted on that spot. The stone floor beneath the tiles was thoroughly scarred by the heat, leaving only a blackened powder where the tiles had been.

Star Swirl quickly looked around the room, all too aware of the fact that the undead remained intact and unmoved by the proceedings. "Everyone stay calm. The necromancer has fallen and his minions will soon follow. This is merely the remnants of his magic keeping them in place. In a moment they will return to being lifeless corpses once mo-"

The wizard jumped back onto the dais as the nearest minotaur took a swing at him with one of its heavily muscled arms. As he spoke, Star Swirl had attempted to step down from the platform, hoping to more closely examine the scorched earth where his former apprentice had stood only moments before. The second his hoof touch the floor, however, the supposed-wight's attention immediately focused in on him as it sprang to life. What the old wizard had taken for being just the soon-to-be rotted husk of an undead minion quickly proved to be a fully conscious and thoroughly enraged minotaur warrior.

While most of the other, immobile minions were clearly undead whom Ardent had raised from the crypts and mass graves located all around the city, Star Swirl quickly noticed that several of the creatures were moving through the audience. They continued to police the crowd even without their master's voice commanding them. As he looked closer at the minotaur glaring menacingly at him from just beside the dais, it became painfully clear that at least a few of the servants Ardent had brought with him were still full alive.

"The master said fer ya two tuh stay on yer little stage. Ya move off there again an' ol break ya in half bufore ya even reach the floor!" Behind the pale red flames that covered its eyes, Star Swirl could just barely make out the shape of minotaur's tiny, rage-filled pupils. The facade of undeath was painted across the creature's entire body, yet its eyes betrayed the truth of the matter. This one was still very much alive.

"...So that was his trick then... Even if he died here, his forces would remain thanks to you brainwashed fools hidden in their ranks. Why do you let him manipulate you like this? Ardent Flame is dead, you are free! Take back your minds and come to your senses!"

"M-Master? I.... I don't think its quite that simple." Clover was looking up at him through eyes filled with understanding. She had realized the extent of the situation just as quickly as he had, yet clearly she saw something else, something he must have missed.

He lowered his voice, hoping not to instill any more fear in the hearts of the citizens trapped here than already had been. "What is? What have I overlooked this time, my dear?"

She looked wearily at the minotaur watching them from the base of the dais, then continued in a quiet, almost frightened voice, a far cry from her usual tone. "I... I've been watching those two at the top of the stairs." She indicated a pair of earth ponies with matching white hoods and cloaks gazing down at the audience from the highest tier of benches.

The old unicorn saw them, two of a dozen former healers who had been risen from the castle's catacombs. Brothers by the look of things, perhaps even twins. "Yes, what of them?"

"They're clearly undead, neither has a stomach and one is missing half its skull. Yet, they're still functioning as they were when Ardent was present. They're still scanning the crowd for movement and the one on the left adjusted its hood a moment ago, like it was getting it out of the way of its eyes. A mindless undead creature wouldn't do that sort of thing, they'd just stand there, unmoving, until the magic faded entirely."

"Troubling... Perhaps one of the unicorns is maintaining control over them in their master's absence."

"Without their horns glowing? Forgive me sir but that seems... unlikely."

The minotaur was still glaring at him, but it soon lost interest as a loud crash echoed down the hallway from which the guards had first brought in the old necromancer. As he began to walk toward the large oaken door to check on the situation in the hallway beyond, Star Swirl seized the opportunity. And that would be reinforcements, you stupid cow. Didn't think you could stay locked up in here forever, did you?

He had emptied a fair amount of his power into the spell which destroyed Ardent, yet he was confident that he could still eliminate the rest of the undead and their living comrades, given the proper element of surprise. Wordlessly, he lowed his head and released a spear of pale blue fire toward the back of the minotaur's head. It flew like an arrow, straight and fast, more than powerful enough to pierce the beast's thick skull and bring him down without making too much of a mess.

A decaying unicorn in the second row of benches on the left side of the courtroom whispered a silent incantation as the spear neared the minotaur's skull. His horn lit up with pale red flames and, in the blink of an eye, a wall of transparent red light formed around back the bull's head. The force of the spell still reach him, smacking him the back of his heavily horned skull hard enough to reignite his rage. He forgot about the noise from beyond the doors and turned back upon Star Swirl, the fire in his eyes growing into two miniature infernos as he charged the stand; his hands wrapped into a pair of sinewy, iron fists.

He came within a foot of the stairs where Star Swirl stood, the old unicorn desperately trying to channel a shielding spell strong enough to block the living battering ram that was running at him. Too late, though. Any spell in his arsenal would have taken far too long to repel the minotaur's punch. Gritting his teeth, the old unicorn slammed his eyes shut and braced himself for the oncoming hurricane of agony that was about to come down upon him.

Consequences

The blow connected far harder than he had anticipated. A hollow THUD rang out as the wood impacted upon the unicorn's skull, just to the side of the little horn protruding from her forehead. She cried out as much in surprise as in pain as she fell to the ground, her spell book dropping from the air beside her focus slipped and the spell keeping it levitated faded.

"You must pay closer attention, don't keep looking at the page. Let go of your uncertainty and trust in your own skill. You know these spells, you don't have to rely on that book." He looked down on the young filly from just beyond the brim of his oversized hat. "... And stop bleeding all over my floor, that's no way for a lady to behave."

The filly cringed, but looked back up to meet her master's gaze with firm, unyielding eyes. "But... but I just... Grrr!... Yes master..." Her horn lit up and, for a split second her entire head began to glow a pale violet color. A moment later the cut that the long wooden spear shaft had left was gone and she was back in a ready position, awaiting the next strike with an expression of extreme focus.

The old unicorn smiled as he readied the spear once more. Every time she fails she gets a bit more determined. With a spirit like that this one's bound to go on to accomplish things that will upstage the entire council. A look of pure satisfaction settled on his face for a moment as the pride he felt for her accomplishments thus far weighed within his mind. "That a girl. Now, get ready. Stay focused this time, don't flinch away. Just remember what you've been practicing; this is no different."

