Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum

by Xomniac

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human, Gore, Original Character, Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Iron Will, Gilda
Length: 135673

For centuries, the old races of Equus have slept, slumbering on and on for years on end. Now, at long last, they are being awakened. Beware, Equestria, the Age of Ponies has come to an end.

TV TROPES PAGE! Show it the love, people!

Tartarus: the fabled prison said to hold all of the demons of Equus at bay.

Few truly know what lies behind the impenetrable doors Cerberus guards. Some say that it is a pit, infinite in it's depth and darkness, from which there is no return. Other claim it to be a hellish plain, filled with fire and pain and suffering, to punish the demons for their sins.

All of them are wrong.

Tartarus is small. An inescapable cell for a single prisoner. But the tales about it's purpose are not false.

For this captive human holds the key to unleashing upon Equestria forces which have not been seen for centuries, forces which predate Equestria by many an age.

And soon, he shall be free.

EDIT: Featured on 5/25/14! SUH-WEEEEET!

[img]http://i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png[/img]

Published 2014-03-01 07:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-28 06:46:24 UTC

Chapter 1. The Beginning of the End

A.N. Well, here it is: My first story on FIMFiction. I hope it impresses everyone, because I intend to delve into some seriously uncharted waters. Thanks to Cade YYZ for being my beta!

And here, we, go.

-o-

“Equestria.”

“Home of the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, the Princess of the Moon, Luna, the Elements of Harmony, and Ponykind in general.”

“For centuries and centuries and centuries, Equestria has been peaceful. No war, no conflict, the people want for practically nothing. Truly a utopia.”

“But it wasn’t always like this, you know.” Discord continued aloud as he gazed down at the land arrayed before him.

After a moment of silence, the draconequus smirked sardonically. “Oh, what’s with that look on your face? Surprised that it was me giving the introduction? That I’m actually speaking to you directly? Oh, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m speaking so calmly, so serenely.”

Discord shrugged. “Well, what did you expect really? I’m the spirit of chaos! If I did everything in a predictable manner, I’d be right out of a job!”

He snapped his fingers and fell back into a conjured reclinable chair. “Ahhh, comfy! Anyways, where was I? Ah yes, I was telling you about the old times!”

He sighed nostalgically. “Believe me, those were the days. I can remember it clearly: The time before my imprisonment, stretching back even before the unification of the three tribes! Can you believe it? The time before Equestria itself!”

He summoned a cup of tea and began swirling it idly, staring into the murky liquid. “Back in those days, chaos was everywhere. But it wasn’t ME who caused it, oh no! This was the chaos of nature! Magic was WILD with life and possibilities around every corner! One day might be sunny, but the next could be a hurricane or a snowstorm, or what have you! Some places would be barren, others overridden with plants, and no one could control it! If you think the Everfree forest is impressive now, you should have seen it during it’s glory days!” He took a sip from the cup, taking out a good chunk of the porcelain, before tossing it over his shoulder.

“And the creatures!” He cried dramatically. “Oh, the creatures! Far more then there are now, and far more powerful to boot! They were magnificent! You could watch the chimaeras hunt in the fields, explore the ever extensive mines of the dwarves, why you could even take a stroll through the forest on the shoulders of an ent! I remember every month I’d go beneath the sea to sing with the merponies, racing through the water on sea serpents and laughing as we played tag with the water nymphs.” Discord smiled as he stared off into space, lost on memory lane. Then his smile turned into a melancholy frown. He stood up, dismissing the chair.

“Things have changed since then. They’re all gone. Sleeping, hidden away from prying eyes. I’m one of the few remaining things left from that glorious time. They didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not their fault...” His eyes narrowed menacingly. “No. If it’s anybodys fault...” He twisted his neck around and glared at the distant figure of Canterlot. “It’s theirs. Oh, sure, they didn’t want to hurt anybody, they did it all to protect their ‘precious little ponies’, but at what cost!?”

He swept his arms out, gesturing at the world below. “Look around! The wild beauty that was once nature! The essence of liberty that was once magic! Shackled! Chained and imprisoned! No longer do the winds blow on their own, singing as they dance across the land! No more do plants grow where they will, spreading their beauty to the rest of the world!” Discord sneered in disgust. “Now that brand of life is reviled. Look at the Everfree! One of the last bastions of wild magic in the world, nature incarnate, hated and feared! Branded as dangerous, ‘unnatural’ of all things!”

By this point, Discord was shaking with rage. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and calmed down. “Well, you know what? I say no more. I’m the spirit of chaos! It’s my job to shake things up every once in awhile, to maintain a sense of balance! Harmony’s had it’s fun, now it’s time we get back to the good old days!” A familiar wry grin played over his lips. “And I know just how to do it.”

He snapped his fingers again. Suddenly, he wasn’t in the sky anymore. Now he was in a cave. Dark, pitch-black, and vast. He was hovering in front of a pair of stone doors. They were huge, gargantuan! Stretching up and off into the darkness, they were covered in runes and symbols, ancient letters and words of immense power. Securely fastened across the doors were equally massive chains, holding the gates shut.

At the foot of the doors slumbered a giant dog. It had three heads, each snoring away, oblivious to the intruder that was so close to the gates they were assigned to protect.

Discord smirked up at the gates tauntingly. “The Gates of Tartarus. You read the summary, you know what’s inside. A being, a human, possessing immense power. Capable of resetting the status quo, returning the world to it’s natural state. He was imprisoned by the princesses for intending to do just such a thing, locked away from the rest of the world so that their subjects might continue to enjoy the existence they do today.”

Discord was silent as he stared up at his goal. “...you’re probably wondering by now, ‘Discord, if you’re so all powerful, why on Equus don’t you just snap your fingers and let the magic loose yourself? Why go to all this trouble?’” He bowed his head, hiding his face in shadows. “Well, you’re right on that point. I could do it.” He raised his hand, claws poised to change the world. “All it would take is a single snap, and bang! Everything goes back to how it once was. Everyone wakes up. The world is never the same. Just. One. Snap.”

Discord was silent a moment more before whipping his head up, a mad smile affixed upon his visage, hands splayed wide. “But where’s the fun in that!? That would be too easy! Why, I’d even go so far as to define it as cheating! Suuuure, I love to absolutely overwhelm the opposition at times, but hey, again, CHAOS!” He snapped his jaw shut and clamped his hands over his snout. He glanced down.

Cerberus was still sleeping soundly.

Discord heaved a sigh of relief and wiped his brow. “Whew! That was a close one! Anyways... I want a spectacle! A show like no other! And this guy?” He jerked his thumb towards the doors. “If he can’t deliver, I’ll eat my tail! But, well...” He tutted and shook his head. “I’m not just going to snap my fingers and let him out! No, that would be boring! All I’m going to do is set the stage...”

He snapped his fingers again and teleported back into the sky. “Now, before I do that, let me answer a question you’re all wondering: ‘Discord, when exactly is this all taking place!?’” The draconequus chuckled softly. “Well, dear readers, I’ll tell you. See, if you squint a bit and tilt your head just so...” He pointed towards the ground, where five minuscule figures could barely be seen leaving Canterlot. “You can make out little Twilight and her friends returning to Ponyville, intent on reclaiming the Elements of Harmony and re-imprisoning moi!

“So basically, right now we’re at the start of, what, Season Two, was it? I wouldn’t know. I don’t watch it that often, spoilers you know. Anyways, I’m about to start filling the world to the gills with my personal brand of chaos, but the mayhem I’m causing? Well, it won’t just be visible! Sure, what I’m doing that can be seen will be bad, but what is not seen?” Discord chuckled malevolently. “That’s what will really shake things up.”

Discord raised his claws, fingers prepped to snap. “As the great northern poet Robear Frost once said, ‘Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.’” Discord paused and grimaced. “Wait, Ro- what?! Hang on a second!” He whipped a script out and began flipping through it. “Let’s see, let’s see, blah blah blah, ‘great northern po-’ I, just, what!? A polar bear pun!? And it’s not even good!” He shook his head in disgust as he tossed the script away. “Ugh, who the hell writes that kind of drivel!?”

Discord dusted his hands off before smirking again. “Anyways, what I was trying to say is that some people think that the world will end with a whimper, others with a bang or fire or ice, but do you know what the beginning of the end of the world begins with?”

He grinned maniacally, holding his claws up.

“It begins with this.”

SNAP!

The world around him shifted. Roads turned to soap, the sun and moon went haywire, Ponyville itself fell into madness.

But unseen, the consequences were far more dangerous. The latent magic of the world, long since frozen and immobile, cracked. Places went wild, nature kicking itself into high gear, arcane forces warping the very fabric of reality in a manner invisible to the naked eye.

However, as dramatic as these changes were, they did little to compare to the most discreet changes of all. Nobody anywhere could possibly have watched as the pieces were set in motion that would end the world as they knew it.

-o-

Behind the gates of Tartarus, the sole cell was a huge cavern, as deep and as wide as the Canterlot ballroom. Strung across this huge area of empty space was an extensive array of chains, crisscrossing and connecting in seemingly random ways.

In the dead center of the room, a humanoid figure was bound by the chains. They encircled every part of his body, suspending him high in the air with his arms splayed wide. There was no slack, no give, no means of struggling. The figure was well and truly trapped.

He was clad in dull grey monk robes, the cloth hiding every inch of his body. Upon the robes were written line after line of rune, each alien and complex. Beneath his hood, his face was obscured by shadows. All that could be seen were a pair of large, circular glasses that hid his eyes.

For the longest time, he just hung there. He didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Had a person been looking at him, they’d have said without any doubt in their minds that he was a corpse.

They would have been shocked beyond all belief to see his eyes crack open.

His eyes could only be seen because of how they shined. An unearthly light, flowing out of his eyes and lighting up his glasses, turning them into discs of light that further obscured his face.

The figure was silent for a moment, gazing neutrally into the abyss of chains.

Finally, unseen to the world, a small smile tugged at his lips.

“Discord.” He whispered. “You want a show, huh? Alright. Let’s put on a show.”

The man drew in a deep breath, and then exhaled just as deeply. Another moment of silence, before finally, for the first time since it’s creation, light touched the inside of Tartarus.

The runes on the man’s cloak lit up, an array of hundreds of varying colors. They began to move, drifting and twirling around the man. Some even lifted off of him, floating ethereally around his body. Some touched the chains and were immediately dispelled, but the rest continued to flow around him. On him.

He opened his eyes. Once anew, his glasses lit up, but unlike before they displayed runes, flashing through them at lightning speeds, one after another after another. Any other seeing would have been driven mad trying to follow their erratic patterns. He looked them over boredly as though reading the Sunday paper.

The man hummed idly to himself. “This was a good prison, Celestia.” He mused. “A work of art. It’s a shame I have to demonstrate the flaws present in it.” The man’s eyes narrowed, brimming with intensity. “But I have a duty to do. And nothing, not these chains, not those doors, and certainly not you, will ever, ever! Be capable of stopping me from fulfilling it.”

The runes floating around him halted, standing at attention, before zipping in front of him. They arranged themselves in a circular pattern, forming intricate lines and designs within the shape.

A Runic Array. An ancient method of magic, long lost for centuries, last practiced by Star Swirl The Bearded. At least, as far as Equestria’s best and brightest knew.

How were they to know that this man was the most powerful Rune Keeper in existence?

The man’s smile evolved into a smirk. “The first flaw in your attempt to imprison a person till the end of time, Lady White-wash? Not checking to make sure that they had a back-up plan.”

The Array pulsed, sending out an intangible wave of energy. It would travel far and wide, searching and searching, until finally, it reached its targets.

-o-

Deep in a forest, untouched by the chaos Discord was wreaking, a pony, a unicorn, slept just off the path. She was exhausted from the long day she had spent walking. So deep was the unicorn’s slumber that not even a roaring Ursa Major could have woken her.

So it was to her great surprise that she was suddenly awoken, fully revitalized. She whipped her head around swiftly, trying to find out who had ended her slumber. “Who-wha-!” Suddenly, she snapped her jaws shut in shock. She had caught sight of her hat, lying a foot away from her. But that wasn’t what shocked her.

What shocked her was that a light was emanating from within the hat.

“Sweet mother of Hecate.” She whispered. “Is it possible?!” In a flash, her horn lit up, engulfing her hat in a magical aura. She began violently jerking the hat around, intent on dislodging whatever was causing the light from it. Finally, the source of the light dropped out. Before the object could touch the ground, she had it gripped in her magic. Her jaw dropped wide as she looked it over.

It was a medallion, about three inches across. Made from a gleaming silver metal, the light was emanating from the intricate Runic Array inscribed upon its surface.

The unicorn could do little else then stare at the glowing piece of metal. “The Awestruck and Amazed Trixie cannot believe her eyes...” She breathed. Slowly, her mouth curved up into a euphoric smile. “It’s time, it’s finally finally time!”

-o-

It was a foggy evening in Loondon. There were few people up and about in the cobbled streets. Most had chosen to retire early and sleep away the hours until the sun shone again.

One griffin, however, was awake. She was perched on the sill of her apartment’s window, glaring vindictively at the few passerby still out and about, illuminated by the streetlights.

More specifically she was glaring at any ponies that happened to pass by, bedecked in their fancy clothes and finery. A fair sight better than most of the griffins that walked or flew by, wearing simple, utilitarian vestments.

Her beak twisted into a sneer. She hopped off the window back into her apartment, muttering to herself as she walked. “Damn ponies, damn Equestria. They have no right to be here, no right to have so much. Venti take them, one of these days, I swear I-!” She cut herself off as she passed by a dresser.

Slowly, haltingly, she turned her head to affirm what she had seen.

Just as she thought. The dresser had something shining in it.

Faster than a heartbeat, the griffin pounced on the dresser, tearing into it with her talons like it was a raw carcass. Finally, after much crashing, ripping and smashing, she shakily withdrew her prize.

A golden amulet, runes glowing and illuminating her living space.

She stared at it in silence, dumbfounded, before finally...

“Ha. Hahaha...hahaHAHAHAHA!” She tilted her head back as she roared in laughter. “JUST YOU WAIT, YOU DWEEBS!” She cried joyously. “GILDA BEHERTZ IS GOING TO SHOW YOU JUST WHAT THE GRIFFINS ARE MADE OF!”

-o-

It was a cold, gloomy night in Stalliongrad. Hidden by the shadows of the buildings around him, a single huge minotaur clopped through the streets, walking silently towards his destination.

Passing by an alleyway, he glanced inside. Through the darkness, he could make out three others of his kind, clad in rags and haggard with hunger. They were huddled together against the cold.

The minotaur sighed and shook his head sadly as he continued to walk.

Suddenly, somebody bumped into him from behind. The somebody turned out to be a shorter, scrawnier minotaur. He mumbled an apology and sidestepped the person he’d bumped into, trying to accelerate ahead.

However, before he could start to run, he was stopped by a heavy hand darting out and clamping on to his bony shoulder. “Hang on there, friend.”

The smaller minotaur swallowed heavily as he turned around and looked up at the larger being. “P-please, T-tin Hoof is sorry!” He shakily held out his other hand, proffering the bits he’d stolen. “Y-you can have them back, just please, don’t hurt Tin Hoof!”

The larger minotaur shook his head. “That’s not why Iron Will stopped you.” The big blue minotaur dug around in his pockets with his other hand. Finally, he withdrew it and holding out a hefty coin purse to the amazed Tin Hoof. “Iron Will stopped you because you forgot the rest.”

Tin Hoof slowly reached out and held the coin pouch reverently in his hands. He snapped his eyes back up to Iron Will’s full of awe. “Th-thank you Iron Will! Tin Hoof will never forget this kindness.”

Iron WIll grinned widely and flashed him a thumbs up. “Good for you! And always remember: If you can aid others in need, never give in to greed!”

Tin Hoof nodded energetically. “Tin Hoof won’t, Iron Will, Tin Hoof won’t!” The smaller minotaur dashed past Iron Will, ducking into the alley. Moments later, the sounds of cheering erupted from within.

Iron Will smiled at the sound for a few seconds before his mood grew dour. “May Gaia look after you, Tin Hoof.” He mumbled as he turned around and kept walking. “May Gaia look after us all.”

He walked for a few more feet before he became aware of a fact that made him halt in his tracks.

Looking down, he stared wonderously at the glow emanating from his pocket.

Slowly, Iron Will reached in and drew out a glowing object.

He gaped slightly at the glowing bronze disc he held in the palm of his hand.

Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the metal. “Or maybe...” He whispered reverently, “It’s time the minotaur’s looked after themselves.”

-o-

Beyond the borders of Equestria, deep beneath the ancient Badlands, there lay a multitude of tunnels. For centuries, they had been long abandoned. Not a soul walked through their dark, chitinous walls. Not a hint of light gleamed off the carapace-like surfaces.

Until today.

Today, slowly, surely, the old lights were re-lit. Ancient sacks and veins of viscous liquid began to glow a sickly green color, illuminating the ancient hive for the first time in many a lifetime.

Suddenly, one of the sacks began to move. It shook and shuddered, whatever was inside it trying to escape.

Finally, with a loud SQUELCH! The sack split open, spilling its contents onto the floor. Amidst the noxious liquid, a pony-like form encased in a rough exoskeleton slowly clambered to its feet.

The changeling chirped and chittered, looking around with it’s big blank eyes. All of a sudden, it’s attention was drawn above itself, where with a SCHLICK! Another burst, letting loose the changeling within. It took a step back, very nearly missing being flattened by it’s falling brethren. The two stared at each other emotionlessly for a second before more noises called for their attention.

SQUIRP! SCHLOCK! SQUIRCH!

Again and again, with rising speed and intensity, the noise could be heard as the changeling hive saw life for the first time in what might as well have been an eternity, awakening creatures that had not been seen in Equus for so long that they had been forgotten.

Amidst all of these rebirths, however, none were quite so dramatic as what occurred at the very heart of the hive.

Surrounded by glowing walls of carapace and membrane, there stood a swirled pillar of chitin. a cocoon, glowing with ancient, ethereal power. The cocoon stood, casting an aura of imperious might and superiority, when suddenly-

CRACK!

-a fissure ran up it’s side. There was a moment of silence-

CR-CRACK!

-before another crack joined it.

KEER-ACK!

And another.

CRA-A-ACK!

And another. Slowly, surely, the cracks cobwebbed across the pillar. Green light shone out of the openings, casting shadows across the chamber. Finally, after years of ceaseless vigil-

BANG!

-the cocoon exploded outwards in a blast of green energy, casting bits and pieces of chitin around the entire around the chamber. Where the cocoon had once stood, there remained a single being. An alicorn-esque figure shakily ascended to her hooves. Tall, powerful, clad in gleaming black armor. Long strips of membrane hung from the back of her neck, acting as a mane. With powerful, lanky legs, strong insectoid wings, and imperious gleaming fangs, the figure exuded an aura of pure power.

For the first time since the hive had fallen asleep, Queen Chrysalis, ruler and mother of the changelings, was conscious once more.

Chrysalis panted heavily, trying to regain her balance. “I...I’m awake.” She whispered. “B-but how? I...I felt myself fall asleep... felt... the hive...” She gasped and snapped her neck up. “The hive!”

Acting swiftly, she cast her mind out, feeling the psyches of the other beings, her children and subjects that were within her domain. ‘Chitter?’ She mentally cried out. ‘Creeper? Swift Fang? Please, someone answer me!”

But for once, the queen’s demands went unheeded. All she found was an eerie silence.

Fluttering her wings in agitation, Chrysalis reeled from the implications. “T-they’re still asleep. Their bodies are awake, but their minds are still asleep. L-like revenants.” She shook her head head desperately and began pacing back and force on the chitinous dais. “T-this doesn’t make any sense! Why!? Why did the hive wake up, now of all times! Why did I wake up! T-the only possible reason why would be...would...be...”

Chrysalis slowly trailed off as she took notice of something that she had overlooked in her agitation.

She was being illuminated not only by the natural green lights of the hive, but by a white light, shining down on her from above.

“I don’t believe it...” She whispered as she slowly raised her head. “It’s not possible...”

But it was. There, impressed into the wall, was a huge circle of metal. Five feet across and carved from the darkest of obsidian, the Runic Array it bore shined brightly in the gloom of the chamber.

For the longest time, all Chrysalis could do was stare at the disc above her, eyes and jaws wide in shock. Finally, she collapsed, her head bowed as her body was racked with sobs.

“T-thank you!” She whispered shakily, tears of joy running down her face. “A-apate, Hermes, N-nyx, thank you!”

The only sound to be heard in the hive was that of the pure elation of the queen, as she cried joyously for the revival of her kind.

-o-

‘Well, there you have it.’ Discord thought. ‘The stage is set, the balls are rolling, the pawns are in place, blah blah blah. Now all we have to do is set it to simmer, let the whole thing cook for awhile and BAM! Un fin du monde, fresh out of the oven! That’s Prench for “One end of the world”, by the by.’

‘Of course it’ll-GAH! ACK! Damn it all, get off of me you stupid pigeon! Off I say, off! Nonono, don’t you even think about and it’s all over my horn, perfect. Well this is shaping up to be a fun time. Eurgh, three guesses where I am, the first two don’t count.’ Discord would have rolled his eyes, but was impeded by the fact that his eyeballs, like every inch of his body, were made of marble.

“Yeah, they got me again. Flashed me stiff and left me to...mildew, I’m going to say they left me to mildew. Feh, what does it matter, anyways? I’ve already set things up so that there’s no way that I’ll be bored! Suuuure, it’ll take awhile, months in fact, before he’s free, but it will happen, mark my words! Hmm? What’s with that look on your faces?...Ooooooh, you thought-hahaha! Ah, don’t worry, I meant months on my end, not yours! For you, it’ll be, eeeeh, two or three chapters? Give or take. Depends on whether or not the author can get off his lazy ass and actually do something constructive instead of surfing the web all day.”

A.N. Fuck you too, Discord.

‘Wow, we are just taking a hammer to the fourth wall, huh? Welp! Anyways! That’s it for this chapter, and my part in the story! Don’t worry, you’ll see me again in a few chapters, he couldn’t keep me out if he tried, but for now...’ Had Discord retained any of his flesh, he would have been bearing a shit-eating grin. One acquired from personal experience courtesy of the pigeons.

‘You’re a riot.’

A.N. I try.

‘ANYWAYS! As I was saying...now is when things get serious.’

To be continued...

‘Really? That is such a cliché!’

At that moment, a pigeon happened to fly above Discord’s mouth and relieve itself directly into his gaping jaws.

‘...you win this round, Xomniac. You win this round.’

Author's Note

Well, here it is! I hope you liked it! Leave me your reviews and tell me what you think!

Chapter 2. Setting the Stage

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3. Crazy Train on a Highway to Hell

There was no conversation between the individuals as they flew towards their target.

As they approached the train, Iron Will noticed several darkened shapes flying above it. He silently pointed them out to the rest. Trixie nodded and lit her horn up. The air around them briefly shimmered before settling.

They easily flew by the bat-winged Night Guard unimpeded.

Approaching the train, the fliers slowed down and landed on the roof of one of the carriages.

Trixie shivered and raised a shield in front of her face. “Yeesh, this wind is atrocious!”

Iron Will nodded, unperturbed by the hostile environment. “All the more reason to get this over with.” He turned towards the insectoid queen. “Chrysalis, would you mind?”

She nodded emotionlessly and lit her own emaciated horn up. One of the changelings stood to attention before falling flat on the roof and crawling over the edge.

“And now we wait...” Gilda muttered as she watched it crawl off.

-o-

Mi Amore Cadenza hummed joyfully to herself as she danced around her train car. “This day is going to be perfect!” She sang. “The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small!”

She collapsed backwards onto her bed, giggling gleefully. “Oh, I can’t wait! I’ll be there soon, Shiny! Oh!” She darted up, her smile growing wider as a new thought struck her. “I bet that Twilight will be there too! I hope she remembers our old hoofshake!”

She jumped off the bed and wiggled around in the familiar motions. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" She squealed giddily. “Ooooh this is going to be great!”

“All of my old friends will be there too! Celestia, Luna, Ch-!” The pink alicorn suddenly cut herself off, her mood souring instantly. She was silent for a moment before shaking her head vigorously. “Don’t think about it, Cadance. Those days are long gone,” She lit her horn up, grabbed a nearby bottle and proceeded to pour herself a glass of Johnny Trotter. “Long gone.” She emphasized as she drained the glass in a single gulp.

Suddenly, a flash of green in the corner of her eye caught her attention. However, when she whipped her head around, all she saw was an empty window, the Salt Lick Flats silently flashing by outside.

She blinked in confusion before silently shaking her head. “Just your imagination, Cadance. Just like every other time...” She took a swig of scotch directly from the bottle.

One of the major downsides of immortality: over time, it became really, really hard to get hammered even if you wanted to be. A fact that was extremely inconvenient when all you wanted to do was forget.

-o-

Chrysalis was quiet as her child crawled back onto the roof. “She’s in the caboose. Besides that, there are four other guards. Two unicorns patrolling along the cars, two earth ponies guarding her carriage,” She snorted derisively. “For the record, I am going to have a really hard time imitating the bubblegum princess.”

“Irrelevant,” Iron Will stated. “You’re aiming to get caught anyways. You don’t need to be flawless, just convincing enough until the ceremony. By then, it’ll be all eyes on you. After that...”

Chrysalis nodded solemnly. “I know, I know,” She sighed heavily. “At least she’s got a well-stocked bar, I get the feeling I’m going to need it.”

“Alright, whatever,” Gilda interjected. “So, how do we get this little shindig started?”

“Actually!” Trixie interjected. “The Tactical and Calculating Trixie shall handle things from here! After all, smoke and mirrors are Trixie’s speciality!”

“What do you have in mind?” Chrysalis inquired.

Trixie smirked sadistically in response.

-o-

Iron Vigilance repressed a yawn as he trotted slowly through the empty carriage. The Princesses had rented out the entire train for security purposes, but they still wanted their soldiers to remain on guard, just in case.

‘Honestly,’ Vigilance mentally groaned as he walked out between the carriages. ‘This is ridiculous! For Celestia’s sake, she’s a Princess! There isn’t a single pony in all of Equestria stupid enough to try starting anything with them!’

Vigilance stopped and sighed as he gazed out over the passing Flats. ‘Then again, it’s not exactly my place to complain. Orders are orders, I just follow them. Just gotta keep a sharp eye out! As my grandpappy always says, “Constant-!”’

His train of thought was abruptly cut off when he was snatched off his hooves and had his head slammed into the carriage wall so fast he didn’t even have time to blink.

-o-

Gilda tutted mockingly as she held the limp pony in her talons. “Honestly now, letting a fully grown griffon clad in armor sneak up on you? This guy needs to learn how to keep a better eye out!”

Trixie chuckled. “Trixie agrees completely. Now then!” She clopped her hooves together. “Strip him nude. And Chrysalis? It’s time for phase two!”

-o-

Adamant Faith strode confidently through the train car. His mind was set solely on his patrol. ‘Alright, Vigilance should be coming through that door right...about...’

The carriage door opened and Iron Vigilance strode through.

‘There he is. Right on time, just as usual.’

Adamant nodded at his stony-faced comrade as they crossed paths. However, something made Adamant slow down slightly.

His face twisted in confusion as he sniffed a bit. “Hey, Vigilance, can you smell that? Smells like, I don’t know, an insect or somet-”

That was all he was able to get out before something tackled him from behind and the world devolved into a blur of black, chitin, fangs and pain.

-o-

Chrysalis sighed as she looked down at the twitching form of the guard. “That was so easy it was almost sad. Maybe he’ll learn not to be so trusting in the future.”

Iron Will withheld a chuckle. “Iron Will finds it hard not to agree.” He looked over at his equine comrade. “So, what next?”

“Now?” Trixie responded eagerly. “Now Trixie takes center stage! Follow Trixie!” she turned and trotted towards the caboose. However, she stopped after taking a few steps. “Oh! Trixie almost forgot!” She raised her hoof and waved it around. “Help Trixie get this armor off, would you?”

-o-

Stone Heart and Steel Resolve were silent as they stood guard over the Princess’s carriage. They were the perfect model of a guard. Unflappable, immovable, solid as statues, nothing surprised them.

Nothing, that is, until the door to the carriage in front of them burst open and a flustered mare tumbled out. “Oh! Excuse Trixie! Oh dear! So sorry” She cried as fell in front of them.

In a flash, the two assumed their trained ready-positions, prepared for anything. “Identify yourself!” Stone Heart commanded brazenly.

“Oh! Yes yes yes, of course!” The mare exclaimed as she slowly climbed to her hooves.

Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as she did so.

The mare before them...was gorgeous! With her awe-inspiring blue coat, alluring shimmering eyes, and the way her mane seemed to flow like liquid mithril, she was the very epitome of beauty. Not even one of the Princesses could begin to compare.

“Please excuse Trixie,” She said softly, her voice tinkling like a thousand bells. “Trixie is so sorry for the inconvenience, she just so happened to get a teensy bit lost is all.”

Steel Resolve swallowed heavily. “A-ah, that’s alright ma’am! W-would you mind giving me your name?”

The two soldiers felt their hearts skip a beat as the enchanting mare before them gave off simply the most beautiful laugh they’d ever heard. “Oh, but Trixie would so much rather hear your names instead!” She fluttered her eyelashes daintily. “If it’s not too much trouble?”

“S-stone Heart milady!” Stone exclaimed.

“And I’m Steel Resolve!” his comrade interjected. “But you can call me Steel!” This earned him a glare from his partner.

The hostilities ceased immediately when the enchanting mare before them giggled again. “Such fine,” the two caught their breaths as she sidled up close to them, “strong names. My name,” she breathed in Stone Heart’s ear, “Is the Beautiful, and Alluring, Trixie.”

Stone Heart swallowed heavily. “A beautiful name for a beautiful mare-hrk!” He withheld a grunt and scowled at Steel Resolve as he withdrew his hoof from his side.

“S-so, Miss Trixie,” Steel Resolve asked. “W-what brings you here?”

Trixie sighed mournfully, a truly heart-shattering noise, as she trotted in front of them. “Ah, how Trixie wishes she could tell you! Trixie is a travelling mare, you see, wandering where the wind will blow her. One second she is having the most wonderful times in Las Pegasus, the next, poof! She is here, afraid, scared, alone...” She emphasized the last word, making it sound like the most tragic word ever uttered by ponykind.

“Y-you don’t need to be scared!” Stone Heart exclaimed.

“Yeah! I’ll protect you!” Steel Resolve concluded. Stone Heart glared at his friend.

“No, I will!”

“I will!”

“Boys!” They both snapped their jaws shut and whipped their heads towards Trixie. “You can both protect Trixie!”

The two broke out into a pair of love-struck grins. “Okay!”

“Now...” She nodded her head back towards the door she’d walked through. “Why don’t we move to somewhere more...private?”

The guards expressions dropped simultaneously. “W-we can’t...” Stone Heart stuttered.

“We need to guard the Princess...” Steel Resolve lamented.

Trixie’s expression dropped. Her bottom lip quivered as she tilted her head to the side, the moonlight flashing silver in the bottomless pools that were her eyes. “Pleeeease?”

Steel Resolve and Stone Heart’s hearts all but stopped. They glanced at each other quickly.

“A few seconds couldn’t hurt.”

“Just five minutes. Nothing more.”

Trixie squealed joyfully. She wheeled around and faced the door. “Great! Let’s go and find somewhere a bit more...” Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as Trixie walked, her exquisite flank shaking just so. She glanced back at them, eyes filled with lust. “Comfortable.”

Stone and Steel glanced at each other again as she trotted through the door. Then they pelted after her like hounds out of Tartarus.

A few steps into the carriage, it became apparent that something was wrong.

It was immediately obvious when the door slammed shut behind them as they entered. Wheeling around, their hearts dropped as they stared up into the eyes of a griffon and a minotaur.

The griffon, a female, was chuckling sadistically as she cracked the knuckles in her talons. “Hello boys,” She taunted.

The minotaur smirked at them as he mirrored her movements. “How nice of you to join us.”

The two tried to back away, but stopped when they bumped into something. They shakily turned their heads and all but pissed themselves as a pair of sickly green eyes glared down at them.

The eyes narrowed menacingly and leaned in closer.

“Boo.”

The two didn’t even have time to scream.

-o-

Chrysalis shook her head as the two earth ponies groaned in pain. “This is pathetic. Has the quality of the guard dropped so much over the years?”

Gilda snorted derisively. “Lady, the last war Equestria saw? It was fought with pies. By civilians!”

Chrysalis stared at her deadpan. “Are you- cough! Hack!” Chrysalis collapsed as another fit racked her body. “Gragh! Damn this blasted harmony!” She wheezed. “If it weren’t clogging the air, I could get my powers back and conquer this pathetic nation myself!”

“That’s why we’re doing this.” Trixie intervened. “We get him out, and then he can free the magic up again. You and your hive will be able to breathe freely. We all will.”

Chrysalis panted heavily for a moment before nodding “Fine. Fine! So now what? Do we take her down?”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “A griffon, a unicorn, a minotaur, a crippled Queen and her entourage against an Alicorn. Sounds like a bad joke.”

Trixie nodded in agreement. “That’s because it is. We need to continue our ploy. Gilda!”

The griffon blinked in surprise. “Yeah?”

“Did you learn that trick you told Trixie you read about and that Trixie told you to figure out?”

Gilda frowned. “Yeah, why-?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Oh! That...do you think you can do it?”

The unicorn nodded. “Trixie most certainly hopes she can! Alright, listen up!” Her comrades leaned in.

“Here’s how we’re going to do this...”

-o-

Cadance was dozing peacefully on her bed, trying to forget the old, unwanted memories she’d stirred up. Suddenly, she was awakened by a ruckus arising outside her door.

“Ma’am, no! You can’t! Stop right there!”

“Please! I-I neeeed to meet with her! I-I’m begging you!”

“He said no, la-!” THUD! “OW! GRAB HER!”

“Pleeeeeease!”

Cadance got to her hooves and dashed to the door, slamming it open. “What is going on...out here!?”

Cadance stared dumbfounded at the sight before her. Steel Resolve and Stone Heart were struggling to hold down a unicorn mare who was putting on a vicious struggle.

The mare was...not ugly, but not particularly attractive either. Her blue coat was disheveled, and her mane and tail were particularly frizzy, sticking out at odd ends. Oddly enough, she had a feather stuck behind one of her ears.

Stone Heart’s head snapped up and he caught sight of Cadance. “Princess! My apologies, we don’t know where she came from, we’ll-GAH!” He cried out as a stray hoof lashed out and caught him on the chin. “Damn it, hold still you little-!”

“Steel, Stone, stand down!” Cadance commanded firmly.

The two guards stood back and let the mare scramble to her hooves.

“Now!” She said. “Could someone please explain to me what’s going on!?”

The mare fell into a sloppy courtesy. “P-princess! I-it’s an honor!”

The guards snapped into a salute. “Milady!” Steel Resolve said. “This person stowed away on the train and attempted to intrude on your carriage!”

“N-no!” The mare exclaimed. “I-it’s not like that!” She whipped her head around towards the Princess. “Y-your highness, m-my name is T-trixie! Trixie L-lulamoon. I-I’m sorry for w-what I d-did, I know it was w-wrong, b-b-but...”

Cadance blinked in confusion. “But? Please, why did you-?”

“I-I needed to meet you!” Trixie blurted out. “T-I’ve been your biggest fan f-for so long, so w-when I saw t-the opportunity to m-meet with you-!”

“Alright, that’s enough out of you!” Stone Heart said gruffly as he and Steel took her by the shoulders. “We’re going to find a nice carriage for you to sit in for the rest of the ride. Then, we’ll hand you over to the nice ice-cream stallions from the Canterlot Mental Hospital when we arrive.”

Trixie immediately began struggling again. “N-no, wait, please! No!”

“Hold it!” Cadance exclaimed.

The three ponies paused and stared at her.

“Please, let her go.”

The guards gaped at her in shock. “Wh-! Milady, we can’t advise-!”

Cadance cut them off by holding her hoof up. “She’s just an overenthusiastic fan. There’s no harm. She went to all this trouble to meet with me, it would be wrong to turn her away now.” She smiled kindly at Trixie.

Trixie returned the smile, a slight twitch appearing on the left side of her mouth. “Th-thank you, your highness! This is...truly an honor!”

Cadance giggled lightly. “It’s quite alright, my friend.”

Stone Heart was adamant. “Princess-!”

“Stone Heart, please.” She said. “I understand your concern, but I’ll be fine. Look, if you want to help, why don’t you go and get us something to eat? The attendants at the last station forgot to provide any food in my carriage and the poor thing sounds like she’ll be sick any second!”

Trixie’s eye twitched viciously all of a sudden.

“Have you considered getting that looked at?” Cadance asked curiously.

Trixie’s smile stretched ever so slightly and her eye twitched again. “Y-yes. I-it’s fine, doesn’t act up often.”

“Oh, that’s great! Would you care to come in?” Cadance gestured into her carriage.

“G-gladly!” Trixie exclaimed as she trotted in.

“Milady-!”

“Thank you, Steel Resolve, that will be all.” Cadance cut him off as she shut the door. She sighed tiredly. “I apologize for that. They mean well, but I swear that Shiny chose the most oppressive guards he could find for my security detail!”

“I-it’s fine, they d-didn’t hurt me.”

“Good. It’s just...I know that Shiny means well, he worries and I love him for it, but honestly! Who would try and hurt me? Even if someone had a problem with me, I’m sure I could easily handle it without violence!”

Trixie’s eye twitched again. “T-that sounds...wonderful.”

Cadance looked at her in worry. “Are you sure you’re alright? Your voice really doesn’t sound well.”

Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “I-it’s nothing! J-just a b-bit of motion s-sickness is all.”

“Oh! Well in that case, would you like me to pour you a drink? It might help you settle your stomach!”

Trixie nodded enthusiastically. “O-oh yes p-please!”

Cadance giggled at Trixie’s antics as she trotted over to the bar. “So, Trixie,” She said as she got the glasses out. “Why exactly did you need to meet with me so desperately?”She asked as she turned around and levitated a glass over to her new friend.

Trixie accepted the glass eagerly. “T-thank you!” She drained it in a single gulp. “Ah! That’s d-delicious! A-anyways, T-I-I wanted to m-meet with you to t...t-t-t,”

“Motion sickness again?” Cadance asked worriedly.

“Sure, y-yes, that. Look, I wanted t-to meet you so that I c-could...t-thank you.” Trixie finally managed to spit out.

Cadance blinked in shock. “Thank me? But I’ve never met you before!”

Trixie nodded her head in agreement. “N-no, you haven’t, b-but you still h-helped me!” Her horn lit up as she levitated the feather out from behind her ear. “T-this feather. I-it belongs to Trixie’s special someone.”

The pink Princess tilted her head in confusion. “Don’t you mean somepony?”

Trixie shook her head shyly. “N-no.”

Cadance was silent for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “Oh. Oh! Oh!” The Princess was rather surprised. While not non-existent or forbidden, inter-species relationships were notoriously rare. “I-congratulations!”

Trixie hid her smile behind her mane. “T-thank you. I-I l-l-loved her for a l-long time. I-I wanted to tell her so much, but I-I just c-couldn’t. T-then...” She turned her smile up towards Cadance. “I-I prayed to y-you for s-strength and c-courage. A-and then...” She smiled dreamily at the feather. “She g-gave me this. As a s-symbol of our l..l-l-love...”

Cadance smiled kindly at her. “I’m so happy for you! I wish you both the happiest and most prosperous of futures!”

Trixie chuckled. “Th-thank you. S-say...” She levitated the feather over to Cadance. “W-would you like to feel it? I-it’s the s-softest t-thing I-I’ve ever felt...”

Cadance giggled pleasantly. “I would be honored.” she raised her hoof, extending it to touch the soft vane of the feath-

ZAP!

Cadance’s eyes shot wide in horror as an electric shock traveled the course of her body. She tried to move her body, her wings, use her magic.

Nothing.

‘Wh-what’s going on!?’ she cried out mentally.

To her shock, Trixie seemed to transform before her eyes. The timid, nervous look in her eyes washed away, replacing itself with a cold, cocky look, and her mouth twisted into a scowl. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to flatten out her coat and tame her mane. The filly that Cadance had gotten to know for a whole of three minutes was gone. In her place was a calm, self-assured mare.

“Urgh!” The unicorn exclaimed as she trotted past the paralyzed Alicorn to the door. Her voice had lost any and all trace of it’s previous stutter. “Trixie is so glad that you fell for that. Ten more seconds of that pure and utter manure and Trixie really would have puked!” she rapped her hoof on the carriage door. “It’s done!”

The door swung open and, to Cadance’s surprise, a griffon and a minotaur stepped and stooped through it respectively. However, while she was shocked by their species, she was terrified by something else about them.

Their armor. She knew that brand of armor, she knew it all too well.

And the implications of said armor’s re-appearance was too horrifying for words.

‘No...’ she mentally whimpered. ‘No, not them. Please, dear Celestia, anyone but them. Anyone but him!’

The griffon, unaware of the Alicorn’s distress, or perhaps all too aware of it, smirked at the unicorn. “So, Trixie? We’re lovers are we?”

“Trixie would sooner fall to her knees and worship Celestia’s glorious alabaster ass.” Trixie snarled. She trotted over to the bar, grabbed the bottle and took a swig. “Ah! Trixie is keeping this bottle! She needs to forget about this little stunt, desperately!”

“Hehehe.” The minotaur chuckled sardonically. “Now who’s putting on the interesting performances?”

“Shove it, Iron Will! Shove it somewhere painful!”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “Still though, how exactly did you manage to pull that off?”

Trixie sighed miserably as she took another swig. “Trixie has had more than enough fans over the years to learn how to imitate one. But that does not mean Trixie enjoyed it! Now shut your traps and let the Miserable and Ashamed Trixie drown her sorrow in peace!” she cried dramatically as she tilted the bottle back and began desperately draining it.

Cadance fought vigorously against her paralysis, but all she managed to do was get a few words out. “W-what d-did...”

“Well would you look at this!” the griffon leaned down and smirked at her terrified face. “She speaks! Impressive! Really says something about you Alicorns that you can work around that kind of a voltage. Just in case though...” The griffon plucked a feather out of her wing. Her gauntlets lit up in a sickeningly familiar pattern of runes, lightning engulfing the feather. When the light faded, the feather was unchanged. The griffon lightly brushed it along Cadance’s snout-

ZAP!

Causing her to whimper as another bolt of electricity ran through her, robbing her of her ability to speak.

“To answer your question,” the griffon gloated smugly. “That was a trick my ten-times great grand-dad Ignatius Behertz came up with. Took awhile to work out, can’t even begin to tell you how many times I shocked myself trying, but it looks like it paid off!”

“Of course it did, Gilda!” Trixie cried out, her voice slightly slurred. “It was all part of the Great and...great and... ah, whatever, it was all a part of Trixie’s plan, of course it worked! Hic!”

Gilda raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. “One bottle and you’re already hammered? How light-weight are you?”

“Not even a bit!” She protested, “Trixie just isn’t trying to resist alcohol’s sweet, tender embrace is all!”

“Enough!” Iron Will said. “Iron Will thinks it’s time we move this along.”

“Agreed! Hic!”

“Hehehehe, got it.” Gilda leered at Cadance. “We’ve got a friend who’s been dying to meet with you, Princess. Do you want to meet with her?”

“Mmm! Mmmm-mmm!” Cadance whimpered.

“Great!” Gilda turned her head towards the door. “Come on in!”

The carriage door re-opened, and to Cadance’s shock, Stone Heart, Steel Resolve and Iron Vigilance trotted through.

Her heart all but stopped as the trio of guards were engulfed with a familiar green fire. When the fire died away, her heart really die stop for a second. Left in their places were a trio of black, insectoid figures, all wearing the soldiers armor.

She knew what they were.

And she knew that their presence could mean only one thing. One person.

Her eyes widened in horror as her worst fears came true.

Proud, tall and unflappable, Queen Chrysalis strode through the door, towering over Cadance’s diminutive form.