The old wizard's horn let up with a thin yellow aura. The spear shaft hovering beside him rose into the air, suspended by a similar light. It held its place for a moment, spun, and then in a blinding flash of gold and purple, vanished. The small dining hall echoed with the sound of electricity as the spell ignited, the noise bouncing off the walls, the ceiling, and the large tables which had been pushed aside to make room for their training session.

The little filly waited, her light green coat standing on end as she readied herself for the next step in their little dance. A frayed brown cloak covered her back, denoting her humble upbringing; it was the only thing she had brought with her to the castle, the last vestige of her old life. Its hood had been thrown back to provide her with a better field of vision, revealing a short cut mane of unbrushed dark blue hair. Her eyes, a similar shade of blue when open, were clenched shut as tight as they could go as she attempted to feel the energy flowing around her.

Her ears perked up a second later as her eyes flew open. Her pupils were gone now, replaced with blinding blue light. Just as they opened, the sound of electricity crackling burst forth from the corner of the room as the spear flew at her from behind. Her head tilted toward it with her horn aglow, sending the shaft glancing off a barrier of thin blue energy. It clattered to the ground, rotated, and disappeared once more in another blinding burst of sparks.

It came from directly above next, descending upon the filly with force enough to drive her into the cold marble floor. Her head lifted and another barrier appeared, ricocheting the spear toward the tapestry-coated wall to her left. As it impacted upon a expertly quilted depiction of a group of unicorns raising the sun and the moon, the spear once more burst into a shower of sparks, reappearing with the same momentum a few feet in front of her.

"Deflecting it won't end this, Clover. You know what spell you need, now use it!" The old sorcerer prepared to teleport the spear away once more, just in case his student chose to redirect the spear again.

The rough-hewn shaft of oak wood sped toward her just as she lowered her head. Her eyes still blazed with pale blue light, her horn lit with that same sky-tinted aura; she braced herself for the oncoming force of the spear. Her muscles tightened as her body tensed. She knew the spell, had practiced it countless times in the library, the courtyard, even on the battlements during her nightly walks. Yet now that the time had come to put it to use, her mind drew a blank.

She's forgotten... Either that or her nerves are getting to her. Stage fright, though on a far more dramatic level. This doesn't bode well for the rest of her training. If she can't even pull her mind together for something as simple as defending herself, she'll never reach a point where she'll be able to protect th- His thoughts shifted as the little filly let out a scream from the other end of the room.

She cried out just as the headless pike reached her, an anguished sound full of desperation and fear. Her head jerked up, the magic emanating from her horn leaving a trail of light blue energy in its wake as she reared up onto her hind legs. All at once the spear halted mid-flight, just inches from its collision with the the tiny mage. A translucent wall of what appeared to be solidified lightning held the long wooden pole in place. Blue and white, the multitude of thin strands of electricity began to spread, growing like some aqua-tinged crack in the very fabric of the world itself. They spread out through the air from their focal point in front of the spear's flattened point.

The old wizard looked on as the tiny barrier spread out, forming a bulwark in front of the filly that extended from wall to wall. The tables stacked up to either side of the room were slowly pushed aside as the growing storm of arcane energy brushed up against them. Finally, upon reaching the cold cobblestone walls of the cavernous dining hall, the limit of the little sorceress' power was reached. Unable to extend any further, the serpentine branches of lightning began to pulse violently. The filly clenched her teeth and, as the light drained out of her eyes, the spell reached its pinnacle.

With one final cry she released her grip on the spell and dropped back to all fours. As she did so, the wall of electricity began to collapse, falling not to the floor, but inward upon itself. The bolts suddenly sped up, being drawn together into the epicenter of the spell. Yet they did not seem to be satisfied with simply ceasing to exist, preferring instead to take something away from the world with them. The old sorcerer was well aware of that intention and quickly drew upon his own considerable power in preparation for what would happen next.

Haha... I guess I spoke too soon. All she needed was the proper incentive and it all fell into place.

The lightning channeled itself into the spear it had caught in its pulsating web of energy. The entire wall of arcane electricity slowly funneled into the simple wooden weapon, filling it with a bright blue light that grew ever more intense as more and more of the energy entered it. Cracks began to appear along its surface as the wood splintered under the stress of having to contain so much energy. When the last of the volts finally entered it, all of the eerie blue light had left the filly's eyes. She blinked several times, clearly confused by what she was seeing. "M-Master? I don't... I don't understand. Did I do something wrong? Why didn't it bre-"

The sheer force of the explosion drowned out the rest of the word, sucking sound from the entire room as the spear burst into a million tiny, magically-charged shards. The blast was focused into a single direction, sending the hail of electrical splinters rocketting directly away from the filly. She felt none of the force of it, nor would anyone standing in any part of the room other than that which fell directly ahead of her; right where her mentor was standing.

The hurricane of wood and arcane lightning impacted upon the shimmering gold energy of his spell, disintegrating harmlessly as they made contact with the master's defenses. Lightning crackled as the last of shards struck the magical redoubt, resulting in one final wave of sparks that spattered lifelessly to the floor. "Well well, that was not exactly what I was expecting. Where did that little display come from, Clover?"

The filly looked up at him as the old unicorn made his way over to her, her cheek flushing a deep pink color as realization swept over her. "I... I um... I forgot the spell, sir. I got scared, I didn't want the spear to hit me-"

"Nor should you. I'm not here to train masochists. I train only the most powerful of this kingdom's future leaders. And if there's one thing that you've proven here today, it's that you have more than enough power to be counted as such."

Her blush deepened, sending a deep red color streaking through her face just beneath her thin coat of mint-colored fur.

"Now then, where did you learn such a spell? I know I'm getting on in years, but I'm still fairly certain I didn't teach that one to you."

The filly's eyes darted to the door for a brief moment as something moved into the dining hall from the passage outside. Her master did not seem to notice, far too intent on learning the source of the spell she had managed to conjure up at the last possible moment. "Uh, well sir, I um... Well I sort of, um..." The words stuck in her throat. She had made the spell up on the spot, twisting it from scraps and fragments of other incantations she had learned throughout her training. Yet explaining such a thing to one of the greatest sorcerers to have ever lived was something that the little filly was thoroughly unprepared to attempt. "I uh... It... It was just something I picked up..."

"Picked up?" The old stallion was now just a foot or so away from her, peering down at her with eyes that seemed to be looking at her soul rather than her progressively reddening face. "Picked up from where, if I might be so bold as to ask?"

"I, I, I just... picked up from... uh... from... picked up from-"

"Master Star Swirl!" The voice came from just behind the old wizard, sending such a shock through him that Clover was almost certain he was about to jump out of his skin. He maintained his composure, though just barely. She had watched as the black-and-white haired stallion had quietly made his way into the dining hall and over to where they were standing, carefully staying just out of her master's peripherals. The thin aura that was just fading from his horn and hooves suggested that he may have cast some form of silencing charm on himself to mask his approach.

She was relieved to have the tension of the moment broken and the spotlight off her for the moment, but more over she was excited for what the appearance of this cloaked and hooded stallion meant. "Master Ardent! You're back! Does this mean they're here? Did you bring them with you? Or are they on they're way, at least?" Her excitement was almost palpable; the troubled thoughts that had plagued her mind just moments before vanished the second that she realized what the young sorcerer's presence meant.

Star Swirl turned to face his other student, taking just a moment to roll his eyes at Clover's reaction. "Ardent... You're late. We had expected you back here two weeks ago. What happened? I had to reassure your sister that I hadn't sent you off on some sort of suicide mission just to get her to stop pestering me about it. She's thoroughly convinced that your dead on the side of a mountain somewhere."

"...Good to see you as well, master. You as well, Clover." He nodded to the little sorceress bouncing up and down beside the bearded spell-weaver. "As for the delay, there was just a little altercation that I had to deal with along the way. It took me about a day to clear it all up, but because of it I didn't arrive at the mountain until after our appointment. I had to wait for an extra week before the good Lord could make time to meet with me."

"I see... An altercation you say. What sort of altercation was this one? The sort involving fallen rocks, blocked tunnels, or broken trails?"

"The sort that has feathers, fur, talons, claws, and no sense of self-preservation. Its getting a little predictable; I run across a group just about every time I enter those mountains, and every single one seems intent on starting trouble. I swear its like they WANT me to kiii..." He suddenly remembered the young filly hanging upon their every word and thought better of explaining how he had done away with the latest brood of airborne predators. "...kiii-ut around their entire mountain range. So... uh... yeah, my apologies that it took so much longer than expected, but its done. The ambassadors are waiting in your lounge as we speak."

"I see. Well then I suppose thats all that matters. We'll speak more of these... altercations of yours after the feast. Speaking of which: Clover, would you be a dear and go inform the chefs that the feast will be held tonight? I'd send Ardent but something tells me he has a slightly more pressing matter to deal with right now." He gave his older student a side glance that seemed to fully convey his feelings on the matter better than any words could.

Ardent gulped nervously as he suddenly remembered what the old unicorn had said about his sister. "I uh... I should go. She'll be in the medical ward still, right?"

Star Swirl nodded.

"Good... Something tells me I'm going to be grateful for that once I'm done explaining this to her..." He retreated back out of the dining hall to make his way down to the hospital wing and the imminent beating that awaited him there.

"But... But Master, can't I come meet the dragons with you? I was reeeeeeeeeealy looking forward to finally seeing one." Clover's eyes seemed ready to leap from her face as she emphasized her disappointment.

"Now now, I'm not saying you can't come meet them. You just have to head down and talk to the chefs first. If you can figure out some way to do that and then make it up to my tower before they depart for their rooms, you're more than welcome to introduce yourself. So if I were you, I'd take this as an opportunity to practice that new spell you were supposed to be studying. Teleportation is an essential skill for any young sorceress to master... Now get to it! I don't plan on keeping these ambassadors waiting any longer than they already have!"

With that, the pair went their separate ways. Clover dashed from the room in the blink of an eye, desperate to get her errand over and done with as quickly as possible. Star Swirl, however, proceeded up to his tower at a much more leisurely pace. Damn dragons. Just because they don't have to worry about aging they think time doesn't apply to them. A day or two I could understand, but to keep a messenger of mine waiting for an entire week without audience is just insulting.

The climb seemed longer every time the old stallion made it. The winding staircase stretched up and up from the back of the castle, ascending the length of the tower where he had chosen to make his home. On any other day a simple teleportation spell would have gotten him from the dining hall to the pinnacle of his turret in a matter of seconds, but today was special. Today, he felt like spitting the young ambassadors for their lord's arrogance.

His hooves clacked against the aging grey cobbles of the stairs, the sound echoing up through the hollow round spire. The cracked stones had been used by over two dozen different grandmasters before him, yet none had managed to attain feats even half as great as he in their lifetimes. I'll be remembered, there's no doubt about that. But there's so much more I could be accomplishing. If I only had more time...

His life had already been a long one, though not yet outside the bounds of what a typical healthy unicorn could be expected to survive. Dragons might be true immortals, but the unicorn race was about as close as most mortal creatures could hope to get to that goal. Centuries could pass before they would even begin to feel the first real pains of aging. Their numbers were not be as vast as the pegasi's, and certainly no where near the population that earth ponies had managed to accumulate; their short lifespans pushed them toward procreation on an almost unnatural scale. Yet so long as the unicorns had their longevity, they could at the very least hope to outlast their lesser cousins on both sides.

Not that it will ever come to that, of course. Age might be our greatest tool, but knowledge is still our best weapon against extinction. The issue had weighed heavily upon his mind for years, yet it was only over the last few months that it had truly jumped to the forefront if his attention. Perhaps it was the latest influx of earth pony peasants, so many useless mouths that would need both food and shelter before the next winter came. Perhaps it had been the recent development with the dragons that had caused his nightmares to turn to premonition; dark visions of the end of their mighty kingdom, the fall of magic, and the extinction of the unicorns as a whole.