“Why, hello there Princess.” She said coldly. “It’s been awhile. How long, hmm? A few thousand years? At the least. How have you been? I hear you’re getting married now. That’s great! I’ve just been having the most wonderful nap.”

Tears were streaming down Cadance’s cheeks as she stared up at the Changeling matriarch.

“Let me clarify something for you. Yes, this is exactly what it looks like. Our goal is to break him out of the hole you threw him into. But, to do that, we’re going to have to crash your beautiful little ceremony. Tragic, I know, but what can you do!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “So...before I render you unconscious and take your place, I have to ask,” She gestured at Gilda, who put her talon on Cadance’s shoulder. Energy flowed through Cadance before her tongue loosened up. “Any last words?”

Cadance whimpered miserably as she stared up at the Changeling Queen. “I-I’m s-sorry-!”

SLAP!

“EEP!”

Cadance’s head jerked to the side from the hit. She then cried out in pain as her mane was yanked and she was forced to look into Chrysalis’ glowing green eyes. Her face had contorted into an expression of pure fury.

“Don’t,” Chrysalis whispered, her voice filled with quiet rage. “Don’t you dare try and apologize for what you did. What you and those two did was disgusting, despicable. You betrayed Concordia. You betrayed us all. You betrayed Minos, and Serpense, and the Brothers, and Solum and Daemos and so many others. You betrayed me.” She pressed her face right up next to Cadance’s, her voice dropping to little more than a breath.

“You. Betrayed. Scholar.” She pulled back again, glaring down at Cadence imperiously.

“There is no forgiveness for the atrocities you have committed. No excuses. All there is is justice.” Chrysalis strode past her, moving out of her line of sight. “Pray that Astraea has mercy on your soul. If you have one left. Trixie?”

“Hmm?” The unicorn turned her attention away from the bottle she’d been nursing, suddenly alert.

“Wipe her.”

Trixie’s horn lit up and her eyes flashed silver. “On it.”

Cadance felt the telltale signs of a mental probe, but emotionally wrecked as she was, she couldn’t even begin to attempt to mount a defense.

She only had enough time left for one coherent thought.

‘Shiny, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorr-!”

After that, everything went blank.

-o-

Chrysalis was silent as she stared through the window and off into the distance.

Finally, a voice spoke up. “It’s done. When she wakes up, the last clear memory in her head will be getting on this train.”

Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes, nodding in acceptance. “Thank you.”

All was quiet for a moment.

Finally, a heavy hand fell on Chrysalis’ shoulder. She looked back and up into Iron Will’s eyes. A silent question was present within.

She stared for a moment before sighing and looking back out the window. “She was my friend. We were all friends back then. Good ones. Close. Like the Elements, but...bigger. When those three...did what they did... betrayed us...” She closed her eyes as a single green tear flowed down her cheek. “It hurt.” She was silent for a second before re-opening her eyes, all traces of emotion gone. “We don’t have time for this. We can talk later, but for now I have to prepare.”

She walked up to Cadance’s prone body and stared down at her impassively. Finally, she sighed and twisted her face in distaste. “Urgh, this is part I’ve been dreading,” she muttered. Her horn lit up in a green light and a beam engulfed the Princess from head to tail. When the light died down, Cadance was unharmed but Chrysalis was coughing and sticking her tongue out in disgust. “Ugh, gack! Disgusting!”

Gilda blinked in surprise. “The heck did you do?”

Chrysalis spit her saliva out. “Yuck. Urgh, I just fed off of her love for that Shining Armor of hers for extra energy.”

Gilda reeled back. “Wh- you can do that!?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can do that. Honestly now, what kind of Alumnus are you?”

“The kind that only takes interest in researching things that go bang!” Trixie supplied.

“Hey!”

“It’s true!”

“Well...yeah? So what!?”

Chrysalis scoffed. “Figures. Anyways, I used Venti Canis.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “The Wind Dog?”

“Good, you’re not totally inept. The Wind Dog is a technique developed by studying the Boreads, the northern and most famous subspecies of Windigo. Windigoes of all species are renowned for feeding passively off of emotions, so Venti Canis was developed to let those skilled enough do it directly, and with a higher emotion-to-magic ratio.” She groaned in disgust as she grimaced. “But doing it on love is less than inadvisable.”

“Why, it doesn’t taste good?”

“No, it tastes sweet.” Chrysalis stuck her tongue out. “Too sweet. It tastes like I just ate an entire bag of sugar. Only an idiot would feed off of it! And unfortunately, I need to be that brand of idiot if I want to have enough magic for this to work. I’m going to to have to skim some more off of her fiancé, Shining Armor. Which will not be fun.”

“Right!” Trixie clopped her hooves together. “Well, we’ll leave you here to get into character. Meanwhile, we’ll be tying up the rest of the loose ends. Agreed?”

Chrysalis nodded. “Agreed.” Her horn lit up again. “I suggest you get out of here. Long-term disguises cause a hell of a light-show when they’re cast.”

Iron Will drew the blinds on the windows while Gilda picked up Cadance’s body. They followed Trixie out of the caboose.

The unicorn glanced inside one final time. “Good luck, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis was silent for a second before finally...“You too...Trixie.”

Trixie shut the door and caught up with her comrades. As they walked away, the caboose was filled with green light.

-o-

Shining Armor grinned giddily as the train pulled into the station.

“Guards, attention!” He cried out. He beamed in pride as his men snapped into their practiced positions.

The carriage door opened. Iron Vigilance, Adamant Faith, Stone Heart and Steel Resolve filed out, standing at attention. Then, at long last, out stepped...

“Cadance!” Shining cried in joy as he ran up and hugged his beloved.

“Shiny!” She squealed, hugging him back.

“I missed you so much, my love.” He said blissfully.

Mi Amore Cadenza’s smile grew wider. “Me too, Shiny, me too. But don’t worry, just a few more hours. Then...”

No one saw as her smile gained a vicious undertone and her eyes flashed green.

No one saw as the four guards who had walked off the train rubbed their heads, their eyes tinted slightly silver.

No one saw as a blur of air left the train, flying towards the defunct entrance to Canterlot’s abandoned Crystal Mines.

“...you’ll be mine, all mine.”

No one heard the malicious hint to her giggle.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 4. Memories amidst the Madness

Author's Note

I'll be honest here, I am JUST as surprised as the rest of you that this is going out so soon. Seriously, I...I am in shock! Now if only I could be this productive with my essays...

Chapter 4. Memories amidst the Madness

Chrysalis stared tiredly out of the window. Playing before her was a unique scene. One she’d imagined time and time again since waking up.

‘Canterlot under siege,’ Chrysalis mused. ‘The sight of my children burning it to the ground is truly a beautiful one...’

Everything had gone perfectly. Standards had dropped so low over the years that not even the royal sisters themselves maintained even the barest of mental shields. It was larva’s play for Chrysalis to shroud herself in a mental barrier that passively influenced anyone that interacted with her.

It was a classic tool, one used for long-terms like she was wearing, but it did the job. Normally, it wouldn’t have worked to the extent that it did, but these were special circumstances.

Once her comrades had deposited Cadance, they’d managed to fake a letter to Celestia, issuing a threat to Canterlot and the marriage. With Shining Armor concentrating on the barrier and Celestia and Luna on the warpath, Chrysalis's antics were easily overlooked.

For the most part, anyways.

Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s pet unicorn, was the exception that proved the rule. Only individuals of extreme intelligence could circumvent the barrier and perceive the errors in the disguise. While it spoke wonders of Celestia’s IQ, it was also dangerous. It was only thanks to Chrysalis's quick thinking and some active mental persuasion that she was able to dissuade Celestia and Shining Armor from unveiling her ploy.

After that, there was only one viable course of action: dispose of Twilight Sparkle.

It had been simplicity incarnate. While passive influence held little sway over her, the lavender unicorn was still wide open to active persuasion. All Chrysalis had to do was direct her to sit where she wanted her to.

One unnoticed Rune Array later and she had joined Cadance in the mines. She’d had an especially enjoyable time taunting her. And Iron Will had said the Communications Arrays on the gems were a waste of resources!

Still, the damage had been done. Shining Armor had very nearly broken through the mental conditioning she’d been putting him through, forcing Chrysalis to place him in a vegetative state and extend her mental barrier to him so that no one would notice the change.

But, instead of panicking, she did what any good changeling would do when presented with unforeseen circumstances.

She played it to her advantage.

-45 Minutes Earlier-

Chrysalis smirked as she stared into Shining Armor’s dull green eyes.

‘Perfect.’ She thought. She quickly sought out and activated her mental link between herself and her comrades. “Gilda, can you hear me?’”

“Ow! Yes, damn it! A little warning next time!” The griffon protested. ‘What, what is it?’

“New circumstances have arisen. Activate the runes, we’re stepping the schedule up.”

Chrysalis could feel Gilda’s shock through the link. “Wh- hang on, the whole point of this charade was to do this during the invasion! If we start it now, those two will know and eviscerate us!”

“You’d be right...” Chrysalis replied. She then smirked as Shining Armor’s eyes flashed brightly. “If I hadn’t taken control of Shining Armor and altered his shield just a smidge.”

Gilda was silent for a second before quietly responding. “...what did you do?”

Chrysalis's smugness could be felt across the link. “Oh, nothing much, just made it so that magical signals can’t enter the barrier and reach Canterlot. Like, say, the alarms on Tartarus?”

Gilda’s exhilaration came through loud and clear. “EPIC! I’ll get right on it! Enjoy the wedding, and save us some cake!”

-o-

“Will do. I have to go now. This is the last you’ll hear from me until all is said and done. Don’t want to risk Celestia tracing the link, after all. Good luck.”

“You too!” Gilda winced slightly as the connection receded but grinned enthusiastically at Trixie and Iron Will. “We’re good to go.”

Trixie jumped gleefully. “Huzzah!”

Iron Will pumped his fist. “At last!”

Gilda nodded. “Alright, one second.” She walked over to a nearby bag and dug out a tablet of stone. She tapped it with her claw, causing the runes inscribed on it to light up. She gestured with her gauntlet, re-arranging the shapes and figures until they were to her liking. She silently raised her head and stared at the entrance to Tartarus. “We’re good to go. Just one tap...and the world changes.”

Iron Will nodded solemnly. “Well, friends, are you ready?”

The other two froze and slowly turned to look at him. “...friends?” Gilda whispered.

Iron Will blinked in surprise. “Well...yeah, Iron Will thought we were friends. After all we’ve been through...aren’t we?”

Gilda and Trixie were silent for a moment. When they’d come together, it had been out of a sense of duty. They’d been chosen. The Guide, the Scribe and the Guard, like their ancestors before them, signaled by Scholar himself no less! They were comrades, allies, yes. But friends?

At long last, Trixie spoke. “The...Trixie...Trixie supposes that she could do worse than you.”

“Y-yeah,” Gilda concurred hesitantly. “I mean, it’s not like you’re total dweebs. For a unicorn and a minotaur...you guys are...actually kinda cool?”

Iron Will smiled and nodded decisively. “Friends it is then. Gilda? Do it.”

The griffon swallowed. “Right.” She turned back to the cave. “End of the world. Not with a bang, but a whimper.” She tapped the tablet, causing the runes to flash brightly.

-o-

Deep beneath the earth, Cerberus slumbered before the gates of Tartarus.

Unseen behind him, high up on the monolithic doors, a section of runes flashed as they activated.

-o-

Within Tartarus itself, a series of chains lit up, magic coursing along them until finally...

They made contact with Scholar.

The Rune Keeper jerked for a second, unused to the level of magic after so long before finally smirking and cackling madly. “HAHAHAHAHA! They did it! THEY DID IT! Finally, at long last! Ready or not, Celestia, cause here!”

The runes flashed off his robe and coursed up the chains, multiplying and spreading along the metal links.

“I!”

Chains began snapping, one after another after another, with increasing frequency. Each louder and more violent than the last.

“COME!”

-Present-

‘Fifteen more minutes,’ Chrysalis mused. ‘I just need to keep playing around with the Elements for fifteen minutes. After that...who knows. Still...’ She watched as her changelings chased down Canterlot’s citizens. ‘Why does such a beautiful sight leave me feeling so empty?’

“You won’t succeed, you know.”

Chrysalis snarled and bared her fangs. ‘Oh yes, now I remember.’

How could she possibly forget? She was in the presence of the royal nag herself. She could clearly remember their little conflict earlier.

-Five Minutes Earlier-

“Now that you have so foolishly revealed yourself,” Celestia snarled as she and Chrysalis clashed their horns together. “I can protect my subjects,” She reared back flapping into the air before blasting a beam of golden light at Chrysalis. “FROM YOU!”

Chrysalis bared her fangs in fury, countering the beam with her own green variety.

Magic against magic, abject fury against abject fury. Neither gained ground, neither gave.

Though they were silent on the outside, inside their own minds, they were far from quiet.

“How!?” Celestia screamed. “How are you awake! How dare you do this!”

“How dare I! HOW DARE I!? After what you did to Concordia, you are the last person I want to hear that manure from!” Chrysalis returned, emphasizing the word.

Celestia sent her a bolt of pure rage. “Don’t call me that!”

Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “What, ‘person’? Oh, what’s wrong, can’t stand to be reminded of the utopia you helped create? The utopia you destroyed!”

“That was not my fault, Chrysalis!” Celestia raged.

“Yes it was! But that’s neither here nor there. If you don’t like old memories, then you’ll hate this: This isn’t the first time we’ve been in this position, Celestia!” Chrysalis's physical body cracked an eye open and glanced up at Celestia’s shining being. “Remember?”

And Celestia did. Her eyes widened as she remembered, her mind flashing back, back through time to where they’d once been.

Back to the days of Concordia.

~~~

Chrysalis broke her beam off and teleported, leaving Celestia’s own attack to dig a furrow into the ground.

Celestia smirked. She teleported in a second, letting Chrysalis's attack burn through the space she’d once occupied as the Changeling Queen tried to strike at her from behind.

The two teleported to the ground, legs spread and bodies at the ready as they stared into each other’s eyes, both challenging the other, daring them to move.

“You’re getting slow, bug-breath!” Celestia called out tauntingly.

Chrysalis tilted her head back and cackled “I’m still better than you, oh great and radiant nag!” she retorted mockingly.

It was at that point that they were reminded that they were being watched.

“WOO! GO AUNT CELESTIA!” “INDEED! HAVE AT HER, SISTER!”

Celestia turned her head and smiled at the onlookers.

Cadance and Luna were waving enthusiastically at Celestia from the sidelines, cheering her on.

But that didn’t mean Chrysalis was alone either.

“Go Chrysalis!” “You the changeling!” “Beat her down!”

Chrysalis smirked at her own supporter.

He was a hydra: Twenty-five feet of smooth, serpentine body, from the tip of one of his heads to the end of his tail. He was covered in dark, swampy-green scales. Seven snake-like heads were weaving around on long, agile necks. They all connected back to his large, muscular body, which was supported on trunk-like legs, similar to those of an elephant. Extending out of his rear was a long, serpentine tail.

“Kick her flank!” The heads took turns speaking. “No quarter!” “I’ve got a lot of cash riding on this!” “If you lose, I’ll pump you so full of toxins you won’t be able to tell a golem from an ent!”

“Oooooh, now that sounds interesting!” Floating next to the hydra was a mis-matched creature that was munching on a bag of popcorn. “Pray tell, where might I be able to get my claws on such a miraculous substance?”

The hydra’s heads snorted simultaneously. “Nice try, Discord!” “Do I look like an idiot?” “I wouldn’t sell that stuff to you for all the gold in the world.” “You’re bad enough sober!”

The draconequus pouted pitifully. “Hmph! This is discrimination! You’re a cruel hydra, Serpense.”

“Bite me.” The heads responded simultaneously.

“Hahahaha! Enough, enough already!” All heads turned to the chuckling individual.

Scholar was doing his best to keep the smirk off his face, but it was a hard job. “No more audience participation, otherwise we’ll never get this over with!”

Discord huffed childishly while Serpense rolled his eyes and snickered.

“Alright then,” He turned back to the two who were poised to fight and raised his hand. “Ready to continue?”

Celestia’s smirk widened. “Age before beauty.” She said, gesturing at Chrysalis.

The insectoid matriarch grinned in anticipation. “If you want to go first so bad, then by all means.”

Scholar brought his hand down in a chopping motion. “FIGHT!”

The twin royalties charged at each other, horns alight and ready to go.

~~~

Celestia’s eyes widened in panic as she snapped out of the memory. It had merely been for a second, only an instant.

But in this kind of conflict? It was enough.

“Check and mate, Celestia!” Chrysalis smirked as she redoubled her blast, taking advantage her opponent’s inattentiveness.

Gold succumbed to green, and then all at once...

ZAP!

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!”

-Present-

Chrysalis had been left alone with the two princesses and the unicorn’s pet dragon. And quite frankly, the old acquaintances were spoiling her mood.

She wheeled around, glaring at the solar diarch. “Oh? Really? I won’t win? Look around you, Celestia! Your precious capital is falling apart at the seams! How could I possibly lose?!”

“T-twilight and her friends will-” Spike tried to speak, but he was cut off when she turned her head and pinned him with a glare from a single glowing green eye.

The baby dragon shivered in terror as he stared into the glowing orb. “Silence, peon!” She whispered harshly, her voice carrying over to him. “I am Queen Chrysalis, Matriarch of the Changelings, Acentetus Mendacium, and Oligarch of Concordia. I will not be interrupted by the pitiful excuse for a salamander that the people of this time have the gall to call a dragon.”

“Leave him alone!” Cadance cried from where she had been glued to the ground.

Chrysalis whipped her stare to the would-be bride. “Don’t deny it! Look at him! He’s at least thirteen years old! He should be at least twice as long as me! Yet another wonderful aspect of your ever so glorious perfect world, Celestia!”

Celestia growled and struggled, trying to get to her hooves. “Ergh...I...I bear no regrets...for what I did. Equus-”

SLAM!

“ARGH!” Celestia cried out, trying to move her head. Sadly enough, she was unable to due to it being pinned beneath Chrysalis's hoof.

“You can claim whatever you desire,” Chrysalis stated coldly. “But don’t you dare try and claim that. Say it. Say the real name of our world, and not the lie you told your peons.”

Celestia grunted, straining against the slowly increasing pressure on her head, before finally.

“MUNDUS!” Chrysalis whipped her head over to the sobbing Cadance. “Ch-Chrysalis, please! Look around you, Mundus has never been safer, never been more at peace-!”

“And all it took,” Chrysalis interrupted, her voice cold and deadly as she stepped off of Celestia and slowly trotted over to Cadance. “Was sealing away every little last bit that didn’t agree with you.” She leaned in close to the Alicorn, making her tilt back in fear. “All it took was to take absolute control, and destroy what it once was. From the ground, up.”

“We had to.” Chrysalis whipped her head back around to Celestia. The mare was glaring at her defiantly, not a trace of fear or remorse in her eyes. Only determination. “That world was dangerous. It was wild, untameable. So many got hurt, so many died.”

“That’s nature, you nag.” Chrysalis responded calmly. “Yes, people die. It’s a fact. You get stronger and you move on, that’s how the world works. But you!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “You didn’t let that happen. You coddled these pathetic fools, let them stagnate. And whenever they faced the world without you to hold their hoof, they suffered for it.”

Celestia was breathing heavily as she stared neutrally into Chrysalis's eyes. “I did it for my little ponies.” She said evenly.

“BUT NOT FOR CONCORDIA!” Chrysalis screamed, magic blazing around her emphasizing her fury as she teleported in front of Celestia, who remained impassive. “YOUR DUTY WAS NOT SOLELY TO THEM, BUT TO US ALL! WE SHARED THE RESPONSIBILITY, WE PROTECTED EVERYONE! UNTIL YOU BETRAYED US! HOW MANY CURSED YOU AS THEY WERE LOCKED IN THEIR PRISONS!? HOW MANY CURSED YOUR NAME AS YOU SEALED THEM AWAY TILL THE END OF TIME!? HOW MANY HAVE CURSED YOUR VERY EXISTENCE AS THEIR SPECIES DWINDLED AWAY FROM THE PROUD MIGHT IT ONCE HELD, DISAPPEARING INTO THE SHADOWS CAST BY YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS ‘LITTLE PONIES’!? HOW MANY!?”

Chrysalis panted, her green aura fading away as she finished her tirade. Cadance was sobbing miserably where she stood, muttering over and over again how sorry she was. Spike, on the other hand, was petrified, staring dead ahead.

Celestia, however, remained still, her face devoid of emotions. “You can try as much as you want, Chrysalis, you’ll still fail in the end.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and scoffed as she turned around and began to walk back to the window. “Clearly. You actually need a soul to feel guilt, and I’m fairly certain that if Solum ever came to collect, he’d come up empty.”

“No, I meant your plan to break Scholar out.”

Due to their nature as being deceitful and hiding their true selves, changelings were masters at controlling their own emotions. Which was why despite panicking on the inside, Chrysalis was able to casually turn her head and glance back at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. “Hm?”

The white Alicorn rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t give me that act you overgrown maggot. I know that this is all a ploy to draw attention. Your hive is nowhere near back to full power, and neither are you. This is a suicide mission, and headstrong as you are, you’d never agree to one without proper recompense. There’s only one goal good enough for you: freeing Scholar from Tartarus.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed tiredly. “Really now, Celestia, you’re letting your age show, seeing connections where they aren’t. Why can’t this be about simple, good old fashioned revenge, hm? Why does it all have to link back to Scholar, like he’s the main character in some mediocre work of fiction?”

“Hmm, let’s see...” Celestia mused as she looked up in mock thought. “You’re undyingly loyal to a long-dead nation that only he can revive, you’re attacking a month after Cerberus was lured away from his post, oh, I know, how about this?” Celestia looked Chrysalis dead in the eyes.

“You’re in love with him.”

Chrysalis’s eyes shot wide open as she stared at Celestia in shock. Cadance and Spike were also staring, but while Spike was doing it in surprise of what he’d learnt, Cadance’s reason was different.

“Despite,” Celestia continued. “The fact that he didn’t love you back.”

Fangs gnashed in pure fury as Chrysalis clenched her jaws.

“CELESTIA!” The solar diarch turned in surprise to look at Cadance. Her niece was staring at her, her body shaking in anger. “Too far. Even after all she’s done, that’s too far.”

Chrysalis shook in pure anger for a moment more before simply...deflating. Her head bowed and shoulders slumped, she turned around and slowly stepped over to the window, staring out of it wordlessly for a second before finally...

“He couldn’t love me.” She whispered. “He couldn’t care less about my species, he never cared about that, not with anyone. But in the end it would be a choice between me and his love for knowledge and science and magic...and in that contest, I couldn’t even begin to compete.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass as tears silently flowed down her cheeks. “It hurts. It hurts so bad, to not be a part of his life in that way...” Slowly, she re-opened her eyes and stared defiantly into the city. “But even if I can’t be with him, I can at least take solace in his happiness. I can still enjoy his smile. I can still support him when he needs somebody to support him, and I know he’ll be there when I need someone in turn.”

She turned around and stared Celestia in the eye again. “I can still make him proud, by standing up against the monsters that caused us all so much pain, despite the length of the odds. Win or lose, Celestia, I’ll still have that.”

Celestia was silent, her expression tinged by a deep sadness as she stared at her enemy.

Her old friend.

“Luna has gone to Tartarus to check on his bindings.” She said solemnly.

Chrysalis didn’t even flinch. “Let her. In the end it doesn’t matter. I have what I want. I did what I had to do.” She turned around stared out the window. “Detain her.”

Celestia didn’t move. She just stared at Chrysalis silently, tears trailing down her cheeks, even as she was struck on the back of the head and thrust into unconsciousness.

-15 Minutes Later-

Gilda stared in horror at the tablet in her hands. “No...” She breathed, jabbing at it furiously with her talon. “NononononoNO!”

“Gilda-!”

“STOW IT, IRON WILL!” She screamed at him, tears flowing down her feathers. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE DONE! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH!”

“Iron Will knows this is hard,” He said calmly, “But she’s coming, and we need to be quiet! We’re still alive, and we need to keep it that way!”

Gilda stared at him for a second before finally collapsing to sit on the ground, her beak firmly clamped between her talons as she was wracked with sobs.

Iron Will turned to his equine friend. “Trixie!”

She was staring into the mouth of the cave with dead eyes, unresponsive.

“TRIXIE!”

She jumped, jerkily turning towards him. “Ah-y-yes? W-what is it?”

“The illusion, now!”

She blinked stupidly for a second before finally responding. “A-ah, r-r-right. O-of course.” Her horn sputtered a few times before the air finally shimmered correctly.

Not a moment too soon. Mere seconds after they were hidden, out of the cave came the devil herself.

Princess Luna, Lunar diarch of Equestria. She trotted calmly out of the cave, almost an exact opposite to the black and silver blur she’d been mere minutes ago when entering. Without a care in the world, she spread her wings and took off, flying casually back to Canterlot.

About ten minutes after she left, Iron Will tapped Trixie on the shoulder, drawing her attention. Wordlessly, he gestured across his neck. Trixie silently nodded, dropping the illusion.

For countless minutes, they were silent, dead to the world, before finally, Iron Will breathed heavily and rubbed his snout. “We...we need to re-evaluate our position. We need to make a plan. Gilda, what’s the status on the gates?”

“I don’t know.” The griffon replied, not looking up.

“Can you check?”

“No, Iron Will, I can’t check!” Gilda hissed, her voice rising as she spoke. “I can’t check at all or even a bit because I’m not getting anything from those damn Gates! Do you realize what that means!?”

“Tell us.” Iron Will asked, silently dreading the answer.

Gilda whipped around, her eyes full of tears. “They’re gone. Every rune, every inscription, every symbol, array or device, they’re all, just, gone! Years of work! Centuries of sacrifice and dedication, erased in minutes! Completely and utterly!” She clutched her head in her talons and shook it miserably. “We don’t have a position, we don’t have a place to stand, we don’t have anything left. She wiped it all away. The gates are back at full strength, Scholar is trapped within.”

Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “It’s over. The Academia failed. The Guards failed, the Scribes failed, even the Guides failed.”

Her eyes screwed shut in pure misery.

“We failed...”

Once anew, they were silent. They wallowed in their misery and despair, succumbing completely and utterly.

Finally...

“What do we do now?” Trixie whispered.

“Now? Allow me to tell you.”

The three screamed in shock. Or at least, they tried to. They were impeded by the green auras of magic restricting their throats and lifting them into the air.

“Now you’re going to pay.”

They were slowly turned around, brought face-to-face with their captor.

Iron Will’s eyes bulged in shock. “C-Chrysalis!” He managed to choke out.

The once mighty Queen had fallen low. Her chitin was cracked, green ichor flowing out of her from all over. One of her fangs was chipped off and her wings appeared to have been all but shredded. She was limping, due to her front hoof being thoroughly mangled. Even her mane looked like it had lost a fight with a push-mower.

“What the h-hell are y-ACK!” Gilda was cut off as the pressure on her throat tightened.

“You failed.”Chrysalis growled, her voice inundated with magic. “And because of your failure, Scholar will never be free. My hive will never be free. Concordia will never be free! Revenge will never be had, Equestria’s crimes will go forever unpunished! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!”

“I-it wasn’t our fault!” Trixie protested faintly.

“I. Don’t. Care.” She snarled. “It still happened. We still lost. And right now, the only thing on my mind is bloody vengeance. So here’s what’s going to happen. I am going to drain all three of you of every last drop of life you have. Then, I am going to break into Canterlot, and rip out the throats of every Alicorn present, with my fangs if I have to. I will die. I know this. And honestly? At this point?”

The magic around her died away. With the aura gone, it was plain to see what she was. Not an all-powerful being, unbeatable in every form. Not a god or a deity. Not even a queen.

Just a poor, broken mother.

“I don’t care.” She whispered, tears dripping from her cheeks.

“Hmm, stop me if I’m wrong here, but I believe the appropriate phrase at this time would be something along the lines of 'you have so much left to live for'?”

Chrysalis froze, eyes wide in shock. Her magic cut out, dropping the trio to the ground.

They choked and gagged, trying to regain their breath. When they raised their heads, Chrysalis had turned around, and was staring dumbstruck at an alien being.

Tall and clad in a strange robe. Runes flowed across it like water, shifting and changing, making for a surreal sight. They even lifted off of him and floated around him in a halo of ancient letters. His illuminated glasses hid the majority of his face in the shadows of his hood, but a cocky, self-assured grin was still visible.

Tears continued to flow from Chrysalis’s eyes as she stared at him. “Scholar...” She breathed reverently.

Hearing her, the trio gave him a look of awe before quickly kneeling, heads bowed in respect.

Scholar’s grin turned ever more confident. “I believe that there’s a second phrase I should say at this moment.”

His glasses glinted eagerly in the moonlight.

“Did ya miss me?”

To Be Continued...

Chapter 5. Picking up the Pieces

Scholar held the grin for a few more minutes before dropping it and grimacing. “Oh man, please tell me that I haven’t turned into some sort of deity over the years for you guys! It was funny the first time, but now it’s just old!”

The trio’s eyes widened in panic as they scrambled to their feet. “N-no!” Iron Will protested. “I-it’s not like that!”

“Yeah!” Gilda added. “It’s just a sign of respect! Come on, it’s not like we’re dweebs or anything!”

“Trixie agrees!” The unicorn added. “Considering how you needed help breaking out, then it is highly unlikely that you are that powerful!”

The Rune Keeper hummed and cupped his chin. “I dunno, I’m still not convinced... what say you, Chrissy? Are they on the up and up?”

The queen didn’t respond. She just stood there, staring at him silently.

Scholar’s smile dropped. “Uh, Chrysalis? This is the part where you help me tease these guys and tell me not to call you Chrissy. Are you alright?”

Chrysalis didn’t respond. She merely began to sway on her hooves.

“Chrysalis?”

Her only response was to tilt to her side and collapse.

“CHRYSALIS!” Scholar cried in panic as he dashed to her side. He dropped to his knees and gently cradled her head. “Nononono, come on Chrysalis, don’t do this to me. Not here, not now, not after so long!” He whipped his head up and glared at the trio. “Hey, you claim to be Alumni? Time for a final exam to prove it! I need something to engrave with, about a ton of flesh, preferably fresh...and something to eat, I haven’t had a proper meal in at least two millennia and I’m hemorrhaging energy to stay conscious.”

The trio were petrified by the sudden requests. Scholar clapped his hands, trying to bring them to their senses. “Today, people! And before you try and say something along the lines of her almost killing you, it’s safe to say that she wasn’t in what I’d call her right mind. NOW MOVE!” The last word was punctuated with a load of magic that sent Iron Will and Trixie scrambling into the nearby forest while Gilda quickly knelt down next to him.

“My gauntlets have lightning generators in them, it’s what I carve with. What do you need?” She demanded.

“Uh, alright alright, let’s see... do you have anything to write with?” Scholar held his hand out.

The griffon quickly dropped her tablet into the waiting palm. Scholar blinked in surprise and looked it over. “Oh, fancy! Things have progressed well since I was away! Now then...” He tapped the blank face, activating the runes, and quickly rearranged the glyphs displayed until they formed a Rune Array. He turned it around and showed it to her. “I need you to carve this on a ten-to-one scale in the rock, a flat surface!”

Gilda quickly scanned it before raising her eyebrows. “A transmutation circle? Alright, that explains the flesh, but what about that series in the medial border?”

Scholar smiled appreciatively. “Smart girl. Those ones are for an arcane pulse. The harmony clogging the air is choking Chrysalis, keeping her from magically breathing. With this, I ought to be able to ward her against it and let her finally get back to full strength. It’s the only reason she’s like this.” He smiled down at the unconscious changeling.

“After all,” he said softly. “We’ve been through worse, haven’t we Chrysalis? Remember that iron quill pack in Shadowridge Cliffs? I took one through the gut and you lost the same leg you went and broke, but you still crushed the last one in a rockslide. Afterwards we laughed and laughed while Serpense berated us for making him waste so much venom healing us. Remember that?” Scholar’s voice was choked with tears as he held his old friend in his arms.

A talon on his shoulder made him look up. Gilda was staring at him solemnly. “She’ll live,” She whispered, “I know you’re not a god, but you are the best. If anyone can save her, it’s you.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before thrusting the tablet into her claws. “Engrave it. Now.” He whispered.

Gilda nodded and hurried over to a flat shelf of rock, activating her gauntlets and setting into carving it up.

Scholar brushed Chrysalis’s face quietly. “Hang in there, bug girl, hang in there.”

-Ten Minutes Later-

Trixie galloped back up to the entrance of Tartarus, a mass of leaves, roots and berries floating behind her. She ran past where Gilda was working, stopping next to Scholar and Chrysalis. She floated the pile to lay next to him. “Trixie knows that this doesn’t seem edible-”

“Mandragora root, athelas, cattails, and a few others. All edible, all nutritious,” Scholar took a handful of plants and shoved them in his mouth. He grimaced as he chewed and swallowed. “They all taste like ass. But at least I can focus more on keeping her alive.”

Trixie was quiet as she watched Chrysalis’ body. Finally...

“Can you do it?” She whispered. Scholar cocked an eyebrow at her. She met his eyes with her own, filled with sadness. “Will we finally be free?” Her voice wavered slightly.

Scholar’s eyes softened. He raised a hand and rested it on her head. “I don’t know,” He whispered. “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to try. And if we lose...” He smiled calmly. “Then we go down the way we were meant to: with a bang big enough to swallow Celestia whole.”

Trixie smiled sadly and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, there was a large amount of crashing from the woods. In a flash, Scholar had an arm up with several rings of runes swirling viciously around it. Trixie jerked back in shock. His expression had changed from relaxed to stone cold in moments.

Luckily, his aggression was unwarranted. It was only Iron Will. The minotaur wasn’t alone. Behind him, he was dragging-

“The hell is that!?” Scholar asked in shock.

Gilda glanced over her shoulder and grunted. “A manticore. Yeah, we know, we read the old records. Evolution has all but fucked them over, and the harmony in the air hasn’t helped a bit, but it’s all we got,” She slashed her claw through the stone a final time. “By the way, I’m done.”

The light in Scholar’s lenses twitched like an eyelid as he stared at the large corpse. “That’s supposed to be a manticore...for the love of- the tail doesn’t even look right!”

Iron Will panted heavily as he hauled it over to the engraved Array. “Maybe,” he huffed. “But it’s ferocity hasn’t been lost over the years, Iron Will can testify to that.”

Scholar was silent for a second before bringing his hand up and rubbing his face tiredly. “Damn it, Celestia, what have you done?” He whispered. He breathed heavily and shook his head. “This is wrong, this is all so wrong.”

The sound of breathing drew his eyes downwards. Scholar stared silently at Chrysalis’s mutilated head for a moment. He lightly ran his hand through her mane.

His gaze shifted. Gone was the despair and sorrow. All that was left was steel. “But I’m going to make things right.” He snapped his eyes to Trixie. “Help me move her.”

Trixie nodded and lit her horn up. Chrysalis was engulfed in the aura and lifted from Scholar’s lap and deposited in the Array, right next to the manticore.

Scholar stood up and walked over to the Array. He examined the carved circle for a second, eyes flitting over the glyphs and symbols before finally nodding. “Quality work.”

Gilda chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Thanks. So, you gonna heal her?”

Scholar cracked his knuckles decisively. “Without a doubt.” He knelt down next to the array and rubbed his hands in preparation, his runes floating down to interact with the ones in the stone. “Alright, I’ll convert the manticore flesh to chitin and ichor, which I’ll then direct to replace everything that’s missing, unless it’s supposed to be missing of course. At the same time, I’ll be casting a ward on her so that any and all harmony is repelled from her so that she can absorb magic from the air cleanly.” He glanced over the shoulder. “The ward will extend to the rest of you as well.”

The trio’s jaws dropped. “W-what?” Trixie stuttered.

“You’re serious?” Gilda demanded.

Scholar stood up and turned around to face them. He tilted his head so that all could be seen in his hood were his glasses. “That depends. Are you? Once I cast this ward, it will be permanent, feeding passively off your lifeforce, just enough to remain active. You’ll be more powerful than you have ever been in your entire lives. But in return, you’ll have decided your fate. So I ask you: are you serious about this? Are you willing to give your lives entirely to the Academia Arcana? To devote yourself to the propagation and protection of knowledge, in all it’s forms? Are you willing to pledge yourselves to Concordia, to stand for the unity, liberty and equality of all sentient beings, and to wage war against all threats to these rights? Are you willing to stand by me until Death himself comes to collect, and even then?”

The trio glanced between each other. Finally...

They kneeled once more, heads bowed and hands, hooves and claws on their amulets, which were shining brighter than ever. They then spoke as one.

“For the Academia, we offer our talents. For Concordia, we offer our souls. We pledge ourselves until the final star fades and the last light dies.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before the light in his eyes dimmed. He was smiling kindly, benevolently. “Thank you,” He said softly. “For all that you’ve done, and for all that you will do. Thank you.”

He turned around and spread his arms. “Let’s get this party started,” A multitude of runes flew off of him, encircling the array of stone both on the ground and parallel in the air. “First transmutation in millennia,” he mused idly. “Let’s do it with gusto and tradition.”

He clapped his hands together decisively and then slapped his palms against the stone.

The array light up like a spotlight, magic flowing out of every carved nook and cranny. Lightning began to dance and spark, engulfing the two bodies entirely. The rune circles in the air began to spin, faster and faster and faster, blurring into rings of light and energy. Then, the rings contracted into dots of light hovering above the Array. The light and noise died down. All became silent and still...

All at once, the runes exploded outwards, a wave of pure, unadulterated energy sweeping over the surroundings.

Once more, all was silent.

Scholar was panting, hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath. He smiled as he observed the results of his work. About half the manticore corpse was missing, and in return, Chrysalis had been restored once anew, her chitin repaired and ichor replenished entirely. She was breathing evenly.

“Well,” He chuckled happily. “I’d say that worked perfectly! Not bad for an old-timer, huh guys?” No response. “Uh, guys?” He turned around. “Everything alright back there?”

The trio was...dumbstruck. They weren’t panting, or gasping. Just...staring into the air, breathing a bit heavily.

“Guys?”

“Holy...shit...” Gilda breathed.

“Th-this is...” Trixie said quietly.

“I-Iron Will can’t...” The minotaur stammered.

Scholar smiled indulgently. “First taste of fresh, magic-filled air not what you were expecting?”

Trixie shook her head slowly. “N-not even a bit.”

Iron Will clenched and unclenched his fists, staring at them in disbelief. “T-this feeling, it’s...”

Gilda grinned as lightning began to flow over her. “This. Is. AWESOME!” She cried, electricity blasting off of her and high into the air.

“Trixie agrees entirely!” The unicorn concurred. Light flowed out of her horn and body, whipping around her in a frenzy. “So free, so exhilarating! Trixie can feel the energy flowing into her!”

Iron Will laughed exuberantly.“Iron Will has never felt so alive! So...powerful!”

He stomped his hoof into the ground. The result was the earth around him being thoroughly rocked with tremors.

Scholar chuckled indulgently. “Good to hear it and just you wait! This is just the tip of the iceberg. You three are going to be a lot stronger if I have anything to say about it. For now though,” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s wake the beloved queen up, hmm?”

Trixie blinked, surprised at being broken out of her magic-induced daze. “Huh? Uh, right, right. She’s repaired, right? Why isn’t she awake?”

“Ah, well, that’s the thing,” Scholar stepped over the border of the Array and knelt by Chrysalis. “Her body is good, no doubt about that, but her mind is still in a stupor. For her to wake up,” he gently placed his hand under her head and lifted it up. “Her system is going to need a shock.”

Slowly, gently, he leaned, close, till he and Chrysalis were separated by mere inches. Then...

SLAP!

He struck her straight across her face.

Chrysalis’s eyes snapped open. They darted around for a second before focusing on Scholar’s face.

He grinned gently at her. “I think I’ll ask again: did ya miss me?”

SMACK!

“GAH!”

Her response was to slam her hoof into his face.

Scholar reeled back, clutching his nose. “OUCH! By noze! I thig you broge by noze!”

“I damn well hope I did you arrogant ass!” Chrysalis snarled, scrambling to her hooves. “All this time, all these years, and the first thing you do when you get out is pretend to still be imprisoned!”

THWACK!

“OW!”

“Say some stupid line!”

SMACK!

“ACK!”

“And then slap me awake!?”

SLAP!

“YEOWCH! What did you expect me to do!? Kiss you!?”

“YES!” Chrysalis reared her hoof back again.

Scholar screwed his eyes, ready for another blow...and was surprised when he felt a weight collide with his chest.

He looked down and stared as Chrysalis clung to his person, shaking slightly as she sobbed into his robes. “I missed you so much...” She whispered.

Scholar’s eyes softened. He brought his arms around and hugged her, lightly brushing her mane. “There there,” He mumbled, “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m fine, you’re fine, everything’s fine.”

The trio was silent as they watched the two old friends re-unite after so long.

-Five Minutes Later-

It took about five minutes for Chrysalis to calm down enough to finally be coherent.

The group was sitting around a fire, waiting as the remnants of the manticore were cooked.

“Sure as hell hope that the taste hasn’t changed.” Scholar muttered as he worked on the spit. Finally, he sat back down again and gazed around at the group. “Alright then! There’s a lot that needs to be said! Where do we start?”

“How about your little disappearing act from Tartarus?” Chrysalis asked. She was a lot better than she had been, sitting regally, not even a trace of her previous bad health.

“Yeah, she’s right!” Gilda exclaimed. “I saw the runes! Right before everything got wiped, you went back into Tartarus! I thought that the royal bitch re-did the seals on the gate, or heck, caught you on the way out!”

Scholar chuckled cheekily. “Now see, that’s the thing: she did!”

Apparently dropped jaws were in style.

“Wh-how!?” Gilda demanded.

Chrysalis let a sly grin play across her muzzle. “You ran circles around her, didn’t you?”

Scholar gasped and whipped a hand to his mouth. “Madam! I am offended by these slanderous accusations!” He smirked deviously at her. “I would never be caught dead doing anything less than a complicated dance routine.”

“Oh, Trixie has to hear this!” the unicorn squealed.

Scholar chuckled again. “Alright, alright, settle down. Now, here’s what happened...”

-Ten Minutes before Luna Exits Tartarus-

Scholar hissed in pain as light shined through the gates of Tartarus as they opened for the first time in millennia. “Sunnova- so this is what they mean when they say a sight for sore eyes.”

He walked out of the crack in the doors, gazing around nostalgically. “Still though, fifty minutes. I gotta say, I impressed even myself!” he turned around and gazed up at the doors to his prison appreciatively. “Especially considering the quality of this place. So many wards...” He pointed out a section of the gates with his finger. “Like that one! Triple Phoenixian Plasma Seal. Not bad...oh, and combined with that Frost Giant’s Breath Matrix...nasty. Impressive, but nasty.”

He glanced to the side. “At a glance, I’d say it was your work, eh Luna?”

The dark Alicorn stared at her old foe. “How could thou tell?”

“It’s in your nature.” Scholar said as he turned around to face her. “Celestia is adept at the whole ‘wrath of god’ thing, and Cadance tries to act sweet and caring while silently slipping a blade between your ribs, but you? Ah, you’re vindictive! You always made sure that people suffered for crossing you, you were a mistress of vengeance.” His eyes and tone lost their vigor, switching to ice. “I never thought I’d see the day you unjustly turned it on me.”

“Hmph.” Luna snorted. “We remember that thou did not resist thine arrest.”

“Of course not,” Scholar said. “How could I? Doing so would have meant having to injure innocent soldiers that you had convinced of my ‘guilt’. Thank you, not my cup of tea.”

“It was a necessary measure,” Luna said haughtily. “Anything less and escape would have been foals-play for you.”

Scholar chuckled and shook his head. “Ha, foals-play instead of child’s play. You’ve made your own little horse-themed vocabulary. Hilarious. Next you’ll tell me you’re calling the world Equus instead of Mundus.”