More likely, it was the fact he was now feeling the opening strains and aches of old age. Presented with the possibility that his own end might be upon him before to long, his thoughts had turned to ensuring the survival of his entire race. If he could succeed in preventing the inevitable, not only would he be remembered as a hero, but he could pass from this world satisfied; knowing that he had truly been able to make a difference.

And it was that justification that had brought him to the situation he now faced. Its all for the greater good... He reached the landing halfway up the tower which housed his private library. Opening the door, he found a pair of young dragons conversing with each other. Between them sat a large box constructed from freshly-cut oaken planks. Sap was sluggishly seeping out from the holes the nails had been hammered into to hold it together; a sticky puddle beginning to form upon the beautiful red carpet beneath it. ...All for the greater good...

He stepped inside the lounge below the library's first floor, slowly shutting the door behind him with a very deliberate, calm pace. The pair of ambassadors turned at once as the hinges creaked loudly. "Ah, at last. We were beginning to wonder if you'd had some joule on those stairs. We were just about to send someone to carry you."

The pair were of a similar height with one another, at least twice as tall as Star Swirl himself. Both had a pair of horns jutting from the back of their heads, adding a few more inches to their height. Both were slender in frame and wiry in muscle, bright orange scales covered their bodies in a mosaic of complex patterns, broken up intermittently by the occasional grey-white bone spike. Their eyes were their only noticeable difference that set them apart from one another; one gazing through a pair dark green orbs set deep in his skull, while the other stared forth with two globes of pale blue ice.

They spoke in polite-enough tones, yet the subtle hiss of the western mountain broods; likely chosen for this task specifically for their ability to communicate in the unicorn's language so fluently. The old wizard had to exert a near physical effort to keep his contempt for the pair of them in check. Give a snake a pair of wings and he instantly thinks himself a dragon... These two may be from the Old Lord's brood, but neither one will ever be a match for the kind of power that ancient bastard possesses.

He stepped forward, a welcoming smile painfully chiseled on his face. "I'm not so old yet that I can't climb my own stair case. Getting there, to be sure, but not quite yet. Thank you for your concern though..." He tilted his head, gesturing subtly for their names. Damned if I'll introduce myself before these two do.

"Scorch"

"Igneous"

...How original..."It's a pleasure to meet you both... Now would I be correct in assuming that we have quite a bit to discuss?"

"Quite a bit and more I'd say..." The drake's tone was filling with more and more contempt with each word. Star Swirl was still a bit uncertain as to what their visit was all about, but he had a growing suspicion as to its nature. The young dragons' attitudes was doing little to set his fears to rest.

"Well then we'd best get started. I'd like to be done with this little meeting before my apprentice shows up... She's been greatly looking forward to seeing a real live dragon and I assured her that you'd be perfectly happy to meet her."

The ambassadors shifted uneasily, but made no effort to refuse. "If you insist. I must agree, we should get this over with. Now." The pair gripped the top portion of the crate and began to disassemble the lid. Star Swirl walked over to them cautiously, making note of his surroundings carefully as he went. The wards are up, everything seems to be in place, and these two have likely not spoken a word of this to anyone they've met here yet. Too good to talk to such lowly creatures as us, I'm sure. Their contempt works in my favor this time, at least.

The boards making up the top of the crate came loose with a loud creak. "We would like to ask you to identify this... creature for us, if you would be so kind." They placed the bent planks upon the floor and tilted the crate until whatever was held within began to tumble toward the opening. "Lord Cinderrake has deemed that it is of no species he has ever seen in his considerable time in this land. He requests to be informed as its origins and, if you can surmise it, what it was doing roaming about upon his mountain side."

The corpse rolled out onto the oak boards. Lifeless and absent of blood, the body seemed to have been entirely untouched by decomposition. Nonetheless, the sight of it was disturbing enough even without the presence of decay. About the size of a young colt, the creature seemed to be a diminutive amalgamation of abandoned limbs. Its body seemed to be that of a pony, slim but not without muscle. Its hind legs had hooves, but not those that the equine races possessed. These appeared to be the cloven, stomping tools of the minotaurs. Its front legs seemed dragonic in nature, with blue scales and serrated ivory claws. Its head was unidentifiable, the skull crushed by what he could only assume must have been some sort of heavy stone based on the severity of the impact marks. Yet protruding from the pulverized mass of blood-less gore was a single, broken horn.

The sight filled him with disgust. He knew the creature well enough, had raised it in secrecy for more than a year before its untimely escape only a few months prior to this little meeting. How could it have covered that much distance so quickly? And why?! Why did it have to be the dragons who found it? If Ardent's damned gryphons had come across it first they'd of made short work of the poor beast and done away with its remains quickly and cleanly. The world would have been none the wiser. But this... This is getting too messy already.

He had hoped the ambassadors would have left it at a simple request. He could have worked with that, could have ignored the way they were looking at him, the smug way they spoke. He could have forgiven them for the way they acted so superior to him, if they had only kept their forked tongues to themselves. Of course, things are rarely that simple.

"You should know that it suffered quite badly in its final moments... Does it look familiar to you, Star Swirl? I'd imagine it would. Our old Lord didn't have the heart to say it, but we all know this... thing was your doing. Might as well just admit it so we can get to the real question." The green-eyed drake stepped forward as his partner continued where he'd left off.

"You remember a few years back, I'd wager. When one of our noble families came to visit your vulnerable little city? They were dear friends of The Lord Cinderrake; cousins of his by some accounts. A male the was, and his mate." The blue-eyed dragon made the next move, walking to the old sorcerer's left as the first ambassador spoke again.

"And, of course, their children had accompanied them. These pony cities of yours are fabled for being such welcoming, peaceful places; a far-cry from the hardships of the western mountain ranges. Three children there were, if I'm not mistaken. What were their names again, brother?"

Scorch was just inches from Star Swirl as he passed the conversation back to Igneous. "Oh who can remember after all this time? Their colors stand out in my memory though. The eldest was red, like her father." Another step toward the old unicorn. "The middle one was... purple, was it? Yes, yes, of course, just a few shades lighter than his mother." He was past Star Swirl now, between him and the door. "And the youngest, little more than a hatchling when they made the journey..." He turned, gazing at the old stallion with unfathomable hatred in his icy blue eyes. "Was blue."

Scorch grasped Star Swirl's shoulder and the old wizard allowed himself to be brought face to face with the seething lizard. "And do you recall what happened while they were in your fine little city? What tragedy cut their lovely visit short?" His breath was a vile concoction of sulfur and rotten meat as it puffed forth into Star Swirl's nostrils. "By some unfortunate and inexplicable twist of fate, their youngest mysteriously went missing. Without a trace. In this very castle. Under your rule."

Mage-Hunters... No wonder they seem so confident. Well then wards are going to do little for me now. Looks like its time to fall back on plan B. "Speak your meaning, serpents, I don't have time for games. Unlike your with kind, time is a precious thing for me. Are you here to accuse me of something or just prattle on about ancient history?"

The rage manifested in a near physical form just behind the Scorch's eyes; his broth wore a similar expression just outside of Star Swirl's peripheral range. "You know damn well what we're here to do, oh great bearded one... Confess and we'll make it easy on you: we'll cut you down nice and quickly right here instead of dragging you back to the mountain so the whole brood can get a piece of you." He brandished his formidable, dagger-like claws in front of Star Swirl's face.

"I see... Well then, in that case, I suppose I have little choice. Of course I did it. I kidnapped the youngest of the Bursttooth brood, he was easily the one who was of the least use to the world."

Igneous bared his teeth as he turned to face the door, unwilling to look at the monster as he told his tale.

"I took him in the dead of night, quiet as could be."

A shadow moved just beyond the door, barely a flicker of light, yet enough that the blue-eyed drake took notice.

"I brought him down to the dungeons while the rest of the castle still slept and held him there for days while the search commenced upstairs."

He moved toward the entrance slowly, quietly.

"It wasn't until after the rest of the family had departed that I finally got around to working on him."

The shadow had withdrawn, yet whatever was out there remained.

"I knew I needed the brain, yet the arms seemed too well-developed to waste. I even considered using the tail before I thought better of it."

There was a soft whispering coming from just beyond the heavy old timber door, too quiet for him to make out the words.

"You should know that it suffered quite badly in its final moments."

"ENOUGH!!!" The green-eyed dragon lunged at the old wizard, unable to listen any longer. He didn't notice his brother returning to his side, didn't notice the way the light was shifting in the room, didn't notice the way several of the shadows had begun to bend toward the door. All he could think about was taking shutting up the old murderer who had so viciously insulted his family.

Star Swirl attempted to fend him off with a wave of arcane energy, but the spell simply broke around him. The drake's scales rippled with color as the magic washed harmlessly across them. "Not this time! You're not going to cheat fate today!" His claws closed around the wizard's neck, drowning out a final attempt to speak before it could even begin.

The world began to spin as he struggled to breath, fully conscious of the fact that he had brought this on himself by not considering this turn of events ahead of time. Well, this will certainly be quite the scene for Clover to walk in on... Wonder how she'll react. Such a smart girl. I'm sure she'll f- His thoughts blurred as oxygen suddenly rushed into his lungs once more. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, panting and wheezing as the two dragons struggled with one another a few feet away.

Tears ran down the sides of the blue-eyed drake's face as he fought his brother into submission. His movements were jerky and unnatural, but filled with a strength that Scorch was unable to contend with. A moment later, Igneous had him pinned; thoroughly incapacitated and at the mercy of the same dark energy that was working its will on his brother's body. "No! NO! What is this?! Get off of me! Let go! LET GO OF ME!!!"

The wards set around the room absorbed the screams of protest, deafening the outside world to the struggle going on within the little library. Well at least those ones were worth keeping up... "I trust you heard what was said here, did you not?"

The door opened slowly as a bruised and haggard-looking Ardent struggled to walk inside. His horn was alight with black fire, anchoring the elongated outlines of the two young drakes. Their shadows were cast across the floor leading up to the door, right to where the cloaked stallion stood. They wrapped about his front legs, climbing up his shoulder neck. They crisscrossed his face directly over his mussel and his eyes before connecting to the flames that coated his horn.

"They... They said they intended to cut... cut you down here and now. Assassins, just like... Just like you said they would be." His breathing strained as he made the dragons stand back up. Both brothers had tears running down their faces now as their eyes twisted in their sockets; both common signs of a conscious mind trapped within a body that it no longer had control over.

He made the wipe away the tears as they stood back up, their wings spreading and folding uncontrollably as they walked back to the crate to put it back together. "I didn't... I didn't hear anything else of... of any... consequence." Ardent's legs began to shake as more and more of his energy went into maintaining the spell.

Relief washed over the old wizard's mind as he began to lend his steward a portion of his own power. "Indeed, and I won't soon forget that. You did a fine job. I must admit, I can't remember the last time I felt that helpless. It's not a situation I ever want to relive. We'll have to look into what it is about these two that lets their scales deflect magic so easily... But there will be plenty of time for that later. For now though, lets just make this scene a little less suspicious."

The old unicorn's horn it up for a moment as the crate containing the abomination faded from the room in a flash of golden light. The next few spells he cast hid Ardent's flames, rearranged the shadows so they looked normal once more, and froze the drakes' eyes in place. No less than a minute later a loud electrical sizzle echoed up the staircase. A few moments after the sound died away a smoking, exhausted looking Clover came rushing up to the door.

She knocked once and was greeted by Star Swirl himself. As he welcomed her in he introduced the pair of ambassadors to her. Her eyes widened with excitement as the pair spread their wings, bowed to her, and said how pleased they were to meet the grandmaster's most promising new apprentice. The next fifteen minutes were everything Clover had hoped for and more. She was so ecstatic that she barely even noticed how jerky and stiff the dragons' movements were.