Luna didn’t respond, merely staring at him.

Scholar’s laughter abruptly cut off. He stared her dead in the eye, his glasses glowing with hellfire. “This is where you interrupt me and tell me that I’m being ridiculous.” If his voice was ice before, not it withheld hell’s fury.

The lunar princess remained unflinching. “‘Tis our world, we shall name it as we see fit.”

“And by ours, I assume you’re not talking about you and your sister but the rest of the equines.”

“We made this world safe for our kind. There is no fault in our actions.”

Luna and Scholar stared each other down, neither giving ground.

Finally... “I’m walking out of here,” Scholar said calmly, “And I’m going to burn your precious little world down and reduce it to ashes.”

Luna’s eyes and horn lit up. “Over our dead body.”

Scholar chuckled morosely. “Luna, Luna, Luna. What on Mundus makes you think you can make me stay?” he spread his arms out wide, runes lifting off his robe and swirling around him, “I’ve been busy! I control every inch of this hole!”

Luna smirked at him. “For all the good that it does you. Does thou believe us to be fools? At it’s core, Tartarus was designed to hold but a single prisoner: you. Any attempts to turn it against us shall fail most spectacularly.”

Scholar sighed and shook his head. “Ah Luna. You truly haven’t changed. So focused on the big picture that the details completely elude you. You always miss the most crucial points of all.”

Luna frowned. ‘What could he possibly-?”

“WOOF!”

Luna’s train of thought was derailed by several metrics tons of fur, fangs and fury tackling her from behind.

When she was finally able to re-focus her eyes, she was staring into the snarling jaws of three very angry dog heads. She tried to access her magic to blast the rancid mutt off of her, but realized with panic that she couldn’t even begin to manipulate her inner energy. She struggled for a moment beneath Cerberus’s paws before finally sighing in resignation and letting her head hit the stone floor. “Damnation...” She muttered.

Suddenly, the right head stopped growling and instead began panting and whining happily. Scholar cooed as he scratched behind it’s ears. “There you go, good boy, good boy. Good hellhound, best friend!” He smirked down at Luna. “See, it’s better to have the guard dog in charge of your nemesis like you instead of resent you for lining his collars with mind-control runes.”

Luna snorted derisively and turned her head away from him. “So what shalt thou do now?” She inquired. “Kill us?”

Scholar narrowed his eyes at her viciously. “As much as I’d love to gut you and use your intestines as book-lining, I can’t. Your sister saw to that when she warded both herself and you with the mother of all dead man’s switches.”

Luna chuckled morosely. “Our sister might have made an error in placing thine pet as a guard, but her plan to harness the sun and the moon to our wills was quite ingenious.”

“It was madness.” Scholar stated solemnly.

Luna raised an eyebrow at him. “We art alive, are we not?”

Scholar shook his head in disgust. “Enough of this. Now then, here’s the plan: I’m going to wipe your mind of all of this, walk out of here, assess my position, and then, as I said, burn everything to the ground.”

Luna’s glare became hostile. “Thou art free to try, but though we have had little reason to utilize them over the years, our mental shields art as strong as mythril. Weakened as thou art, thou shall not be able to intrude upon the sanctity of our psyche.”

“Maybe,” Scholar said. “But you forget the problem with most mental shields...”

He leaned in until their faces were separated by less than a foot. “Mental shields become weakened.” He leaned in closer, his voice growing softer, more tender, “If the defender is feeling,” Closer still, “Very strong,”

Less than a foot separated the two. “Emotions.” He breathed.

They stared at each other for a second, before finally...

Luna spit in his face.

Scholar groaned and stood up, wiping the saliva off his glasses.

“Save thyself the effort, mongrel,” Luna snarled. “We were once colleagues, nothing more. The only one who ever felt such emotions towards you was your pet mag-GRK!”

Luna was cut off by Scholar’s hand clamping over her muzzle.

Over the course of their discussion, Scholar’s emotions had run the gamut from frigid to barely restraining unholy rage.

At this moment, the Rune Keeper had reached a brand new level of quiet fury. He did not say a word, his face did not show his anger.

His clothes said it all.

Where before the runes had flowed like water, now they clashed and span and roared, a torrent of sharp, harsh letters that swirled around him in an aura of pure wrath. And if his glasses had shown hellfire before, they now reflected the eyes of the devil himself.

“Luna,” He intoned quietly, his voice promising bloodshed. “I believe your memory is faulty. Let me remind you: I am the person who reduced the bandit fortress on Switchblade Mountain to rubble and stuck every rogue and villain in that place on pikes, by myself, because one of their flunkies had the gall to try to seduce Cadance and ended up making her cry. I am the guy who would destroy a city to devastate any fool unlucky enough to willingly harm those I consider to be friends. Now, I’d like you to remember something else: my skills. My knowledge, my powers, my mind. My capabilities. I want you to remember, so that you realize that the fact that I can’t kill you right now? At this moment, it’s not a blessing,” He pressed his forehead to hers, forcing her to stare into his eyes.

“It’s a curse.”

Luna was shivering in fear, staring into his unyielding eyes. She waited, dreading the punishment for her transgressions.

Finally...

Scholar released her snout and stood up, stepping back from her prone body.

Luna blinked in surprise for a moment before smirking victoriously. “HA! Thou hast grown soft over the course of thine imprisonment. Thou hast become a cow-!”

It was at that moment that Cerberus chose to lick her.

Luna’s mind froze, trying to process what had just happened.

When her vision was engulfed by Scholar’s glowing eyes, she realized her mistake.

‘Oh buck u-!’

And then everything went blank.

-o-

Luna blinked, trying to clear the haze from her mind. ‘W-what were we doing?’

A loud snore drew her attention. She turned and sighed in exasperation as she saw Cerberus snoring. “Lazy mutt,” she muttered as she trotted past him. “This entire endeavor is most assuredly the fault of thine negligence.”

“Now let us see...” She lit her horn up and began examining the gates. She swore almost immediately. “Damnation! We cannot believe this! So many vandalisations! And the original wards have not even been properly maintained! Urgh, We shall be having words with Tia on this matter. But for now...”

Her horn lit up like a supernova. Her eyes became twin stars. Power shone out of her entire being, illuminating the cave. Light, energy at it’s purest. Had any other mortal creature been present, they would have most assuredly been incinerated.

When the light finally died down, the gates of Tartarus looked like they had been white-washed. Runes and inscriptions stood out clearly against the stone, and any and all additions had been burned away. Tartarus had been restored to it’s former glory.

And through it all, Cerberus had continued to slumber.

Luna glared at the hound for a second before shaking her head dismissively. “Indolent mongrel. When we return to Canterlot, we shall discuss with Tia the option of replacing you with a particularly half-witted dragon.”

With those parting words, she casually trotted out of the cave, intent on returning to Canterlot before the reception began.

A few minutes after Luna had left, Cerberus’s eyes snapped open, glaring at where she had left. Then, the middle head opened his mouth...

SPLAT!

And spat out a very wet and sticky Scholar.

“EURGH!” He cried, standing up and shaking his body, trying to dislodge the saliva. “Grooooss! I’m covered in hellhound slobber! I swear, Luna, you’re not only going to pay for that insult, you’re going to pay for my dry-cleaning!”

Cerberus’s heads whined pitifully.

Scholar wheeled around and glared at them. “Oh, I’m so sorry I taste dusty! But it just so happens I haven’t had the time to go to the damn spa lately! Or anywhere for that matter! Be grateful I rigged your collars so that Luna didn’t realize anything was wrong on your end!” He stopped ranting for a second, closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing. “Alright, alright. Settle down Scholar, you managed to dodge Luna, you’re safe, now clean yourself up.” Scholar spread his arms out, concentrated for a second, then brought his hands together. The resulting wave of magic blasted all of the slimy liquid right off of him.

The Rune Keeper examined himself triumphantly. “Good as new!”

SLURP!

Then Cerberus licked him from head to toe.

Scholar was paralyzed for a minute before glaring flatly at the hound. “Seriously?”

Cerberus’s only response was to pant and wag his tail.

Scholar only retained his glare for a minute before sighing and smiling. “I can’t stay mad at you! C’mere!” He began scratching Cerberus’s heads, much to the dog’s pleasure. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”

“WOOF!”

Scholar smiled for a second before becoming serious and stepping back. Cerberus watched him silently. “Alright boy, here’s what I need you to do. I want you to stay here and keep up appearances, in case the Alicorns come calling. Don’t attack them, just let them think that everything is ship-shape. When it’s safe I’ll send for you, but till then...”

Cerberus nodded his heads and pointed towards the exit with his paw.

Scholar smiled again. “Smart dog. Until then.” And with that, he turned around and walked out of the cave.

Cerberus laid down on the floor, a doggy smile on his lips as he went back to sleep.

Scholar kept a sharp eye out as he moved through the tunnel. “Alright, there are sure to be traps, but seeing as this is the way out, they can’t be too tough.”

Rounding the corner, he was forced to stop and stare at the sight before him.

“Well well well,” He mused. “Non-euclidean architecture. My old nemesis... we meet again!”

“ROOOOOOOAR!”

“Very hungry non-euclidean architecture!”

-Present-

“In the end, my escape involved three carnivorous staircases, a pack of roaming doorknobs, two rolling boulders of death, a pop quiz, and a dead mouse named Mr. Squeakers.”

Scholar’s colleagues stared at him in disbelief.

“In fact!” He exclaimed, “I think I still have him on me! Let me just get...him...” He trailed off as he dug through his robes. He quickly patted himself down before falling silent.

“Correction,” He finally stated. “Three carnivorous staircases, a pack of roaming doorknobs, two rolling boulders of death, a pop quiz, and an un-dead mouse named Mr. Squeakers.”

The group was...dumbstruck.

Finally...

“So basically an uneventful escape?” Chrysalis asked casually.

“Basically, yeah.”

Gilda felt her eye twitch. “You’re insane.” She stated.

Scholar nodded. “Maybe, maybe, but you’re the ones who willingly pledged your lives to me.”

The trio were silent for a second before sighing despondently.

“He’s right.”

“Good point.”

“Damn it, we did not think this through.”

Scholar smirked at them. “That’s what they all say. So!” He clapped his hands. “Now it’s your turns! Introduce yourselves, names and motivations, the lot of you!”

The three blinked in surprise. “Wait,” Trixie asked. “Names Trixie can accept, but what do you mean motivations?”

Scholar’s mood suddenly flipped to serious. He stared the trio dead in the eyes one after another. “You willingly joined a war against who I am assuming to be the three most powerful beings currently conscious at this time and the nation that they have no doubt built over the course of the past two millennia. None of you appear to be idiots, so you no doubt each have a damn good reason for doing so. Tell me, friends...”

His glasses glinted in the firelight.

“How has the world wronged you?”

To Be Continued...

Chapter 6. Old Wounds, Old Scars

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 7. A Most Joyous Reunion

In the main Canterlot gardens, the reception was in full swing. Music was pounding out of the speakers, ponies were dancing and laughing, overall everyone was having a good time.

Spike sighed as he stared into his punch.

Almost everyone.

The juvenile dragon was standing near the concessions table, idly swirling his drink as he mulled over the day’s events.

“He’s at least thirteen years old! He should be at least twice as long as me! Yet another wonderful aspect of your ever so glorious perfect world, Celestia!”

Spike bit his lip. He’d been trying to forget those terrifying fifteen minutes as much as he could, but...

“BUT NOT FOR CONCORDIA! YOUR DUTY WAS NOT SOLELY TO THEM, BUT TO US ALL! WE SHARED THE RESPONSIBILITY, WE PROTECTED EVERYONE! UNTIL YOU BETRAYED US!”

He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. It was so confusing. It felt like he had a few small pieces in a really big puzzle. All he wanted was to figure it out.

“Spike?”

The dragon’s eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up, staring into the worried eyes of one of the first familial figures in his life.

“Spike, is everything alright?” Twilight asked again.

Spike swallowed lightly and plastered a smile on his face. “Y-yeah! Of course, Twilight! Everything’s great!”

The lavender unicorn’s worried look became tinged with annoyance. “Spike, I know when you’re lying to me. Be honest, what’s wrong?”

The dragon chewed on his lip for another second before sighing in defeat. “...I was thinking about what happened earlier. During the invasion...I was alone with Chrysalis and the Princesses.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “I- Spike, I’m so sorry, I-I can’t believe I forgot about that! Everything was happening so fast and-!”

Spike held his hands up, staving off his sister-figure’s panic. “Twilight, Twilight! It’s fine! Don’t worry, I wasn’t hurt, I’m fine, it’s all over anyways, it’s just...” He trailed off before sighing and staring into his drink again. “Chrysalis...she said a few things that got me thinking.”

Twilight frowned sadly. “Spike, Chrysalis was a changeling. Celestia told me about them after the invasion. By nature they’re tricksters, deceivers, you can’t take anything she says at face value.”

Spike’s eye twitched imperceptibly at the mention of Celestia. “Maybe...” He was silent for a second before looking at Twilight again. “Twilight, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Twilight bit her lip in hesitation. “Spike...”

“Twilight...” His eyes filled with pleading. “Please...”

Twilight was silent for a second before sighing heavily. “Go ahead, Spike. I’ll try and answer to the best of my ability.”

Spike smiled lightly and nodded. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Twilight returned the smile. “So what do you want to know?”

Spike’s smile dropped. There was another moment of silence, then...

“Twilight,” He asked quietly. “Am I small?”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Um, Spike-?”

“Not!” He interrupted. “Overall, that much is obvious. I meant...for a dragon.”

Twilight frowned and tilted her head. “Spike, didn’t we already go through all this with Garble during the migration?”

Spike scowled at the memory. “That actually supports my question. Garble and his friends might have been jerks, but they were sixteen! They were only a few years older than me and they were at least three times my size! Some of them were even four! Plus they had wings and could fly and their flames were a lot larger and hotter ...” Spike cut his mounting rant off with a sigh. “They might not have been very mature, but when you get right down to it, they were a lot more grown up than me, while I’ve barely grown at all since I’ve hatched. That can’t be normal.”

Twilight shrugged. “I..don’t know what to say, Spike. You know that ponies don’t know a lot about dragons. But...if you want my opinion, it could be natural.”

Spike silently raised an eyebrow in question.

“Well,” She continued. “Remember how all of those dragons were of different shapes and sizes, and how Garble’s gang didn’t raise too much of a fuss about you not having any wings?”

He nodded hesitantly, wondering where she was going.

“Well...maybe dragons are like ponies, with different subspecies. While ponies have unicorns and pegasi and earth ponies, maybe dragons have ones that have hair or stubby tails or fins. Or in your case, ones that are smaller and don’t have wings! Actually...” She tapped her hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, that’s actually really likely. During the Greed Growth incident, you grew really really big,”

Spike shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”

Twilight continued unimpeded. “But you didn’t get any wings!”

He blinked. “Wait...really?”

She nodded. “Yup! If you’re different from Garble in that way, maybe you grow up at different rates too.”

Spike nodded slowly. “Yeah, that would make sense...” It might make sense, but Spike felt like something just wasn’t right.

Twilight must have sensed that something was amiss because she put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “Listen, Spike, I might not have all the answers, but I can tell you this: you’re definitely a healthy dragon and you have nothing to worry about or be ashamed of. Look at it this way, if you really want to get bigger, then there’s only one thing to do.”

Spike smiled at the old memory. “When little dragons want to get big and strong, they eat jewels and gems all day long.”

Twilight smiled and rubbed his head scales. “There you go.”

Spike chuckled as he fended her hoof off in embarrassment. He gave her a grateful grin. “Thanks Twilight.”

The lavender prodigy smiled indulgently. “Not a problem. Is there anything else?”

Spike scrunched his small snout in thought for a moment before biting his lip and looked down. “Yeah...” He looked up and nervously met her eyes. “Does the name ‘Concordia’ mean anything to you?”

Twilight blinked in surprise before looking up in thought. “Concordia. Concordia Concordia Concordia, I’ve heard that name, where have I heard that name?” She tapped her hoof for a second before her eyes snapped wide and she clapped her hooves together. “Oh! I remember now! Concordia, the old empire!”

Spike’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Seriously!? What do you know?”

Twilight hummed as she rubbed her chin. “Well, not a lot. Concordia is more myth than anything else. It’s said that long ago, Concordia was a monolithic empire, one that spanned the world, dwarfing any other kingdom to date, even Equestria!”

Spike listened intently, enraptured by what she was saying. “Wow...what happened to it?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head sadly. “It disappeared. Nobody knows how or why, but researchers suspect it wasn’t natural, seeing how it seemed to drop off the face of Equus after Discord’s reign. And even then, anything from before that time is really vague and unclear.” She frowned as a thought hit her. “Which is why outside of researchers who actively search for it, it’s virtually unknown. Spike, where did you hear that name?” She rapidly needled him.

Spike’s eyes darted left and right as he searched for an excuse. “Uhm, ah...”

Today was apparently the dragon’s lucky day, because before Twilight could press him, the music’s volume lowered and Pinkie’s voice came over the speakers.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYPONY! IT’S TIME FOR CADANCE AND SHINING ARMOR TO OPEN THEIR WEDDING PRESENTS! THEY’RE ON THE TABLE RIGHT NEXT TO THE CONCESSIONS STAND, PROVIDED BY SUGARCUBE CORNER! REMEMBER, IF IT AIN’T SUGARCUBE-!”

“PINKIE, NO ADVERTISING AT MY BROTHER’S WEDDING!” Twilight yelled.

“AWWWW!”

Twilight growled under her breath. “I swear, if she weren’t my friend...” She muttered as she trotted past Spike.

Spike sighed in relief. ‘Phew! Dodged an arrow, there!’

He turned around and jogged to catch up to Twilight, weaving through the crowd.

The rest of Twilight’s friends, Celestia, Luna, and the bride and groom were already at the table.

Cadance squealed lightly as she looked over the virtual mountain of presents. “This...this is incredible! It’s just too kind! I don’t even know where to start!”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Pinkie popped out of the pile and presented a package to her. “How about this one? No, wait!” She zipped back into the pile and exited about halfway up almost immediately, another present in her hooves. “This one!” Pop! “Or this one!” Pop “Or this o-woah!”

Pinkie squealed in surprise as a gold aura levitated her out of the pile. Celestia chuckled as she held the Element of Laughter in her magic. “Thank you for your opinion, Pinkie Pie, but I believe it would be best to leave the choice up to Cadance and Shining Armor.”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh, alright!”

Shining Armor hummed in thought before finally raising his hoof. “How about-”

“Mine!”

Later, people would testify to say that when they heard that voice, ice water filled the veins of every pony present.

Slowly, haltingly, heads turned to watch with horror as Queen Chrysalis strode confidently through the crowd, a large package covered in a black-and-green wrapping paper floating behind her, engulfed in a green aura.

“So sorry I’m late, everyone,” She said confidently, not a care in the world. “I just got a bit lost is all.”

All of a sudden, there were twin flashes of light as the celestial sisters teleported in front of the changeling queen, eyes and horns blazing with raw energy.

“Thou art not welcome here, insect.” Luna stated darkly.

Chrysalis pouted sadly. “Oh, that’s unfortunate. But I brought a gift!” She floated the package in front of her.

Suddenly, the present was ensnared in a large sphere of magneta energy. Well, it was large, until the sphere shrank to about the size of a tennis ball, destroying the package in seconds.

Shining Armor didn’t even flinch as he stared at the queen emotionlessly, placing himself between Chrysalis and his wife, who was shaking in fear.

Chrysalis’s expression became deadpan. “That was an antique changeling vase made by Kathy Butterfly. It was worth close to ten thousand bits.”

Shining Armor’s expression remained unchanged. “I couldn’t care less,” He said coldly. “The Guard is already on their way. Leave now or you’ll face the same fate.”

Chrysalis sighed and shook her head sadly. “Honestly now, all this pointless hostility! All I wanted to do was peacefully attend an old friend’s wedding reception! Is that too much to ask?”

Shining’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You don’t have any friends here.”

The queen’s expression changed to a sadistic smile. “Obviously. Hence the prefix ‘old’. But still, we were once friends!” Her horn suddenly ignited and she disappeared in a flash of green.

“Remember, Cadance?” The princess shrieked and fear and whipped around, staring up at Chrysalis’s still smiling face. “Oh so very very very long ago. Back in the old days...the days of Concordia!”

-o-

A murmur began to spread through the crowd at these words. Twilight’s coat paled slightly. “Chrysalis and Cadance know about Concordia?” She whispered incredulously.

“Pst! Twilight!”

The lavender mare nearly jumped out of her fur. She whipped around, horn alight only to come face-to-face with-

“Applejack!?” She hissed.

The cowpony held her hoof to her mouth, shushing her friend. “Quiet! Rainbow’s gatherin’ the others at the weddin’ cake, c’mon!”

Twilight swallowed heavily before nodding. “R-right.” She turned around to face Spike. “Spike, go find somewhere to hide. Don’t worry, this will all be over soon.”

Spike nodded hesitantly. “Got it.”

“Twilight!”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder. “Coming!” She looked back. “Good luck.” And with that, she galloped quietly after her friend.

Spike swallowed nervously before turning his gaze back on the conflict. Whatever was going on, he might have been afraid, but he sure as Tartarus wasn’t going to miss it.

At the same time, halfway across the crowd, Fluttershy was shaking in her coat. “Oh d-dear, oh my...”

Suddenly, a hoof tapping her on the wing made her nearly yelp before a hoof clamped over her mouth.

“Shh shh shh, Fluttershy, it’s me!”

The mare’s eyes widened in recognition. As soon as the hoof released her mouth, she spoke in surprise.

“Twilight!?”

-o-

Celestia snarled in anger. “Enough, Chrysalis!”

The queen’s sole response was to cock an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“You are dredging up things that should remain dead and buried. Leave now, or I swear to you-”

“You’ll what?” Chrysalis asked mockingly. “You’ll blast me? Destroy me? Smite me down?” She gained a snide, nigh evil grin as she glanced at Luna. “Banish me to the moon?”

Celestia snorted in fury. “Why you-!” Her horn lit up like a beacon.

Chrysalis’s expression turned deadly serious, her horn lighting up in turn, just as bright. “Go ahead and try. I’m not the same decrepit bug I was a few hours ago. Your precious harmony isn’t affecting me any more. I’m back at full strength, just as strong as you. Frankly, I believe I might even be stronger, considering how you haven’t had anyone up to your level in centuries. You haven’t even been using your mental shields, what chance do you have in combat?”

Luna bared her teeth angrily. “How hath thou accomplished this, villain?”

Chrysalis shrugged. “Oh, a bit of cardio, some magical reps, a well-balanced diet...”

“N-no!” Cadance interrupted. She was shaking, but she still had enough will to glare at Chrysalis. “The harmony...how did you get around the harmony? It was keeping you weakened, asleep...”

Shining glanced at his wife questioningly. “Cadance...”

“How!?” Cadance screamed, tears trailing down her cheeks. “How are you awake!? Why won’t you just go away and leave us alone!?”

“Ah, well see now, I believe that might be my fault.”

Cadance, Celestia and Luna all froze simultaneously at the voice, their magic extinguishing itself.

“My bad, really, I’m a terrible influence, I know. It’s just that, well, you know how I am.”

‘No.’ Celestia thought numbly.

“I’ve never been happy with the status quo, always sided with Discord and enjoyed some anarchy now and then.”

‘Impossible.’ Luna protested weakly.

“But! Why worry about business, hm? This is a party! I just wanted to come along and celebrate the happiness of one of my oldest and dearest friends!”i

‘Please, not him, anyone but him, anyone at all!’ Cadance pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Gradually, the Alicorns turned around, dreading the sight that they knew in their hearts to be inevitable.

Scholar stood at the entrance to the gardens, hands behind his back as he grinned kindly. “Is that so much to ask?”

Celestia stared at him in pure panic. “How.”

Scholar cocked an eyebrow. “Hm? Do be specific my dear. What happened to the eloquent mare I once knew?”

“How the hell did you escape!?” She hissed, in absolutely no mood for games.

“They seem to be rather fond of that question.” Chrysalis commented idly.

Shining flashed his horn. “You, shut your mouth!” He glanced at the Princesses. “Princess, the Guard will be here any moment, what should we do?”

“Yes, what should they do, hm Celestia?” Scholar inquired. “Engage us? Fight us? Because if they do...” Scholar’s glasses glinted with hellfire. “We will take as many down with us as we can. Guards...” He swept his gaze to the side, out over the crowd, causing many to flinch back. “And civilians alike.”

Luna took a step forwards, her eyes blazing. “Lay a hand on our little ponies and thou shalt suffer a fate far worse than eternal imprisonment, knave!”

Scholar chuckled sardonically. “Maybe, maybe. But in the end, you’d still have corpses on your hands. As it is, it appears that we are at a stalemate.”

“You can’t attack us because we’d go down in a veritable blaze of glory.” Chrysalis said casually.

“And we can’t attack you because frankly we don’t have enough firepower to take the two of you on.”

Shining Armor wheeled around and took a menacing step towards the alien figure. “Make that four, creature.”

The light in Scholar’s glasses mimicked a raised eyebrow before he chuckled lightly. “Cute, but no. It’s two. Celestia and Luna are forces to be reckoned with, but you? You’ll put on a pretty little lightshow, sure, but in the end I’ll just scrape what’s left of you off my shoes.”

“And Cadance?” Chrysalis suddenly lowered her head to stare the shaking princess in the eyes, causing her to jump back in fear. A satisfactory grin played across her face. “Let’s be blunt here: You’ve lost your edge. You’re nowhere near close to the ice-cold tactician we once knew. She could calmly sip her tea while someone was writhing in agony from the poison she’d just served them and not even bat an eyelash. You?” Chrysalis sneered in disgust. “You’re despicable.”

“Chrysalis, enough!” Scholar said casually. “Please, this is a reception, let’s at least try to be civil, hm?”

The changeling snorted lightly and stepped back.

Scholar began to slowly walk forwards, the crowd parting before him.

Celestia swallowed heavily, staring at him. “What do you want, Scholar?”

The Rune Keeper hummed idly, cocking his head back and forth. “Let’s see... Concordia restored to it’s former glory, this pathetic nation burning in the flames of my unholy wrath, you, your sister and your niece’s heads on a pike...” He spoke easily, as though discussing the weather. He then snapped his fingers, pretending to remember something. “Ah, but for now, I’ll gladly settle for something far more low-brow.”

He held his hand out to his side and gestured. In a flurry of runes, a chair and a table flew out of the crowd, bowling over several ponies in the process, before settling directly in front of Scholar. In a single deft move, he swept the chair out and sat down in it. He then reached into his robes and drew out a black case and placed it on the table. He clicked two latches on the case open.

“I want...”

He flipped the case open, revealing...

An eight-by-eight grid of black and white squares.

“To play a game.”

For the longest time, there was silence.

Finally, Celestia got her jaw working again. “What!?”

“You heard me. A game,” Scholar said simply. “Come on, Celestia. It’s been over two thousand years since we’ve played anything! Don’t tell me you think you’ll lose even after all this time?”

Celestia was silent, staring at him in disbelief. Then, she slowly began to walk forwards.

Luna’s jaw dropped open in shock. “Sister!?”

The elder alicorn shot her a look. “It’s alright Luna, after all,” She looked at where Scholar was sitting worriedly. He smiled devilishly at her. “He just wants to play a game.”

Luna bit her lip before nodding hesitantly.

Celestia slowly trotted up to the table and stood before it, looking down on both the board and Scholar.

The human rubbed his hands in anticipation. “Excellent! Let’s begin!”

Celestia wasn’t swayed. “What’s your game, Scholar?”

He shot her an incredulous look. “Really now, I thought that was obvious!” He flourished his hand, materializing a White King. “Chess!”

She merely narrowed her eyes. “Please don’t insult my intelligence. I’ve known you for too long, you’d never waltz in here just to play chess.”

Scholar’s smile grew strained for a second. Slowly, he set the King down in the middle of the board. “Well, if you don’t want to play chess...” His smile turned sadistic as he raised an arm, runes swirling around it. Several ponies in the crowd gave cries of fear as runes suddenly encircled them as well. Scholar’s glasses glinted malefically. “How about ‘pop-the-pony’?”

Luna and Shining Armor scowled and took a step towards Scholar, but were halted by Celesta’s raised wing. Her expression had barely changed. “Chess is fine.”

The Rune Keeper grinned enthusiastically, dismissing the runes. “Perfect!” he exclaimed, picking the piece up again.

“But before we begin, maybe we can talk a bit?”

“Hmm...” Scholar pondered this for a bit, idly twirling the King in his hand. Finally, he shrugged dismissively and engulfed the chess piece in his hand, making it disappear. “So be it.”

Celestia sighed in relief. “Very well then.”

Behind them, Luna’s eyes widened in realization. Acting fast, she discretely gestured at Shining Armor, tilting her head towards the exit to the Gardens. Shining widened his eyes in realization. He turned towards Cadance, intent on getting her to join him, but scowled when he saw that Chrysalis has interposed herself and was keeping his wife terrified and off her game. He looked back at Luna and shook his head, eliciting a scowl.

“So!” Scholar leaned back in his chair, swinging his feet up to rest on the table. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, at the risk of repeating myself...” Celestia said. “How did you escape from Tartarus?” This question sent hushed whispers rippling through the crowd.

Scholar stared at her neutrally for a second before grinning. “Luna helped me.”

“WHAT!?” The Alicorn in question screamed.

“Oh yes,” he said cheekily. “Undid every lock and let me walk out right past her, no fuss no muss. It was really quite professional.”

“We-you-!” Luna sputtered in disbelief.

“Meaning that you tricked her and used some form of subterfuge to circumvent her.” Celestia said evenly.

Scholar’s grin grew devilish. “You know me so well, Celestia!”

“Yes, I do.” She said, a tinge of sadness entering her voice. “Which is why these actions confuse me. Why are you doing this, Scholar? Before you would never threaten the lives of innocent ponies.”

Suddenly, Scholar’s smile died, slipping straight off his face. “That’s the keyword, Celestia,” He said solemnly. “‘Before’. Before, you stood beside me, and fought for the greater good. Before, I trusted you. Before,” He scowled deeply. “You wouldn’t have ever betrayed me. Betrayed us.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. “We were presented with no choice.”

Scholar whipped his feet off the table and stood up, leaning over the table and into her face glaring straight into her eyes. “Wrong. I had no choice. I tried to stop Discord, I tried to resolve things peacefully. And for my troubles I was treated as a criminal, and forced to bear witness as you eviscerated Concordia and all it’s people, piece by piece.”

Celestia opened her mouth to protest-

“If you dare say that you had no other option, I will rip your tongue out and slaughter every last one of your ‘precious little ponies’.” He stated, his tone of voice low and deadly.

Her jaws snapped shut.

He continued to stare into her eyes, his entire being radiating hostility. “Two thousand years of unjust imprisonment, Celestia.” Scholar intoned darkly. “My patience has run out. I will see my goals met, and I could give a damn if I have to spill an ocean of innocent blood to do it.”

Scholar fell into his seat, breathing deeply to re-focus his mood. “We’re done talking. Let’s play.”

Celestia nodded tersely. “Very well then. I believe you have the pieces?”

Scholar’s mood flipped, returning to his jovial expression. “Indeed!” He exclaimed, producing the King again. “How about you play white, hm? You’re going to need every advantage you can get!”

The solar Alicorn shrugged noncommittally.

“Now, first off, we have the White King.” He placed the piece on the appropriate square. Suddenly, the playing piece was engulfed in a flash of bright light. When the light died down, it had been replaced with a miniature effigy of Celestia, wings spread and an imperious expression etched on her face.

“Strong, powerful, the most important piece on the board. Perhaps even the whole world? Well, according to her anyways. Personally, I just think she’s full of it.”

The real Celestia felt her eye twitch.

“Next, the White Queen!”

Another flash, and now Luna was present beside Celestia.

“Deadly, fast, feared by all. Notoriously over-estimated and unreliable, however.”

Luna growled viciously.

Another flash, and now there were twin Cadance’s, their heads bowed in sorrow.

“The bishop, once so wily and deceptive. But what changed? Was it when you laid a whole necropolis to rest, Solum Nox struggling against his shackles and screaming in rage? When you entombed the Citadel of Flames, with Pyrae Daemos still in it, roaring in fury?”

Chrysalis’s eyes narrowed in an accusatory manner. “Or maybe it was when you exterminated the trolls.”

Cadance flinched as though struck.

Chrysalis smirked in victory. “As I thought. But at what precise moment, I wonder? Was it when the queen raged at the death of her kind, and their only hope of propagation, and fought so fiercely that when she died, the surrounding landscape had been irrevocably ravaged? Was it when the notorious pirate captain fought you to the last and decided to go down with her ship, her own lover standing by her till the end even as the fleet burned around them? Or maybe...was it him?”

Cadance’s shivering redoubled, the mere memory terrifying her.

The changeling sighed in mock sympathy. “In all honesty, it’s hard to blame you. After all, to have the greatest preacher of peace in the world berate you, insult you, call you a monster with such vigor, such pure, unadulterated rage?” Chrysalis chuckled derisively. “It’s no surprise that you’ve become so pathetic.”

Apparently, Cadance still had some fight left in her. She grit her teeth and returned Chrysalis’s stare, a spark of rage present in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” She whispered harshly. “Call me pathetic.”

Chrysalis laughed mockingly. “Why shouldn’t I? After all, you can’t protect anything,” There was another flash of green light, and suddenly she was leering over Shining Armor. “Not even your precious little husband.”

Shining’s horn rapidly flashed purple as he tried to ensnare her in a barrier, but he cried out in pain as his horn was engulfed in an aura of sickly green energy. Queen Chrysalis smirked at the princess. “Well Cadance?” she taunted. “Aren’t you going to save your precious knight?”

Cadance breathed heavily. Slowly, her eyes and horn lit up in pink light. Her magic charged, growing brighter and brighter and brighter. And when finally, the magic reached it’s peak...

“I am angry...because I forgive you...”

It sputtered out, dying down as Cadance collapsed to her knees, sobbing miserably. “Damn it...I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry...”

The crowd watched in speechless horror as one of their beloved princesses broke down completely and utterly.

Chrysalis smirked victoriously. “As I said,” She released Shining Armor and turned around, trotting back to stand by Scholar. “Pathetic.”

Shining Armor leaned down and nuzzled his wife worriedly, but it couldn’t break through the emotions wrought by the raw memories.

Scholar smiled endearingly at Chrysalis. “Well played!”

She nodded and gave a fang-filled smirk. “It was my pleasure. Especially considering how she was the one who sealed my hive personally.”

Scholar blinked in surprise. “That’s news to me.”

Chrysalis gave a shrug. “Ah well. It doesn’t matter either way. I’ve got catharsis, she’s miserable, it’s a win win.”

They were speaking casually, ignoring the thin veil of magic and rage shrouding Celestia. “That was cruel, Chrysalis.”

Scholar waved his hand casually. “Personally, I’m of the opinion that that was rather fun. But!” He clapped his hands. “That’s neither here nor there. We were playing a game! Where were we again?”

Chrysalis tapped her chin in thought. “Well, seeing how I just made her Bishop useless, I believe that next would be the Knights, correct?”

He snapped his fingers. “That’s it! The White Knights!” Another flash, and this time it was two Wonderbolts on the board. “Famous, well renowned, elite,” He leaned back and smirked up at the clouds as Spitfire, Soarin, Rapidfire and Fleetfoot landed on the floating white puffs and glared down at him. “And right on time! Though,” He leaned in and stage-whispered conspiratorially with Celestia. “I think that this generation is a bit of a down-grade, you know? Comet Chaser would have been spitting feathers if he saw what they were like! I mean, seriously, publicity stunts instead of military maneuvers? For shame, Celestia, for shame!”

A gold aura engulfed his shoulder and shoved him back into his chair.

Scholar blinked in surprise before smirking. “Losing your temper, eh? Good! It will make your defeat that much more satisfying. Moving on, we have...the Rook!”

Now it was Shining Armor’s turn to take to the board.

“Tough and surly, he believes he’s a powerhouse, but in all honesty? He’s just a small piece playing on a board that’s so much bigger than he is.”

Shining Armor cast a glare over his shoulder, but was too pre-occupied with comforting his wife to do much else.

“And finally...” He swept his hand over the board. Left behind were the miniaturized renditions of the Elements of Harmony and (much to an onlooking drake’s annoyance) Spike. “The Pawns. Let’s be frank here...” He smirked at Celestia. “This pretty much speaks for itself.”

“HEY!” Pinkie Pie’s voice came from out of the crowd. “I resemble that remark!”

“I honestly don’t care!” Scholar returned in an amused tone of voice.

Celestia frowned in confusion for a second. Was there an...echo to Pinkie’s voice?

Her attention was drawn back to the board by Scholar speaking again. “Oh, wait! My bad, I forgot a few of your pawns!” Another snap and, to Celestia’s horror, a guard in uniform materialized.

With a large amount of clanking and stomping, a platoon of guards marched through the crowd, brandishing spears and pikes. They swiftly moved to surround the two interlopers. Simultaneously, a squadron of armored pegasi arrived and began circling above.

Scholar whistled as he looked around. “My oh my, so many pawns. How very unimpressive. Days were that I’d actually have legitimate reason to worry about a platoon.”

Celestia swallowed heavily, trying to refocus and calm herself down.

Trying to convince herself that she could win.

“Scholar, I am giving you one chance, and one chance only.” She stated imperiously. “Surrender, now. Maybe we can find some middle ground, room to negotiate-”

“Celestia.” Scholar was deadly again. “An entire species is extinct because of you. You and your sister have committed xenocide. There is not now, nor will there ever be any room for negotiation. Now then...” His smile was back, but now it was filled with pure malice. “I believe that it’s time for me to place my pieces on the board, hm?”

Before Celestia could respond, he flourished his hand and produced an obsidian rendition of himself.

“The Black King!” He exulted. “Powerful, charming, handsome, intelligent, talented-”

“Modest to a fault?” Chrysalis questioned innocently.

Scholar rolled his eyes. “Har har har, hilarious.” He placed his piece on the board, but unlike the white pieces, he placed his own several spaces out of place. He grinned mischievously at Celestia. “Ah yes, you see, Celestia, I took the liberty of playing a few turns without you. I’d extend my apologies, but I could honestly not care less about what you think.”

Celestia swore her heart skipped a beat as her pupils dilated. ‘Played a few-!? Oh no!’

Scholar moved on. He produced a piece of Chrysalis. “The Queen. Beautiful, skilled, influential, and with a good head on her shoulders.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the description. “Oh, is that all?”

The Rune Keeper twisted around and gave her an incredulous look. “Hypocrite!”

The changeling queen chuckled in embarrassment. “I suppose.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before smiling and sighing sadly. “Oh, very well then,” He placed the piece on the board next to his own. “She’s also very generous! I mean, look!”

To Celestia’s horror, he swept his hand over the board and materialized six pieces shaped like regular changelings.

“She was gracious enough to provide me with all these pawns!”

“Hey, we resent those implications!”

Celestia jumped in surprise and whipped around. She stared in shock. A changeling had popped out of nowhere and was mock-glaring at Scholar.

“Yeah!” Another Changeling had appeared and spoken up in a scratchy voice. “‘Pawn’ is an offensive title! It is completely unfair!”

“We could go on strike!” Another popped up. And another and another, on and on, appearing from out of nowhere within the crowd and speaking up.

“Yeah, let’s go on strike!”

“Union! Union! Union!”

“Give us dental!”

“We want a raise!”

“You don’t get paid, geniuses!” Scholar called out.

There was a moment of silence. Then...

“He’s right.”

“Good point.”

“Damn, we did not think this through.”

Scholar chuckled and shook his head. “For the record, these guys might not be very smart, but what they lack in brains, they make up for in ability. Because when you get down to the brass tacks...”

-o-

Twilight shivered in fear. “I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this...” She muttered, trying to process what she was hearing. Celestia, a betrayal, xenocide!? It was...impossible! Insane!

“Pst, Twilight!” the unicorn snapped her attention to her farmer friend. “We’re at the cake!”

Twilight swallowed heavily. She quickly re-focused herself. ‘Deal with this and get to my friends first. Then figure everything else later. I’m going to need a lot of checklists.’ She nodded quietly. “Alright, and stick close! We have to be careful, there are changelings in the crowd. Unless we’re careful, they’re going to try and...”

Suddenly, they emerged from the crowd, directly in front of the wedding cake. Twilight’s mouth ran dry.

The rest of her friends had arrived just as they did.

And they’d brought several long-lost identical twins with them.

The Applejack who’d led her to the cake turned around and leered at her. “Y’all were sayin’?” She mocked before she and five others were engulfed in green fire and reverted to their original forms.

“Why you-GAH!” The real Rainbow Dash tried to take to the air but was tackled from behind by a changeling that uncloaked from thin air. She crashed to the ground as the changeling and a partner held her wings.

“I’d suggest that you calm down!” The changeling growled.

“Grah, buck-ARGH!” Rainbow Dash screamed in pain when the two soldiers yanked on her wings.

“You’ve got pretty wings, Dashie,” The insectoid being mocked.

“Yeah!” his partner concurred. “Be a real shame to break ‘em!”

Rainbow Dash’s struggles ceased instantly as she panted heavily, glaring up at her captors.

“Hey Lacewing, I don’t think she likes us!”

“Awww, that’s too bad, Rotfang, I wanted us to be friends! HAHAHA!”

Twilight took a step backwards, discretely lighting her horn up...

Until a carapace-clad leg swung itself around her neck pulling her close. “Now now now, Twilight! You don’t want to leave just yet!”

She could hear the grin in the changeling’s flanged voice.

“The fun is just getting started.”

-o-

“They are damn good at their jobs.” Scholar finished smugly.

Celestia bit her lip as she watched the changelings corner the party guests and square off with the guards. With their active camouflage and sentience restored, the changelings were at least ten times as effective as they had been during the original invasion.

Scholar shook his head sadly. “Still though, Celestia. Tsk tsk tsk. I don’t even have all my pieces on the board and you’re already at a disadvantage. This game is not shaping up for you, is it?”

Celestia swallowed heavily. “Scholar-”

“Shhhh!” He interrupted. “Quiet! I still have a few pieces to put down. And you’re definitely going to want to see this. First!” Another flourish and he was holding on to a black tower. “My Rook. Faithful, unerringly loyal. Truly reliable, a person to trust. Oh,” He smirked at her deviously. “And I almost forgot.” He slammed the piece onto the board, causing it to shatter into the form of a minotaur. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and rumble.

“Strong.”

BOOM!

Walls of dirt and stone erupted from the earth, encircling the party and cutting it off from the outside world. When the walls stopped rising, a minotaur clad in bronze armor dropped to the earth like a meteor, shattering the earth around him.

The minotaur pulled himself to his full height and smirked triumphantly as he crossed his arms. “Iron Will is honored to inform you that the wedding is secure. There’ll be no more interruptions.”

Celestia paled as she looked his armor over. “Oh no...” She breathed.

“Then!” She whipped around as Scholar produced another piece. “The Bishop! Flamboyant, elusive, devilishly devious, and downright enchanting!” He tossed the piece onto the board where it began to spin madly across the tiles before finally settling into position, having morphed into the form of a caped unicorn.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion of silver light from the middle of the crowd.

“EXCUSE HER! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!”

Standing on a table was a light blue unicorn in silver armor and a purple cape and hat. The light was streaming from her body and twisting around her, blurring her like a mirage. Suddenly, she shot a huge blast of silver magic into the air that exploded like fireworks. Multiple guards and guests looked up to stare at it.

Celestia followed it up as well, but her eyes widened in panic within seconds. She quickly snapped her eyes down and cried out. “NOPONY LOOK AT HER!”

Luna’s eyes widened in recognition. She tried to step forwards, but before she could she was halted by multiple guards suddenly pointing their weapons at her and gripping her body with several shades of magic . Luna attempted to struggle and order them to release her, but when she caught sight of their eyes, she relinquished. They had stared at the light, and their pupils had been filled with it. Throughout the brawl, ponies were turning traitor and disarming their friends, family and allies.