"I'm just so sorry we can't stay longer." The blue-eyed dragon seemed to be addressing her just as much as he was Star Swirl. "I'm afraid we'll be departing in just a matter of hours. It was a pleasure to meet both of you."

Star Swirl spoke for the both of them when he assured the ambassadors that they were welcome back any time the wished. "My steward will gladly show you to a fine guest chamber we prepared for you both so you can get a quick bit of rest in before you go. Give my regards to Old Lord when you get back."

They followed Ardent out and down the stairs as Star Swirl turned his attention to Clover. The little unicorn smiled up at him, her slightly singed mane still trailing a few thin tendrils of smoke. "So would it be safe to assume that they were to your liking?"

Her expression was answer enough. The grin she wore had not shrunk in the least since the drakes had departed. "They were even more amazing than I thought they'd be. When are they going to visit again?"

"Oh, it will probably be quite some time before we're graced by their presence once more, I'm afraid. You were one of the lucky few who actually got to speak with them this time around." His eyes fell to her mane once more. "I take it the teleportation spell still needs some work?"

Embarrassment passed across her face, turning her excited grin to one of sheepishness. "I um... It got me from the kitchen to the main hall, but then down to the courtyard instead of up here. I tried adjusting it and ended up only getting about half way up the stairs. So I just ran the rest of the way." She finally seemed to notice the tiny lines of smoke slithering up off the frayed and blackened ends of her hair. "And I may have used a little too much power on the one that brought me up the stairs..."

The old mage could not help but laugh. After all that had transpired over just the last half-hour, the little sorceress' training suddenly seemed like the most inconsequential thing in the world. "We'll no matter, my dear. You'll master it soon enough. Now then, what do you say you show me how you stopped that spear downstairs again? I'd very much like a chance to study your technique a bit more."

The rest of the night passed by without consequence. The dungeons were silent but for the rattling of a few locks and chains. The kitchens rang with the clatter of pots and pans. The halls burned bright as the torches were relit. And the grandmaster's tower blazed with a vibrant storm of blue and green and yellow as spells were cast and examined within its stony confines.

By midnight that evening, the entire castle was still. Everyone had turned in for the night, unconcerned with the troubles of the world. Stillness filled the air.

Know No Solace

And the stillness persisted; unblemished by the minotaur's attack. The old unicorn open his eyes slowly, begrudgingly, as sound slowly began to disappear from the world around him. What he saw was a massive fist hovering inches from his face. Muscle and jagged bone poked through flesh too old and thin to hold them back. Veins bulged as the arm they connected to pushed forward with all its might, yet to no avail.

Around the creature's wrist was as hexagonal pane of bluish-green energy. Another connected to each side of that, and another to each side of those, forming a wall of protective magic around the dais as Clover began rise from her seat.

"This is a court of law," she began. Slowly, softly, the little unicorn stepped up onto the desk in front of her to address the entire room. Her voice pierced the silence and attracted the gaze of both the hostages and their keepers. Slowly. Softly. Her words flowed as she looked from one face to another. From the living, to the dead, and back again.

"This is a court of law... and you have disgraced the meaning of its very existence." She looked at the cultists: hooded, cloaked, and painted to resemble their undead charges. "You have brought conflict into a place meant to be kept sacred. A place meant to be SAFE!" Her voice rose to shout as the barrier tightened around the minotaur's wrist.

Her gaze fell upon the pile of ash that had once been her friend. "Ardent may have brought you here, but you helped him willingly. You who still have your lives; you could have talked him out of this! You could have stopped this before it came to this point! Before innocent citizens were caught up in the middle of it! You could have saved him!"

"Clover, my dear. You s-"

"And you!" She cut off her old mentor before his venomous words could take form. "You're more to blame than any of them!"

Star Swirl stepped back, taken aback by her sudden turn. "Me?! But I wa-"

"You were the one who taught me how sacred the courtroom is! Its a place where lies go to die and where the truth is forged into a tool of justice. Somewhere that all citizens are equals. Where no one is guilty until every last shred of evidence dictates it!"

She turned to face him, any uncertainty she may once have harbored suddenly melting away as her conviction rose. "And yet here we are. In YOUR courtroom! Where we see perfectly clear how your concept of justice works. Here, you play the part of the judge, the jury, and the executioner; and you never need to answer for your actions..."

"Clover, what are you t-"

"I was told at an early age that the most terrible crime someone could commit was murder. To steal the life of another; nothing could be more condemnable than that. So tell me, master: Where is Ardent? Where is the accused? I haven't seen anything to indicate that he was proven guilty of the crimes we named, so where is he? Surely he should still be here if no verdict has been passed... Well?!"

As she shouted out the last words she could bring herself to say, tears began to fill her sky-blue eyes. The flash of emotion caused her spell to surge violently, severing the minotaur's imprisoned wrist with a metallic SHNK!!! It fell to the ground as the undead beast watched, unfazed.

Star Swirl had only a moment to regain his composure, and doing so was far more difficult than he would have liked to admit. The truth of the matter was that he had had no intention of incinerating his old friend. The fool just wouldn't back down! If he had simply gotten out of the way or deflected the spell, this all could have been avoided. What made him think he could handle that sort of power?

Finally, he decided to proceed not with caution, but with accusation; testing thinness of this new emotional ice. "My dear... You can answer that question just as well as I can. Anyone in this room can tell you where he is. He's dead. And as unfortunate as that may be, he brought it upon himself."

He met her glare head on, continuing to ignore the goliath minotaur slowly decomposing just beyond the magic barrier before him. "Yes, my spell killed him; but it was his own arrogance that brought this fate about. You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment, Clover. Think for a moment. You say that he was never proven guilty, yet here we stand in a room being held captive by the undead. He was guilty of necromancy, if nothing else, and as you know that is a crime punishable by death on its own."

Clover stood unshaken. "So you killed him as punishment for that? That is what you're saying?"

"Not at all! You misunderstand me, my dear. I merely meant to restrain him. Had he not so arrogantly attempted to absorb my spell he would have simply been rendered incapacitated, not dead. No mortal body was ever designed to hold that sort of energy within itself. That's the only reason he's dead."

The lie was only a little one really. The spell certainly would have incapacitated him; specifically it would have left him paralyzed as his body slowly evaporated over the course of a few hours. Instead, the process was sped up to a few seconds when Ardent chose to drain the essence of the magic itself.

Clover remained unconvinced, but Star Swirl went on regardless. "Open your eyes, Clover! You say I played 'judge, jury, and executioner?' Aside from it being a horrible cliche, I can't find any reason to disagree with you. And why wouldn't I have done just that? Seeing as he had already neutralized our executioner and was currently holding our jury hostage! I judged him to be a threat to the citizens gathered here and acted accordingly. In my position, you would have done exactly the same thing... though, perhaps you would have shown a bit more restraint."

The emerald unicorn suddenly began to doubt her own conviction, playing right into her old teacher's plan. He had no intention of making an enemy out of the most clever apprentice he had ever had. If he could convince her he was still in the right, he felt there was a strong chance the rest of the citizens present would go along with it as well.

"If that is your best defense you might as well just surrender now and be done with it!"

Star Swirl and Clover both turned at once, scanning the crowd as a murmur of uncertainty began to emanate from the left side of the courtroom. In the middle of the group of spectators a young unicorn glared down at them accusingly. His head was obscured by a pale grey hood, but the outline of a horn could clearly be seen under the cloth. The rest of his face, the portions they could see at least, were coated in a thick layer of white powder criss-crossed by a web of black line patterns. Clover could not quite make out the consistency of the powdery-base, but the old unicorn beside her knew at once that it was the dust of ground bones.

One of Ardent's fools. And this one speaks...wonderful... Were it not for his already tenuous grasp on the situation, Star Swirl almost certainly would have struck down the youth where he stood. As it was, however, he was forced to stand there and listen as the cultists suddenly found their voices.

"You know damn well that you are not innocent in this matter, Star Swirl the Suppressor! Too long have you lurked in the shadows of this kingdom, manipulating it from behind a smokescreen of good intentions!"

Confused whispers began to sprout from this new discourse. They were interrupted moments later by another hooded cultist form the other side of the room. This one was far more eloquent in her delivery and much more mature about her approach.

"Forgive my brother's outburst, his mouth moves far too quickly for his brain to keep up. We understand how this must look to you... to all of you. But I assure you, we are not here to harm any of you."

This one too wore a mask of bone dust under her hooded cloak, but she lacked the horn of her so-called "brother." What was more, despite this lack of a magical catalyst, her voice possessed a serene, almost otherworldly quality that Star Swirl was disturbed to find had seemingly entranced the entire room.

Devilry and speech-craft of some manner. I don't know where Ardent found these wretches, but he's trained this one well, at least... He did not want to give them a chance to say anything particularly damning; he still was not certain how much information Ardent had imparted on them prior to his demise. But if he allowed them to continue speaking out, the puppet-masters would soon all reveal themselves. Let them speak. Any that step forward to talk are simply marking themselves as targets. The undead will crumble the moment their living masters fall...

He saw no reason not to instigate them a bit; drawing them out a bit quicker. "And tell me, my dear, if you did not intend to harm any of us what was the point of coming here so heavily armed? And what of our third judge? Are you claiming he is ...unharmed?"

The mare looked down at him with glowing red flames that burned in place of eyes for every one of Ardent's soldiers. "I suppose that was a bit misleading. My apologies. We had no intention of harming anyone. However, we knew we would not be taken seriously if we did not at least appear capable of intimidation... Of course, spears and clubs are of little concern to one such as you, Master Star Swirl. Naturally, no one in the room is in any real danger. You could put a stop to this all with the blink of an eye if you wanted, yes?" She smiled, though its sincerity was questionable at best.

The old unicorn gave the thought a moment's consideration. "...Perhaps you'd like to put that theory to the test, Miss...?"

Her smile widened. "How rude of me, I've completely forgotten my manners." She pulled back her hood, revealing a head completely covered by black and white makeup. They bone dust and the black designs drawn into it were obscured only by a simply-cut black mane of, likely dyed that shade to complete the effect. She did indeed lack a horn, as the old unicorn had suspected. "My name is Solace, and I am the lieutenant in command of this branch of Master Ardent's army." Her eyes continued to burn, but the face that contained them seemed to soften significantly, as if giving her name had brought her a great sense off relief.

This time it was Clover who spoke up. "Solace, please, you have our attention. There is no need to keep the these good citizens locked up here any longer. Let them leave and we will continue without fear of violence. I'm very eager to get to the bottom of all of this; I promise you there is a peaceful solution to all of this."

The earth pony's smile quickly faded into the beginnings of a dejected frown. "I'm sorry... I truly am. But that simply isn't an option. If it were up to me we would have simply done this quietly, without involving anyone unrelated to the incident. But I have my orders, and I intend to stick to them." Again the soothing tone of her voice washed over the courtroom.

"Your orders? You no longer have a leader. Ardent is... I mean you saw what happened here. You don't have to do this anymore."

"I'm afraid you're missing the bigger picture here, my dear." Star Swirl began to step forward, examining Clover's barrier as he went on. "Guilty or not, Ardent came in here with an army and attempted to overthrow the authority of this court. What's more, assuming I heard Miss Solace correctly, this is merely one branch of a much larger force that he put together... So then I have to wonder just what it is that is going on outside while we're all trapped in here."

Solace motioned for the now one-handed minotaur to come to her. He left the front of the dais with a look of blind fury still plastered on his face, but made no effort to resist her beckoning. He reached with his good arm as she walked to the edge of the stands and onto his outstretched hand. He effortlessly brought her down to the floor of the courtroom as if she weighed no more than a feather. From there she made her way over to the two remaining judges; never once taking her eyes off the the old bearded unicorn.

She stood at the base of the dais, admiring the barrier with a discerning eye. "You unicorns really can work truly wonderful feats with your magic. Such beauty and such power. Spells like this are something that deserve to be shared with the whole world. Spells that keep others safe. That prevent harm. That make life better for everyone..."