Celestia raised her eyes and looked at her old friend pleadingly. “Scholar, please!”

“Shhh, Celestia!” he interrupted. “This is going to be really spectacular! Cause now, it’s time for the Knight!” He brandished the piece excitedly. “Brash, bold, and oh so boisterous! She’s loud, she’s aggressive, she can be a bit bone-headed at times...” He smiled with pride. “But that doesn’t stop her from a being a damn good ally. And an even better flyer!”

“SCREEE!” A predatory screech rang out from the sky. The Wonderbolts, who had been dealing with the aerial changelings, froze and wheeled around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Suddenly, Spitfire was blindsided by a streak of yellow and gold, struck down. She fell to the earth, her body lightly smoking. The remaining Bolts tried to scatter, but it was no use.

The streak wheeled around in an instant and caught up to Soarin, subjecting him to the same fate. Fleetfoot and Rapidfire tried to wheel around and fight back, but it was no use. The streak circumvented them, maneuvering above them and tackling them simultaneously, plummeting to the earth where they crashed with a BANG!

For an instant, dust obscured the area. Then, it was blown away as a griffon, clad in radiant golden armor, stood on her hind legs and flourished her wings, dispelling the cloud. She brandished the singed Wonderbolts as trophies, lightning coursing off her body as she screeched her victory to the heavens.

Celestia breathed heavily as she watched the demoralizing sight.

“Impressive, eh?” She slowly turned to stare at Scholar as he placed the playing piece on the board, morphing it to resemble Gilda. “But the finale is yet to come!”

She slowly closed her eyes in resignation. “What could you possibly have left? What’s left that you haven’t already done?”

“Ah, well see, that’s the thing,” He chuckled mirthlessly. “All I have left to play,” He held out two normal black pawns in his hand. “Are two measly little pawns that I didn’t even plan on. But!” he held up a finger. “They are tenacious little buggers. Slippery too. So slippery, in fact,” He placed them on the board behind the white pieces. “That they’ve been right under your nose this entire time. Say, Celestia, I’ve gotta wonder...” His smirk was that of the devil himself. “Isn’t it time to cut the cake?”

Celestia’s eyes snapped wide open in fear. “No...” She whispered.

She whipped her head around and stared at where the cake was. To her horror, Twilight and her friends had been cornered near the cake by a group of changelings.

“TWILIGHT!” She screamed.

The purple unicorn snapped her head around to stare at her mentor.

All of a sudden, a huge crimson blade emerged from within the cake, protruding directly above Twilight.

What occurred next...was a blur.

The blade whipped around in a frenzy, shredding the cake to bits. Then, there was a blast of flames, sending the pastry flying everywhere. Amidst the mayhem, something, two somethings flew out in a blur, grabbed Twilight and flew above the chaos of the crowd.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYONE LISTEN UP!”

The havoc slowly ground to a halt as everyone looked up to stare at the two beings.

They were both...unique, to say the least. For starters, they didn’t have any bodies or were even made of flesh and blood. They appeared to be two bowling-ballesque spheres of stone that had glowing magical eyes looking out of them. Floating by each of them was a pair of disembodied stone hands. The first of them was colored a rusty, bloody red, and was gripping in his hands a disproportionately huge sword. The other one, a leafy green, was holding a clearly terrified Twilight Sparkle by her neck with a single hand.

“Greetings, everyone!” The red one spoke in a high-pitched squeaky male voice. “My name is Null the Crimson Knight!”

“And I’m Nix, the Verdant Witch!” The green one said in an equally high-pitched but female voice.

“As of this moment, all the ponies here are gonna stop fighting!”

“Otherwise,” Nix held her free hand up to Twilight’s throat. Her hand ignited in emerald flames, causing Twilight to squeal in fear. “The pretty purple pony gets it!”

“Do not tempt us people!” Null swung his sword around like it was a baton. “I’m small, short tempered, and I’ve got the compensation to prove it!”

Celestia stared up at them dully. “Nix and Null. The Golem Twins. Your personal assistants.”

Scholar nodded happily. “Yup! Swung by the statues, Discord says hi by the way. All I had to do was give them a jolt and they were good as new. Now then,” He clapped his hands. “All the pieces are in play! It’s time for the game to begin! As always, white moves first. But, for the record...” His smile became pure evil. “I think you and I both know that there’s only one viable move right now. And for her sake,” He tilted his head towards the Golems. “I’d recommend you take it.”

Celestia stared at him silently. Slowly, she looked around.

She saw her little ponies cornered either by changelings or enchanted guards.

She saw the Wonderbolts, unconscious from electrocution.

She saw Cadance, sobbing miserably and Shining holding a barrier up to keep any aggressors away.

She saw Luna, ensnared by their own guards.

Their eyes met. For the longest moment, they stared at each other.

Finally, Luna closed her eyes and nodded.

Celestia nodded back and turned back to the board. She took a calming breath before lighting her horn up. Her own piece was engulfed in a golden aura.

Slowly, decisively, her own piece tilted backwards and fell down.

Scholar smiled and nodded happily. “Checkmate. I win.”

Suddenly, he shot to his feet and brought his fist down on the board, shattering it and sending the pieces flying.

He stared emotionlessly into Celestia’s eyes, his runes whipping around him.

“The time for games is over.” He said solemnly.

“Now is when things get serious.”

To Be Continued...

Author's Note

Attention readers! I made a reference in the chapter! A stache to the first person who successfully identifies it!

Chapter 8. Hostile Negotiations

The reception was frozen, all parties staring silently at the two most powerful beings present. One victorious, the other defeated.

Scholar and Celestia both bore stone-cold facades. Scholar’s was determined, Celestia’s was solemn.

They stared into each other’s eyes silently, until at last...

“What do you want, Scholar?” Celestia asked quietly.

“I already told you my long-term goals,” He said emotionlessly. “But I do have a new short-term,” His eyes narrowed viciously. “The Lexicon, Celestia. Now.”

Celestia opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “Before you try and lie to me about where it is, allow me to remind you that I ran out of patience centuries ago. The only valuable answers are yes and no. Lie, and the Twins go to work.”

The red golem chuckled sadistically from where he was floating, twirling the huge sword as though it were weightless. “Yeah. Please, test us! Do it, and you’ll end up with half a student.”

Twilight whimpered in fear. ‘This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening-!’

“Woah woah woah, hold up Null!” Nix interrupted. “I didn’t agree to this!”

“What!?” Null whipped around and glared at her. “The plan was that if Celestia refuses to cooperate, we make the brat go bye bye! Are you getting cold feet!?

Twilight looked up at her captor, hope in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

“Hell no! I’m with you, I want to make her suffer!”

Then again, maybe not.

“My issue is with your means of dispatching her!” Nix’s hand lit up in flames again. “I want to immolate her, burn her alive nice and slowly, not just slice her up!”

“Wh- are you- URGH!” Null jerked the hand holding the sword. Somehow the huge blade was sucked away into his palm and out of sight. He wheeled around and looked down at Scholar. “We’re gonna need a minute.”

Scholar waved his hand casually. “Go ahead, I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be here awhile.”

“Good.” Null turned around and zipped up right next to his sister. “Nix, what the hell are you playing at?!”

“Me? What about you! The way you go on and on about cutting her up, oh please!”

“And what’s wrong with that!?”

“Burns are clearly superior to blades, duh!”

“I-are you out of your mind!? Nothing surpasses slitting a person’s throat! Blades!”

“Wrong! Charring the flesh off bones will never be beaten! Burns!”

“Blades!”

“Burns!”

“Blades!”

“Burns!”

Celestia groaned and facehoofed. “Scholar, this is insane! Please, make them stop.”

Scholar nodded in agreement. “Absolutely.” He looked up at them. “Nix! Null! You are being incredibly rude!”

“Sorry boss!”

“Immolation and bisection, shame on you!” He admonished. “Those means of execution are far too mundane! Be creative!”

“Yes boss!” They chorused.

Null flicked his hand, and from out of his palm shot a very large red syringe. “Exsanguination!”

Nix’s hand became covered in an icy green fog. “Frostbite!”

A large red ax. “Decapitation!”

Green lightning. “Electrocution!”

Celestia gave the grinning Scholar the evil eye. “That is not what I meant.”

“Don’t care! This is hilarious!”

“Hilarious!? They’re terrifying her!”

“As I said...”

“Uuuurgh...” Celestia shook her head in defeat. “You still know how to be obnoxious when you don’t like someone.”

Scholar became solemn again. “Two thousand years in the deepest darkest hole ever constructed doesn’t leave a lot of room for personality change.”

A tinge of sadness entered Celestia’s eyes. “Scholar...”

“Save it.” He cut her off. “I believe you were going to try and convince me to not utterly destroy you, hm?”

Celestia glanced at the crowd that was watching them fearfully. “Fine. But can we at least relocate to the throne room?”

Scholar slowly grinned ferally. “So you want some privacy, eh?”

The solar monarch paled, realizing her mistake. “Scholar, please-!”

He glanced at Chrysalis, still grinning. She smirked in return, her eyes momentarily flashing green. Then...

“OW! Get OFF of me you damn-!”

“When Ah get a hold of you, Ah’m gonna buck you straight over my barn!”

“Oh! P-please, e-excuse me...”

“This is not how you handle a lady!”

“WHEEE! Crowd surfing!”

“Ouch! Get off of me, you damn dirty insect!”

And without further ado, the remaining free Elements and Spike were shoved into the clearing in the crowd.

“Greetings, nuisances!” Scholar said gleefully.

“Ah, go buck yerself.” Applejack scowled.

“Darling, language!”

“Rarity, no offense- OUCH! YOU ARE GOING TO EAT HOOF, LARVA-BREATH! Urgh, we are way beyond that point,” Rainbow Dash growled.

“HA! What tipped you off, dweeb?” The pegasus’ jaw dropped as Gilda stomped up to them, grinning predatorily. “The point when I totalled the Wonderbolts in ten seconds flat?”

Coincidentally, ten seconds flat was how long it took Rainbow Dash to regain her speech“ GILDA!? Wh-why the hell are you with him!?”

“What, a griffon can’t get some new friends? Talk about being a hypocrite!”

“Hmph! Indeed!” Trixie concurred as she trotted up alongside Gilda. “It’s no surprise that Trixie was able to show up such an uncouth ruffian!”

“You no good varmint!” Applejack growled. “I ain’t even surprised a bottom-feeder like you hooked up with these no-good changelin’s.”

“Oh please, like you’re one to talk! Hello, Appaloosa called, it wants it’s unseemly headwear back!”

“Why I oughta-YEOWCH! Watch it ya hard-shelled sack a’ manure!”

“Heh, Iron Will believes that you won’t be doing anything for awhile,” The minotaur chuckled. “Not while we have you.”

Fluttershy paled considerably at the sight of the huge being. “I-Iron W-W-Will...” She whimpered.

“Hmph.” He snorted derisively. “Still a doormat, hm? It really is a good thing you didn’t pay Iron Will.”

Celestia blinked in shock. “Wait, you all know these individuals?”

Rarity nodded hesitantly. “I-indeed your highness. Each of these ruffians has come to Ponyville on previous occasions, each bringing their own brand of trouble! But...we had no idea that they were associated with...him!”

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the trio. “Oh? And why were you three gallivanting around in their backwater, rundown, poverty-ridden-”

“We get it, you don’t like us!”

Trixie huffed arrogantly. “Trixie went to that two-bit shantytown because she heard that ‘her glorious solar majesty’-”

“You know that I neither ask anybody to call me that nor does anybody call me that, correct?”

“Button it! Anyways, Trixie heard that your apprentice was no longer surrounded by twenty-four seven guard, wards and six-foot thick walls, so Trixie thought she might as well take her chances and level the playing field a bit however she could!...next thing she knows, an Ursa Minor is knocking at her door and ends up making her homeless.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled mockingly. “Yeah, showed you! Hehehe-hurk!” She was cut off by the silver aura gripping her throat.

Trixie growled furiously. “Middle of the night, half asleep, and still keeping her true abilities under lock and key! The Enraged and Frankly Pissed Off Trixie would love to see you do better!”

Scholar coughed to grab her attention. “Um, Trixie? We already have a good hostage. Mind letting her go? She’s looking blue...er.”

Trixie snorted angrily and released the Element’s throat, leaving her to hack and wheeze.

Iron Will chuckled. “While Iron Will appreciates the enthusiasm, you have to admit it was somewhat half-assed.”

Trixie rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, and your little scam went perfectly.”

The minotaur shrugged indifferently. “Hey, at least Iron Will got the scent for Cerberus in the end.”

“Which failed!”

“How was Iron Will supposed to know that the Discord-dog liked belly rubs?!”

Scholar chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, Cerberus is a real softie when you’re nice to him. Strangers he chews, friends he licks,” He sent a smirk at Celestia. “People who slap mind-control collars on him, he mauls.”

The alicorn swallowed heavily. Powerful she might be, the anti-magic mutt was still a nightmare made real.

“Anyways,” He said, turning to the golden griffon. “What about you, Gilda?”

Gilda froze momentarily. In a moment of weakness, she momentarily glanced at Rainbow Dash before staring straight ahead. “Same as Trix. The most powerful and important pieces in Celestia’s kingdom? How the hell could I refuse?” She snapped her fingers in mock realization. “Oh, wait! Now I remember!” She jabbed a talon over her shoulder at Pinkie Pie who’d been gleefully using her a nearby Changeling as a mirror. “The pony that acts like she’s on a permanent lightning high!”

Rainbow Dash jerked against her captors trying to throttle the would-be Stormknight. “You rainbow-huffing feather-brained trai-!” She cut herself off when a gold-lined wing snapped itself beneath her chin, crackling with energy.

Gilda narrowed her eyes venomously at her. “Do you seriously want to test me?”

“Gilda! Again, we have a hostage!” Scholar intervened. “And unlike the ham-winged way you’re going about things, Nix and Null are handling her properly!”

“Draw-and-quarter!”

“Poison!”

“Skinning!”

“Pure magic overload!”

Twilight was shivering uncontrollably in fear in Nix’s grasp. Finally, she regained enough sense through her panic to use her magic. Her horn lit up, preparing her teleport-

ZAP! “YEARGH!”

Right until Nix grabbed her horn with her free hand. Twilight yelped in pain as green energy danced over her body.

“Oooh, nice try purple!” Nix taunted, a smirk obvious in her voice. Twilight whimpered as she was hauled up by her neck so that the golem could stare her in the eye. Her tone suddenly became deadly. “But futile.”

“Hehehe,” Null chuckled ominously as he flew up close to her. “Yeah. Let us give you a little history lesson.”

“Scholar made us to be his go-to golems. In Concordia, we were the Pimp Hands of God.”

“Right Hands, damn it!”

“We’ll call ourselves whatever we want to be!” Null returned. “Anyways, we were his enforcers.”

“And as such,” Nix continued. “We had to be able to take down any opponent whatsoever, make sure that they couldn’t resist us.”

“For me, he gave me pocket dimensions in my hands,” Null flicked his hand again, withdrawing a huge hammer which he swung around effortlessly. “With my arsenal, there’s no physical opening I can’t exploit, no defense I can’t break through.”

“And he gave me pure energy control,” Nix said, lighting her free hand up. “So not only do I have a variety of energy-based attacks and spells literally on hand, but I can undo any magic easily. Spells? I cancel. Barriers? I shatter. Basically, anything you try? Doomed to failure. Got it?”

Twilight nodded silently, shivering the entire time.

“Good. Now, where were we?”

“Magic overload.”

“Oh, right! Drowning!”

“Branding!

“P-please...” Twilight whimpered. “J-just let me-!”

“Quiet!”

“We’re discussing how to best slaughter you!”

“As such, this conversation doesn’t concern you!”

Fluttershy shivered in fear as she listened to the horrifying conversation. She looked up at Scholar with big watery eyes. “P-please mister Scholar, can’t you just get them to be a bit more gentle? I-if it’s not too much trouble.”

Scholar stared at her for a second before cupping his chin in thought. “Chrysalis, how should I handle this? Above her by way of ‘talk to the hand’ or direct with a simple ‘screw off’?”

Fluttershy’s eyes wavered with unshed tears. “P-p-please...”

Scholar shrugged indifferently. “Ah screw it.” He stuck his hand in her face. “Talk to the hand.” He then moved the fingers up and down like a mouth, muttering ‘screw off’ out of the corner off his mouth.

Fluttershy swallowed heavily. “I-I’m s-sorry...I d-didn’t want to...”

Scholar blinked in confusion before turning to look at her. “What are you-?” He cut off as he caught sight of Fluttershy.

Of her eyes.

They were...pissed!

She flared her wings and broke past the changelings holding her, flapping right into his face, looking him right in the eyes. “Tell those mean golems to let go of Twilight, then take your mean changelings and your mean friends and go away!” She said forcefully.

Scholar could feel it.

Dread, despair, misery. All life as he knew it, pointless.

And rage, such inestimable rage! Flowing into him!

It was like staring into the face of a vengeful god!

It was like staring into the depths of hell itself!

It was...it was...!

So very very very boring.

Scholar yawned casually. “Is that the best you got?”

Everyone watching who knew what the Stare was dropped their jaws in shock. Fluttershy especially faltered. “H-h-HURK!”

She was cut off by Scholar engulfing her throat and crushing her windpipe with his hand. “Because seriously,” He smirked viciously. “That’s just pathetic.”

Celestia paled beneath her coat. “Scholar-!”

“Whaaaat?” Scholar asked casually. “I’m just saying that her ‘look of death’ needs a bit of work is all! Is that so much to ask? Saaaay,” His smirk grew to positively feral proportions. “Maybe I should give her a little demonstration, hmm?”

“Scholar, please, I’m begging you!” Celestia pleaded desperately. “I’ll give you the Lexicon, I’ll give you every artifact in the vaults, just don’t do it!”

“Mmm...nope!” Scholar exclaimed. “I am going to show her how it’s done! It’s a matter of pride!” He turned back to the shivering Fluttershy. “Now then...” He leaned in close, face to muzzle with her, her terrified eyes staring into the discs of light that were his glasses. “You’re going to feel a slight tingling sensation...followed by most of your senses shutting down from pure, unadulterated fear.”

Before anyone could move, his free hand was at his glasses and he’d lifted them onto his forehead, staring into Fluttershy’s eyes unabated.

Rage.

Fire.

Power.

Pain.

Wrath.

Burning.

Burning.

Burning.

Fluttershy was shivering uncontrollably as though in the middle of a seizure, foam dripping from her mouth as she stared into the supernovas that were Scholar’s eyes.

“FLUTTERSHY!” The rest of the Elements cried out.

“LET HER GO!” Rainbow Dash cried out, struggling against her changelings.

“Scholar, enough!” Celestia cried out, all but crying.

Scholar held the stare for a second more before shrugging indifferently. “Fine, fine, whatever. He slipped his glasses back on and dropped Fluttershy. She lay on the ground, shuddering frenziedly. He chuckled as he looked down at her. “Ah, nothing like giving out a healthy dose of existential despair!”

Gilda whistled appreciatively as she watched the pony all but have a stroke. “Neat. Any chance of me trying some of that?”

“Depends, do you want to feel your soul crushed in the icy yet infernal hands of a wrathful god?” Chrysalis asked sarcastically.

“...”

“Gilda?”

“I’m thinking!”

“That does not fill me with confidence.”

“HEY!” Scholar raised an eyebrow as a pink pony bounced up and glared at him through his glasses. “That was really mean! You’re nothing but a big fat party-crashing meanie!”

The human smirked at her mischievously. “Yes, yes I am a meanie.” He brought his hand up to his glasses. “Do you want to see just how big of a meanie I can be?”

Pinkie froze for a moment before swallowing heavily. She plastered a nervous smile on her face. “How about instead we see how the comic relief are doing? Guys?”

Nix’s hands were lit up like an emerald barbeque again, Null was holding a very big red spear, and Twilight just looked sick.

“You already suggested immolation you moron!”

“This is not immolation! Immolation means that we reduce her flesh to ashes in seconds, burning her alive means that it’s slower and she feels every second of it!”

“It still isn’t as good as impaling her! That way, she’s left to struggle and writhe as she watches her blood slowly drip down the shaft! Jiggle her around a bit and her intestines will be hanging too!”

“But what about the smell? The smell of cooking flesh, how can you surpass that!?”

“Easily thanks to how it protrudes from her back-!”

“ENOUGH!”

All attention shifted from the golems’ morbid argument to a huffy Pinkie Pie. The two zipped up to her and looked her in the eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about?” They chorused.

Pinkie pouted angrily and glared at them. “You two are supposed to be brother and sister, right?”

The both of their eyes twitched as they glanced at each other angrily.

“Not by choice.”

“For once we agree.”

“Then stop arguing!” She cried out! “You’re siblings! Siblings are supposed to love and support each other! You’re better together than you could ever be apart!”

For the longest time, Nix and Null were silent. Then, their eyes softened and they looked at each other calmly.

“She’s right.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit to it.”

Pinkie smiled happily. “Great! Say, would you mind-?”

“I mean, our best work has always been together!”

“Remember the way we took down that fully-armored centaur in the Briar Timberlands?”

“I stunned him with my lightning."

“And I slammed the top half of his head off with my war club, right!”

Cold sweat began to trail down Pinkie’s coat. “Uh, guys?...that sounds great, but...”

“And I’m sure we could do better here!”

“Yeah! We can come up with a great way of killing this unicorn, together!”

Pinkie’s eye twitched. “Guys?”

“Alright, your plan is to run her through...”

“And yours is to set her on fire...”

“So if we combine them...”

“Then we impale her...”

“...and roast her...”

Nix and Null trailed off as they stared at each other. Slowly, an eager spark came into their eyes.

“We can cook her alive!” They cried out eagerly. They looked back at Pinkie happily. “Thanks’ Pinkie Pie!”

“You’re welcome!”

“PINKIE!”

The pink pony flinched. “Woops, sorry Twilight...”

“I’m so happy we’re in agreement!” Nix squealed happily. “So, we’ll run her through, cook her, take the spear out-”

“Woah woah woah, why would we take the spear out?”

“Um, hello? How else do we make a flambé?”

“Flambé!? Ew, yuck! No way we’re making her a flambé!”

“What!? Then what the hell do you want to make her?!

“A kebab! Obviously!”

“WHAT!?!” Nix screeched. “You’re mad! Flambés are clearly superior!”

“Kebabs are eaten with sticks! One does not surpass eating with sticks!”

“What one does not surpass is food that’s on fire! Flambés are better!”

“No, kebabs are!”

“Flambé!”

“Kebab!”

“Fla-!”

“Why...”

The two cut off their mounting tirade when they heard the quiet voice. They looked down at Twilight.

“Huh?”

“You say something, main course?”

“Why...” She whimpered. “Why are you doing all of this?”

The Golem Twins’ eyes glinted mischievously.

“Ooooh, now isn’t that a good question.” Nix cooed.

“One with a nice, long, complicated answer. A very old answer.” Null concurred.

The two tilted their head/bodies towards Scholar.

“Whaddaya say boss?”

“Mind if we recite your biography?”

The Rune Keeper shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’ll be nice to dredge up the past,” He glared at a visibly nervous Celestia. “It’ll upset those who wish for it to remain buried.”

The Twin’s eyes glinted again. “Perfect!” They chorused.

“Now then, listen up, boys and girls.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, your attention please!”

“What we are about to tell you is one hundred percent true!”

“The story of the first empire upon Mundus!”

“The story of the arrival of Scholar!”

“The story of the rise!”

“And the fall!”

“Of Concordia!” The finished in harmony.

“Now, let’s start at the beginning...”

“Long, long ago, there lived a very powerful mage.”

“The mage was an intellectual, a magic scientist, who loved knowledge above all else!”

“He scoured his world for all knowledge of magic, seeking it out from varying cultures and species.”

“However, he eventually outpaced the knowledge, learning so much that the world grew boring to him.”

“So he came up with a brilliant plan!”

“If the world he was on held no more mysteries...”

“Then maybe another would!”

“And so the mage used his vast magic and knowledge and performed a feat none had ever done before!”

“He traveled to a new world!”

“It was all he had hoped for!”

“New people!”

“New magic!”

“New knowledge!”

“Once more he traveled, his life extended thanks to his skill in his craft."

“But eventually, he once anew learned all there was to know.”

“So once more, he traveled!”

“And so it went!”

“From world to world!”

“Universe to universe!”

“Until one day, long long ago."

“Over two thousand years to be precise!”

“He landed here!”

“On Mundus! Well, you guys call it Equus, which is completely wrong,” The two took a moment to glare venomously at Celestia.

“But anyways, the point stands!”

“When he arrived here, he knew that Mundus was unlike any other world he had visited!”

“It was filled with magic! The air, the water, even the earth itself!”

“And the species! So many different kinds, so many different ways of life!”

“Back then, conflict was extremely common.”

“Griffons and minotaurs clashed, giants and titans battled, the undead waged war against the dragons."

“And so on and so forth.”

“But the mage cared not for their battles, he desired their magics!”

“And so, he traveled amongst the species, learning their ways, their ancient knowledge, and showing them his.”

“He had done this many times before, but this time, something peculiar happened!”

“He made friends!”

“Sure, some relations were strained, tenuous at most."

“But the connection was present."

“He somehow found people with whom he was willing to trust his life.”

“And who were willing to entrust their lives to him in turn.”

“Eventually, the mage learned all there was to learn.”

“Once anew, he prepared to leave."

“But he found he could not!”

“When he tried to cast the spell, his heart ached!”

“The thought of leaving his friends was unbearable!”

“Unthinkable!”

“Impossible!”

“And what pained him even worse was how his friends fought with each other.”

“No longer could he stand by and watch as war was waged."

“No longer could he allow blood to be shed!”

“And so, the mage acted.”

“It was no small feat. He had to bring his many friends together, have them work together, learn to tolerate each other, trust each other.”

“It was difficult. The wounds were many, the scars ran deep.”

“But slowly."

“Surely."

“He did it.”

“His friends began to become friends with each other.”

“Wars began to slow, and eventually, they ground to a halt.”

“At the mage’s prompting, the species actually began to band together.”

“Talon joined with claw, fang joined with hoof, scale joined with fur.”

“And so many others!”

“It took years."

“It took blood."

“And sweat."

“And tears."

“But eventually, the result was met.”

“There was peace.”

“There was unity.”

“There was Concordia.”

“Led and protected by the Thirteen Oligarchs who founded it.”

“And taught and governed by an organization of the mage’s devising.”

“The Academia Arcana.”

“An institution that accepted members of all races.”

“And whose sole purpose was to collect, protect and propagate all knowledge.”

“And to utilize said knowledge in every way possible to protect the innocent.”

“For the longest time, all was well.”

“War no longer ravaged the land."

“Little to no conflict was to be found.”

“It was the closest the world would be to a utopia.”

“Some said it would last for eternity.”

“Some said that it would never be forgotten.”

“They were wrong.”

“Concordia was betrayed from within.”

“Cast down into the abyss by three who had aided it.”

“Three who had sworn to protect it.”

The two glared once anew at Celestia, this time including Luna and Cadance in their ire. “Three who had helped found it,” They intoned darkly.

Celestia swallowed heavily. “Nix, Null, look, you don’t-!”

SHINK! “EEP!”

Twilight shivered violently as she tilted her head up, doing her utmost best to distance her neck from the red barber’s razor the was tickling her fur.

“My apologies,” Null said dully. “I get twitchy whenever someone interrupts us. Now may I continue?”

Celestia nodded silently.

“Great! Now then...”

“The betrayal was by no means wholly unexpected.”

“For a long time, the traitors had been acting...twitchy. Everyone knew that something was amiss, just not what.”

“Finally, one day, it all came to a point.”

“The land of the traitors, Equestria, was flooded with a corrupt brand of magic known as harmony.”

“Harmony had many effects on the world. It stilled the land, halting the blowing of the wind, the raging of the rivers, and even the growth of the plants.”

“The land was domesticated, shackled, only allowed to move at the whims of the species of the traitors, the ponies.”

“However, as horrifying as this action was to the rest of Concordia, there was another effect of the harmony that was far worse.”

“It poisoned the other species who came into contact with it, inhibiting them from naturally absorbing magic from the air, suffocating them and driving them into a profound slumber.”

“Some, such as the minotaurs and the griffons, managed to remain conscious.”

“But at what cost? Their magic was robbed of them!”

“The minotaur could no longer delve into the earth, the griffons could no longer manipulate the air and lightning to their whims as they once had!”

“Even the ponies themselves were limited, with many of their old arts no longer within their reach.”

“Those within the harmony lived little more than a life in chains.”

“The other Oligarchs of Concordia were furious!”

“Such blatant transgressions could not be left unpunished!”

“All of the Oligarchs were up in arms to lynch the traitors.”

“All of them. Save for the mage.”

“He advocated a peaceful approach. He stated that the traitors should be brought to stand trial fairly, as common criminals.”

“But before he could go before them and tell them of this decision, another of the Oligarchs went mad.”

“Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, was deeply disturbed by the harmony. He went on a rampage, devastating Equestria, and many lands beyond.”

“In the end, he failed. Petrified by the traitor’s harmony and placed on display.”

“At the time, the other Oligarchs were forced to abandon their plans of retribution to rectify the damages wrought by Discord’s fury.”

“But unknown to them, the traitors had come to a decision.”

“When the mage came to their home to try and bring them to justice, he was unprepared for what would come next.”

“Upon his arrival, he was apprehended, convicted, and imprisoned.”

“Then, the traitors began the unthinkable.”

“They began to spread their harmony beyond their borders, poisoning the entire world with their invisible miasma.”

“Without the mage, the remaining Oligarchs fell into disarray, reviving old conflicts and arguments.”

“Concordia died a long, slow, painful death.”

“And throughout it’s fragmentation, the traitors sealed each species one by one.”

“The Oligarchs and all other species were imprisoned. Laid to sleep and eternal slumber.”

“All fought against them, but some more so than others. Some fought fiercely, unrelentingly to the very last.”

“When all other magics were entrapped, the traitors at last turned their attention to the mage.”

“They built a prison of enormous capabilities, impenetrable both magically and physically.”

“They sealed him away, locking him up for all eternity.”

“Because they knew, they knew that if he ever escaped-”

“That there would be hell to pay.” Scholar finished icily as he glared at Celestia.

The alabaster alicorn tried to speak, but the golems weren’t finished.

“Anyways! The triple-breed bitches got their hands on us and sealed us when we tried to break Scholar out.”

“Yeah, save that they kind of screwed the whole thing up.”

“Two thousand years we were sealed up. Conscious!”

“The first hundred years were the worst.”

“The second hundred years were the worst too.”

“We didn’t like the third hundred years at all.”

“After that, it all went into a bit of a downward spiral.”

“We went insane!”

“Then sane again.”

“Then I went insane and she went sane.”

“Then I went insane and he went sane.”

“Then we were koalas for awhile.”

“See, that is completely insane! There is no way that we were koalas!”

“Then explain the urge to eat eucalyptus leaves!”

“Simple, we were great gliders!”

“Oh for- you moron! The eucalyptus was our primary food!”

“Then how about you explain the instinct to climb a tree and glide away from predators!?”

“Urgh. You are unbelievable!”

“Anyways! Now we’re completely sane!”

“Yup! Nothing insane about us here!”

“Now then, shut up and let us get back to discussing how to cook you alive! Kebab!”

“Flambé!”

“Kebab!”

“Flambé!”

“And that’s how Equestria was made!” Gilda said snidely.

The Element bearers didn’t hear her. They were too busy staring at Celestia in horror.

“P-princess...is this true?” Rarity stammered.

“P-princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, her voice full of tears.

The princess was sweating like a pig, glancing around nervously. “I- Scholar, there were a lot of circumstances-!”

“Ah ah ah ah!” Scholar held his finger up. “You know what I’m hearing? A lot of you not giving me my uber-powerful grimoire and consequently condemning your student to a fate as a...hey guys, how we doing on that?”

“We’ve decided to compromise on a roast!” Nix said.

“We’re now arguing on the fruit toppings!” Null added.

“I suggest the classic apple!” She continued defiantly.

“And I propose the far more new-age banana!” Null waved around the yellow fruit.

“The apple is traditional! And it’s delicious!”

“The banana is far more superior! It’s an excellent source of potassium!”

“Buck that! Apples’ll always be way better than any of yer confounded bananas!”

“APPLEJACK!”

“Er, sorry Twi’.”

“Why do you even have a banana?!”

“Because it’s a party!”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”

“You always bring a banana to a party!”

“Thank you!” A brown pony in the middle of the crowd cried out.

Scholar smirked at the Alicorn. “As you can see, it would be in your best interests to get me that book. And soon, I’m beginning to feel a bit peckish.”

“ENOUGH!”

Everyone whipped around and stared at the origin of the shout.

“Oh? You got something to say, Luna?” Scholar asked calmly.

The dark Alicorn’s horn lit up blue and tossed away the ponies holding her down. Her entire being ignited with power as she glared at him venomously.

“No more of this, you scoundrel!” she growled. “We shall end you, here and now!”

Chrysalis and the Magisters awakened their magic, preparing for conflict...

Right up until Scholar held up his hand, waving them down. He smirked at her. “Oh? And you’re going to...what? Strike me down?”

Luna growled angrily. “Most painfully.”

Scholar was silent for a second before chuckling. “Go ahead.”

Luna’s magic faltered. “What!?”

Everyone else stared at him in shock. “What!”

“You heard me.” He smirked. “Strike me down. I won’t stop you!...on one condition.”

Luna narrowed her eyes as her magic flared at the challenge. “Name it.”

His smirk became feral. “Don’t hold back.”

The blue light broke off in shock. “...w-what?” She stammered.

“I repeat: you heard me. Full. Power,” His glasses glinted malevolently. “The same way you devastated that Night Demon army on the Obsidian Plains.”

Luna’s pelt paled violently. “N-no...”

“Yes,” He stood up, the illumination from his runes angling just so to cover him in shadows. “There’s only one way to get me. End the Dream.” His expression would have made the devil himself piss in fear. “Begin the Nightmare.”

Luna shivered violently as she took a step back. “I...n-no, I-!”

“Can’t, huh?” Scholar chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s what I thought. How you’ve always been. Suuure, you can be vindictive at times, but end of the day? You always screw up at the last moment. Come on, Luna! DO IT!”

She swallowed heavily, her magic flickering like a dying torch.

Scholar was relentless, his runes becoming vicious. “Do it, Luna! Do it, or I swear to you I will find the Lexicon. I will leave this place and I will burn your world to the ground! Your culture, your people, all of it!” He took a menacing step forwards, his arms spread wide, presenting her with a target.“Strike me down Luna, or watch the world burn!”

Luna swallowed heavily, glancing around for an escape.

“Do it!”

That did it.

Luna loosed a feral growl, her lips pulling back in rage. Her entire body shone like a supernova as she levitated off the ground.

“Luna!” Celestia cried out fearfully.

The protest went ignored as she levitated even higher. Slowly, dark smoke began to pool and swirl around her, raising up to encase her in a pillar of smoke. The magic darkened from silver to a deep, dark purple.

Scholar chuckled venomously. “That’s it, Luna. End the Dream.”

Slowly, the smoke coalesced. It took the form of the front half of an alicorn. Dark magic shone out of the eyes as black wings flared out, shadowing the crowd. The form threw it’s head back and whinnied in rage as it stared down at it’s foe.

“Begin the Nightmare.”

Magic illuminated the wispy horn in dark light as magic charged, preparing to blast Scholar.

Before it fired, the nightmarish pony caught sight of Scholar smirking victoriously.

It caught sight of Celestia staring up at her in horror.

It caught sight of all the ponies watching her with fear.

Finally, the magic reached it’s apex. It brought it’s horn to bear, preparing to blast him.

At long last...

The clouds collapsed inwards in an explosion of smoke and energy. When the clouds dissipated, all that was left was Luna, sobbing miserably.

“We...We can’t...We can’t do it...We can’t...” She cried.

The crowd stared in horror, all of them paralyzed by the sight.

Everyone, that is, save for Scholar.

“As I thought,” He said quietly walking up to her. “You might speak a big game, but in the end, you will always balk.”

Luna sobbed miserably. She’d tried, she’d tried so hard, but in the end, she just couldn’t summon the Nightmare. She...she just couldn’t.

Slowly, fingers placed themselves beneath her chin and lifted her head. Through her tears she met Scholar’s eyes. They were filled with pity.

“I want you to remember something,” He whispered. “When this world burns in the flames of rage, when your ponies scream in fear and pain. When the seas run red with blood and the skies burn crimson, I want you to remember.”

Suddenly his hand whipped around her muzzle, gripping it shut as he leaned in, his expression and runes twisted into a representation of pure rage. “It was all your fault,” He hissed. “You could have stopped it all. You could have stopped me. But you didn’t. When this world dies, remember: it dies...”

He leaned in, right next to her ear, and whispered harshly.

“Because you were a coward.”

With those parting words, Scholar released Luna, leaving her to collapse to the ground and sob miserably.

Trixie worked her jaw, trying to find something to say. “I...er, that was...”

“Holy shit!” Gilda exclaimed. “That was harsh!”

“You can attribute it to my patience running thin,” Scholar replied icilly. He turned around and faced Celestia once more, his expression absolutely frigid. “This is your last chance, Celestia. Give me the Lexicon De Arcana. Now.”

Celestia was silent for the longest time before bowing in defeat, her mane obscuring her sorrowful visage in shadows. “I can’t.”

Scholar stared at her emotionlessly. “So be it. I’ll just retrieve it myself.”

The Alicorn whipped her head up and stared at him in confusion and distress. “Wait, you-!?”

“I already know where it is,” He finished. “Yes, I knew when we arrived here. The whole point of this endeavor was to proffer to you a final chance at redemption. Congratulations, you failed spectacularly.”

Celestia was speechless, staring at him in horror.

“Now then,” Scholar continued. “Allow me to demonstrate that my capabilities have not been diminished over the years.”

With that statement, he flung his arms out, runes swirling actively around them both. To the shock and mounting horror of the ponies present, the stone walls that enclosed them suddenly lit up with larger and more complex series of runes.

It took a few seconds for the proper synapses in Celestia’s brain to fire, but when they did she paled visibly.

“A Venti Canis Array,” She whispered in terror.

“Indeed,” Scholar responded. “I’d say that a nice buffet of fear will hit the spot.”

Light poured out of the runes and filled the entire area, engulfing the crowd. Once it faded, the ponies were staggering and shaking their heads, trying to clear their heads of the fog that had overcome them.

Scholar had also been affected. He had been glowing with magic before, but now he shone like a lighthouse, magic blazing out of him. His runes were little more than blurs of light as they orbited his being.

“Now, for the end of an era,” Scholar stated darkly. He raised his arms, sending his runes high into the air and generating a pulse of magic.

CRASH!

Celestia’s eyes widened as the sound of shattering glass rang out from Canterlot Castle. “Oh no...”

Scholar smirked in mock sympathy. “It’s not your fault. It was actually quite smart! But there was something you didn’t know...”

Suddenly, several small flecks of light zipped down and stopped directly in front of him. Now that their motion had stopped, it was plain to see that the flecks were actually...

“Glass?” Spike asked dumbfounded.

“Bingo. Stained glass to be exact.”

A veritable flurry of glass flew down, freezing and snapping into varying positions in front of Scholar.

“See, it was so close to my lab that all the explosions were shaking bits and pieces out. And seeing how it always took forever to find them, I enchanted the whole thing with a tracking array. So when I got close and sensed that here? For what other reason would you have displayed, albeit in pieces, in your throne room?”

The last of the glass shards flew down and affixed themselves into place.

Standing erect before Scholar was a stained-glass rendition of himself. It mirrored him accurately, displaying his robes, his runes, even his glasses. But most important of all was his position. His left hand was raised as though he were lecturing a crowd, and in his right he held a large book with rune-engraved covers, letters pouring out of it’s open pages.

The light surrounding Scholar died down as he cut down on the flow of magic. He smiled nostalgically as he raised his hand and gently brushed the window. “It’s been so long,” He whispered. “The last time I saw this was the last time I left Vitrum,” His smile died slowly as he took several steps back and stared at it. “Shame to destroy it.”

He flung his arm out, casting a flurry of runes into the window.

A moment of silence.

Then...

CRACK!

A huge crack spiderwebbed out, originating from the book and spreading across the entire thing.

Scholar gestured once with his hand.

It all happened in slow motion.

From out of the window smashed the book depicted. It was a little less than a foot wide, a little more than a foot long, and almost half a foot thick. On the covers and running down the spine were several glowing arrays. It flew straight into Scholars right hand, glass shards glistening as they flew around him.

Once in his hand, the grimoire snapped open and the pages began flipping endlessly, runes spewing out of it like a geyser.

Scholar floated into the air as the runes surrounding him evolved from a small flock to a large cloud.

Iron Will stared in awe at the sight. “Incredible...”

Chrysalis smirked happily. “You think this is good? This is nothing. He’s just getting back up to normal standards.”

Scholar raised his free hand. To his left, the runes swirled into a huge, powerful Array that flashed with magic before fading from sight. Then another appeared to his right. Then another in front, behind, above and below. More and more, on every side.

‘No!’ Celestia mentally screamed. She lit her horn up with golden light, aiming it at him, trying for a final time to strike Scholar down.

The Rune Keeper whipped around, whipping his hand from his grimoire to the air in front of him. Another Array materialized instantly in front of him, shining down upon Celestia.

Scholar spoke, his voice drowning in pure magic. “Third Psalm of the Olympian Pantheon: Binding of Helios!” The shards of glass that had been following Scholar snapped into several spears of magic and glass. They lanced down, directly at the Alicorn.

SHINK!

“CELESTIA!” Twilight screamed in fear.

The fear was unfortunately unneccessary. The arcane spears had very narrowly missed her, close enough to brush her, imprison her, halt any movements, but not run her through.

Finally, Scholar snapped the book shut singlehandedly, a gigantic, final wave of arcane energy washing outwards from himself. He dropped to the ground, landing squarely in front of Celestia. He glared down at her imperiously and gripped her horn. The Alicorn flinched in pain.

“I could end you,” He intoned darkly. “Here and now, I could snap your neck like a twig.”

Celestia stared up at him in fear. All of the ponies stared at him in pure horror and terror.

Finally...

He released her horn and stepped back, settling with glaring at her. “Nix! Null!”

“We have decided on a well-done roast with a combination of apple and banana toppings.”

“Seasoned with oregano, cilantro, and paprika!”

“It sounds delicious. Put it in a cookbook and save it for later,” Scholar gestured with his hand, the Lexicon briefly flashing before a pillar of light and runes coalesced behind him. “We’re leaving.”

“Awww!” Null groaned as he stowed the spear he’d been brandishing.

“Too bad!” Nix lamented sadly. “Ah well! Bye bye pony!” She tossed Twilight away.

The purple pony grunted in pain as she landed on the unforgiving ground.

Chrysalis’s eyes flashed green as she spoke commandingly. “Come along, kids! Party’s over!” The changelings released their captives and began to stream through the pillar-like portal.

Rainbow Dash, once released, snarled furiously, flapping her wings and shooting at Scholar like a cannonball. “YOU BAS-YEARGH!”

She screamed in pain as a Rune Array faded into view almost five feet from Scholar’s body and zapped her, sending her careening off and leaving her smoking like her idoled Wonderbolts.

The human mage eyed her dispassionately. “How barbaric.”

Gilda laughed morosely at her old friend’s fate. “What can you do? Rainbow Dash will be Rainbow Dash,” And with that statement, she strode through the light.

Trixie flourished her cape as she prepared to leave. “The Majestic and Victorious Trixie bids you all farewell!” She called out as she stepped out.

Iron Will tromped into the portal silently.

Chrysalis stood by silently, waiting for Scholar.

The Rune Keeper swept his gaze out over the crowd. “The next time I return here,” He said darkly. “It will be to burn Canterlot to the ground.”

He turned around, beginning to stride for the portal, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Scholar...”

He slowly turned around and stared at Celestia. She was gazing at him mournfully, fighting against the magical bonds that were keeping her down.

A moment of silence. Then...

“I’m sorry,” She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Scholar remained unmoved. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” He replied coolly.

With those final parting words, he left, Chrysalis and the Golem Twins following along.

The pillar of light dissipated, and so did Celestia’s bonds.

In the middle of the crowd, in the middle of all of her frightened and confused subjects, Princess Celestia, Solar Diarch of Equestria, Sol Invictus...

Cried silent tears of regret.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 9. Full Steam Ahead!

It had been almost a week since the invasion of Canterlot. The invaders had relocated themselves to the changeling hive and had been waiting there ever since. But most assuredly their tasks were of the utmost importance.

“The Ennuied and Weary Trixie is boooored!”

Then again, maybe not.

Trixie, Gilda and Iron Will were sitting in an open area of the hive, waiting impatiently as time meandered by. All around them changelings silently bustled about, performing whatever chores and tasks Chrysalis assigned them and communicating telepathically. Two millennia of neglect hadn’t been kind to the hive, so there was a lot of maintenance to be done, tunnels to be re-opened and section to be restored. Scholar’s assistants were floating above them.

“We get it already!” Null groused.

“Yeah! You’ve only been moaning it for the past days!” Nix added exasperatedly.

Gilda snorted derisively. “Yeah? That doesn’t make it any less true!”

Iron Will nodded. “Agreed. We’ve just been waiting here and we haven’t made a move!”

The Golems were silent for a moment before sighing despondently.

“Yeah.”

“We know.”

“But it’s not our fault!”

“Scholar’s doing some important stuff!”

“Oh yeah?” Gilda griped. “Like what!?”

“Well, for starters, he’s seeing what kind of resources we’ve got!”

“You know, how many other members of the Academia are out there, how many artifacts are still around, that stuff!”

Iron Will flinched at that. “Yeah, that will probably take awhile. After spending so long hiding, we’ve gotten really good at it. Scholar might have come back, but now the Guard has redoubled their watch for any members of the Academia. They’ll be scared out of their minds and digging themselves as deep a hole as they can.”

Nix nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what we thought.”

“And then there’s the second thing too.”

Trixie raised her head and glowered at them. “And by second thing, Trixie assumes you mean-”

BOOM!

The trio flinched and the changelings froze in fear. The muffled sound of an explosion erupted from deep within the hive, shaking the walls and causing a cloud of dust to fall to the floor. After a minute, the changelings picked themselves up and went back to their tasks.

“That,” The unicorn ground out.

“Yup.”

“Pretty much.”

Gilda growled in frustration. “For Aeolus’s sake! It’s been a week and he’s still tearing the ground up!”

“Well what can you do?” Nix asked sadly.

“Yeah,” Null concurred. “He’s got two thousand years of temper stored up and he had to let the best possible targets go or risk destroying the world!”

“And this entire situation has him pretty pissed too.”

“Especially because...well, you know.”

Gilda blinked before turning around to gaze at them curiously. “No, actually, we don’t.”

“Indeed!” Trixie added. “What are you two referencing?”

The Twins glanced at each other, for a second before floating towards a nearby tunnel and motioning at the trio. “Follow us,” They chorused.

The trio got up and slowly followed them, Iron Will ducking to avoid the low ceiling.

“As you can see,” The magic-golem said. “This place, Endos, while sturdy, is not built for anybody who isn’t a changeling.”

“The changelings interacted with others via a trade city built above the hive named Exos,” Her brother continued. “Unfortunately, time wasn’t as kind to it as it was to the hive.”

“To put things simply, Endos isn’t a good base of operations.”

“If it were in it’s prime? With a little work, maybe.”

“But as it is? No.”

“Scholar’s first move upon getting back was to try and locate a more suitable headquarters.”

“The headquarters, which we had always used.”

The Twins sighed wistfully. “Vitrum.”

Gilda snapped her talons as she searched her memories. “Hang on, hang on, I know this one. Vitrum, the... Luxurious Jewel of Concordia, right?”

“Radiant Jewel, but same basic idea,” Nix said.

“Scholar all but built Vitrum, put it together from the ground up!” Null continued.

“It was our capital!”

“The nerve center of the entire world!”

“But when he tried to find it...”

“That’s where things went wrong...”

Trixie tried to ask what they meant, but was interrupted before she could speak. “We’re here,” The two chorused simultaneously.

And indeed, they had arrived at their destination. The trio were now standing on a stone catwalk that ran around the circumference of the stone room, as well as multiple circles of runes. Below them on the ground was a raised circular platform that had an intricate Rune Array engraved upon it. Hanging above the center of the dais was an obsidian stalactite that also had runes running across it.

Iron Will whistled appreciatively as he looked around. “Iron Will is impressed. This is some serious magic. Something about...observation?”

“Gold star to the bull,” Nix said.

“This is the Omnisciens Camera Obscura,” Null concluded.

Trixie blinked in surprise as she translated the name. “Omniscient Dark Room? Trixie understands the purpose of the latter two words, but the first escapes her.”

“Because,” Nix said as her hands lit up with green energy. Before her fingers appeared a glowing array of runes. She tapped one of them decisively. “Of this.”

The glyphs that covered the room lit up with magic. The black crystal was especially powerful, runes floating around it for a moment. Suddenly, they all condensed into the stalactite before a beam of light shot down to the dais below. There was a blinding flash of light, and then...

“Woah...” The trio of magisters breathed as they gazed down at the sight before them.

Where once there was only stone was now a luminescent image, a holographic representation that displayed what was obviously the Badlands that were at least a mile above them.

“Holy shit, is this real time?” Gilda asked quietly.

Null nodded proudly, his hands placed upon imaginary hips. “Yup!”

Nix giggled as she looked it over. “And we can change the view too! Look!” She tapped on the runic keyboard again.

The image became blurry before refocusing into a town made primarily of wood that had ant-like ponies walking around. “Dodge Junction.”

It turned blurry once more before coalescing into a large expanse of trees. “Everfree Forest.”

Blur and then a familiar and colorful community. “Even Ponyville!”

Gilda’s eye twitched as she watched a blue speck zip around through the clouds. “Why exactly are you showing this to us?” She asked irritably.

The golems’ perky attitude withered. “Zooming out and relocating,” Nix said emotionlessly as she tapped on the glyphs again.

She and Null turned around as the holograms blurred anew. “We can’t look, it’s too painful,” Null moaned.

The magic constructs coalesced and the three onlookers gasped in shock.

“I know, it’s horrible isn’t it?” Nix lamented.

“Simply dreadful,” Null agreed.

“Are you two out of your stone heads!?” Gilda demanded.

“This- it’s-” Trixie stammered.

“Beautiful...” Iron Will breathed.

The Golem Twins jerked in surprise. “BEAUTIFUL!?” They demanded simultaneously.

“What the hell is beautiful about a barren!”

“Desolate!”

“WASTE-!” They whipped around in synch, but froze at what they saw. “...land?” They finished lamely.

The scene before them was anything but what they had described. What lay spread out before them was a metropolis. Vast, sprawling and intricate in design, constructed from a wide array of the purest of crystals. In the exact center of it, towering above all else was a massive tower of diamonds, supported by a trio of legs.

“That wasn’t there an hour ago,” Nix whispered numbly.

Null’s reaction was more violent. He quickly jerked his hand and produced a huge megaphone. “BOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!” He bellowed at the top of his non-existent lungs.

There was a flash of green light and Chrysalis were there. “Null, I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed!” Scholar growled irritably. “So what the helllllllooooo Vitrum!” He trailed off as he looked down.

“I know, right!?”

“We just checked!”

Scholar worked his jaw for a second before whipping around to face Chrysalis, eyes set in determination. “We need to get up there, before Celestia becomes aware of this!”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, but shut it with a growl when her eyes flashed green. “Unfortunately, that will prove to be a problem,” She snarled. “One of my infiltrators up north just reported that the base he’s in noticed. They’ve already sent a message. She knows.”

Scholar’s grip on the Lexicon grew tighter. “They have a headstart on us, they’re closer, and it’s too far for either of us to feasibly teleport to either in one shot or spread out, damn it!” He roared, slamming his fist into the wall. “I will not let them take it again!”

“And you won’t.”

Everyone present turned around to behold a changeling. This one had bronze eyes and was wearing a tool-belt and a pair of goggles.

“Chitter?” Chrysalis asked in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

Chitter smirked mischievously. “My apologies, my queen, but you were so agitated that we were unable to inform you of the latest developments. You see,” His smirk became eager. “We‘ve managed to re-open that section of the hive,” He turned to look at Scholar. “I believe that it will suit your needs?”

Scholar blinked in confusion before his eyes widened in realization. Then, slowly, he smirked victoriously. “Yes...” He said quietly. “Yes it will.”

-o-

The group emerged from the tunnel and entered into yet another expansive cave. Standing before them were a pair of curious vehicles, upon which all the changelings present were frantically swarming over, working hard to prepare them.

Held upon stone scaffolding, the twin constructs were made of sleek stone and had lines and lines of runes coursing along them. They were shaped like the racing boats often found in Mareami or Los Pegasus, but had a raised seat in the rear and an open area for sitting in the front.

Behind the vehicles, also upon scaffolding and also with changeling workers were two stone rings that were wider across then the vehicles. Lining the inner edge was a ring of crystals. Running all over them was a vast collections of runes and glyphs.

Scholar walked towards the vehicles with pure determination, not even turning his head as he spoke to the changeling rune-engineer that was keeping pace with him. “How long until the rune gliders are ready?” He demanded.

Chitter hummed and tilted his head in thought. “Oh about...” Suddenly, the gliders lit up as magic coursed through the ancient runes. The changeling workers scrambled back as both the boats and the rings slowly hovered off of where they’d been resting. “Zero seconds?” He finished coyly.

Scholar ignored him, instead addressing the rest of his entourage. “Nix, Null, you two are driving. Trixie, Gilda, you’re riding with Nix. Iron Will, you’re with me and Null. Chrysalis, you’re staying behind. Co-ordinate the changelings and get your hive back to full power.”

The insectoid matriarch shrugged indifferently. “Fine by me. I don’t want to go up there while the climate arrays are down anyways. Those tundras are colder than Solum’s personality!”

Scholar nodded in acceptance. “Glad to hear it. Now, come on, saddle up!”

The Twins flew up to the control platforms on the gliders. Simultaneous gestures from their hands produced Rune Arrays in front of the both of them that they began tapping on, prepping the rune gliders for launch. Scholar’s Lexicon lit up briefly with runes before two Arrays appeared beneath Scholar and his companions before lifting them up and depositing them in the seats of their respective rides.

Another flash and runes were in front of all six of their foreheads. “Communications check,” Scholar’s voice said in their ears. “Confirm functionality.”

Gilda nodded, tapping into the rune with her magic. “Confirmed.”

“The Ready and Willing Trixie confirms!”

“Iron Will confirms as well.”

“This is Chimaera One!”

“And Chimaera Two!”

“Both confirmed!”

Scholar rolled his eyes. “Confirmed, communications are working, and you two are not Chimaeras whatever.”

“Awwwww...”

“Anyways,” He continued. “Here’s the plan: If we want to get to Vitrum first, we’re going to need to push these rune gliders to the limit and keep them there. Unfortunately, the problem with this is that that there isn’t enough magic in the air to give them that much power, and my anti-harmony ward won’t work right on constructs. Fortunately, we have a substitute.”

He opened his grimoire and flicked an Array out of the pages, sending it between the gliders and displaying a hologram of a train chugging along a set of rails. “The Equestria Express. It’s powered by magic running along all the lines, so we’ll be riding close to them at all times so as to leech off of the energy and max things out. Yet again, however, therein lies another problem,” The image shifted, displaying a map of lines criss-crossing across Equestria, one in particular lit up. “The fastest route to the north runs straight through Canterlot. Any other junctions would involve detours that would take too much time, so we’ll be heading right next to the Alicorns.”

“And how exactly do we plan to not get caught by them?” Iron Will asked.

“Well,” Scholar said, “If we power through fast enough, they might not be able to get it together fast enough to come after us. Otherwise...”

“Play it by the ear?” Gilda asked.

Scholar nodded. “Bingo.”

Gilda sighed despondently. “Of course...”

Suddenly the runes on the vehicles flashed again. “All systems are green!” Null said.

“We’re good to go!” Nix concurred.

“Glad to hear it! ALRIGHT, LET’S GET MOVING!” Scholar bellowed.

Chitter’s horn lit up as he activated the hangar’s P.A. system. “All workers, clear out of the danger zone. I repeat, clear the danger zone unless you want your organs splattered across the walls in a blast of occult energy.”

“Isn’t he cheery?” Gilda muttered.

Chrysalis shrugged, remaining where she was as her children moved back. “The popular opinion is that he got caught in one or ten too many blasts.”

“Everything tastes like purple!” The magi-engineer chirped.

Trixie’s eyes widened as a sudden realization hit her. “Wait, isn’t he the one who prepared these things?”

“Never fear!” Nix chirped.

“Yeah! We’re here!” Null finished.

“THAT IS NOT REASSURING!”

“Initiating countdown!”

“Well, that’s my cue!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Good luck, and bring me back a souvenir!”

“You too!” Scholar called back.

Chrysalis and Chitter snapped their wings open and flew back into the safety of the surrounding cave.

“Three!”

The rings hovering behind the gliders began to hum and spin rapidly, energy pouring into their centers and filling the emptiness with light.

“So, wait, how do these things work?” Gilda asked nervously.

Scholar jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Those rings are the propulsion systems. They’ll push us forwards towards Vitrum.”

“That sounds logical,” Trixie nodded simply.

“Two!”

With a low, growling rumble, the cavern roof split in two, spreading wide and exposing the clear blue Badlands sky.

“That isn’t!” Iron Will exclaimed in a mild panic. “Scholar, if these things are meant to go forwards, why is the exit up there!?”

“Weeeell...” Scholar trailed off sheepishly.

Nix and Null’s ominous chuckling did not put the Magisters at ease.

“One!”

More rumbling, only now it came from below. Slowly, rectangular strips of stone beneath the gliders began to tilt back, the constructs angling up towards the sky as well.

The Magisters were frozen in fear as they stared into the sky with horror.

“Oh,” Trixie whispered.

“Fuck,” Gilda continued.

“Us,” Iron Will finished.

“Yeah, now you see why I didn’t share any details.”

“I don’t suppose its too late to wuss out?” Gilda whimpered.

“Entirely!” The Twins squealed.

“BLAST OFF!”

BOOM!

In a single large blast, the energy in the rings was expelled out their backs, launching them straight up into the sky.

Chitter giggled madly as he hopped around. “Yay! It worked! It worked! They didn’t go boom!”

Chrysalis held her smile for a second longer before dropping it sadly.

‘Be safe.’

-o-

“YOU’RE INSANE!” Gilda screamed as they flew into the sky.

“THAT’S COMING FROM A GRIFFON!” Trixie added.

“If you think this is insane,”

“Watch this!”

As one, the Golems pulled back on the rune controls, tilting the gliders up farther and farther until they were upside down. Back and back, until finally they made a full loop and flattened out, running parallel to the ground.

The Magisters panted heavily as they zipped along the wasteland.

“See?”

“Wasn’t that fun?”

“All...of Iron Will’s hate...” Iron WIll growled. “All of it.”

“Oh grow a pair,” Scholar scolded. “All of you. You big babies.”

“There is a special place in hell for people like you,” Trixie muttered.

“...I can live with that.”

“Urgh,” Gilda groaned, slumping back into her seat. “...so what now?”

Scholar grew serious again. “Now?” He responded calmly. “Now we burn magic for Vitrum.”

They flew in silence for a few minutes before Iron Will finally spoke up. “So,” He rumbled. “Why did you build the capital of the world in the frozen tundra of the north?”

“That’s an easy one!” Nix said.

“Ley lines!” Her crimson brother finished.

“Pop quiz!” Scholar exclaimed. “Definition of ley lines! Go!”

“Oh, Trixie knows this one!” The unicorn exclaimed. “Currents of magic flowing beneath the crust of Mundus, some big, some small.”

“They are the veins of Mother Gaia,” Iron Will said calmly. “They spread life to all nature, giving energy, allowing plants to grow, feeding the very air and water.”

“But the really interesting parts are where multiple ley lines intersect,” Gilda said seriously. “Places of great power. The more ley lines, the more powerful the area. In it’s natural state, an intersection shows a strong presence of nature, be it an extremely abundant part of a forest, an oasis...” She trailed off as she turned towards Scholar, a look of understanding crossing her face. “Or an especially vicious tundra, Scholar, how many ley lines are under Vitrum!?”

“A whole mess of them,” The Rune Keeper said matter-of-factly. “Intersecting and criss-crossing, there’s an ocean of magic beneath that barren wasteland. Well, it wasn’t barren once we were done with it anyways. We tapped Vitrum into it and then... One of the few places where we allowed any wide-scale climate control, and even then we kept it contained within the borders,” Scholar leaned back and smiled endearingly. “Man, you should have seen the summer cycles. Just...damn,”

Suddenly, his mood became somber. “Vitrum is a place of great power, and great influence. To hold Vitrum is to either hold the world, or close to it. Should Equestria gain control of it...” He met each of their eyes. “I will not lie to you. This war will be over before it can even begin.”

The group flew along in a somber silence for several more minutes. Then...

“E.T.A. to Dodge Junction, less than a minute,” The Golem Twins stated in synch.

“Punch it,” Scholar commanded.

Nix and Null pushed the arrays forward, forcing the gliders to run at the max. The town passed by in a blur and then the land just seemed to fade out as the gliders became impossibly fast, miles shortening so that they were crossed in minutes.

“I had no idea that the Express held such power...” Gilda breathed as she stared at the spectacle playing before her and her friends.

Trixie chose to scowl. “You’re wrong. It doesn’t. The Express lines siphon the ley lines, but the train itself uses a mere fraction of the magic offered. The rest is used either to enforce harmony-production arrays beneath towns and ‘protect’ them from the world...”

“Let me guess,” Scholar growled under his breath. “The rest feeds into Canterlot. Into the Alicorns.”

Iron Will shook his head sadly. “We’re sorry, Scholar. We’ve tried time and time again to rip the rails out, but they haven’t worked. They always replace them, and anyone who gets caught either goes away for a long time or...disappears. The Academia has lost a lot of good members trying to take the Express down.”

The human bowed his head. “It’s not your fault. Remember that, it is never your fault. It’s theirs. And we will make them pay. All of them.”

Once again they flew in silence. Finally...

“Ponyville incoming.”

“E.T.A. Less than a minute.”

-o-

Twilight sighed as she sat on her bench. So much had happened. Her world had changed so much. All because of that person. All because of Scholar.

Suddenly, there was the sound of flapping and she wasn’t alone.

“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said lightly.

Twilight nodded faintly. “Hi Dash,” She whispered.

Dash was silent for a second before she spoke again. “Twilight, is everything alright?”

The purple unicorn chuckled morbidly. “Do you want me to be honest or should I lie for your benefit?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip hesitantly. “Look, Twilight. Scholar isn’t here. I know he’s out there, but he’s not here.”

Twilight was quiet before she shook her head and smiled. “Yeah... yeah, you’re right. He’s not here. He’s probably got more important things to do. There’s not reason for him to come to Ponyville.”

ZOOM!

Twilight and Rainbow Dash jerked back in surprise as something big, glowing, and very very fast sped through Ponyville Station, bringing a huge wind with it.

Twilight blinked as she tried to process what had just happened. “Then again,” She whispered. “I suppose it is possible he could visit.”

Rainbow Dash stared for a second before growling furiously. “Like Tartarus he can!”

She tried to snap her wings open, but was halted by a purple aura engulfing her. “Rainbow Dash, no! If you try to go after him it will just end up like the reception, maybe even worse!”

The blue pegasus scowled and struggled. “No way! I just wasn’t ready!”

“Dash, you couldn’t do anything to him even if you were ready.”

Rainbow Dash’s struggles ceased as she looked at Twilight pleadingly. “But...we can’t just let him get away with whatever he’s planning!”

Twilight shook her head and let her friend go. “And we won’t. Come on!” She began galloping back towards the library. “I’ve got an idea!”

-o-

Gilda raised an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulder. “That’s weird, Dash should have been on us like a fly on a carcass.”

“Which means that something isn’t right,” Scholar muttered to himself. He raised his voice and spoke to the group. “What’s the structure of the railroad near Canterlot?”

“The tracks run through a tunnel in the mountain and up to the city proper or out to whatever other destination there is,” Iron Will explained.

Scholar hummed lightly and produced an Array in front of his face. He stared for a moment before his eyes widened in horror. “Is said tunnel supposed to be barricaded and guarded by a full platoon?”

“WHAT!?” Everyone else screeched.

Scholar responded by widening the Array, showing what he had seen.

The tunnel entrance was covered by a pair of stone shutters that were glowing with potent magic. Several armored ponies of all kinds stood in front of them, armed and ready to fight. Far more alarmingly were the pair of Alicorns that were also standing at the ready.

“Wh-how!?” Trixie demanded.

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” He growled. “All I care about is getting through and making sure that those two traitors don’t catch us.”

“But...” Gilda glanced at him worriedly. “You have a plan...right?”

Scholar was silent, eyes darting to and fro behind his glasses as he moved his finger through the air and muttered wordlessly. His comrades could see the gears turning in his head, numbers and runes crunching.

Finally, they all breathed a sigh of relief as he smirked triumphantly.

“Nix, Null, slow down. We’re going to need to prepare.”

-o-

Luna bit her lip as she watched the rune gliders approach. “Sister, are thou sure that this will work?”

The solar Alicorn shook her head in resignation. “Luna, this is Scholar. It is impossible to say for certain, but we still must try our best to buy Shining Armor and Cadance as much time as possible.”

“I don’t think you need to worry, milady,” A soldier in blue officer’s armor said confidently as he saluted.

“Major Aegis,” Celestia greeted.

Aegis was the officer in charge of the Guard while Shining Armor was away. “We have the tunnel fully barricaded and our men are ready and willing to fight. It is impossible for him to pass us.”

Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. “That is an ill-suited term, Major. Nothing is impossible for Scholar. To him, there are still many options for him to choose. We’ve cut off his primary route, but at best that will annoy him. Scholar is a man of many means and plans, what is impossible for us to definitively know which way he’ll go. Around the mountain, over it, even under it is an option!”

Suddenly, there was a flash from the gliders. The soldiers cried out in fear and confusion as magic and runes flew up the tracks, lighting up the rails until they ended at the barricade.

“Or...” Luna whispered in horror. “Charging through works just fine.”

Celestia quickly snapped out of her shock. “FALL BACK!” She screamed to the Guard.

Not a moment too soon. Just as the last soldier retreated, the gliders flashed anew before becoming streaks of light, reaching the barricade in seconds and barreling straight through, blasting it to smithereens in an explosion of arcane energy and momentum.

Luna blinked, trying to process what had just happened. “Well, he has certainly retained some of his more...defining qualities.”

Celestia growled in frustration and flared her wings. “After them!”

In a flash, the two of them took to the air, imbuing their wings with magic to accelerate and match Scholar’s speed. Within seconds, they had rocketed around the mountain and caught sight of their escaping foe.

Celestia channeled energy to her eyes and squinted, catching sight of Scholar. He was standing with a foot poised on the headrest of his seat, grinning up at the two of them, arms crossed. Celestia sighed in resignation. “He has a plan.”

Luna grimaced. “That is not good. His plans are never nice for whoever is on the receiving end.”

Suddenly, Scholar raised an arm, his fist clenched. In synch, Iron Will and Gilda stood up, revealing huge crossbows that they were clenching. As one, they pointed the weapons over the edge of the gliders, took aim, and fired. Out of the weapons came two huge bolts of magic, runes swirling around them as they streaked off almost as fast as the gliders.

Luna whipped her head back and forth as she assessed the situation. “The westwards one heads for Los Pegasus, the easterly projectile aims for Fillydelphia!”

Celestia clenched her eyes shut in frustration. “How much damage could they cause?”

“Considering the source? Anywhere from actually being beneficial to causing genocide.”

Growling under her breath, Celestia cracked an eye open. She caught of Scholar, now casually flipping a coin and making a show of catching it. “A Janus coin. He always did love practicing what was preached.”

Luna turned towards her worriedly. “So what shall we choose, sister?”

For a moment, Celestia was silent, staring down at her old friend and enemy.

Finally...

-o-

Trixie sighed in relief as the blue and gold streaks split off after the bolts. “Thank. Hecate.”

“I know, right?” Gilda chuckled as she set the portable ballista down. “Man, I was afraid that wouldn’t work.”

Iron Will grunted as he lowered the weapon. “Out of curiosity,” He asked quietly, turning his head slightly to eye Scholar. “What would happen if they did detonate?”

Scholar returned the questioning look neutrally. “An explosion with a ten-foot radius. Why?” He looked at the rest of the group. “Is that a problem?”

The Magisters were silent, their faces clear of emotion as they watched him, refusing to flinch.

Finally, Scholar chuckled and kicked his feet back as he sat down. “Good. For the record, they would have both hit penitentiaries, so most likely nobody innocent would be hurt, but I’m glad you asked. I want intelligent partners, not mindless drones.”

The group sighed in relief as they leaned back into their seats.

“So,” Trixie asked. “How much longer until we reach the north?”

Nix and Null made some quick calculations before responding.

“At the speed we’re going...”

“About five, six hours tops.”

“But before that,” Scholar added. “There’s one thing we need to do.”

-o-

Cadance sighed as she stared out the window, watching the lands pass by. She was broken out of her thoughts by her husband nuzzling her affectionately, a motion she returned. “Hey Shiny...”

“Hi Cadance,” Shining Armor said kindly. “Sorry I was gone, I just needed to make some rounds. Personally.”

Cadance smiled sadly as she looked at him. “Thank you, Shiny. But...” She looked out at the landscape again. “As skilled as you are...if Scholar or the Academia wanted to get me, there isn’t anything you could do to stop them.”

Shining frowned and raised a hoof to her shoulder. “Cadance...”

His wife shook her head sadly. “It’s not an insult, it’s a fact. The world of Concordia and the world of Equestria...they’re on different levels. They have been for a very long time.”

Shining bit his lip and bowed his head. “But I’m the Captain of the Guard, how far behind could I be?”

Cadance made to answer...

ZOOM!

But was interrupted by something speeding past the window.

Cadance and Shining Armor jerked back in shock. “What was-” Shining started to ask.

Cadance paled dramatically. “It’s him.”

Shining whipped his head around. “What!? But- hey!” He shouted after her as she galloped away.

Cadance slammed the carriage door open and ran up to the engineer. “You have to stop the train!”

The engineer turned around in shock. “What!?”

Shining Armor panted heavily as he caught up with her. “Cadance, what are you-!?”

“Scholar’s already passed us,” Cadance explained hastily. “That means he’s going to slow us down, make it so that-!”

BOOM!

The train was shaken by the vibrations from a huge explosion.

“What on...Equus?” Shining trailed off as he stuck his head out the window and stared at what he saw.

The rune gliders were still speeding on, and behind them where once there had been pristine rails was nothing but a smoking crater, twisted pieces of tracks scattered around.

“We can’t follow him,” Cadance whimpered miserably.

The engineer cursed and yanked on a lever, causing the train to let out several flurries of sparks as it slid to a halt. He scowled and stuck his head out the window surveying the damage. “Blast! He hit a junction! We’re gonna have to repair two whole sets of track! Gonna take us till way after sundown, at least!”

Cadance sadly turned her head and met Shining’s wide-eyed gaze. “That’s the power of Concordia,” She whispered. “The power of Scholar.”

-o-

The rune gliders shuddered as they went from the tracks to flying over the ice-laden ground.

Trixie shivered as the frigid winds hit her. “Brrr, this place is freezing!”

Gilda looked over her shoulder in surprise. “You mean your heating Array isn’t working?”

Trixie’s teeth chattered as she looked at her in confusion. “Wh-what h-heating array!?”

Iron Will looked over in confusion. “It’s in your armor, right behind your neck.”

Trixie grit her teeth to ward off the cold and sensed around with her magic for the array. When she found it, she fed her energy into it and was rewarded with her armor comfortably heating up. She sighed happily. “Ahhh, that’s the stuff.”

Gilda snickered. “What, you didn’t give your armor a once-over?”

The silver-clad unicorn huffed in embarrassment. “Give Trixie a break! She was pressed for time to get the armor and rendezvous with you all! She just made sure it would protect her in her dreams and not suddenly detonate, that’s it!”

Iron Will chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, a thought struck him and made him look over his shoulder at his superior. “Hey, shouldn’t we have slowed down if we left the rails?”

“See? This is why I like you!” Scholar exclaimed. “Now, if we were farther south, closer to Equestria, we would have because of the harmony. But this far north? There’s no harmony, meaning we don’t have to worry about that!”

Suddenly, the gliders juddered again and decelerated to the same point they’d been at when they’d initially left Endos.

Gilda blinked in surprise and looked over the edge hesitantly. “Err, and what does this mean?”

The Golem Twins eyes widened as they glanced at each other.

“This means...”

“That we’re in a lot of trouble.”

Scholar swallowed heavily. “Harmony, here? I knew that they would have installed something, but of this magnitude? This isn’t good, we need to get there now!”

The Twins nodded in synch. “Activating overdrive.” They chorused. The landscape blurred slightly as they accelerated again. Not quite the same speed as before, but close.

After a few minutes, the Twins cut the acceleration and turned towards the sides, letting the Gliders slide to a halt.

“We’re here,” They stated decisively.

And indeed they were. A few scant meters ahead of them, the tundra abruptly halted and was replaced with lush, green field out of which blew a warm spring breeze. And in the distance, glittering brightly, was Vitrum.

Scholar frowned and chewed on his thumb. “As I thought. Looks like they’ve mostly deactivated it, hidden a lot underground. And he is definitely asleep, I can’t sense him anywhere. Spring cycle is a bit early too, plus I can’t see any forests or rivers...” He sighed heavily. “Oh Vitrum, what have they done to you?”

The Twins narrowed their eyes angrily.

“We can definitely tell you one thing they’ve done,” Nix said darkly.

“The air is clogged with harmony, I don’t think we can go in there,” Null all but growled.

Gilda shook her head sadly. “It’s no use just waiting around, let’s move out,” She then proceeded to hop out of the glider and onto the ice.

The rest followed her, one after another, Iron Will cracking the ice as he landed.

When Scholar got out, he blinked in surprise as he touched the tundra. He looked over at Iron Will. “Do you...?” He asked hesitantly.

Iron Will closed his eyes for a second before he nodded and re-opened them. “It’s faint, but...yes, Iron Will can feel it.”

Trixie looked between them in confusion. “What are you...?”

Scholar shook his head. “I’m...not quite sure. Look, Nix and Null can’t go into Vitrum unless they want to undergo another dirt-nap-”

“WE DON’T!”

“So! I suggest we split up,” He jabbed his thumb at Iron Will. “Me, Iron Will and the Twins will find out what we can about what’s in the ice, you two head into Vitrum and dig up whatever intel you can find. Use the com-systems in the armor. You know how that works, right?”

Trixie’s eye twitched before she smiled mischievously. A series of runes flashed on her collar and then... “TESTING TESTING ONE TWO THREE FOUR!” Trixie bellowed.

The team gave cries of pain as Trixie’s voice rang out in their heads.

“Alright, I had that one coming...” Scholar muttered.

“Right, come on, Trix,” Gilda scowled. “Let’s go.”

And with that, the teams split up, Gilda and Trixie heading for the city and Iron Will, Scholar and the Twins walking into the Tundra.

-o-

Gilda frowned as she peered around the corner. It had taken about two hours for the gold-clad griffon and her friend to reach the city. Upon arriving, they’d stuck to the shadows in order to avoid the residents that were all milling about and talking with each others. All of them were strange ponies, their coats glittery and sparkling like gems. Some of them were speaking worriedly, others were cheering and hugging gleefully.

“So, anything that sticks out to you?” She asked over her shoulder.

Trixie nodded as she concentrated. “Yes, the Attentive and Perceptive Trixie has heard several ponies make reference to a ‘Crystal Heart’.”

Gilda scowled. “Yeah, me too. It sounds cute and prissy, and when it comes to Equestria, that’s usually bad news.”

Trixie nodded again. “Agreed. We need to know more. Grab one of them.”

-o-

Amethyst Glitter frowned as she stopped in front of an alleyway. She glanced around, trying to regain her bearings. ‘Damn it, where the hell was the meeting place again? Either Topaz’s bar or Obsidian’s punk shop...No, wait!’ She slapped her hoof to her forehead. ‘Emerald’s nightclub, of course!’ She turned around. ‘Alright, so I take a right down-!’ “YEAR-!”

She began to scream as she was suddenly snatched up from behind, but was cut off by a taloned hand clamping over her mouth.

Amethyst was carried into the alley and then turned around, showing off the identity of her captor: a female griffon. Her eyes widened in recognition as she stared at the gold-armor the avian-mammal hybrid was wearing.

“Hi!” The griffon said mockingly. “My friend would like to have a word with you!”

Amethyst began to speak as soon as the griffon let go of her mouth. .

“Nononono wait wait I-!”

That was all she was able to get out before she was turned around again and her field of vision was filled with silver.

The last words she heard were “Tell me about the Crystal Heart.”

After that, everything was a blank.

-o-

Gilda and Trixie stared in horror as the pony trotted off, oblivious to all that had occurred.

“Oh...” Trixie whispered.

“SHIT!” Gilda screeched, turning on the communications array as fast as she could.

“Scholar! Scholar, respond!”

-o-

“We’ve found something!”

“Yeah?” Scholar muttered. “What a coincidence. So have we.”

He, Iron Will and the Twins were in an ice cave, staring at what they’d discovered. They’d spent the past two hours tracking what they’d sensed and it had led them to a fissure in the ice that stretched deep underground, leading to where they were.

The group was awestruck at what they’d found.

“Holy...” Nix breathed.

“Crap...” Null finished.

Iron Will shook his head in awe. “This is...incredible...”

“Yeah? Well this is urgent!”

Scholar frowned, the fear in Gilda’s voice worrying him. “What is it?”

“The harmony!” Trixie said hurriedly. “It’s being caused by an artifact called the Crystal Heart! It was placed there by the Alicorns! It’s a harmony generator of immense power! Like the Elements, but on a far grander scale! It’s powerful enough to easily cover Equestria, maybe even Mundus as a whole!”

The group reacted with shock and fear.

“WHAT!?” The Twins shrieked.

“Oh no...” Iron Will breathed.

Scholar bit his thumb. “But how...” He murmured. He then slapped his forehead. “The main communications array! Damn it, we used that thing to broadcast information worldwide! They must have hijacked it! Combined with what you described, it could easily be used like that!” His eyes darted around as he thought furiously. “But still, simply plugging it into the lines wouldn’t be enough to start it, it would need some kind of jolt...”

“There’s some kind of Crystal Faire. Apparently the love and friendship from that powers the Crystal Heart and ‘protects the Crystal Empire’ and spreads ‘peace and hope’ across Equestria,’ Gilda growled over the Array.

Scholar hung his head. “A Venti Canis Array. Yeah, that would do it. Positive emotions always have a better conversion rate.”

There was a moment of silence. Then...

“Scholar,” Trixie said. “The Crystal Heart isn’t active.”

“What?” The Rune Keeper hissed.

“A thousand years ago, Vitrum was conquered by an evil unicorn called King Sombra. He enslaved Vitrum and hid the Crystal Heart somewhere. When the Alicorns got rid of him, his final action was to curse Vitrum so that it would be hidden away for a thousand years. Do you understand what Trixie is saying!? The Heart is inactive, yet we can already feel it’s effects! Should the Alicorns manage to find it, activate it-!”

“Enough!”

Silence reigned as the group watched Scholar pant and huff.

“Enough. I need to think,” He growled.

Scholar snapped the Lexicon open and began jerking his fingers around, moving runes to and fro as he paced. He muttered vehemently to himself in several languages as he thought furiously.

Suddenly, he froze.

Slowly, he turned and stared at what he and his friends had discovered.

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” He whispered.

Relief shot through his friends.

“I have a plan.”

To Be Continued…

Chapter 10. An Uneasy Alliance...VERY Uneasy

Celestia sighed as she stared out of the shattered remains of her window. Stared towards the north.

Stared and prayed for her student’s safety.

“Sister, this is...insane!”

The solar diarch turned her head to emotionlessly stare at her sister. “As you’ve said before, Luna,” She said quietly.

“And as we shall say again and again, Celestia!” Luna reprimanded. “You know what he is capable of, what he can-!”

“I KNOW!” Celestia shouted, her mane flaring gold and her eyes lighting up in fury. Luna stumbled back in fear as power flowed through her sister. Celestia breathed heavily for a moment before letting the energy drain out of her in a despondent sigh.

“I know,” She whispered. “But we don’t have another choice. We haven’t heard back from Cadance and Shining Armor in well over a week, and if-”

Luna gave her a flat look.

Celestia groaned and rubbed her brow. “Fine, because Scholar got there first, we should have known almost immediately one way or another! Like it or not, Luna, the facts remain: something is very, very wrong in the north, and neither you nor I can leave to investigate.”

Luna growled under her breath. “We know, we know! It just...irks us that we have to leave it to six untrained ponies! Think, Celestia! They have no weaponry and are completely unskilled! They are not on his level!”

“And what would you have me do!?” Celestia demanded. “Give them something from the vaults, or even the Elements? All we would be accomplishing would be handing them to Scholar as good as giftwrapped! Train them? We would not have the time, and even if we did, they would not have his level of experience. Send in the troops?” She let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Even back then all that accomplished was thinning the herd and making Solum a killing, pun unavoidable.”

She turned her gaze back out the window. “At this point, all we can do is pray that Twilight and her friends are up to the task.”

“And if they aren’t?” Luna demanded.

Celestia stared for a second longer before turning around and slowly walking out of the throne room.

“Then we must be prepared for the worst.”

-o-

Twilight sighed as she stared out the train window, snow flowing by as she wandered through her memories. ‘Of all the tests Celestia could have given me...’ She mentally groaned.

A hoof landed on her shoulder, drawing her out of her mind. She turned to meet Rarity’s worried gaze. “Twilight dear, is everything alright?” She asked worriedly.

Twilight sighed and looked back out the window. “I...fine. I’m just thinking of...what happened.”

Rarity flinched. “The reception?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I’m thinking more about what happened after.”

Rarity frowned as she remembered. “Yes, that was rather...revealing, wasn’t it?”

Twilight nodded silently and turned her head, staring out the window again and searching her thoughts again...

Remembering what she had learned of the history of Eq...Mundus.

From the other side.

-Morning after the reception-

Celestia stared sadly at the miserable sight before her. The Elements of Harmony, her precious little ponies, were all seated in her throne room, eyes full of questions and fear. Rainbow Dash was nursing a bruised wing and ego, Twilight was periodically shivering, and Fluttershy had developed a thousand yard stare.

She tried to break the silence. “My little-”

“How much.”

Celestia’s voice cut off as Twilight interrupted her, her voice low and sad. Slowly, the lavender unicorn raised her head and gazed miserably at her teacher.

“How much of that was the truth?” She croaked.

Celestia was silent, gazing at her subjects mournfully before clenching her eyes shut and bowing her head.

“All of the facts...were true,” She whispered mournfully.

The Elements froze and stared at her in horror, unable to speak.

“But!” Celestia continued. “That does not mean that they were what I desired. Nix and Null told their side of what occurred... before you judge me and my sister, let me tell you ours. ,” She raised her head and looked at the six ponies sadly, tears present in her eyes. “Please.”

The six friends glanced amongst each other silently before turning back to look at her and nodding solemnly.

The solar princess groaned sadly and stood up, slowly walking forwards and staring off into space.

“Concordia...was beautiful,” She whispered. “It was amazing, simply monumental. I swear to you, I would never have willingly harmed it. But unfortunately, circumstances were beyond my control.”

Celestia shook her head despondently. “Though it wasn’t our intention, the destruction of Concordia was the result of the shared folly of me, my sister and Cadance. We sought what was impossible, what we knew we could never have.”

“A triple-decker uber muffin-cake hybrid all-you-can-eat buffet?” Pinkie asked, trying to inject some levity into the situation. The glares she was awarded with indicated that she had failed.

Celestia grit her teeth, furious with her past self. “Perfection. People dying was a common occurrence back then, be it from wild flora or fauna, conflicts between criminals and the Academia, diseases... It was rarely cataclysmic, but I felt every death as though it were my own, lamented every loss of life. Luna and Cadance agreed with me. Scholar and the Oligarchs, they were sympathetic, but...” She sighed and shook her head. “They didn’t share our empathy, they had the capabilities to accept them as statistics. We developed harmony to...equalize things, make things better, calmer.”

She chewed her lip nervously. “We researched it in secret because we knew that Scholar was adverse to people changing the course of nature in drastic manners. He only ever allowed it if it was a necessity. Nevertheless, we persisted and tested it by covering Equestria. And it worked!”

She grimaced at the memory. “For the most part, anyways. We had no idea that other species would react so adversely! It was never supposed to harm them, harmony was supposed to benefit Concordia as a whole!”

“But...then why didn’t you shut it off!?” Twilight pleaded desperately.

“We were about to!” Celestia cried. “We were mortified by the effects of the harmony! We were about to rescind it all, dissipate it in it’s entirety, but then...” A look of deep horror entered her eyes.

“Discord?” Twilight supplied hesitantly.

The princess squeezed her eyes shut and shivered subconsciously. “Back during the days of Concordia, there were many different theologies and religions. A common point was a cataclysmic plane where evil souls went after death to suffer for the crimes they committed during their lives. They called it hell. Discord...he devoted himself to molding Equestria in it’s likeness.”

A few tears trailed silently down her fur. “When we finally managed to subdue him...we saw just how furious the other Oligarchs were. We...we were afraid. So very very afraid that they would punish ponykind for our mistakes. And when Scholar of all people showed up and demanded our presence...” She groaned miserably and rubbed her face with her hoof. “We panicked. Apprehended him in a moment of fear, ignored his claims of wanting a peaceful resolution...”

She trailed off as she stared out the broken window. “From there, everything spiraled out of control. Concordia scrambled to try and attack us and it was only the conflict between them that gave us time to reorient ourselves. We... we didn’t want to hurt them, could never hurt them, they were our friends! But...they were dead-set on hurting us. So...we did what we had to. We weaponized the harmony. Sealed away as many as we could, driving them into an endless slumber. In the end, only a handful of species capitulated and agreed to cease hostilities.”

Celestia clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head. “The actions we took...I have lived a long time, and to this day there is not a single thing I regret more.”

For a moment there was silence, the Elements quietly contemplating what they had learnt. Finally, Applejack broke the silence. “Princess...what about the trolls? If ya’ll didn’t want to kill anyone, then why...?”

Celestia groaned and began massaging her forehead again. “The trolls...believe me, what happened to them was a tragedy to it’s core, nothing more or less, but...there was no other option. They were different from everyone else, somehow naturally resistant to the harmony. We tried to negotiate with them, but even before what happened, they were aggressive and prone to conflict. To them, war wasn’t a tragedy or anything like that, it was an art, a way of life! And their Empress? She personified it. She ordered her entire species to attack and they responded. With gusto.”

She lowered her hoof, her eyes filled with regret. “They...they left us no choice. Literally. Time and time again, I pleaded with her, tried to find some form of middle ground, but...whether it was pride or stupidity, I’ll never know. We never mounted a single offensive. All conflict was with Equestria purely on the defensive, and I think the only reason we won was the fact that the Empress never allowed a single retreat and none ever ran. She fought every battle literally to the last, and in the end, that’s what she was. The last troll. She even went out on her own terms. She tore through an entire army and fought me personally. That fight... it lasted for over a day, and it was the hardest battle I’ve had to date. I barely even survived.”