She looked up at Clover, the flames that made up her eyes dancing brightly in their sockets. "And yet with all this power, with the ability to do so much good, your kind still sees fit to keep its secrets locked away from the rest of us. Those you view as inferior are left to fend for themselves. To toil in the fields, forage in the mountains, and starve in the streets while you live in comfort and prosperity behind your walls."

She looked back to Star Swirl. "Then, when somepony finally comes along who is not afraid to use his powers to help those in need; to end their suffering and even challenge death itself for them when necessary, you have him attacked in the night and dragged away from his research so that he might stand trial for crimes that you yourself are just as guilty of."

Star Swirl continued to meet her gaze through the barrier. A preliminary scan of the energy it consisted of had left him with a fairly good idea of how the spell worked. Now it was just a matter of waiting until the precise moment to use that knowledge. "If you're here to accuse me of something, best get right to it rather than beating around the bush like this."

Clover looked over at her old master with uncertainty suddenly growing in her heart. "Ardent said the same thing... That he hadn't done anything you hadn't done. What did he mean? What are they talking about?"

"Yes, Star Swirl. What am I talking about? Why was it that Master Ardent was so eager to argue with you in front of such a large crowd? Why did he go to such lengths to keep everyone here focused on your actions?"

"Insanity, most likely."

In the blink of an eye Solace had thrown herself at the barrier, rearing on her hind legs and crashing her front hooves into the closest octagon between her and the old wizard. It held, barely even vibrating as the blow landed upon its translucent shell. "You know damn well why he did it! You know exactly what he was trying to prove! So tell them! Tell all of us just what it was the two of you were up to!"

Star Swirl remained unshaken. "Oh? I must admit its sounding more and more like your beloved master didn't see fit to actually share his reasons with you. If your so confident I've done something wrong, by all means reveal these unspeakable deeds to us! I'll not interrupt... Or is it just that you don't actually have the slightest idea why Ardent ordered you and your brethren here."

He took another step closer, placing his own hoof upon the barrier to mimic the positioning of hers. "Don't think for a second that I wanted things to play out this way. Ardent broke the laws of this kingdom and was to be punished for doing so. But he was, before anything else, my friend. I had no intention of letting him be put to death. Locked up, perhaps, kept out of sight and out of mind, but with all the comforts befitting someone of his rank and loyalty."

"You're a monster and you know it! Any good deeds you might have done are past and none of them are so great that they would overshadow the darkness you've spread throughout this kingdom!" The calm had left her voice entirely; the entrancing tones quickly turning to a spiteful growl full of anger and hate.

Yet through all of it, Star Swirl merely held his ground. She knows nothing. None of them do. They're just following the final orders Ardent gave them. "You still haven't told us what's happening out there. What is the rest of this army of yours doing while we're preoccupied in here?"

Her face darkened into a scowl to match her tone. "Waiting. They're to do nothing until their leader orders otherwise. But once that happens, they'll being tearing down this illusion of innocence and good nature you've set up. They'll set to work exposing you for what you are. And they'll make sure your greed and your vanity never puts the citizens of this kingdom in danger again."

"Truly? But I wonder, with Ardent no longer with us, who does that leave to give such an order?" His strength had was almost back. He could feel his energy returning as their verbal duel came to its climax. "He must have had someone chosen in case something like this had transpired."

Her scowl deepened. "You won't escape justice just because Master Ardent is dead."

"Clearly I will, since no one on the outside knows what has transpired in this room, and you can't report to this new leader of yours while I'm still alive." In the blink of an eye a barrier of solid gold light unfolded around each of the doors. The undead closest to them crumbled like marionettes who had suddenly had their strings cut.

Solace continued to stare him down, her panted face illuminated by the glow of his horn from the other side of Clover's shield. "I don't need to report anything."

"Oh no? And why is that? Surely none of these simpletons are in charge. You're the only one here with enough sense to lead them, but Ardent wouldn't have made such a fatal flaw as making you his second-in-command."

"And why not? You even said I'm the only one here with enough sense to lead."

This time he leaned in close, dropping his voice to little more than a whisper. "Because, my dear, you're an earth pony. And it is your place to serve, not to lead."

Solace's rage erupted as she attempted to batter down the barrier once more. "Then may your prejudice be your own sentencing! SOLDIERS! A-"

The crackle of electricity deafened the courtroom as Clover's wall exploded outward. The blast blew Solace back toward the glowing doors, slamming her into them with enough force to shatter wood and bone alike. As the doors themselves fell to pieces around her, the golden aura Star Swirl had created to trap her army inside began to drain the life from her broken body. She tried to scream but could do little more than gasp for breath as the magic withered her physical form.

Cries broke out from the crowd as the other cultists and their undead charges began to fall to the ground as well. The living members of Ardent's army suddenly found themselves bound by translucent gold chains, dragging them to the floor. They lay there, paralyzed but otherwise unharmed. When the chains brushed against the undead, however, their bodies fell to pieces at every point the magical bindings made contact with them.

Clover had been overwhelmed by the sudden assault on her mind. She collapsed on her desk as her spell shattered around her. All the while, Star Swirl had been slowly advancing on the place where Solace hung suspended in the air by his barrier ward.

"Forgive me, my dear, I'm afraid you misunderstood me once again." He strode forward slowly, deliberately. The wards would drain the life from her in a matter of minutes, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to gloat just a tiny bit before she ceased to exist. "I did not mean to belittle your race or even your own role in this little dance of ours."The flames in her eye sockets began to grow, burning more brightly as her life reached its final moments. "Its just simple fact. A unicorn might have been able to counter that little burst of magic, or even absorb it like your late master had attempted. But an earth pony or a pegasus has no natural means of defending itself in such a situation. That, is why you are unfit to lead such an army. Without magic, your grip on the situation can only extend so far."

Darkness set in as the pain finally began to subside. She took one last long, hateful gaze at the ancient unicorn walking toward her, and then finally gave in.

Master.... I've failed... Please. Forgive me...