Celestia turned back and stared at her subjects. “Twilight, girls, please, I am begging you to believe me. What happened was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of E...” She trailed off before turning her gaze away. “...Mundus. But it has never been repeated, and I would do anything to take it back and prevent it from reoccurring. I promise.”

There was silence before Twilight finally nodded. “I...I believe you Princess.”

The rest of her friends nodded, giving sounds of assent. Almost nobody noticed that Applejack was slightly more resigned in her acceptance.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Celestia blinked and turned her head over as Pinkie jumped up and down. “I know that Scholar was a real meany and said that thing with his big glowing book was your last chance, but maybe if you tried asking him really really nicely, he’d be willing to be nice to you too!”

She bit her lip and looked away. “Even if that were probable, there’s still the fact that he wants to re-awaken Concordia...”

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. “But...why is that a bad thing? If they were free, I could throw the mother of all ‘Sorry for overreacting and being a really big meany pants, please forgive me’ party, then you would apologize and we could all be super duper bestest of friends!”

Celestia flinched. “That’s...not possible. I highly doubt Scholar will ever forgive me for what I have done, and even if he did, the rest of the Oligarchs and I did not part on very...friendly terms...”

“Oh come on, how bad could it be?” Pinkie prodded.

Celestia swallowed nervously, cold sweat running down the back of her neck as she thought back to the final words they’d exchanged.

“You might imprison me, Solar Tyrant, but mark my words! One day! One day! I will be free! And when I am, I swear to you, I will have my revenge! The earth shall not be your prison! IT SHALL BE YOUR TOMB!”

“Your blood will boil!” “Your stomach will burn!” “Every inch of your body will be in pain!” “I will dedicate every last drop of my venom to making you hurt!” “I will ruin your inner biology!” “Just as you turned on us!” “YOUR BODY WILL TURN ON YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY!”

“Most people see death as an end to suffering. And for most, this is true. We wraiths rarely dare to intrude upon the sanctity of one’s afterlife in such a manner. You, however, shall be an exception. For you, death shall only be the beginning of your ETERNAL DAMNATION!”

“At first, Celestia, we were in disarray. I wanted to rip your throat out before you knew what had happened.” “I wanted to grind your bones to dust.” “And I wanted to fill you to the brim with lightning.” “Then, we had an epiphany.” “Why have conflict when we can compromise?” “We’ll rip your throat out, crush you, and electrocute you simultaneously.” “Oh, and don’t mistake our calm attitudes for anything like forgiveness.” “We are furious with you, honest. We want you dead in a very painful way.” “This is just the calm before the storm. Once we are free? You will feel the wrath of the sky.”

“HEAR MY VOW, CELESTIA! IF IT TAKES A LIFETIME, IF IT TAKES A THOUSAND LIFETIMES, A MILLION LIFETIMES, YOU WILL BURN! YOUR FLESH WILL TURN TO ASH, AND FALL FROM YOUR BONES! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, DO YOU HEAR ME!? I AM PYRAE DAEMOS, AND I WILL! HAVE! JUSTICE!”

Celestia shivered. “I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, but as much as I would love to, I am afraid that that is not an option.”

Pinkie’s mane deflated and she bowed her head. “Oh. Alright...”

Twilight patted Pinkie on her back sympathetically. She then looked at Celestia. “So, what do we do now, Princess?”

“Go home,” Celestia said immediately. “Go back to Ponyville. This is my war, not yours. Scholar might be furious with me, but he has always abhorred involving the innocent in any form of conflict. I am positive you will be safe. Don’t!” She held her hoof up as Twilight opened her mouth. “Argue, Twilight. Please, the last thing I want is to see you and your friends get unnecessarily hurt because of my mistakes. If there is anything you can do to help, I will ask, but for now...please, Twilight. Go home.”

Twilight stared at her quietly for a moment before nodding, turning around and silently walking away. The Elements followed behind her.

Applejack walked slower than the rest of them, trailing behind the group. No one else noticed as Rainbow Dash slowed her pace as well until she and Applejack were side by side as they walked. The pegasus glanced at the earth pony, her eyes filled with worry. Applejack caught sight of the look. In lieu of a verbal response, she raised a hoof to the brim of her hat and lowered it so that the shadow covered her eyes.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock. She whipped her eyes forwards, keeping her face clear of expression. “How much?” She whispered in a dead tone.

Applejack kept her eyes shadowed. “One thing. The rest was true, but that one thing...it’s enough to shake my faith,” She raised the brim of her hat just enough so that she could look at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of her eye. “That gonna be a problem?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head down just enough to keep hide her eyes with her mane. “Ever since I became an egghead, I’ve learned a lot of new words. Do you know what hypocrites are?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, because that’s what I’m not.”

And with that, the two lapsed into silence, their conversation completely unseen.

-Present-

The car was silent as the Elements and dragon contemplated what they had learned. “I...” Twilight started dully. “I’ve trusted the Princess my entire life...I’ve always believed in her...and now...”

“Well, Twilight dear,” Rarity said hesitantly. “I think that you can still trust the Princess. She did not lie to us, after all. she simply never mentioned it! And I can imagine why. It appears that fate dealt her a rather twisted hand.”

“But, um,” Fluttershy whispered. “What the princess did was still, and I’m very very very sorry to say this, but it was kind of...sort of...mean.”

Rarity sighed sadly. “And I’m not denying that. But she did apologize, so that’s better than nothing.”

Twilight silently turned her head away and looked back out the window. Her staring was interrupted by a claw poking her in the side. Looking down, she was met with Spike’s worried gaze.

“Twilight...” The young drake said softly. “This is Princess Celestia. You’ve known her for most of your life, and I’ve known her for literally all of mine. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, you know that.”

Twilight was quiet for a second before smiling gently. “You’re right, Spike. Thank you. It’s just-!”

She was cut off by a sudden screeching and the train jerking forwards.

Twilight glanced out the window and saw that while the snow was still moving sideways, the landscape wasn’t.

“Well, looks like we’re here,” Twilight said, turning around to look at her friends. “Are you all ready to go?”

The Elements and Spike shook their heads and gave noises of dissent.

“Good, me neither.”

-o-

Twilight shivered as she stepped out into the freezing cold. “Brr...this place is freezing!”

Rarity scoffed as she flaunted her winter clothing. “And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves!”

Spike grunted as he walked out of the train, lugging almost half a dozen bags on his back. “I-ergh- didn’t say a word!” He huffed proudly...until he slipped on a patch of ice and gave a cry of alarm as the bags went flying. ‘Though I think I might,’ He thought mutinously as he watched the scarves float off.

Twilight raised a hoof to shield her eyes from the wind as she tried to look for someone, anyone through the blizzard. For a while, all she could see was unending snow. Then...

“Twilight!”

She turned her head towards the voice, smiling gratefully. “Shining Armor!”

Indeed, it was her brother, his neck wrapped in a black scarf and his eyes shielded from the winds by a pair of black snow goggles, which he lifted off his face as he beamed at his sister. “Twily, you made it!”

The siblings dashed up to each other and hugged eagerly. When they let each other go, Shining Armor’s face became overridden with fear as he turned around and pointed into the tundra. “Come on, we better get moving,” His eyes were filled with terror and weariness. “There are things out here we really don’t want to run into after dark.”

The Elements glanced at each other uneasily, put off by his sudden shift of mood. Fluttershy was the one who spoke up. “W-w-what kind of things?”

“The kind of things that would make you all piss yourselves and run to find the nearest hole in which to curl up and shiver in fear.”

The Elements and Spike went stiff at the sound of the familiar voice before slowly turning around to stare up at who had spoken.

“But then again,” Scholar growled irritably. “I suppose a gnat would send you all running for the hills, wouldn’t it?”

Fluttershy and Rarity screeched and jumped away from him, Pinkie Pie took a step back, Applejack fell into a ready position, and Twilight’s horn lit up in purple light.

Rainbow Dash’s wings flared as she flapped towards him. “EAT HOOF, YOU ARROGANT-MMPH!” She was cut off by a slip of paper covered in runes being slapped across her mouth. Her infuriated yells were muffled as she tried in vain to rip the paper off.

“There,” He smirked. “I believe that to be an improvement.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow as she smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but Ah can’t lie. Say Scholar, Ah know we’re mortal enemies and all, but would you consider partin’ with a few dozen copies of that there paper?”

“MMPH!?!”

“Well, first off,” Scholar said casually. “My problem is with your royalty, not with you, so maybe. As for the trade deal, these are seal tags, not paper, and that depends. Tell, me, you wouldn’t happen to be descended from a pony called Calvados, would you?”

“Yup! Wow, you liked mah family’s apples two thousand years ago?”

“No, I liked their booze, loved getting hammered on the stuff, excellent way to get efficiently shit-faced; quick intoxication, low hangover. I assume you’ve maintained his farming and distilling practices?”

“Darn straight!”

“Excellent. How about a barrel of hard cider for a roll of, eh, forty-five seal tags?”

“That sounds mighty reasonable!”

“Then we have an accord.”

“MMMMM!” Rainbow Dash screamed indignantly.

“Oh do shut up, you’re ruining the ambiance.”

“ENOUGH!” All heads turned towards Twilight, her face twisted in fury. “Let her go, Scholar, or I swear-!” Her horn flared brightly, preparing to fire...

Until Shining Armor darted in front of her and stood up on his hind legs, forelegs spread wide. “Twily, don’t!”

Twilight’s horn faltered for a second before her lips pulled back in a snarl as her horn lit up even brighter and her eyes shone violet. “Get. Out. Of my brother’s head. NOW!” She snarled.

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the outburst. “Well, at least you’re not underestimating me. Sadly, that’s a swing and a miss, so I’m afraid you’ve lost the Daily Double.”

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie jumped up and down enthusiastically. “Can I buy a vowel?”

“Pinkie Pie, please!” Shining said desperately. He looked back at Twilight. “Twilight, I’m sorry. But as much as it pains me to say it, we can’t hurt him. And on that note, he can’t hurt us either.”

The magic died away from Twilight’s being as she stared at her brother in disbelief. “But, Shiny, how can you-”

“Oh come on!” Scholar exclaimed furiously, spreading his arms wide. “And I heard that you were supposed to be smart! Look at me, Twilight Sparkle!” He roared. “Look at me and figure it out.”

Twilight was silent for a moment as her eyes darted over his body for a minute. Finally, they widened in realization.

“Your book. You don’t have your book on you. If you did, you would have used it instead of the tag. You’ve lost your book somewhere and can’t get it back,” Her eyes widened further in horror. “Something took your book and you can’t get it back.”

Scholar smirked again and crossed his arms. “Gold star, miss Sparkle. Indeed, there is evil here in the north. A powerful evil, one that presents a most violent adversary. It got my grimoire and now I can’t fight it on my own. Instead, I find myself forced to form an alliance with the pretty pink princess and the useless lump of flesh she calls a husband.”

Shining scowled. “Believe me, I enjoy the situation as much as you do, book maggot.”

“Keep it coming, ‘Shiny’. Meanwhile, I’ll just be reminiscing about the good old days. And every last one of Cadance’s old flames therein. Tell me, Mr. Armor, do you want to know if she loves you less than any of them? Believe me, I can tell.”

Shining Armor growled under his breath and shivered from the strain of not attacking the Rune Keeper.

Luckily, Twilight intervened. “Alright, the both of you, knock it off!” She yelled. “Fine, so we’re working together! Now, can we please get to the Crystal Empire before whatever you two are so afraid of gets us?”

Scholar and Shining Armor glared at each other for a moment before nodding in synch. “Fine,” The unicorn grunted.

“Agreed.”

“Good!” Twilight turned around and began to walk into the blizzard.

“Just one thing though,” Twilight halted as Scholar spoke again. “It’s called Vitrum. Not the Crystal Empire. Vitrum.”

Twilight didn’t turn around as she frowned in confusion. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Simple,” Scholar stated as he walked past her. “First, what reason do I have to lie? And second...” He turned on his heel and faced her, his eyebrow raised questioningly. “Who exactly told you it was called the Crystal Empire?””

Twilight opened her mouth to respond...then froze, her pupils dilating in realization.

Scholar let a small smirk play across his lips. “That look of dawning horror when the final nail enters the coffin. I live for that look. Now then!” He clapped his hands. “Off we go!” He began walking into the blizzard before stopping and turning around again. “Leave it,” He said coldly.

The ponies froze. “Scholar, what are you-?” Shining started.

“I’m talking to the dragon,” He continued. “Spike, was it? Spike, leave the suitcase.”

Spike blinked in confusion. “Uh...”

“If you think for even a second that I will be continuing ahead without my luggage-!” Rarity started.

“Then I will decide to leave you behind to perish, be it by frost or by the menace that stalks these frozen plains,” Scholar interrupted emotionlessly. “Leave. The. Suitcase.”

Rarity swallowed heavily. “Er, Spike, my dear-!”

She was interrupted by a purple blur dashing ahead of her. “Well, come on everyone! Times a wastin’!”

Scholar chuckled as he began walking forwards again. “Smart drake. Come on, people! Either shake a leg or freeze to death!”

And with that, the ponies all began to trot after him, Rainbow Dash still trying furiously to rip the tag off her. She gave a sidelong glare at Applejack as she chuckled.

“What?” The farmer asked innocently. “You snore and Ah like to buck apples in quiet. Look on the bright side, you get to keep sleepin’ and Ah can get my work done in peace! In mah opinion, that’s a win-win!”

“MMPH!”

-o-

The group trudged slowly across the freezing tundra, wind howling as it whipped and whirled around them, nipping at them with it’s icy fangs.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight shouted over the storm. “What exactly is out here?”

“Something keeps trying to attack the E-Vitrum!” The Captain called back, hastily amending his statement when Scholar glared at him. “We think-!”

“Think!?” Scholar demanded incredulously.

Shining shot him a glare before looking forwards again. “Fine, it is the old unicorn king who cursed the Vitrum in the first place.”

The Rune Keeper growled furiously as he stomped forwards. “An absolute disgrace is what it is! He shouldn’t have been able to breach the outer defenses, much less conquer the entire city!”

Twilight frowned in confusion as she followed them. “But Princess Celestia sent me here to help protect the-Vitrum. If King Sombra can’t get in, then it must already be protected, right?”

Scholar grunted. “First, don’t call him ‘King’, that bastard is as much a legitimate ruler as Celestia is.”

“HEY!”

“And second!” He continued unimpeded. “It’s only a stopgap measure. Thanks to the harmony flooding Vitrum, we can’t access it’s oldest defenses. You know, the ones that have staved off armies time and time again? Instead, the only thing keeping Sombra from taking Vitrum over in seconds is a barrier that’s being maintained by Cadance at all hours of the day... a barrier that I created!” Scholar finished roaring furiously.

They walked on in silence for a few seconds before finally...

“Scholar...” Twilight asked quietly, barely audible over the wind. “Where are your friends?”

The mage whipped around in an instant, runes flying about him furiously, his face a mask of rage. He maintained the pose for almost a full minute...before deflating. All the energy left him in a single wave. Slowly, he turned around and began walking again.

“We got here almost a day ahead of Cadance and Shining Armor,” He croaked quietly. “We’d split up. We were trying to gather information. Then...it, and it is an ‘it’, that thing is no longer a ‘he’, attacked us. From out of the blue, out of the ice! We tried to fight it, but...” He brought his hand up to his face, tears streaming beneath his face. “Nix and Null...they disappeared, went down swinging. They...they’re gone. And Gilda and Trixie...they were in the city itself... I let them go on their own and...” He bit his lip, to keep himself from sobbing. “I haven’t heard from them since. Tried searching but...” He stopped, no longer able to continue.

Shining Armor gazed at him sadly for a moment before speaking. “When we got here...Sombra attacked us. We tried to fight, but we...we couldn’t do anything! It was like a ghost! Then, right when we were about to bite it, Scholar and Iron Will came to save us. He...he lost the Lexicon De Arcana, sacrificed it saving me and Cadance. If it weren’t for him...then we’d be just like the soldiers.”

Applejack blinked in confusion. “Hey, now that ya mention them, where are the guards that came with ya?”

Shining Armor made to answer...but was interrupted by a lone helmet clanging as it rolled by the group, propelled by the wind. They all watched in mute horror and resignation as it tumbled away.

“Ah retract the question,” Applejack said quietly.

“Mmhm,” Scholar hummed. “Now then, let’s get moving. Unless anyone else wants to join the very-much-dead club?”

There were no takers.

The group continued moving for about ten minutes before a shining blue bubble of magic appeared on the horizon.

The Rune Keeper grinned thankfully. “Thank Hermes, we made it!”

The ponies and dragon gave cries of relief.

All save Fluttershy. “Um, Scholar?” She asked timidly. “I’m sorry if this is rude, but um...where is Iron Will? I’m just worried and you haven’t said is all...”

Scholar frowned and bit his lip nervously. “He’s on the other side of the tundras, raising holy hell against Sombra. With any luck, he’ll keep it distracted long enough for us to cross the barrier.”

Suddenly, Iron Will crashed in front of them in a heap of bronze armor and muscle, groaning in pain.

Scholar swallowed heavily. “Then again, maybe not...”

Iron Will grunted as he stumbled to his feet. “Sombra...it’s...it’s coming!”

BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!

The ponies shivered in fear as a large horn rang out across the frozen plains.

“NO SHIT, HEMLOCK!” Scholar shouted fearfully.

In less than a second, a pillar of black smoke swept up over the ice behind the group, towering above them. A pair of sickly green eyes opened in the miasma, glaring down at the group with purple mist wafting off of them.

Spike shivered in horror, petrified by his fear...until Shining Armor’s aura picked him up and tossed him at Twilight.

“Go!” The Captain yelled. “I’ll hold it off!”

“No! There’s no way we can leave you!” Twilight protested.

“Speak for yourself!” Iron Will shouted as he dashed towards the barrier.

“Agreed!” Scholar yelled, right behind the minotaur. “I’d say it was nice to know you, but honestly, I hate your guts!”

“Scholar!” Celestia’s student shouted.

Shining Armor blasted a beam of light at the smoky being, but it dodged with ease. He looked over his shoulder at his sister. “Twilight, go! NOW!”

The purple unicorn hesitated for a moment before darting off behind the Concordians, Spike on her back and her friends close behind.

Shining lit his horn up defiantly as the smoke converged on his being, engulfing him completely.

Twilight sobbed as she galloped away from the menace. Catching up to Scholar, she scowled furiously at him. “You cowards! You abandoned him!”

“What!? Now we didn’t! We followed protocol!” He protested.

“He’s right!” Iron Will concurred. “Rule number 78: Anybody stupid enough to pull a heroic sacrifice deserves whatever fate befalls them!”

Twilight bit her lip. “But-!”

“Less yacking, more running like your asses were on fire!” Scholar shouted desperately.

They were getting close to the barrier. Forty feet, thirty, twenty...

Suddenly, the ice in front of them cracked and bulged before suddenly exploding in a blast of miasma and ice fragments, sending the entire group flying.

Twilight groaned as she got to her hooves. “Ouch...” She glanced around. “Well, at least everyone is on the right side...”

“TWILIGHT!” A voice shouted from over the chasm.

Or maybe not.

Twilight paled drastically and whipped around. “SPIKE!” She screamed. She lit her horn up and tried to teleport, but was interrupted by Scholar gripping the appendage.

“No chance in hell! You’re going across that barrier!”

“No! I won’t leave Spike! You can’t make me!” She screamed and struggled.

“That’s where we disagree,” Scholar grunted as he slapped a tag on her forehead. The paper flashed for a moment before exploding in a pulse of power and launching Twilight into Iron Will’s waiting arms. “GO!” He bellowed.

Iron Will nodded and ran through the barrier, carrying the hysterical unicorn with him.

Scholar scowled as he looked over the gap. “This is going to suck...” He muttered under his breath.

Acting quickly, he threw a tag onto the ground a few feet ahead of him. He took a few steps back and then ran at the edge of the precipice. Once he was directly above the paper, he jumped, detonating the tag and propelling him clear across. He landed roughly in front of an absolutely terrified Spike.

“Yup!” He coughed, wiping the snow off his robes. “That sucked!”

The purple dragon shivered in fear. “S-scholar! Please, h-help!”

“Don’t worry, Spike, I’m on it. But before I do...” His glasses glinted mischievously. “Let’s play an old game from Concordia!” He took a few steps back from Spike, his smile evolving into a full-blown smirk. “Kick the dragon!”

The phrase took a few seconds to register in Spike’s head, but when it did he paled dramatically and stumbled away from the human. “Don’t kick the dragon! Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”

“Kick the dragon!” And with that, Scholar dashed up to Spike and punted him in the stomach, sending him flying clear over the chasm and straight through the barrier.

Scholar panted as he watched the dragon disappear into the veil of magic. “Now then, now that that’s over with...” He turned around slowly and glared at the smoke that was glaring at him. “I can deal with you.”

BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!

Scholar jerked his arms, producing a multitude of tags in both his hands. “BRING IT ON!” He roared defiantly. “I’M GOING TO EXORCISE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!”

The smoke descended, and the battle began.

-o-

“LET ME GO!” Twilight shrieked as she flailed fruitlessly against Iron Will’s iron grip. “I NEED TO GET SPIKE!”

“What part of-YERK!” Iron Will grunted in pain as Twilight pegged him with her hooves. “Knock it off! If you go out there, you’ll end up on the back of a postage stamp!”

“What does that even-ergh!-mean!?”

Iron Will slapped his forehead with his free hand. “Oh, right, those methods fell out of practice when Celestia took over. OUCH!” He yelped when Twilight got him in the stomach. “ENOUGH! Look, you’re no use to us dead, so just stay put until Scholar saves the scale-tail and gets here!”

“Are you nuts!?” She demanded. “He ran away from Sombra! What makes you think that he can save Spike!?”

FLASH!

“AAAAAAAHH!”

CRASH!

Iron Will blinked in surprise as a purple blur shot through the barrier and knocked Twilight clean out of his arms. “Well for starters, that,” He said dumbly.

Twilight shook her head, trying to reorient her thoughts. “Argh, what hit me?”

“Me...”

“Wha-SPIKE!” She screamed joyfully as she hugged the dragon. “What happened?!”

“A whole lot...” Spike groaned. “Twilight, can you promise me something?”

“Anything, Spike, anything!”

“Don’t make me play ‘kick the dragon’. Pleeeeeease...”

Iron Will sighed in relief and turned towards the barrier. “Scholar should be back soon enough.”

FLASH!

“OOF!”

Iron Will stared incredulously at the white unicorn that had flopped down in front of him. “Iron Will stands corrected.”

“Oooooouch...” Shining Armor groaned as he tried to get to his hooves.

“Shiny!” Twilight cried as she ran over to her brother’s side and helped him up.

“Twily...ARGH!” Shining Armor winced in pain as he tried to light his horn up, but was prevented by his magic painfully fizzling out.

Twilight gasped in horror as she caught sight of the problem. “Shining Armor, your horn!”

Shining Armor gazed mournfully at the appendage. What had once been clean flesh and bone was now studded with a slew of uneven black crystals.

“Forget his horn, worry more about his neck!” Iron Will snarled. His hand shot out and snagged Shining Armor by the neck and lifted him up to glare at him dead in the eyes. “Where. In the name of Hel! IS SCHOLAR!?”

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as he struggled against the enraged minotaur’s grip. “I-I don’t know! He came out of nowhere and launched me through the barrier! B-but I’m sure he’ll be right behind me!”

FLASH!

“See!?”

“YEEEEAAAAAAARGHHHH!!!”

“SCHOLAR!” Iron Will shouted, tossing Shining Armor away and darting up to his superior. The Elements and dragon gasped in horror as they caught sight of Scholar’s body.

For the most part, the human’s body was unharmed. His right arm, on the other hand, was a whole different story. The forearm was coated in a slew of obsidian crystals. Unlike Shining’s, however, these were large and jagged. Black lightning cracked around and across them. Worse yet, they were spreading up his arm at a steady rate.

Iron Will brought his fist down on the crystals, but to no avail. “Damn it!”

Scholar jerked and spasmed as he clutched his shoulder in agony. “Seal t-tag! R-roman!”

“Iron Will knows, he knows!” The minotaur grunted as he searched through Scholar’s robes. Finally, he extracted a tag and slapped it on Scholar’s shoulder. “Twelfth Sermon of the Roman Pantheon: Isolation of Pluto!”

Not a moment too soon. The encroaching crystalline blight was halted at Scholar’s shoulder in a flash of runes and light, leaving his entire arm encased in a prison of onyx. He panted painfully as he gripped his shoulder and sat up, clapping his free hand on Iron Will’s shoulder. “Thanks, Iron Will,” He hauled himself to his feet. “You’re a good-hurk!” He whipped his hand to his throat and began to choke.

“Scholar!?” Iron Will asked fearfully.

“Agh! H-Harmony!” Scholar wheezed. He groped around his robes before whipping a tag to his throat. A flash of light and he began gulping down huge amounts of air. “Isis-be-damned manure-chugging stable-humping nag!”

The ponies gasped in horror at his proclamation. “Watch your language, you ruffian! ”Rarity cried in indignity.

“Cram it, glue stick!” The beleaguered mage snarled vehemently. “Your precious princess’s harmony nearly smothered me!”

Iron Will’s eyes widened in panic. “Wait, what happened to the wards!?”

Scholar growled under his breath as he rubbed his sore crystallized shoulder. “Still in place but inactive because my magic bit the big one!” He rapped his fist on the black growths. “Blight crystals, seriously nasty magic nullifiers. We used them in prisons, really helped made life sentences stick.”

Iron Will tapped the crystals and jerked his hand back when black lightning zapped his fingers. “Any way to get them off?”

“Yeah, one,” Scholar scowled. “Excessive magic. We sure as hell aren’t going to find that anywhere nearby!”

“So, that would mean...” Shining started in horror.

“Our only hopes are Twilight Sparkle-ass, the five stooges, and Spikey the wonder drake?” The human mage snarked.

“Hey, I take offense to-”

“Kick the dragon!”

“Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”

“To summarize,” Scholar deadpanned. “We are screwed.”

Shining sighed and shook his head as he stood up and began walking. “Alright, enough. Look, we’re all alive, and that’s what counts. Come on, let’s get to Vitrum.”

The group gave sounds of assent as they turned in the direction he was heading. The Elements and Spike gave shouts of surprise.

“Wooooow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Sparklerific!”

And indeed, it was. Vitrum glittered and shone in the artificial sunlight, an incredible display of crystalline architecture.

“Tsk,” Scholar scoffed. “That’s nothing. At least seventy-five percent of it is deactivated and underground. And what’s present isn’t even at it’s best!”

“As you’ve chosen to repeat again and again,” Shining muttered as he began to trot along the crystal road.

“Let me put everything back in order and I’ll leave you alone until I punt you off my property.”

Twilight sighed miserably. “You two don’t intend to shut up, do you?”

“No.”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“I was afraid of that.”

Unseen in the shade cast by Vitrum’s glittering structures, a shadowy figure watched the group’s approach. It’s eyes narrowed menacingly before it snuck away and faded into the darkness.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 11. Dark Heart

Author's Note

Happy? Show it with a comment! And a like! Enjoy!

Chapter 11. Dark Heart

“It’s gorgeous!” Rarity gushed as she took in the glittering city before her.

The group of ponies, dragon, and magi had wandered into the city, walking along the main road until they were in the plaza located beneath the castle’s legs.

“Absolutely gorgeous!” She tripped over her tongue as she searched for something to say. “Th-there are no words!”

“Destitute.”

Rarity was snapped out of her thoughts as Scholar spoke in a dead tone, walking along slowly as he rubbed his shoulder.

“Downtrodden. Broken. Miserable. Those are the words to describe Vitrum in it’s current state.” He stated matter-of-factly.

“Wh-are you mad!? Have you lost your mind?!” The white pony protested. “Look at the magnif-GLK!” Rarity was cut off by Scholar’s free hand snapping out and lifting her to his eye-level.

He forced her to stare into his eyes. Rarity froze in horror as she saw the void of emotion that lay within.

“Magnificent?” He asked quietly. “This is barely even a pittance. The magic is gone. The towers are gone. The archives and their expansive stores of knowledge, accumulated via years of dedication and sacrifice are gone. The students, eager to learn and please, all gone. He is gone.” Throughout the speech, his voice remained low and devoid of inflections. Scholar was merely listing facts. “Vitrum was broken and shackled long ago. All that’s left is its desicrated remains.”

Scholar was broken out of his tirade by a hoof knocking against his leg. Glancing down, he was met with Rainbow Dash glaring up at him. He held her gaze for a moment before clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “Whatever,” he said, releasing his grip and letting the white unicorn drop to the ground, coughing as she tried to regain her breath. “Not even worth my time...”

“Mph!”

“Hmm?” He hummed in curiosity as he glanced over his shoulder. “What? What is it?”

“M-mph!” Rainbow Dash grunted, pointing her hoof at the seal tag that was still firmly impressed upon her muzzle.

“Ah reckon that she wants to speak to ya, pal,” Applejack said simply.

The Rune Keeper stared at her for an instant longer before closing his eyes and turning away. “How about no? I have a feeling I know what she wants to talk about, and honestly? I’m not in the mood. Now come on,” He started walking towards the entrance of the castle. “Let’s move. Time is short.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash made a move towards Scholar, but were cut off by a mountain of muscle and bronze armor interposing himself between them and the human.

The two flinched back as Iron Will glared at them before turning to follow his leader.

The ponies glanced at each other quickly before hesitantly following along, entering the heart of Vitrum.

-o-

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza breathed heavily as she sat on the crystal throne, magic rushing through her veins as she kept the shield functional. She glanced sadly out the window towards the artificial horizon. ‘I can’t last much longer... but I can’t use that option either... if I do...’ she clenched her eyes shut miserably. ‘Both paths lead to ruin... we need a third option...’

“Cadance!”

The princess’s eyes shot open in surprise at the voice, relief filling her heart. ‘That’ll do it!’

“Twilight!” She exclaimed joyfully, darting up to her sister-in-law, falling instinctively into their usual greeting.

“Sunshine, sunshine, lady-!”

CRASH!

They jumped back in shock as a pillar of obsidian crystal crashed down between them. Scholar glared imperiously at the two of them. “The world is on the brink of destruction in a very bad way and you two are wasting precious time on pointless pleasantries?” He stated coldly. “I expected that brand of foolishness from these untrained mongrels, but from you? You, of all people?” He shook his head in despair. “You were the last person whose blade I expected to dull so badly. Both you and this world...truly disappointing.”

Twilight made to protest, but was cut off by Cadance’s raised hoof. “Twilight... he’s right,” She looked up at him sadly. “Not about all of it, but a good portion. I would love to get reacquainted... but now... now just isn’t the time, I’m sorry.”

“I...” Twilight sighed sadly. “Fine... fine, I understand. So... how bad are things around here?”

Shining Armor stepped up to help support his exhausted wife. “Cadance has been able to use her magic to-”

“Ahem!” Scholar coughed idly. “Choose your next words very carefully. Remember: Horn off then shoved up. And it is not an idle threat.”

The Captain shivered fearfully. “To... power a Rune Array that Scholar set up. It’s the only thing keeping Sombra out. She barely eats, barely sleeps...”

“I’d do it myself, but with the harmony in the air and the Lexicon gone...” Scholar scowled.

“Iron Will doesn’t have enough strength,” The minotaur sighed.

“I tried to use my own protection spell...” Shining Armor continued.

“But it folded like a house of cards seeing how it’s the top quality of a weak era,” Scholar stated matter-of-factly. Shining Armor made to speak up but was cut off by Scholar holding his hand up. “Sorry, my arm is killing me and any patience I have for you all, let’s just make this quick so I can guzzle something to kill my nerves.”

Cadance groaned as she stumbled slightly, rubbing her aching horn. “Shining Armor, please, I’m fine...”

“No, she isn’t!” Shining protested. “She’s getting weaker every day, and if her magic fades...”

Scholar hissed and flexed his shoulder. “This isn’t a fashion statement, you know. I’m not kidding, shoulder down, everything is pain.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here!” Twilight exclaimed.

“That’s why we’re all here,” Applejack reassured, raising her hoof to her friend’s shoulder. The other Elements all gave sounds of assent.

“Whoop dee doo, Elements of Harmony to the rescue, we’re saved,” Iron Will groused.

“Whoop- hey, you beat me to it!”

“Ergh...” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Anyways, with Cadance maintaining the barrier and me, Scholar and Iron Will fighting Sombra in the arctic, we haven’t been able to get any information from the Crystal Ponies!”

“Crystal Ponies!?” Rarity exclaimed enthusiastically. “There are Crystal Ponies!?”

“Yeah yeah, residents of Vitrum take on the sheen of the city, blah blah blah...” Scholar trailed off.

“We have to believe that one of them knows how we can protect Vitrum without Cadance’s magic,” he finished.

“... ‘we’?” Scholar asked in disbelief. “‘We’ believe? You. You believe they know how to protect it. We know how to protect Vitrum. And that we includes Mi Amore. Doesn’t it, m’dear?”

Cadance growled as she rubbed her horn. “Scholar, enough...”

“No, Cadance!” He growled. “You know as well as I do that the old defenses are more than capable of holding off that smoky bastard!”

“And I told you already, Scholar! Those defenses are down!” The princess protested.

“They can be easily re-activated if you just dispel the damn harmony!” He roared. “Who knows, maybe with that filth gone I can rip this stuff off and I can show him how we used to do things!”

“That ‘filth’ as you call it, is our last line of defense! We can’t lose it!” She said angrily.

“Last line of defense my ass!” Scholar snarled. “That thing is going to tear right through it! A thing, I might add, that your precious princesses created!”

“What!?” Twilight exclaimed. “How dare you blame the princesses like this!?”

“Read. My. Lips, you purple furball!” He growled, leaning in close to her. “They made that thing! Sombra is this powerful due to Celestia’s incompetence! Yet another display of her stupidity!”

“Scholar!” Cadance reprimanded. “While I’ll admit that Sombra reached new levels of power due to my aunt’s actions, it was not on purpose!”

“No, it wasn’t,” He agreed angrily. “It was sheer lunacy! Time and time again we have seen what happens when an elemental controller is transmogrified into their element! Volcanoes that had targeted eruptions, tsunamis that rolled in like clockwork, lightning storms that aimed for supply depots! And what does Celestia do? Turn an Umbramancer into SHADOWS!” He finished, inflecting his voice with magic...until the crystals on his arm crackled with black lightning, prompting him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees.

Iron WIll dashed up to him and grasped his shoulders, helping him to stand. Scholar tried to weakly wave him off. “I-I’m fine, I’m fine...” He was cut off as his body was wracked with coughs.

The minotaur snorted in disbelief. “Clearly not. Sorry to disappoint, but Iron Will would rather Chrysalis not rip his head off for letting you get hurt. Iron Will will be sticking by your side from now on.”

“And leave them,” he gestured weakly at the Elements. “To do whatever they please? Decapitate me. It will be a kinder fate.”

“I... look? Can I get a word in edgewise?” Twilight asked tentatively.

Scholar scoffed. “Please, you wouldn’t know an edge if it bit you in the ass.”

Twilight sighed and rubbed her hoof over her face. “Look, Celestia sent me here to help,” She glared at him with a surprising amount of venom when he made to speak. “Maybe I can gather whatever information I can from the Crystal Ponies and deliver it to you.”

Scholar gave a derisive laugh. “What good would that do? The defenses around here are shot! So long as miss prissy pink princess keeps the air clogged, I can’t tap into the ley lines beneath Vitrum and fix this mess!”

“Maybe,” Twilight said, smiling smugly. “But see, I’ve been running some numbers. Between your imprisonment and Vitrum’s disappearance, there’s a gap of a few centuries. During that time, I’m fairly certain that the Crystal Ponies could have come up with an alternative means of defending themselves. Am I right or wrong?”

Scholar was silent as his eyes darted back in forth in thought before he finally sighed in resignation. “You’re right. Even on the bad end of a witch hunt, the students of the Academia Arcana would not abandon innocent lives. They would have come up with something, some way or another. It was their duty to protect the lives of the innocent. No matter how ungrateful,” This last part was muttered mutinously as he cast a venomous glance at Cadance. She met his gaze in a calm, neutral manner.

“Perfect,” Iron Will grunted. “So, Shining Armor will stay with Cadance and support her, which is all he’s good for,” The white unicorn scowled acridly at the minotaur.

“Celestia’s lackeys can search the city for anything that keeps us from becoming evil shadow chow-”

“HEY!” All the heads turned suddenly at the sudden exclamation. To the surprise of most everyone present, Spike was glaring furiously at the blue minotaur, smoke curling from his lips. “I am not a lackey!” He snarled.

Iron WIll blinked in shock. “Uh... right...” He quickly got back on the ball. “Anyways, I’ll find a table I can strap Scholar down on and start to chisel the crystal off of him.”

Scholar burst out laughing. “HAHAHAHA! Ah, that’s a good one Iron W-!” He cut off as he tried to run. However, Iron Will’s arm was faster, snatching Scholar by the back of his robes and hauling him off his feet, prompting him to struggle like a fish and cuss like a sailor. “DAMN IT IRON WILL, PUT ME DOWN!”

“Iron Will is sorry, Scholar,” Iron Will said in a false saccharine tone. “But you see, Iron Will can’t. Protocol won’t allow him.”

“WHAT PROTOCOL!?!”

“Twenty-eight, B, Kappa, Orion.”

“THE CARETAKER CLAUSE!? I VETOED THAT TREASONOUS PIECE OF LEGISLATION EVERY TIME A NEW EDITION OF THE RULES CAME ABOUT!”

“Yes, and every time you did, the Arch-magi voted it into place without your knowledge. In fact, if the records are accurate, each vote was completely unanimous.”

“WHEN CHRYSALIS FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS-!”

“Who do you think told Iron Will of a millennia-old protocol?”

“... That rotten traitorous INSECT!”

Cadance covered her mouth with her hoof as she chuckled.

Scholar whipped his head around and snapped his arm up to point accusingly at her. “Oi! You don’t get to laugh!”

She snickered uncontrollably. “What can I say? The more things change, the more they stay the same!”

Scholar’s mood soured instantly. “Maybe from your perspective. Personally, I’m going to have to disagree. After all, from my perspective, my life’s work has been torn down and you’re a heartless bitch- oh wait!” He gave a harsh sarcastic laugh.“Never mind, I guess you’re right! Things are the same!”

To Twilight’s shock, Cadance glared at him with more venom than she had ever thought possible before the alicorn sighed and turned away. “Iron Will, take him away. Otherwise I’m fairly certain I’ll take advantage of the situation and snap his neck.” She had walked away for a second before freezing all of a sudden. Slowly, jerkily, she turned her neck around to stare in horror as her words registered in her head. “I-I...”

The ponies stared at Cadance in shock. Not because of what she had said, but the tone.

‘She...she wasn’t angry...’ Twilight thought dully. ‘That... that was casual... she might as well have been discussing the weather!’

Scholar grinned in success. “Well well...I guess you were right. Things are the same, Tenebris Amor.”

Cadance shivered violently before biting her lip and looking away. “Just... you all have your jobs to do. Please... go.”

There was a minute of silence before the Elements slowly turned around and trotted out of the throne room while Iron WIll carried a newly struggling Scholar out.

Once they were gone, Cadance fell to her knees and began shaking.

Shining Armor walked over to his wife and hesitantly raised a hoof to her shoulder. “Cadance...?”

He reeled back in shock when she flung herself at him and clung to his neck, sobbing into his mane. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” She muttered over and over again.

Nobody saw as almost a mile away, on top of a crystal skyscraper, a dark shadow slipped off the roof and flew into the city.

-o-

Gilda hammered her armored claw on the crystal door. “Trixie! Trixie, open up! I’ve got some news.”

There was a moment of silence before the doorknob lit up in a black-purple aura and slowly turned, clicking the door open. Gilda pushed the door open, walked in, and locked the door behind her.

The griffon then shivered as the temperature hit her. “Brr! Damn it, Trixie! This place is freezing! Would it kill you to turn up the heat?”

“No,” a frigid, dead voice stated. “It would kill us.” A horn lit up in a black-purple light, illuminating the room.

The room resembled a meat-locker. The floor, walls and ceiling were lined with sheets of pitch black ice, causing the temperature to descend to nigh frigid levels.

And the room wasn’t the only dark thing.

Gilda and Trixie were... different. Their armor had been altered, covering them head to toe in dark purple crystals. Gilda’s wings and beak, Trixie’s horn, even their eyes were shielded by light purple lenses.

“After all,” Trixie continued in a deadpan voice. “Without this shielding, the royal annoyances would find us.”

Gilda flinched and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeeeaaaah... see, about that...”

“Trixie knows,” The unicorn interrupted. “She knows everything in this city.”

Gilda shivered violently. “Geeze, don’t you just love being creepy.”

Trixie showed some emotions as she growled angrily. “Oh, Trixie is so sorry! But- wait, hold on...” She trailed off as she clamped her eyes shut and lit her horn up like a beacon, a dark purple aura wafting out from her eyes.

“I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I... can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power.”

FLASH!

“Don’t even consider it.”

“A-And I don't want to remember anything about the time he ruled over us...”

Trixie panted as she snapped her eyes open, glaring at her friend. “Trixie is busy keeping Celestia’s flunkies from discovering the existence of the Crystal Heart by suppressing the memories of a city!”

Gilda brightened up considerably. “Ah, now see, I finally have some good news!”

The darkened unicorn raised her eyebrow. “Does it get us any closer to finding the Heart?”

Gilda raised a claw as she used her other one to fish around in her armor before proffering a yellowed page. “This is a page that I ripped out a little something known as The History of the Crystal Empire! It tells about the Crystal Heart and how it was powered by the Crystal Faire to protect the city! And!” She interrupted as Trixie began to become angry. “It also tells how King Sombra confiscated it and hid it somewhere in the castle!”

Her reassurances did little to calm Trixie, who grasped the paper in her magic and promptly incinerated it. “This is what you’ve been working on for a week!? This!?”

“Hey, don’t diss me!” Gilda squawked. “Do you have any idea what I had to go through to get that thing!? Trap Arrays, curses, hexes! You know those statues outside the library? Word to the wise, they hit hard!”

“But how does this information help us!? After all, you’ve already checked the castle!”

Gilda was silent, swallowing heavily as she took a step back.

Trixie’s eyes widened, magic enveloping her being. “You didn’t check the castle!?!”

“HEY!” Gilda snapped, wreathing her body in black lightning. “Sombra was a master at using mental magics! He subjugated this entire city by making it literally unthinkable to go against him! He must have used subconscious influencing to ensure that we couldn’t even consider the castle as an option!”

The unicorn snapped her eyes shut and began breathing heavily through her nose. “Get. To the castle. And find. That. Heart. NOW!”She finished, bellowing furiously as magic coursed out from her, prompting Gilda to dash out of the room.

The griffon panted as she leaned on the closed door. “Jerk!” She shouted.

A spear of black magic bursting out inches from her beak resulted in her darting for the nearest window and flapping towards the castle, all the while making sure she stuck to the shadows.

-o-

Scholar groaned as he leaned up on the table and flexed his neck. “God damn it Iron Will! It feels like something tried to gnaw my arm off! And I should know! I’ve lost this arm more times than I can count!”

The minotaur chuckled as he brushed away a few stray crystals. “That’s what tells us it was a success! Still, you have to admit it’s an improvement, right?”

Scholar grunted noncommittally as he looked his arm over. He was still crystal from the shoulder down, but at least it didn’t threaten to impale him whenever he let it rest at his side anymore. “I guess. Anyways, could you do me a favor and follow orders for once?”

“That depends,” The minotaur mused. “Are you actually going to give a sane order?”

“Go down to the kitchens and grab me something to drink that can potentially knock me off my ass before I turn you into a steak dinner,” the Rune Keeper groused.

Iron Will shrugged. “Suit yourself. Don’t go anywhere, alright?”

“Where would I go? Half the people in this place want me dead and the feeling is mutual.”

“Fair point,” Iron Will conceded. “Still, sit tight or else Iron Will will beat you black, blue and bloody.”

“Traitor...”

“Blah blah blah....” The minotaur trailed off as he walked out the door.

Scholar heaved a sigh as he fell back on to the table. “Slave driver...” He mumbled before heaving a yawn and closing his eyes. “Might... as well... sleep...”

There was a moment of silence as he started to drift off peacefully into sleep.

Then...

Poke.

Scholar scrunched his face up in confusion. “Hmm...?”

Poke. Poke.

He snapped his eyes open and shifted his eyes to the side. “Who...?” His face fell as he caught sight of who had poked him. “Oh. You.”

Rainbow Dash snorted through her nose as she glared at him.

Scholar flipped himself over so that he was facing away from her. “What do you want?”

Even facing away from her, he could feel her magenta boring into his skull.

Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly. “Damn it... What the hell, might as well face the music...”

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table, facing her head on. He reached down with his free hand, clutched the side of the seal tag silencing her, and ripped it off painlessly.

“Be glad I don’t have my magic, otherwise you’d be missing all the fur on your lips,” He muttered. “So... what now? Are you gonna let me have it?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, merely working her jaw and getting used to using her mouth again. Finally, she fell still and lowered herself down so that she was sitting on her flank, just... staring at him.

“Well?” Scholar prompted.

Rainbow stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and looking away. “... what happened to Gilda?”

Scholar blinked before sighing heavily and hanging his head, equally avoiding her gaze. “... as I said. I sent them in here on reconnaissance and when Sombra attacked us, everything went dark. I honestly have no idea where she is. Trixie neither.”

Rainbow’s head sank lower. “So... she’s...”

“No!” Scholar snapped. “Absolutely not! Even if I don’t have magic, my robes and glasses do! The armor that they were wearing was built with cutting-edge state-of-the-art magic. It had built in health monitors designed to keep track of their vital signs. If they were dead, or heck, even critically injured, I would know in a second. That’s a guarantee.”

Rainbow Dash blinked as she processed what he had said before nodding idly. “Right... the armor...”

The human caught what she’d mumbled, but chose to ignore it. Instead, he folded his arms to the best of his ability and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why do you care so much? I thought that you ponies considered Gilda to be a bad guy.”

Rainbow Dash snapped her head up, glaring into Scholar’s glasses. “No, she was a bad friend! That doesn’t mean I wanted her to get hurt!”

He tilted back at her outburst. “Oh ho? My my, sounds like there’s quite the story behind that statement.”

The blue pegasus scowled. “You mean you don’t know? I thought that you guys were best buddies,” She muttered sourly.

Scholar sighed and hung his head. “I’m sorry to say it, but that’s not quite the case. I know their basic backgrounds, but everything before the reception happened really fast, and afterwards I wasn’t in the best of headspaces to discuss the past. Believe me, it’s a rule of mine to be friends with my subordinates. Less chance of getting a knife in the back. Or more, it’s hard to say.”

Rainbow Dash glared at him for a second longer before sighing and staring out the window. “We met in the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. We hit it off and were best friends. But then, well... I know it’s been a long time, but I’m fairly certain you can guess what happened.”

“Hmm...” Scholar held his chin in his open hand. “You guys both grew up, left the camp, went back home and drifted apart.”

Rainbow Dash nodded tiredly. “In a few words, yeah. We exchanged a few letters now and then, but that was it. But... a few months back, she came to Ponyville to visit out of the blue. It... didn't end well.”

“Care to be a tad more specific?” Scholar inquired.

The pegasus flinched and rubbed her shoulder sheepishly. “Well... she kept trying to push away my friends and she caused a lot of trouble. And... when we tried to throw her a party, she flipped out and shouted at my friends.”

Scholar grimaced in confusion. “Wait, how does that make her a bad friend!?”

Rainbow Dash’s scowl re-asserted itself. “She couldn’t accept that I had new friends! I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t my friend anymore, but I couldn’t just stand by and insult my new ones!”

“Hmm...” Scholar hummed again, his eyes closed in thought. “Well... from my point of view...” He reopened his eyes and stared at her lazily. “It seems to me like you’re the one in the wrong.”

“WHAT!?” She yelped, jumping to her hooves and flaring her wings furiously. “WHAT THE TARTAR-!”

She was cut off by the black pillar poking at her throat. “Shut up, sit down and let me finish,” Scholar growled coldly.

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily before scowling and sitting down again, keeping her wings flared.

“Now!” Scholar clapped his hand and the pillar together. “Here’s how I see things: Griffons are very solitary creatures, forming very few personal bonds, reserved solely for members of their flock. These flock-members are very, very close to them, almost family. Heck, they are family. Pseudo-family, but family nonetheless.”

“Yeah? So?” Rainbow demanded.

The Rune Keeper sighed tiredly. “Impatient. Gilda considered you to be part of her flock. As such, her visit with you was very personal. To have someone try to get in between you two would be viewed as a deep, personal insult. Your friend, Pinkie Pie if I remember correctly, was lucky her throat wasn't torn out.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped open before she swallowed heavily. “B-but what about the trouble she caused?! She screamed at Fluttershy for bumping into her, and she stole an apple!”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. Well you see, from what I’ve gathered, the griffon capital, Loondon, isn't very well off. In fact, it’s a griffon-eat-griffon city. Trigger-finger tempers, getting your meal where you can, that kind of stuff is an everyday occurrence. Combine being in a strange town and reeling her temper in to the extreme, and it’s not such a stretch of the imagination that she would fall into old habits.”

The pegasus tried to protest, but she clamped her mouth shut as she thought back to Junior Speedsters Camp. It hurt to admit it, but now that she thought back, Gilda was always quick to anger and she always made sure to clean her plate at every meal, no matter how much she might have grimaced at the lack of meat.

“But...” she whispered quietly. “Why would she come visit in the first place?”

Scholar was silent, bowing his head quietly. Finally, he spoke in a quiet tone. “My organization... the Academia Arcana... it has existed in secret for well over a thousand years. The lessons have been passed down via family. Father to son, mother to daughter, on and on. But... family lines die out. So, on occasion...” He raised his head, meeting her eyes with the emotionless light of one of his glasses.

“A disciple of the Academia will be granted permission to introduce a new student to the institution.”

Rainbow Dash’s pelt paled drastically and her pupils dilated, her breath coming quick and ragged. “She... she wanted me to join... your group?”

“Indeed.” Scholar concurred solemnly.

“B-b-but!” She protested. “I-I’m not- well, I mean, I like reading a bit, but-!”

The Rune Keeper waved her off. “Intelligence doesn’t matter. What truly matters is skill. Gilda might not have as many smarts as Iron Will or Trixie, but she knows how to fight and is a great flier. And from what she’s told me about you, you are too. Were you to receive some formal training, I’m certain you could be a successful Neophyte of the Academia, and who knows? Maybe even one day an Alumnus.”

Rainbow Dash shivered violently, clutching her head with her hooves. “B-b-but... that means that she would have... a-asked me to choose... between her... and the Wonderbolts?” She whimpered.

Scholar shook his head. “No. If anything, she wanted you to rebuild the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow looked at her incredulously. “W-what!?”

“Allow me to explain. You see, back in the old days, there were two old orders that guarded the skies. The griffon’s Storm Knights, and the pegasi Wonderbolts. These twin leagues worked together to police the air. One tradition that they held was that if a Wonderbolt and a Storm Knight were close enough, they would be allowed to work together as a duo, guarding each others lives and standing together through thick and thin. These kinds of comrades were known as Wingmates. To become a Wingmate was the deepest, most personal kind of trust possible back then. the only closer bond would be marriage... and even then I have my doubts.”

Rainbow Dash could do nothing other than stare. “S-s-so...” she breathed.

“Gilda wasn’t giving you a choice between her and the sky,” Scholar said definitively. “She was giving you the sky and all it had to offer.”

For what felt like an eternity, there was silence. Rainbow Dash stared at Scholar in mute horror, and Scholar just watched her, gauging her reactions.

Finally, Rainbow Dash got to her hooves. Her mane obscuring her eyes in shadow. Without even a word, she walked towards the door. As she walked, the doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing Iron Will who was carrying a massive cask on his shoulder. He blinked in surprise as the pegasus walked past him and into the hall.

Iron Will closed the door and looked at Scholar in confusion. Before he could speak, the human held five fingers up, smiling mischievously beneath his hood. He then began slowly ticking the fingers down, one after another.

-o-

Rainbow Dash stood in the hall, breathing heavily as she stared at the wall. Slowly, she turned her head and gazed to the side, her eyes devoid of emotion.

Applejack was standing by the door, her head bowed and her hat lowered to shadow her eyes. The cowpony raised her head just enough so that she could look Rainbow Dash in the eye. Then, she spoke in a quiet, somber voice.

“Dash... never before in all Mah life have Ah wanted to hear a lie.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot wide, her lips drawing back into a snarl. She took a deep breath, and then...

-o-

The last finger went down, leaving Scholar clenching his fist.

“YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

CRASH!

Iron Will jumped in shock as an ear-splitting scream rang out from the hallway and a pair of hoof-prints imprinted themselves into the crystal door.

The minotaur stared at the door for a second before sighing tiredly and looking back at his snickering superior. “You just broke her, didn’t you?”

“What can I say? I’m a stinker! Now come on, let me see what you got! If my liver is still intact when the hour is out, I’m demoting you to neophyte!”

-o-

Gilda huffed and panted as she reached the bottom of the stairs and fell to her knees. “It’s... official...” she moaned. “I... hate... hidden... treasure...”

And with good reason. Not only did she have to sneak past Cadance to search the throne room, but upon finding the hidden stairway, she’d entered the third level of hell.

Spikes, flames, lightning, areas of twisted space, and more. Sombra had spared no expense guarding his deepest sanctum.

However, it was all for naught in face of the full skillset of one of the best rune-crackers in generations.

Finally, she regained her breath and got to her paws. “Alright, back to work...”

Looking around, she took stock of her surroundings. Surprisingly, the bottom of the shaft was bare, with only a wooden door set into the wall with a crystal set into the top of the frame.

Gilda took a step towards the door... and snarled furiously as the door slid along the wall to the opposite side of the chamber.

Gilda moved in a flash of black lightning, reaching the door in less than a second and digging her claws into the wood before it could so much as shift. “Listen to me, you damn dirty door,” she snarled. “Out of all the traps in this hellhole, you are the runt of the fucking litter, and I will be damned if I get beaten by a stinking door, do I make myself clear!?”

The door remained silent, but she liked to imagine that she had felt it shiver in fear beneath her talons. “Good. Now then, second verse, same as the first,” she stated smugly as she raised her claws and fired a bolt of darkness at the crystal, forcing the door to swing open. Gilda smirked as she gazed into the open frame.

And then she stared.

She stared and stared and stared.

Until finally...

“YEARGH!” She screamed, slamming the door shut and collapsing to her knees, heaving violently as her stomach expelled its half-digested contents.

Finally, once she regained control of herself, she raised her head and redoubled her glare at the door. “Fine,” she grudgingly admitted. “Maybe you aren’t the runt. But...” She grunted as she dragged herself to her feet. “I will not...” She raised her arm again, pointing it back at the crystal. “Be beaten...” Her eyes flashed with determination. “BY YOU!”

Black magic struck the crystal.

The door swung open.

-o-

Trixie groaned as she rubbed her horn. Something was happening in Vitrum. Something that was making her job much much much harder.

“Gilda...” She grunted. “Please hu-!” Her eyes snapped open suddenly in shock, her horn flaring as she tried to use her magic in vain.

“Seeing all of this, I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before the king.”

“No...”

“Me too...”

“No...!”

“The Crystal Heart!”

“No!”

“Of course you can't! The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire...”

“NO!”

“Is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies,”

“NO!”

“So the light within them can power the Crystal Heart,”

“NO!”

“So that the Empire can be protected!”

“NOOOOOOOOO!”

“I do work at the library!”

Trixie’s spine went ramrod straight. She gave out a choked gurgling sound as she keeled over and fell straight on her back, foam dribbling from her lips.

‘Gilda... please... I beg of you... hurry...’ She thought numbly.

-o-

“I didn't know it was an actual relic!” Twilight panicked, pacing around the balcony as she proffered the offending item like it was obscene. Rainbow Dash had delivered the news not minutes ago and then ran off to help keep the Faire running. “The book didn't mention anything about the Crystal Ponies powering the Heart! There was a page missing! How did I not notice?!”

“It's alright, Twilight,” Cadance reassured, swaying on her feet. “It’s not your fault... it’s mine.”

Shining Armor looked at his wife with shock. “Cadance, what are you talking about!?”

“She’s talking about the fact that she is the one who created the Crystal Heart,” the ponies whipped around and watched as Scholar stalked onto the balcony. “And the one who brought it to Vitrum, isn’t that right Princess?” He hissed.

The pink Alicorn nodded sadly. It’s true. I created the Heart, and I founded the Faire.”

“B-but-!?” Twilight protested weakly. “I- why didn’t you tell us!?”

The princess groaned as she rubbed her aching brow. “Because of Sombra. He erased the Heart from my mind, the Crystal Ponies’ minds, all our minds...” her eyes shot open as she turned and snarled furiously at Scholar. “But you... you knew. You found out about the Heart, and you hid it from us!”

Scholar was unmoved, returning her furious glare with apathetic eyes. “There were more important things at stake.”

“Like what!?” Shining Armor demanded.

“The survival of Concordia.”

The ponies were floored by Scholar’s statement.

“...w...what?” Twilight breathed.

“You heard him,” Iron Will said quietly, stepping up to stand behind Scholar like a statue. “Should the Crystal Heart be recovered and restored, there will be a massive, massive surge in pure, unadulterated Harmony. It will destroy Sombra... and us along with it.”

Twilight and Shining Armor stared at the two in mute horror while Cadance turned away and stared out over the balcony and into the distance.

“And when he says ‘us’,” Scholar continued. “He doesn’t just mean he and I. He’s including Trixie and GIlda in that count as well, wherever they might be. See, our bodies have acclimated to having a certain threshold of magic in our systems. When that surge happens, it will hit us all like a wave of lava. It’d be kinder to exsanguinate us. But then...” He shifted his gaze over to Cadance. “You knew about this... didn’t you?”

The unicorn siblings slowly turned their heads and stared in horror at the pink princess.

She didn’t react, not even flinching an inch.

“...Cadance?” Twilight breathed. “Cadance...tell me they’re lying...”

Cadance sighed heavily and bowed her head. “It’s a fact in life, Twilight,” She whispered quietly. The Alicorn turned around, her expression kind. Benevolent.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

Twilight felt as though the ground fell out from beneath her hooves. “Cadance...” Her voice was choked with tears.

Cadance ignored her, staring into Scholar’s eyes, the smile still present on her lips. “You and your friends are a threat, not just to Equestria but ponykind as a whole. If I let you reactivate the old defenses, then you’ll eject me from the city, banish me forever. I have lived in the Crystal Empire,” she emphasized the words, making Scholar grit his teeth in annoyance. “For centuries. I failed to protect it once and as a result I lost my home. I will not let you or anyone take either it or my little ponies away from me ever again. Am I clear?”

Scholar breathed heavily, staring deep into her calm, kind eyes. “I knew it,” He whispered. “I knew that you couldn’t change. At your core, you are and always will be Tenebris Amor. The Dark Love.”

Cadance nodded in agreement. “Willing to do absolutely anything to protect those I love, no matter how dark and no matter how foul. Now then...” Her horn lit up even brighter as she flared her wings. “You’ve outstayed your welcome. Leave now, or I will personally eject you from the premises.”

Scholar and Iron Will stared at her coldly for the longest time, until finally...

The Rune Keeper solemnly bowed his head and turned away. “Come on, Iron Will,” He intoned in a depressed voice. “There’s a Faire going on. If we’re going to go out, I refuse to do it sober.” And with that, he walked off of the balcony and into the castle.

Iron Will followed him sadly with his eyes before turning and glaring at the ponies. “I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” He snarled. “You’ve just destroyed the hopes of a great empire and a great man.” He snorted a final time and followed in his commander’s footsteps.

Twilight and Shining Armor watched with their jaws agape as the two walked away. They made whipped their heads towards Cadance, trying to decide what to say... when they just stopped and stared.

Gone was the smiling, confident pony who had been present not seconds ago. In her place was a miserable, sobbing wreck whose face was buried in her forelegs. “Again...” She gasped. “Again and again... why can’t I stop? Why can’t I stop!?”

The siblings glanced at each other before kneeling beside the Alicorn and comforting her to the best of their abilities.

Chapter 12. Reminiscing Over Rum

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Chapter 13. Turnabout Triumph

“TWILIGHT! WAIT UP!” Spike panted as he chased after his big sister figure. ‘Geeze, what’s gotten into her!? One second I’m helping Rarity at her booth, the next she tears by like a bat out of-! Ergh, I’ve got to think of a better word for that.’

Finally, to Spike’s relief, Twilight slowed down, going from a gallop to a trot to a stop.

Spike panted as he bent over, leaning on his knees as he gasped for air. “Thanks... so... what’s wrong?”

The unicorn turned her head and Spike flinched. Twilight’s eyes were all but dripping tears but she had that fake, nearly insane smile on her face that she usually only had when Princess Celestia was about to make a visit. It always precluded a full day of twitchiness and hair-trigger reshelving.

The canned laugh she made as if trying to be casual was equally saddening, and disturbing as Spike prodded, “Twilight?”

“Oh, it’s nothing Spike! Absolutely nothing! Cadance just played a prank on me and I took it the wrong way! Hehaha, don’t worry about a thing, everything is going to be just fine!” Spike winced at how hollow those last few words were. Something was seriously wrong and he wasn’t about to let Twilight bottle it up.

“Twilight, it’s me, your Number One Assistant! You know I’m always going to be here for you!” Walking up to her, Spike gave her leg a fierce hug, “Come on Twi, you’ve always helped me with my problems. So what’s so bad that you don’t want to let me help?”

Twilight choked a sob, visibly shuddering as the tried to calm herself, “I...okay, if...if you really want to know, but not here, let’s go somewhere less public.” Turning, the unicorn started to lead the baby dragon out of the main festivities.

Privacy was found in a food tent off the main thoroughfare, largely empty so the pair could find a table away from the prying eyes and ears of the public. Holding a drink, Spike watched Twilight as she cradled a crystal apple, “To hear the Crystal Ponies tell it, those things explode unless you pull out the stem and soak it for a few days.”

Twilight nodded as she took a bite, before she giggled weakly, “Don’t tell Applejack, but this is nearly as good as her apples.” She giggled again and Spike joined her.

“Maybe she’ll bring some back?” He said, tentatively trying to break the ice before his expression became serious, “Okay Twilight, we’re somewhere private. Spill.”

Twilight was silent for a second staring at him before sighing despondently, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I was talking with Cadance, about the Crystal Heart. Scholar... interrupted us. He... he told us that if we found the real heart... used it... then he and Iron Will and Gilda and Trixie would... would die...”

Spike gasped in shock. “T-that’s horrible!”

Twilight shook her head, tears brimming at her eyes. “No... the horrible part is that Cadance knew. She knew and she was willing to let them... let... them...” She hiccuped miserably.

Spike gaped in shock. “W-what!? Cadance. Our Cadance said that?! But that’s-!”

“Insane. I know,” Twilight nodded somberly. “But... the fact of the matter was... that she wasn’t actually our Cadance...”

“Uhh...” The young dragon blinked in confusion. “Run that one by me again?”

Twilight scrunched her eyes shut as she recounted what had occurred.

-Ten Minutes Ago-

“Cadance...” Shining Armor whispered as he rubbed her back gently. “Please... tell me... tell us what’s going on...”

“Cadance, we’re here for you,” Twilight prompted. “Let us help.”

The Alicorn princess sniffed as she wiped her hoof over her eyes, trying to do away with the tears. “I... alright...” Cadance shakily got to her hooves and walked over to the banister, staring out over Vitrum. “I... I’ve watched the Crystal Empire grow... ever since Concordia fell. If Scholar reclaims it... if Scholar gets back into power... then everything that I’ve worked for... the peace that me and Celestia and Luna have worked for... it will be gone.”

“But Cadance,” Twilight protested, placing her hoof on her sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Why would it mean the end!? Why can’t there just be peace, and happiness like always!?”

Cadance bowed her head sadly. “Think about it, Twilight. When we sealed Concordia, dozens of species were imprisoned. And, well...” Cadance groaned as she kneaded her forehead with her hooves. “There’s... there’s just no way to say this without sounding horrible. Ugh, the entire situation is horrible! I know, I’ve been running over it every day for the past millennia...

“But the fact is that there isn’t a way out. If we unseal Concordia, they will never forgive us. They’ll bring the wrath of the greatest empire to ever exist down on us for our mistake. And Equestria... my god, you can’t even imagine... Twilight, I know you’re smart, so here’s a small economics question: what happens when you introduce several dozen species, all with their own cultures and needs to the global socio-political stage?”

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as Twilight paled, her pupils dilating and ears flattening. “Sis, what’s wrong?”

The lavender unicorn swallowed heavily. “C-complete global economic collapse...”

Her brother’s jaw dropped in shock. “W-what!?”

Cadance nodded sadly. “It’s true. All those different economies, all those individuals and their needs... the world isn’t prepared to deal with them. And where will they live? Even if we set up cities like Cloudsdale and such, there simply isn’t enough land for them all. They need to stay sealed. At the least, this way they’re still alive.”

“But... Cadance...” Shining Armor pleaded. “How can you just, just condemn Scholar and his followers!? How can you sentence them to death so casually!?”

Cadance sighed, turning her head away from him. “Because that’s what we had to do back then. Concordia was generally peaceful, yes, but it was a nigh-unending battle to keep it such. Sure, there were physical wars, but underneath them were the political chess games that we had no choice but to play. Politicians, aristocrats, military officers, whether it was because they were ambitious, greedy, or just truly believed their cause was just, they faced us in unspoken wars. We the Oligarchs might have been at the top of government, but we were never able to avoid battling them. And in those battles, we made choices. Necessary choices. Terrible, terrible choices, but necessary. The needs of the many or the needs of the few? The most basic choice of all.”

“But you...” Twilight swallowed heavily. “You sounded so... so cold.”

The pink Alicorn’s mood soured further as she growled. “The Dark Love. A mask I used in the political arena. I used it to act calm no matter what I had to do. I got the name because of how there were no limits to what I was willing to do for those I cared for. It’s the only way I was able to handle doing what we did to Concordia. Once it was all over and done with, I buried it, I didn’t want to deal with it ever again. I left Canterlot because I just... just couldn’t deal with what we did, and staying with Celestia and Luna reminded me of it. I secluded myself, and when Sombra did what he did, I wandered.”

She turned her head and gave Shining Armor a heart-warming smile. “Then I met you, Shiny. I was ready to just, settle down, put the past behind me...” Her smile died suddenly. “But dealing with Scholar has been chipping away at my nerves. She just... just keeps coming back out. So long as there is any reminder of Concordia remaining, I fear it will never be gone. That’s why I have to do this. And if I am going to do it...” She looked at Twilight. “Then I’m going to need your help, Twilight.”

Twilight flinched in shock. “W-what!? Why-?”

“Because...” Cadance lamented. “You’re the only one who can. I’m too busy concentrating on keeping up the shields, and Shiny-”

“Is too weak to do anything...” The Captain of the Guard stated sadly.

“Shiny, no!” Cadance protested, whipping around hastily. “Shining Armor, I promise, you are strong, and you aren’t useless. Both you and Twilight are two of the strongest unicorns I’ve seen in centuries. You could even give some of the people back in Concordia a run for their money.

“But the fact remains... for the past few weeks, you haven’t been dealing with Concordians, or even disciples from the Academia. You’ve been dealing with Oligarchs. We kept ourselves on a whole different level. People like Scholar and...” She shivered violently. “Chrysalis... you simply don’t have the experience, the power... none of it. You can’t begin to compare.

“But you can be useful. Scholar might be incapacitated, but that minotaur of his, Iron Will... who knows what he might do. I need you here with me.” She laid her hoof on Shining Armor’s shoulder. “Please Shiny... I can’t do this without you,” She looked at Twilight mournfully. “Both of you.”

The siblings glanced at each other for a second, before nodding resolutely, all doubts banished from their minds.

Cadance grinned sadly. “Thank you... the both of you. Twilight, I’m sorry to ask you this, so sorry, but at this point, we’re out of options. Here’s what I need you to do...”

-Present-

Spike gaped openly at her. “She wants you to find the Crystal Heart!?”

Twilight nodded somberly. “Uh-huh. Shining Armor doesn’t have his magic, Cadance needs to keep the shields up, and the others are keeping the fair running. T-there’s no one else. If I get the Heart, Equestria will be safe, the Crystal Empire will be free, and...” She swallowed heavily. “I... I’ll pass Celestia’s test...”

Spike snarled furiously, slamming his fist on the table. “Forget the damn test, Twilight! This isn’t about Celestia! It’s about you! It’s about what you think you have to do!”

“That’s where you’re wrong Spike!” Twilight rebutted. “This has everything to do with Celestia!”

The dragon threw his arms wide in frustration. “How!? How does this have anything to do with her!?”

“Because all my life she’s all I’ve ever had!” Twilight screamed miserably.

Spike blinked in shock. “Wha...?”

Twilight sobbed as she buried her head in her forelegs. “All my life...” She ground out. “All my life, I’ve looked up to Princess Celestia. All of my life I’ve heard her preach peace and harmony and friendship... and now what? It’s all a lie? Sure, I have I have you and my parents and my friends... but all my life, Celestia has been my whole world... Now... without her... with everything a lie... what am I supposed to do?”

Spike stared at her solemnly before standing up, walking around to her, and clasping her hoof. “Twilight, listen to me. No matter what, no matter what happens, or what anyone says or anyone thinks... I’m more than your number one assistant. I’m your family. If you need something to cling to, anything to cling to, then cling to me.I love you Twilight, and that will never change. I promise.”

Twilight stared at him in shock for a second before smiling sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she enveloped him in a hug. “Thank you, Spike. Thank you so much...”

Spike returned the hug eagerly. “Not a problem, Twi,” he pulled back, gazing at her worriedly. “So... what are you going to do now?”

Twilight, bit her lip hesitantly, darting her eyes around before furrowing her brow, a blazing determination entering her eyes. “I’m going to find the Crystal Heart. But I’m not doing it for Celestia, or for Luna, or even Cadance. I’m doing this for my friends. I’m doing this for Equestria and all the ponies who live in it. This falls on me, and me alone.”

Spike gave her a hesitant look before voiding his face of emotion and nodding resolutely. “I’m with you, Twilight,” He scrambled onto her back, giving her a reassuring smile. “All the way. Heck,” he tucked his hands beneath his armpits. “I won’t even lift a claw to help.”

Twilight smiled gratefully before frowning and turning to glare at a darkened corner of the food tent. “So,” she stated darkly. “Anything you want to add, Scholar?”

Spike gasped in shock as the Rune Keeper stepped out of the shadows. He stared at her morosely, his expression unreadable beneath his hood. “I’ve heard that tone a thousand times before,” he stated solemnly. “Is there anythingI could say to stop you?”

Twilight shook her head without hesitation. “Not a chance. I’m sorry.”

Scholar shrugged. “Then that’s all there is to it.”

Twilight nodded in acceptance before turning and galloping towards the palace. As she ran off, Spike spared Scholar a single, final glance.

Scholar stared after them before bowing his head and turning away. “Semel iterum, alea jacta est,” he muttered. “Rursus et rursus, alea jacta est.”

-o-

Gilda gasped for breath, her chest heaving as she knelt on the ground. She’d long ago emptied her stomach.

‘This is ridiculous...’ She mentally groaned, dragging her head up to stare at the wooden construct that seemed to tower over her, almost mocking in how it was unchanged. ‘How the hell am I being bested by a door!? Admittedly, a very sadistic door, but it’s the thought that counts...’

The griffon groaned as she clawed her way up the door. “Alright,” She snarled through her teeth. “Let’s go, you damn dirty door. Round Thirty-eight.”

She grasped the doorknob in her claw...

...but instantly let it go when a black crystal came within inches of braining her.

‘Shit!’ She mentally screamed as voices began to echo down the stairwell. ‘I’m out of time!’ She jabbed her talon at the door. “I’m not done with you yet,” she whispered venomously before flapping her wings and zipping to hide beneath the winding staircase.

Not a moment too soon, either. It was mere moments later that Princess Celestia’s protege came tumbling down the stairs.

As tired as she was, Gilda was barely able to keep herself from laughing as the unicorn chased the door around the stairwell. Her amusement cut off when Twilight snarled furiously and blasted the door with black magic. ‘Damn, she’s stronger than I thought...’ Gilda mused.

Twilight smiled euphorically as she trotted towards the bright light emanating from the doorway. “Spike!” She called out. “I think it’s here!”

‘Yeah,’ the would-be Stormknight snorted to herself. ‘But fat chance getting to it. And in three, two, one...’

As predicted, the unicorn froze in her tracks and fell on her rear, staring at the stone wall as her eyes were flooded with dark magic.

“And presto, like clockwork,” Gilda muttered as she let go of the stairs and landed behind the pony. She stared at the terrified equine, savoring her horrified expression before grinning sadistically. “No princess to save you now, bitch...” the griffon chuckled darkly as she slowly lifted her talons.

But before she could strike, a new voice rang out, frantically calling down the stairs. “Twilight! Twilight!”

Gilda growled in annoyance and darted back into the shadows, out of sight.

She watched angrily as the juvenile dragon darted down the stairs. To her shock and envy, the dragon’s voice appeared to snap Twilight out of her trance, dispelling the magic.

Spike panted as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “I know you told me to stay up there,” he rambled quickly as Twilight tried to regain her bearings, “But you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering and I got worried so I came down here and you were just staring at that wall and... I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention, and–” He cut off as he glanced at where she’d been staring. “What were you looking at? I mean...” He glanced into the doorway, unknowingly setting off the enchantment hidden within. “It’s just a wall...”

Gilda winced in sympathy as the drake’s eyes were filled with magic. Enemies they might be, but that door was one fate she would wish on very few.

Spike blinked in confusion as Twilight looked on worriedly. “...Ponyville?!” He mumbled in confusion, his expression slowly morphing into one of panic. “Well, how did I get... No! I don't wanna go! Please, Twilight, don't make me!”

The unicorn hurriedly slammed the door shut as the dragon was about to burst into hysterics.

“King Sombra’s dark magic,” Twilight stated solemnly. “A doorway that leads to your worst fear.”

‘And you only saw the tip of the iceberg, Sparkle-butt,’ Gilda thought sourly.

“We were home,” Spike whimpered sadly. “You told me you didn't need me anymore. You were sending me away...”

“A fear that will never come to pass,” Twilight reassured as she pulled the dragon into a hug “I'm never gonna send you away...” Her face filled with newfound confidence as her horn lit up with magic. “And I'm not gonna fail my test!” And with that statement, she fired a stream of pure energy into the door’s crystal.

Gilda stared in shock as rainbow lights flooded the room. She was floored by a wash of emotions as the door swung open properly. Rage, confusion... and most importantly, shame. ‘Light magic...’ She thought numbly. ‘All it took was light magic... and instead I just kept ramming my head into that damn door...’

When she finally regained her wits, the door had slammed shut behind the triumphant duo. Snarling predatorily, she blasted a bolt of lightning at the crystal, darted to the door, kicked it inwards...

And promptly pulled the door shut again, slamming her back against the wood as several black crystal spears protruded from the portal, nearly skewering her alive.

“Oh yeah,” Gilda muttered to herself through her shellshock. “Sombra was one of the smart ponies. Makes sense he would make sure anybody following him wouldn’t get far...”

Gilda peeled herself off the wood and clasped her talons together nervously. “Alright Gilda, let’s think, what the hell DO I DO!?!” She screamed as panic overtook her senses, the stairwell flooding with lightning as she was reduced to a nigh hysterical mess.

-o-

Iron Will growled under his breath as he stared out the castle’s window.

Vitrum was reaching critical levels of unrest. Before his eyes, building after building was encroached upon by dark magic, the horizon flickered like a dying torch, and the crystal ponies were second away from panicking, despite the best efforts of the Elements.

The minotaur snorted furiously as he turned away stomping along the castle’s corridors as he searched for his destination. He knew that sooner or later, something was going to give, and when it did, he was going to be ready.

“Come on...” Iron Will muttered under his breath. “Hurry up...”

-o-

Twilight grinned enthusiastically as she approached the dais. There, floating above her, was the Crystal Heart.

‘Yes...’ She thought joyously. ‘So close... I’m so close...’

She set a hoof on the dais.

And then all hell broke loose.

WOOP! WOOP!

Twilight flinched in shock as the floor was covered in shadows. Acting fast, Twilight jumped for the Crystal Heart, but before she could reach it, jagged spires of obsidian thrust out of the ground, cracking it as they emerged, and engulfing the tower in shadows.

Twilight stared in horror as the Crystal Heart clattered to the ground outside of the crystalline barrier, Sombra’s evil laugh echoing around her.

-o-

Scholar was moving around in the faire when he came to a sudden halt. Slowly, he turned around and stared up at the tallest tower of the Crystal Empire.

“There you are...” He breathed.

-o-

Trixie’s eyes snapped open as she scrambled to her hooves, her head orienting itself in the direction she knew the castle, and more importantly the Heart, was.

“No!” Trixie gasped in horror. She quickly flung the apartment door open and galloped out. “This is not where it ends!”

-o-

Iron Will slid to a sudden halt, craning his head head back to stare at the ceiling.

“The Heart!” He growled. Iron Will snorted furiously before taking off again at a breakneck pace.

“Hurry...” He pleaded under his breath. “Hurry damn it!”

-o-

Gilda froze, all of her magic cutting off as she came back to her wits. With speeds only available to a predator, she snapped her eyes up and out of the hole she was in.

“It was in the tower!” She snarled to herself. “Damn it, another subliminal barrier! Need to get there, I won’t lose,” Gilda clenched her beak in abject fury as she flared her wings, black lightning engulfing her being. “DO YOU HEAR ME!?” She screeched to the heavens as she flapped her wings, taking off and circling around and round up the stairs so as to avoid the wards still in the shaft proper.

“WE WON’T LOSE!”

-o-

Twilight panted worriedly as she looked around. “The Heart! Where’s the Crystal-!”

“Here!”

Twilight snapped her head towards Spike’s voice as it circumvented the barrier.

“It rolled over here when you dropped it!” The drake called out as he kept on his toes, doing whatever he could to keep from touching the evil crystals that were sprouting from the ground.

Twilight caught sight of him through a crack in the walls. “Don’t move!”

Spike swallowed heavily as more obsidian daggers erupted near his feet. “That’s not really an option, Twilight!”

“You can move!” She amended, “Just not towards me!”

Spike staggered back from the crystals, putting himself right next to the Heart.

There was a flash of lavender light as Twilight teleported out of her confines, followed by a burst of black lightning returning her to her prison and slamming her into the walls. Twilight groaned as she rubbed her throbbing horn. “How could I have been so foolish!?” She lamented as she shoved her hooves against the wall. “I was just so eager to get it! It was like there was a voice egging me on! And when I saw what was going on outside... to everyone...”

“You have to get out of there, Twilight!” Spike shouted desperately. “How else are we going to get out of here!?”

Twilight whimpered as she looked out through a hole in her cell and watched as dark shadows swallowed building after building. “King Sombra is already attacking the Empire. He could reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment... reach Princess Cadance, my brother, my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape!”

Twilight darted her eyes left in right as she thought furiously. “But I have to be the one to get the Heart to Cadance! It’s my responsibility!” She redoubled her efforts at pushing at the walls, flinching as Scholar, Gilda, Trixie and Iron WIll materialized in her mind’s eye. “It’s my burden...”

Spike bit his lip as he danced around the black spikes. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the Crystal Heart, lying helpless on the floor.

It only took him an instant to reach a decision.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Twilight,” he called out.

“Spike?”

“It’s not your burden anymore.”

“What are you-” The unicorn gasped in shock as she caught sight of her number one assistant.

Spike was standing on the edge of the tower, the Heart clutched tightly in his claws. “It’s mine.”

“Spike, no! You can’t do this! I-!” Twilight lit her horn up as she tried to grab him. “I won’t let you be responsible for this!”

“The feeling is mutual!” He shouted as he jumped just out of her range.

“SPIKE!” Twilight screamed. That was all she was able to say before the entire tower was engulfed in a forest of obsidian.

-o-

Cadance gasped in pain as the last of her magic left her, sputtering out pathetically. She was forced to watch in horror as the blue horizon she had set up collapsed, giving way to a nightmarish burnt orange.

Suddenly, she shuddered in fear as a dark, booming voice echoed across Vitrum.

“My crystal slavesss...”

‘Bastard...’ Cadance thought through the pain. ‘If only... I had a bit more power... I will never... let you touch... my ponies...’

She grit her teeth as a booming laugh reverberated throughout the land.

‘Never... again...’

-o-

Spike grunted as he clambered down the crystal parapets, instinctively shooting off bursts of green fire at emerging obsidian as he went.

“Once... this... is over...” He grunted to himself, barely dodging a fate as a draconic shishkebab. “I’m getting a raise! Or, at the least, a salary! Dental! EEP!” He swallowed heavily as he nearly fell backwards off an edge. “Health insurance...”

Chancing a glance downwards, Spike was thankfully rewarded with the sight of multiple ponies standing around on a balcony. “HEY!” He cried. He waved the Crystal Heart about giddily. “I have the Crystal Heart right here!”

Suddenly, an infuriated roar shook the area.

“THAT IS MINE!”

Spike swallowed heavily as he began to dash down the winding crystal growth. “Not to self, don’t gloat until after the villain is go-WARGH!”

He was driven out of his thoughts when a new set of shaking sent him completely off his feet and over the edge. To the dragon’s immense horror, the Crystal Heart flew out of his grasp during the commotion, plummeting directly below him.

Spike paled in fear as he caught sight of where he was heading. Growing from the ground was a spire of black crystal, and standing proud upon the very top of the spire was Sombra, leering victoriously, as the Crystal Heart fell ever closer to his clutches, his fangs bared in a twisted grin of victory.

‘Nononono!’ Spike thought numbly as he grasped for the artifact. ‘It can’t end like this, it can’t!’

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, seconds elongating to eternities. Spike’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Spike became aware of a crucial fact that had suddenly introduced itself: Princess Cadance, flying faster than Spike thought possible, mere inches away from the Heart, positioned to catch both it and him. Her grin was euphoric, filled with glee and hope and victory.

Spike could only stare as joy blossomed within his chest. ‘We won...’

Then, out of nowhere, everything changed.

“OBJECTION!”

A black crystal shot from the direction of the ground, impacting with the Crystal Heart and sending the Crystal Heart flying high into the sky.

Cadance was forced to come to a dead stop, flapping her wings furiously as she tried to stay aloft when Spike impacted with her back.

The Alicorn stared in horror as her only hope was flung away. “How...” She breathed. Cadance snapped her head towards the ground, scanning the ground until she found...

The princess’s breath hitched violently. “No...”

-o-

Scholar smirked as he met Cadance’s fearful eyes. “My turn, bitch.”

His crystal-encased arm was pointed towards the sky, and it had changed drastically. Instead of a simple pillar, the crystals formed a cannon, runes running up and down the entire length and smoke flowing freely out of the barrel.

“This, right here, right now, is our turnabout triumph.”

-o-

Cadance’s breathing became ragged as her magical exhaustion took ahold of her once anew. “We’ve been had....” She panted.

Spike glanced at her in confusion. “What do you mean!?”

“We’ll tell you what it means!”

The two snapped their attention back towards the maliciously grinning Sombra.

Or at least, the being that appeared to be Sombra.

CRACK!

All of a sudden, the dark unicorn shattered like glass, cracks spider-webbing across his entire being, before exploding in a shower of light and fragments.

And what was left behind...

“We played you all for chumps!!” Nix and Null chorused gleefully.

“You...” Cadance seethed.

“Us!” Nix squealed.

“THEM!” Spike yelped.

“Hi!” Null waved.

It was the Golem Twins, blatantly floating before Cadance and Spike in all their unmasked glory. Nix was holding open the Lexicon De Arcana, and Null was grasping a huge black-and-red crystal war horn.

“Hello Cadance!” Nix greeted as she snapped her hand out and snatched Spike off Cadance’s back by the nape of his neck.

“And goodbye Cadance!” Null gloated. He feigned drawing a huge breath, brought the horn to where his lips would be, and pretended to blow.

BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!

Cadance was blasted by a veritable barrage of sound and magic, sending her flying back to the balcony from which she’d been flung.

“CADANCE!” Spike shouted in panic.

“Don’t worry!” Nix reassured.

“She’s tough, she’ll live!” Her brother reassured.

“But why didn’t you just blast me?” Spike demanded.

The twins glanced at each other before shrugging.

“You’re a dragon, not a pony!”

“In our opinion, you’re neutral!”

“Oh,” Spike blinked in shock. “Okay then... still, they’re my friends, I want to be with them. Can you get me down there?”

“Oh... sorry...”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Thanks you- wait, what are you-!? Don’t kick the dragon! DON’T KICK THE GODDAMN-!”

“FORE!”

SLAM!

“YEAAAAAAAARGH!”

“Oooh, nice topspin!”

“Myeah. Hey Nix.”

“Yeah Null?”

“Do you think that joke will ever get old?”

“Mmmm... naaaaah!”

-o-

Rainbow scowled as she watched the Crystal Heart reach the apex of it’s arc. “Those damn traitors!” She snarled as she flared her wings.

“O-oh dear!” Fluttershy stuttered as she hid behind her mane, silently cursing the fact that she was stone-cold sober. “R-rainbow Dash, what are you-?”

“I’m getting that Heart!”

“WAIT!” Shining Armor shouted. “Cadance! Get Cadance!”

The pegasus widened her eyes before flapping her wings and intercepting the Alicorn before she could impact the walls. She wheeled around and handed the unconscious mare to her husband.

Meanwhile, Rarity managed to just catch Spike with her magic.

The dragon sighed in relief. “Thanks, Rarity.”

“Not a problem, Spikey-Wikey!”

Spike gave her a grin before scowling at Shining Armor. “Hey, what am I, chopped daisies!?”

Shining Armor ignored him, cradled his wife’s head desperately. “Cadance, Cadance, open your eyes, please!”

Cadance cracked an eyelid open staring at him listlessly for a second before her eyelids widened even further. “Shiny...”

Shining Armor chuckled in relief. “Cadance, thank Celestia! Don’t speak...”

“Shiny...” She groaned. “Behind you...”

A sudden dark chuckling caused the ponies to whip their heads towards the balconies entrance.

Iron Will towered above them, his lips set in a triumphant smirk. “Iron Will found the armory,” he said darkly. “And look at what he got.”

The minotaur swung his arm around, displaying a huge bronze war club, almost seven feet long, two feet thick, and octagonal in shape. It’s entire length was studded with iron studs.

“The impressive thing,” Iron Will continued. “About this piece is that it’s made to support earth magic,” his grin became sadistic. “Let’s test it out, shall we?”

Before any of the ponies could react, Iron Will slammed his club into the floor. An explosive crash racked the balcony, cracks spider-webbing across the entire thing.

Fluttershy shivered violently as she met Iron Will’s eyes. “Please...” She whimpered.

Iron Will’s only response was to give her a final salute before slamming his hoof into the emaciated balcony.

CRASH!

The entire thing fell, sending the ponies tumbling towards the ground.

Luckily, Fluttershy regained her wits and was able to help Rainbow Dash lower all her friends to the ground, along with several crystal pegasi that took the initiative and helped them.

Shining Armor panted as he clutched his wife tightly. “Everybody alright?”

The Elements all gave groans of acknowledgement.

“I have an idea...” Spike mumbled. “Let’s not do that again...”

SLAM!

The ponies snapped around as Iron Will slammed into the ground, cracking the crystal beneath him. “That’s unfortunate,” he rumbled. “It would have been so much easier if someone had at least broken their legs.”

Applejack bared her teeth as she took a steady stance. “Dash, get a move on and get the Heart, Ah’ll hold this varmint off!”

Rainbow Dash nodded, crouched for take-off...

And yelped as she whipped her hooves to her eyes. “GAGH!? WHAT THE TARTARUS!?”

“That would be our doing!”

Rarity groaned. “Oh dear, I suppose this was to be expected...”

“Indeed!” There was a large explosion of fireworks and light as a pony stood on her hind-legs, her forehooves spread wide. “For what is an absolute victory without THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!?”

“Buck your ‘Great and Powerful!’” Rainbow Dash snarled, rubbing furiously at her eyes. “What did you do to me!?”

Trixie sighed as she fell back on her hooves. “Philistine. The Luminescent and Prodigious Trixie merely used her illusions to hamper your sense of sight. The untrained mind often has a hard time coping with viewing non-euclidean shapes, so it can be a tad disconcerting.”

“After all,” the crowd of Crystal Ponies parted, letting Scholar walk through, his crystal arm slung around his neck. “We can’t have you interfering with our last operative.”

“Traitor!” Shining Armor yelled, making to gallop at the human.

He was halted by a massive blade appearing directly beneath his chin. “Sit your five-bit ass down,” Null growled, “Before I make change.”

Shining Armor bored holes through him before reluctantly acquiescing.

“Good pony!” Nix cooed as she petted his mane condescendingly.

“So,” Applejack demanded as she eyed the golems warily, “Who’s this ‘last operative’ of yers?”

All of a sudden, there was an explosion as a streak of black lightning erupted from the castle, shooting through the sky towards where the Crystal Heart was falling.

“I retract the question,” Applejack muttered bitterly.

Scholar smirked and held up three fingers, counting down. “Three, two, one...”

“SCREEEEEE!”

An ear-shattering screech sounded out, sweeping across Vitrum.

Scholar smirked triumphantly as the black lightning started on it’s way back.

The rest of his comrades made their ways towards him, standing at his side.

Once the streak returned, the lightning dispersed, revealing Gilda’s smirking form hovering above her superior, the Crystal Heart clutched in her talons. She then proceeded to drop it before falling to the ground.

Scholar snapped his crystal-encased arm up, pointing it straight towards the Heart. There was a flash of light and runes and then the crystals shifted and moved, flowing up and off of Scholar’s arm until they encapsulated the Heart, locking it in a cage of crystals and runes.

Scholar’s smirk became truly triumphant, as he moved the cage in front of his body, staring predatorily at the heart.

“Checkmate.”

Chapter 14. From Renaissance...

Author's Note

I give credit to my good friend Gideon020, an amazing author on Spacebattles without whom none of this would be possible! Enjoy!

EDIT: Today, this story has officially been FEATURED! WOOHOO! HELL YEAH! THANK YOU READERS AND WHOEVER ELSE DECIDES THAT! HALLELUJAH!

Chapter 14. From Renaissance...

For the longest time, time stood still.

Scholar and his entourage glared at the Equestrians, victory and pride present in their eyes.

The Equestrians stared at the Academics, dread, fear and confusion in theirs.

The Crystal Ponies formed a ring around them, waiting with baited breath for something to happen.

Finally, Scholar crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Nothing? Really? Come on, I spent the past week setting that line up.”

Shining Armor gaped at him in shock, shaking his head in denial. “I- how!?”

Cadance, though tired and drained of energy, managed to give her husband a sad glance. “Shiny...”

“Just- how the hell did you do all of this!? How is-!?” He was cut off by a raised wing.

“Shiny...” Cadance repeated more forcefully. “Enough... It’s already done... all he’s going to do...”

“Is gloat?” Scholar asked innocently. “An excellent idea! I do love a good bit of exposition anyways! But first!” He popped a finger up. “We should go and get dear Twilight! I do loathe repeating things. Gilda would you-?”

Gilda smirked eagerly, crouching as she spread her wings before taking off in a bolt of black lightning. There was a huge crash of breaking glass followed by the black lightning returning.

The lightning dissipated, revealing the griffon to be clutching the struggling purple unicorn in her talons. Twilight was trying desperately to get out of Gilda’s grip but the black-clad talon wrapped around her horn was somehow disrupting her magic.

“G-grah!” She growled, purple lightning dancing around her horn. “Let me gugh! GO!”

“You asked for it!” Gilda smirked. She heaved her arms back and tossed Twilight through the air like a sack of flour.

Twilight flailed her hooves frantically as she sailed through the air. Remembering her magic, her horn lit up...

And was promptly extinguished when a green stone hand caught hold of it.

Twilight tried to struggle again, but promptly froze when a red blade pressed itself against her throat.

“Hiya, main course!” Null chuckled grimly.

“Say, settle an argument for us, wouldja?” Nix asked innocently.

“What would be better as your topping? Ketchup?”

“Or salsa?”

Twilight groaned as she clenched her eyes shut. “For the record, I actually felt sorry for you little trolls when I heard that you were supposedly dead.”

“Awww, how sweet!”

“Just for that, we’ll make sure you’re unconscious when we run you through!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “How generous.”

“We know!”

“From us, that’s downright charitable!”

“So!” Scholar clapped his hands together. “Now that we’re all together, any questions for us, your highness?” He asked Cadance, his voice dripping with false sweetness.

The Alicorn stared at him quietly for a second before sighing and nodding her head. “Yes. Just how long has Sombra been dead? At a guess, I’d say since you got here, am I right?”

The human tilted his head smirking imperiously. “Not even close. By my estimates, dark and gruesome kicked the bucket about...” He held up a hand and snapped his fingers in front of Iron Will.

The minotaur tilted his head in thought for a second before nodding definitively. “Four hundred and thirteen years ago.”

Scholar nodded with pride. “Ex-actly! Nice work!”

The Equestrians gaped in shock. “Wha-!?” Rarity sputtered. “But how on E-Mundus!” She altered hastily when six sets of eyes glared at her simultaneously. “Did he die!?”

The Rune Keeper bowed his hooded head as he chuckled grimly. “I was actually lying when I riffed on Celestia’s means of imprisonment. She did just fine. See, when she locked Sombra beneath the ice, she reduced him to nothing more than a soul. In his prison, Sombra was preserved. More than preserved, in fact. Whilst imprisoned, he was able to gorge himself on the magic from the ley lines, becoming more and more powerful every day. If he’d ever gotten out, he’d have been a god. But there was one problem, one fact preventing this, wasn’t there Cadance?”

Attention shifted to the pink princess, who stared at Scholar for a second before nodding her head. “His soul wasn’t ready.”

“Indeed!” Scholar concurred enthusiastically. “See, for all his power and for all his experience, Sombra’s soul just wasn’t ready for such an expanse of time. Now, me or Chrysalis, or even you could survive that easily enough. We’re effectively immortal, so we’d just sit there and wait. But Sombra?”

He tutted sadly as he shook his head. “Powerful, yes, but mortal. Which means that after an effective amount of time, his soul would have...” He raised an arm and pointed at Twilight. “Pop quiz, Sparkle. Time plus mortal soul, what’s the end result?”

The unicorn glared at him evenly. “Why?”

The human shrugged. “Skill and knowledge first and foremost, I’m curious about what you know.” He met her gaze coolly. “If you need any incentive, remember that the golem holding the blade to your throat is very loyal to me.”

Twilight paled drastically as her mind began running a mile a minute. She darted her eyes back and forth before swallowing heavily. “That much time... his soul... dissolved?”

Scholar tilted his head at her before sighing and shaking his head. “Not quite...”

Twilight looked like she might have a heart attack, whimpering in fear as Nix and Null chuckled malevolently.

“But!” Scholar interrupted. “Close. Very close. An understandable mistake too. See, under normal circumstances, you'd be right. An unprotected and unprepared soul left alone? Some take days, others months, years, even centuries, but they all fade, dissipating into pure magic and returning to the world. “

“But Sombra!” He stuck his finger up to emphasize his point. “Sombra was different. Sombra was imprisoned in a one-way magic funnel. So when he faded, he became a pocket of his evil, tainted magic. And all those ley lines with all that magic? They just kept feeding and feeding that magic, making the pocket grow and grow. And as it grew, the magic interacted with the ice, changing it. Transmuting it.”

“I-Into what?” Fluttershy asked.

Gilda chuckled as she held her gauntlet-clad talon up. “Into this. These crystals aren’t just a fashion statement. They’re pure, undiluted black magic. Carved straight from Sombra’s long dead and bloated fractal corpse.”

Iron Will grunted in agreement. “Which we found within hours of our arrival.”

-o-

“Scholar! Scholar, respond! We’ve found something!”

“Yeah?” Scholar muttered. “What a coincidence. So have we.”

He, Iron Will and the Twins were in an ice cave, staring at what they’d discovered. They’d spent the past two hours tracking what they’d sensed and it had led them to a fissure in the ice that stretched deep underground, leading to where they were.

The group was awestruck at what they’d found.

Arrayed before them was a cavern. A massive gallery, composed of black crystals, stretching deep under the tundras. Occasionally, sparks of black lightning flickered between the jagged spires, dancing a mad, free-spirited dance. The crystals simply radiated power. Even from where the Academics were positioned they could feel it. Magic, twisted and warped, but simply... awe-inspiring.

“Holy...” Nix breathed.

“Crap...” Null finished.

Iron Will shook his head in awe. “This is...incredible...”

“Yeah? Well this is urgent!”

-o-

“Once I heard about the Crystal Heart, a plan formed in my mind.” Scholar stated. “First and foremost, I had Iron Will mine out a considerable amount of the dark crystal, and transport it into Vitrum. Once there, he used it to forge the armor that Trixie and Gilda are wearing, as well as line a base of operations with the stuff.

“Meanwhile, I stayed at the source with Nix and Null,” He held out a hand, into which the red golem eagerly dropped the large war horn he’d been handling. “And carved this. I call it the Horn of Sombra. A potent artifact, capable of altering normal magic into dark magic, and delivering copious amounts of pain.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened as he stared at the Golems in horror, realization hitting him like a train. “I-it was you...” He whispered. “You were the ones who attacked us! Who slaughtered my men!”

Nix giggled giddily, “Guilty!”

“Psh!” Her brother scoffed. “Guilty nothing, we were eager to kill something!”

“You see,” Scholar continued. “The point of this entire thing was misdirection. The magic in the dark crystals is potent, and obscures all other magic with it’s own trace, as well as protecting us from harmony. Using the Horn, Nix and Null were able to put on the charade of being the dreaded King Sombra, striking your men down left and right, and convincing you that the usurper had returned.”

Twilight bared her teeth angrily. “And when all hope was lost, who else would come to save the day but the brave and courageous Scholar?” She asked sarcastically.

The aforementioned human took a dramatic bow. “Please, do not forget my valiant assistant Iron Will! He was a great help.”

Iron Will chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Awww, not a problem.”

“But either way, yes, you are correct. I staged the rescue, taking the opportunity to discretely pass the Lexicon to Nix. This served the dual purpose of allowing her to propagate the Sombra illusion across the entire tundra, and lowering how much of a threat I was in your brother and sister-in-law’s eyes. After that, it all fell into place. Trixie used the power provided by the crystals to mask her and Gilda’s presence in the city, as well as cast an extremely powerful illusion to block out any and all pre-Sombra memories the Crystal Ponies might have, whilst Gilda scoured Vitrum unmolested.”

Scholar narrowed his eyes at Twilight. “And then you came, and forced me to up the ante. I faked the blight crystals so that my threat level would lower even further, and plastered your brothers horn with real blight crystals so that he would be out of the picture as well. The way I saw it, one of two things would happen: either Gilda would find the Heart and I could dispose of you all discretely, or Nix and Null would force their way into Vitrum, ransack it and take the heart themselves. A win-win situation.”

“But me and Twilight found the heart first!” Spike exclaimed, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

Gilda clenched her talons at the reminder, bowing her head in shame.

“So what?”

The griffon whipped her head up to stare at Scholar in shock.

The human continued undeterred. “Who cares who found the Heart? The end result is that we have it. And for the record, you couldn’t have found it without Gilda’s good work.”

Gilda turned her head away timidly, a blush showing through her feathers.

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Wait. wha-?”

Scholar snorted incredulously. “Please, do you really think that a library in an empire founded by a bookworm like me would lack any defenses? Or that an accomplished mage like Sombra would leave the path to the Heart undefended? The only reason you got to the Heart was that you were following in Gilda’s footsteps, nothing more and nothing less. If you hadn’t, well... let’s just say I’m relieved you did.”

The captive unicorn stared at him in shock, trying to process what she had heard. “I... well, thank you Scholar, that’s-”

“After all, this is my place now. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to get stains out?”

“Aaaaand there’s the other horseshoe.”

Scholar chuckled. “I try. Well!” He clapped his hands together. “I think that’s everything, so on to the next phase of my dastardly plan!” The last part was heavily dramaticized and over-emphasized.

Rainbow Dash scowled as she rubbed futilely at her eyes, trying to dispel the feeling of immense liquid nitrogen and molten magma being simultaneously poured into her sockets. “Oh yeah?” She growled as she blinked owlishly. “And what would that be?”

Scholar’s smirk became predatory. His grimoire snapped open in his hand, runes flowing out and around him. The crystals composing the cage containing the Crystal Heart flashed as they turned inwards, black lightning dancing along their points. “Well, it starts with this.”

The runes halted their movement, the crystals lit up with black lightning...

And the Crystal Heart shattered.

Cadance’s eyes snapped wide in shock. “NOOOO!” She shrieked, struggling desperately against Shining Armor’s renewed grip.

The Elements and Spike stared in horror as the fragments of the diamond flew about.

The onlooking Crystal Ponies gasped in shock and awe, murmurs and whispers running far and wide throughout the crowd.

Applejack, who had been helping to support Rainbow Dash, blinked in surprise as something registered with her. She raised her head and scanned the crowd.

Rainbow Dash grunted in surprise at the loss of contact. “Something wrong?”

The cowpony swallowed heavily. “Hopefully nothin’, otherwise... we might be in some serious manure.”

Cadance gasped for breath for a second before growling and attempting to lunge at Scholar, once again being restrained by her husband. “You bastard!” She screeched. “You damn low-life bastard! Do you know what that was!? Do you know how much t-time and effort- it was a work of art! And you just- just...”

“Destroyed it?” Scholar asked innocently. “I did. A shame, for like so many artifacts before it, it was both elegant yet fully capable of killing me and those I care for. But hey!” His glasses flashed as his smirk became even more malicious. “No worries. Remember that old saying I brought along with me to this world!”

His runes flowed along the ground, interacting with the fragments. Slowly, they glowed and lifted into the air, floating above the crowds. The Equestrians watched with awe and the Academics watched with ill-suppressed glee.

“Waste not, want not!”

The crystal fragments shot into the remnants of the cage. The crystals crunched and ground into each other, dust swirling into complex shapes and runes illuminated the entire arrangement like a tiny, shining cloud that grew in size as the crunching and grinding became a hissing sound before it rose into a chiming as the transformation began to reach it's end. Arrays blanketed the crystalline mass before there was a final flash of light.

The dust and light cleared, and the onlookers gasped in awe.

Floating before scholar was a large crystal cube, its sides each a yard long. The cube was composed of smaller cubes, twenty seven in all. The crystal was multihued, flickering and morphing through a wide spectrum of colors. Occasionally, the sides flipped at ninety degree angles one way or another in a seemingly random manner. Runes and magic swirled around the cube in an ethereal aura. The glyphs flowed along the smaller cubes, sometimes flashing and shifting. The cube seemed to simply exude energy.

Twilight swallowed heavily as the arcane magic washed over her. “What... is that?”

Scholar’s expression shifted, going from a smug smirk to a content grin. “This... is a masterpiece. One that I started designing about a week or so before everything went to hell. I worked on finishing it the whole week I was here. This... is the Crystal Matrix.” Scholar’s smirk renewed tenfold. “Now, here’s how things are going to work out.”

He snapped his hand out, sending a flurry of runes flying past the Equestrians. The crowd parted as the snowflake-shaped design in the center of the plaza lit up. A pair of crystal spires began growing, one from the ground and another from the bottom of the citadel above. The two stopped their movement with their points a little more than a meter apart.

“That is the central node for Vitrum’s main communication array.” He explained “By plugging the Matrix into it, I can tap into the rest of the city’s systems and reawaken them. From there, I’ll have complete control of every inch of this place. And no, Twilight,” he cut her off, seeing her disbelieving look. “That is not an exaggeration. Vitrum wasn’t unconquerable for nothing, back in the day being an enemy of the state in this city was literally not a viable tactical option.”

“So!” Gilda clapped her talons together eagerly. “Any questions before we finish owning your dweeb-asses?”

“Yes...” Cadance growled, slowly extricating herself from Shining Armor’s grip and shakily rising to her hooves. Her horn sputtered and flashed for a second before fully igniting. “What the hell makes you think that I’m going to let you get that thing anywhere near that node?”

The Magisters narrowed their eyes, preparing to fight... but were halted by Scholar raising his hand.

The human frowned at the Alicorn. “Cadance... why are you acting like this? So devoted, so earnest... you’re on your last legs, and you know it. Even back in the old days you never went this far.”

Cadance flared her nostrils. “What happened to Concordia was a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake that I truly regret. Ever since those years, all along those two millennia, there have only been three things that I have taken pride in. The first is my marriage with my husband.” Shining Armor couldn’t help but to smile.

“The fact that I was able to help a young foal grow into a beautiful, intelligent mare.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, pride filling her to the brim.

“And lastly...” She turned her head to gaze out over the crowd. “This city. The Crystal Empire was my home. I sealed the majority of it and mutilated it because it was the only way to keep from drawing any attention, to make Vitrum’s threat seem minimal. The troops that were positioned here? They were nothing compared to those that were elsewhere. I’m not saying that things were perfect, but I did my best to alleviate things. I tried my best to make sure that the witch hunts Celestia insisted on performing for members of the Academia rarely turned up any results. I protected my citizens, I kept them safe! I even tried my best to give them as much comfort as I possibly could!”

Throughout her tirade, Cadance’s voice had been rising and becoming more determined. “It wasn’t perfect, I know that! I know that it doesn’t excuse what I did! I know that I can never make up for it but damn if I haven’t tried! I have done horrible things, but the cost has never been worth it! The constant nightmares, the memories of the consequences of my choices, the relentless thought in my head that I could have done better, that I should have done better!”

She breathed heavily, her mane shadowing her face. “But nevertheless...” She continued quietly, her voice naught but a whisper. “The Crystal Empire... was my home. The Crystal Empire was one of the few jewels I could find in this self-inflicted hell that I’ve been living. I already failed it once when Sombra overthrew me...”

Cadance raised her head to meet Scholar’s gaze, an inferno of determination blazing in her eyes. “I’ll die before I let you take it away from me again.”

For the longest time, the two stared at each other unflinchingly, testing their wills against each other.

Finally, Scholar sighed and bowed his head. “Your determination is admirable. But...” He looked back up at her again, his glasses glinting. “That’s not going to be enough to stop me. Besides,” He smirked confidently. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash growled, flaring her wings as she glared straight ahead. “Just try it!”

“...”

“What? You got nothing to say?”

“Erm... Rainbow Dash, darling?”

“Yeah Rarity?”

“You’re... speaking to Twilight.”

“DAMN IT TRIXIE, STOP MESSING WITH MY EYES!”

The blue unicorn snickered to herself.

“Anyways!” Scholar continued. “I, as always, have a plan for getting past you dopes.”

“And that would be?” Cadance demanded.

“Well you see...” He started, wringing his hands together. “It starts with- NOW!” He roared at the Golem Twins. Acting on cue and before anyone could realize what was happening, Nix hurled Twilight at the Equestrians and Null grabbed the Matrix, both flying straight towards their goal.

Cadance blinked in shock for a second before hastily grabbing Twilight with her magic and setting her on the ground. She then tried to blast the red golem with a bolt of energy. Null spun around the attack, tossing the cube to his sister. Rainbow Dash tried to take off and grab them, but was evaded with ease. Applejack also put up a valiant effort, trying to lasso the pair, but was rewarded with her rope being cut to ribbons.

Reaching the spires, Nix tossed the Crystal Matrix into the open space, where it hung spinning in the air. They then sped back over to Scholar’s side.

Thinking quickly, Applejack reared up on her forelegs, lashed out with her back hooves...

SLAM!

“OW! CONSARNIT!”

And hollered in pain when they slammed into a barrier of glyphs.

“Nice try!” Nix taunted.

“But there’s no way we’d leave such an important access point unguarded!” Null finished.

Cadance shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her mind. “I...it doesn’t matter...” She muttered half-heartedly. “You still need... a spark to integrate it... and the only way... is for the Empire’s citizens to be happy...”

Scholar stared at her deadpan for a second before raising his hand and snapping his fingers.Trixie grinned eagerly, her horn lighting up in a dark purple aura.

Seconds later, the crystal floor began lighting up as magic flowed into the Crystal Matrix.

Twilight’s ears lowered as she watched the Matrix begin to rotate rapidly. “Oh minotaur shit...”

The Rune Keeper puffed out his chest with pride. “Excellent work, Trixie! A fine illusion indeed, and so rapid too!”

The unicorn illusionist’s pupils dilated as she darted her eyes back and forth. “Um... er... riiiiight.”

Upon hearing her hesitant tone, her friends and comrades snapped their attention to her.

“Trixie...” Nix started.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Her crimson brother finished nervously.

“Well...” Trixie rubbed her shoulder nervously. “The...Confused and Confounded Trixie... hasn’t exactly... cast her spell yet.”

Iron Will and Gilda’s eyes bulged incredulously. “What!?” They hissed incredulously.

Scholar’s head whipped around and scanned over the crowd. “But how...” His eyes widened in realization. He then began to shake and shudder.

Nix and Null floated over his shoulder hesitantly.

“Scholar...?”

“Is everything alright?”

Scholar shook even more violently, threw his head back, and...

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Promptly sent the two of them reeling when he burst into uproarious laughter.

The twins blinked in unison. “What the-!?” They demanded in unison.

Scholar’s only response was to laugh harder, slapping his hand over his eyes as he cackled. “HAHAHAHAAA! IT NEVER FELL!” He gasped, tears of joy streaming out from between his fingers. “EVEN AFTER ALL THAT TIME! ALL THOSE YEARS! IT! NEVER! FELL!”

Gilda gave the Twins a bemused look. “Do you have any idea what the hell he’s going on about?”

They shook their heads in response.

“Nope.”

“Not even the foggiest.”

Finally, Scholar stopped laughing as he sighed contentedly as he leaned back forwards, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. “I’ll... I’ll tell you soon enough... For now...” He smirked as he eyed the glowing cube that was spinning rapidly. “Let’s put this place under... new management.”

The Lexicon snapped open in a flash, runes pouring out of it in an arcane torrent, shifting and rearranging into array after array. The Matrix’s rotation sped up until the cube was naught but a blur. Finally, the cube shattered, the smaller cubes flying out of the plaza in a blur of light. The remaining cube’s radiance could be equated to that of a small star.

Scholar glanced back at his assistants. “Ready?”

The Twins nodded eagerly. “Ready!”

The Rune Keeper flicked his hand hand from his book to the pair, sending a flurry of glyphs at the two. When it struck them, the two jerked for a second, their eyes flashing with energy before they somewhat snapped to attention. Their hands floated before them, fingers splayed and ready. Runes formed arrays directly beneath their fingertips and several screens of glyphs with data shifting at break neck speeds appeared before them.

Their fingers moved at blinding speeds, typing on the runeboards and flicking through streams of information. Nix and Null spoke in chorus, their voices devoid of emotion. “Connecting to Vitrum Maintenance Networks. Standby... Connection established. Warning: Networks in critical disrepair. Warning: Environmental hazard detected. Foreign energy signature identified as hostile, inhibiting Rune Networks and negatively affecting residents. Activating Environmental Protection Arrays.”

Runes flowed along the crystal roads, lighting them up once anew in an arcane light.

“Commencing environmental purge.”

The light in the streets shifted to a dark red, flaring up and out of the crystal and into the air in a blinding inferno of magic. The very air burned like oil on water.

This went on for a full minute before the light receded.

The ponies stumbled around in shock, their minds reeling from the sudden influx of magic. While Scholar didn’t even twitch, the reactions from the rest were far more expressive, as demonstrated when Iron Will groaned as he rolled his shoulders, “Iron Will is feeling much, much better now.”

“Oh yeah!” Gilda crowed gleefully as in a flash of lighting the black crystal covering her was replaced by her usual gold plates. She smirked victoriously as she checked her armor over, readjusting her aviator goggles on her forehead. “Finally! Those crystals might have been a rush, but their colors left a lot to be desired. No gold, no glitz or glory!”

“Agreed!” Trixie concurred as she used her magic to flap out her hat and unfurl her cape. “The dark and mysterious look is not befitting of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Silver alone is truly capable of displaying her splendor!”

The Equestrians however, were not quite so happy as they stared wide-eyed at the group, even as they felt the raw magical energy surging through them. To varying reactions.

Pinkie Pie vibrated in place, “Wowowwowwowwowwowwow! Thiiisss iiisss grrreeaaattt!” Only the tense situation stopped her from immediately launching into party planner mode and covering the city with streamers, balloons and other decorations.

Twilight’s horn was lit up like a sparkler, sparks jumping out of it wildly as she visibly fought to keep her magic under control. “Speak for yourself...” She grunted, sounding as though she was about to be sick.

Rarity groaned as her own horn imitated Twilight. “Agreed! It feels like I’m about to burst!”

For once, Spike was in disagreement. He was flat on his back, moaning happily. “How’s that a bad thing? I feel great! Like I’ve eaten a whole buffet of crystals!”

“EEP!” Fluttershy hid behind her mane as her wings poofed out uncontrollably. “O-oh dear... oh my...” Her habits might have worked to dull her sense of shame, but even she found her situation to be embarrassing. “I-I- look, I can explain this...”

“Nah, no need.” Rainbow sighed as she rolled her shoulders and flexed her own stiffened wings. “This is natural. Excess energy makes you stiffen up. Believe me, I popped a wingy more than enough times in weather-management training to know. Lightning clouds can be real shifty. Still, one heck of a jolt, am I right Applejack?”

The cowpony hummed in agreement, looking over her body contemplatively. “This is... somethin’. Feels like I could bench-press ten hay-bales at once. Plus Big Mac.”

Cadance sighed happily as she used her magic to straighten her coat out, the fatigue gone from her eyes. “Well, I suppose that there are some advantages to more magic. I’ll have to bring it up with Celestia... Still!” She glanced over at Shining Armor. “How do you feel Shiny?”

Her husband responded with an eager grin, his horn flashing as his magic ran all over him. Light glinted off of the air surrounding his person. “Like I could help capture some wanted felons.”

Cadance nodded in agreement, her wings and magic flaring as she glared at the Academics. “Music to my ears.”

Scholar’s response was to flip to another page in his book, conjure an Array around the covers and slap his hand into the middle of it. “Initiating Primary Administrator Override. Designating subjects Shining Armor and Cadance as hostile.”

“Override accepted. Defensive Network activated. Deploying Class-Omega Containment ‘Heartbreaker’ and Class-One Containment Modules.”

Cadance paled drastically. “Oh. Right. He can do that.”

Before either of them could react, seven pillars of rune-encrusted crystal shot out of the ground. Six were arrayed around Cadance and one was in front of Shining Armor.

The ones around Cadance were equidistant in a hexagonal pattern, heavily engraved with an intricate pattern of runes, glyphs and shapes. A cloud of arcane letters orbited around them. They flashed once before several tethers of energy lashed out, interconnecting the pillars and wrapping around Cadance. She struggled momentarily before the runes hit her. She collapsed to her knees, devoid of magic again.

The pillar in front of Shining Armor was far less intricate, carrying only a few uniform rings of words. A tether of magic lashed out and wrapped around Shining’s horn and body, shattering his protective sphere.

However, unlike his wife, Shining didn’t collapse. Instead, he grunted forcefully as his horn flared even brighter. Slowly, the binding lifted off of him, held back by a visible pink barrier.

Scholar whistled appreciatively. “My my. Impressive.”

Shining chuckled ruefully as he cracked an eye open to look at the human. “What did you expect? I’m Twilight’s brother. I might not have her reserves, but I was made Captain for a good reason.”

The Rune Keeper hummed. “Well. It looks like I’ll just have to take you seriously.” He twisted the array in his hand at a ninety degree.

A line of runes flashed before the Twins. “Reassesing threat level to Class-Three.”

A pair of pillars extended behind Shining Armor, breaking through his shield and bringing him to his knees.

“Shiny!” Twilight raised a hoof towards her brother.

“Hup hup hup!” Scholar cut her off with a raised finger. “Aiding a criminal will only end up with you being designated as an enemy of the state. Don’t want to end up in Class-Four containment, do you?”

The lavender unicorn whimpered fearfully as she took a step back.

“Good. Now then...” Scholar laced his fingers and popped his knuckles eagerly. “This is when things get serious.” He traced out several lines of runes before a circular array with a pulsing rune in the middle coalesced directly over his book. “Initiating total system reset.” He slammed his palm through the rune and into the page.

The Twins eyes flashed. “Reset initiated. Restoring Operating System from last known backup. Warning: multiple system restrictions in place. Administrator Authorisation: Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Override. Administrator Authorisation: Scholar.”

“Administrator Override accepted. Removing restrictions. Purging locks. Purging restricted backups. Reactivating dormant systems and networks. Warning: Major partitions of Vitrum deactivated. Subarchives, Overloft, Lucente District. Confirm reactivation.”

Scholar nodded definitively. “Confirmation, Authorization: Scholar.”

“Confirmed. Commencing reactivation.”

A combination of cracking and shattering began to fill the streets of Vitrum. All over the city, cracks spiderwebbed in the ground. Walls of runes materialized, slowly pushing the Crystal Ponies away from the areas of activity as the cracks grew in size, pieces of crystal flying through the air to bounce off the rune-walls with loud pings before clattering to the ground.

With mighty lurches, massive spires of crystal jutted out of the ground, spearing into the sky. They reached high enough to scratch the sky. Fissures split the streets apart, cracking it open with chasms that stretched deep into the earth.

Suddenly, the plaza began shuddering violently. Chasms encircled the area, and the castle above. With a huge jerk, the entire area wrenched itself from the ground, floating up and up and up, until the plaza was equal with the center of the towers.

It seemed as though the entire city would rip itself apart but even as everyone present watched, the floating sections of the city that had torn themselves free began to shed more and more crystals, filling the air with a cacophony that made the Equestrians cover their ears while Scholar and his comrades simply blocked the sound with their magic.

There was a moment of silence before a large amount of crashing rang out. Finally, eight separate bridges shot out of the towers, connecting to the plaza. All around the city, bridges and staircases were interlinking buildings, forming roads that interlaced through the heights of the city. Runes floated languidly through the air, in streams, clouds, or simply alone without any accompaniment.

“Lucente District activated.”

Shattering echoed from the depths of the chasms that were left. Jagged towers jutted out of the bottom of the floating areas and from out of the walls of the ravines. Lights lit up all along the depths, illuminating the land-locked depths. Stairs and bridges interlinked the towers.

The walls of the chasms cracked open, tunnels reaching deep into the heart of the crystal. They stretched deep, deep beneath the city, leading to secrets that had laid hidden and untold for centuries.

Down, down the fissures went, tearing open the land as the Crystal Ponies stared wide-eyed alongside the Equestrians while Scholar’s grin threatened to split his face in two as he watched the bridges jut out like jagged spines to link sections together, shafts of clear crystal forming to channel magical energy as he pointed out features to his enraptured comrades.

Twilight and the others were close enough to hear him explain about the shafts containing magic that allowed for safe and rapid ascents and descents to certain levels of the archives, a massive and sprawling collection of knowledge.

Twilight’s ears pricked up and she couldn’t help but speak up. “Are... there any libraries?”

Scholar nodded, uncaring as to her allegiance, “Yup. The one you guys were in was a fraction of the whole. Eh, I’ll see about whether or not you get a pass later.”

“Subarchives activated.”

More shattering rang out, only this came from beyond the city limits.

Once the noise died out, there was silence. Nothing appeared to be changed.

Then, a shadow began to fall across the crowd.

Shouts of shock rang out as the ponies looked up to behold an island of crystal floating above the city. Towers of crystals hung beneath it like massive stalactites.

And it wasn’t alone. It was joined by more and more fragments of landscape, ranging from gargantuan to relatively minor.

Some floated low enough for bridges to extend up to their borders, and others reached up from them to those higher up.

To the shock of the Equestrians, falling off the side of some of the islands was...

“Water?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.

“Eeee-yup!” Scholar nodded definitively. “From rivers, flowing over the edge. Looks like the ecosystems up there are a-okay. From what I’m reading here, it looks like the forests unsealed alright too. Going to need to remove some of the animals from stasis in the archives and start repopulating though... Ah well, them’s the breaks.”

“Overloft activated. All districts reactivated and at full operating capacity. All other systems activating normally. Entering standby mode.” The Twins shook their heads violently, dismissing the Arrays in front of them.

“Gugh!” Nix cried, clutching her head and readjusting it. “That sucked! I hate it when we do that!”

“Agreed!” Null concurred. “It feels like something went rifling around in our heads!”

“Hey hey hey!” Scholar protested over his shoulder, absentmindedly flicking through his grimoire and running over the appearing rooms. “Don’t stop now, I need to know how things are running while I recalibrate the defense systems!”

Nix and Null’s eyes twitched simultaneously.

“You want intel...”

“Make them do it!”

And with that, the Golems sent flicked their hands at the trio, causing streams of data to flow in front of them.

Iron Will blinked in shock before narrowing his eyes. “Umm... wow, alright... Iron Will sees that the residential districts are being relocated and refurbished... Environmental Arrays running at full capacity, maintaining biomes...”

“Hmm...” Trixie muttered under her breath as she ran her hoof over the lines of runes. “Archives are intact, stasis seals preserved...” She smiled grimly as she read over a particular line of text. “Oh yes...Trixie shall enjoy plumbing such depths of knowledge.” Her smile morphed into a grimace as she read over another line. “Except when it’s about plumbing, ugh.”

Gilda hummed to herself as she tapped at the runes with a claw. “Time and dates are resetting... external connections are being reestablished... the guards are arming themselves at the armory...” She froze and reread the data. “Wait a second...”

Scholar whipped around and stared at her in shock. “Wait, what!?”

Before anyone could react, a large amount of stomping and flapping filled the air, rapidly approaching the plaza.

Iron Will groaned and ran his hand over his face. “Ooooh crap...”

The Crystal Ponies parted as armored stallions and mares streamed into the plaza. They came from both the ground and the air, Earth Ponies and Unicorns toting spears and swords, and Pegasi flapping above the crowd, some with spears clutched in their hooves and others with bows and arrows. Their armor was deep silver, covering the majority of their bodies and encrusted with runes.

A full platoon encircled the Academics, spears lowered directly at them. Pegasi hovered above them, some with arrows nocked for their heads and hearts.

A quartet of ponies trotted from out of the crowd. One was an Earth Pony stallion, one a Unicorn mare, and two were twin pegasi, a male and female. Their armor was far more intricate, with color highlighting the majority of it and runes glowing visibly along their limbs. They trotted wordlessly towards Cadance and Shining Armor. The Earth Pony, Unicorn and male Pegasus went over to the Alicorn, and the female Pegasus to the Captain of the Guard.

Scholar growled under his breath but plastered a smile on his face. “Well I’ll be damned! Pilum!”

The ruby-red Earth Pony grunted in acknowledgement, tossing his golden mane back with a negligent flick.

“Gladia!”

The Unicorn with a glittering diamond-white coat snorted derisively, an expertly-styled lock of light green mane covering an eye.

“Arcus! And your dear sister Sagitta too!”

The sapphire male Pegasus rolled his eyes and his emerald sister spat on the ground, their light blue manes cut shot and practical.

“The greatest generals of ponydom! After my time of course.Weren’t you promoted about a day or so after I was convicted? Eh, either way, none of my business. So, hows that extended life that comes from higher ranks working out for you, hm? I bet you were enjoying it! Well, right until Sombra threw you in prison. See, this is why I was against people opening the cells, some of you were in there for a reason!”

The generals ignored him in favor of the captive ponies. As one, they stuck their hooves into the pillars. There was a flash of light and runes and then the containment modules receded into the ground, releasing their captives and allowing the Gladia and Arcus to support Cadance and Saggita to help Shining Armor.

Scholar’s smile morphed into a grimace. “Ah. Administrative authority. Ooooof course. Perfect.”

Pilum turned around to glare at the Academics. “By the authority of the Equestrian state, you four are under arrest for terrorism, anarchy, and treason. Surrender peacefully or we will use lethal force.”

The soldiers all took a step forwards, jabbing their weapons at the group. The Academics glanced at each other hesitantly, but acquiesced when Scholar half-heartedly raised his hands in front of his chest.

“Damn it, this is like Las Pegasus/Vegas all over again!”

Scholar and Trixie gave each other shocked looks before Scholar gave Cadance a scathing glare.

“Damn it, you renamed Vegas too!? Is nothing sacred to you people!?”

-o-

Deep beneath Vitrum, at the bottom of the Subarchives, massive crystal chains criss-crossed over a pair of gates that lay flat on the ground.

Suddenly, runes flowed along the chains, causing them to unlatch from their positions and recede into the walls. Multiple Arrays flashed over the gates for a moment before disintegrating into oblivion.

Slowly, with a great amount of grinding and grating, the gates swung up and open. Light shone down into the cavern below.

For a second nothing. Then, something stirred within the shaded darkness.

Nothing moved, and then...

Light glinted off of a bone-white set of lipless fangs that curved into a grim smile of satisfaction.

Chapter 15. To Revolution!

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 16. The Crystal Rebellion

It was chaos, pure and simple, an insane melee filled with war-cries and shouted orders. Blood and ichor flew as metal and crystal dug into flesh and chitin, the air was a mess of brawling pegasi and changelings, and blasts of magic lanced across the battlefield.

Throughout the madness could be seen several distinct individuals who utterly dominated the combat they were involved in.

One of those individuals was a psychotic gold-armored griffon, her claws carving open flesh to allowing lancing arcs of lightning inside to cook vital organs and fluids, her screeches drowning out the screams of her enemies.

In her wake, corpses lay leaking boiling liquids and smoking organs, as she leapt atop a pegasus that had narrowly avoided a spear and before the stallion could anything, the griffon shoved a claw into his mouth and fired a bolt of lightning down his throat.

The effect was gruesome as the powerful blast of electricity boiled his brain and popped his eyes like a pair of wet balloons. Blood flowed out of every possible orifice as the griffon ripped out her gore-caked talons and tore through the skies, sending bolts of lightning down on any Equestrian that looked to be getting the upper hand over the Crystal Ponies.

Or, judging from the way she was cackling madly the whole time, more simply for the hell of it. “COME ON YOU BASTARDS!” She screeched, “COME AND GET ME!”

Another notable fighter was far more silent than his colleague. A minotaur, towering above the bloody melee, a great maul gripped in his hands. Every swing pulped flesh and bone, sending limp bodies flying, and every slam into the earth tore up great rents that somehow avoided Crystal Ponies and swallowed up Equestrians before closing up and entombing them.

Silent and imposing, the armoured giant’s cloven hoof lashed out in a kick that caught a charging Earth Pony on the chin, and with a sickeningly wet crack, the pony’s head went flying in a bloody arc as he turned and glared down at another pair of ponies, who turned and fled...right into the waiting spears of the Crystal Ponies.

A third warrior, a Unicorn in silver armor, rarely sullied her hooves, but was nonetheless an epicenter of death.

Literally.

All around her, the air shimmered with a silver fog, and when it touched the Equestrians, they turned on each other, dueling to the death. And through it all, the Unicorn trotted along, sidestepping blood-sprays and causing the odd fatal mistake. Occasionally, a Unicorn with a glowing horn or a visibly struggling Earth Pony or Pegasus would break out of the crowd and confront her, but every time, they would attack just to the side of her or their assault would fall just short. Then the Unicorn would casually sling her hoof around their throats and snap their necks like twigs.

Some of the conquering fighters were slightly less... hinged than the others.

“I’m si~ingin’ in the rain!” Lacewing chanted as he used his spear to pierce an Earth Pony’s exposed throat.

“Just si~ingin’ in the rain!” Rotfang continued in the same pitch, using his brother as a springboard to pierce a Unicorn from above.

They both fell into synch as they moved as one and jabbed their weapons upwards, impaling a passing Pegasus. “What a gl~orious feeling! We’re h~appy again!”

Meanwhile, a twitching and hopping Changeling was bouncing through the crowd, each bounce he made punctuated by an object flying off his being and into the crowd, producing a rather loud and violent explosion.

Chitter giggled as he went about his merry way. “Boom! Boom! Kaboom boom boom! Hee hee hee!”

“STOP!”

The Changeling blinked in surprise and planted his hooves in the ground when he suddenly found a sword pointed in his face, held in the magic of a badly singed Unicorn.

“You... killed... my brother...” The soldier grit out.

Chitter tilted his head in confusion. “So? I’ve killed lots of people. Some of them not even on purpose!”

The Unicorn snorted angrily. “Any last words you monster?”

Chitter gave a wide, honest smile as he nodded eagerly. “Yahuh!” Before the Unicorn could react, the changelings hooves whipped out and slammed into both his cheeks at once, forcing his jaw open. The Equestrian’s eyes then widened in abject panic when he felt something forced between his jaws.

Chitter leapt up and landed on the Unicorn’s snout, cackling madly as he went. “BOOM!”

The Unicorn’s head detonated, sending Chitter on a mad flight over the fray.

And finally, some of the fighters were more unique that could possibly be imagined.

Null lashed out his his hand, sending the tomahawk he held in his hand spiralling into the helmet and into the skull of an Earth Pony. He then flicked both his hands, producing a pair of blades which he then threw through the throats of a pair of Pegasi as they swooped away from him. This was then followed by a kusarigama, the scythe lashing out to dig into the base of a Unicorn’s neck, who was then pulled up by the chain and into several of her comrades.

Meanwhile, Nix sent out a ball of emerald fire to engulf a soldier as he tried to blindside a Crystal Pony. She continued by augmenting the ball with a blast of magic, turning it into an inferno that engulfed the two other Equestrians standing behind him. The golem then flew up and around a Pegasus, imbibing her hand with magic before shoving it clean through the Equestrians skull.

And finally, Priscilla did not so much wade through the battlefield as she did dance through it. Every step was precise and calculated. She spun the entire time, whirling about this way and that, her scythe in constant motion. Sometimes the wounds she inflicted were extravagant, decapitating and bisecting ponies, while others were minor, leaving them with little more than scratches. Either way, all damage she caused was fatal.

All of this occurred in less than three minutes.

The trio were a whirlwind of corporal devastation, blurs of red and green and white, leaving naught but death, damnation and pain in their wake. Weapons and magic flew through the air, maiming and crippling, while the bloodthirsty scythe simply sang the Reaper’s tune for all to hear as it flew through the air.

Scholar sighed nostalgically as he watched the war wage. “This,” He stated simply, gesturing out towards Gilda as she disemboweled a Pegasus. “This is what I’ve been missing, the action, the carnage, the thrill of battle! Yes, research is all well and good, but it’s at moments like these where we are pushed to our utter limits that we truly redefine ourselves, and see what we are capable of!”

Chrysalis chuckled heartily as she observed a changeling slit an Equestrian’s throat from out of the blue from a first-person view. “Waxing nostalgic, are you? Ah well, but who am I to speak. I’m enjoying it almost as much as you are! Remember that war between the Cryptlords we orchestrated so that we could uproot a good number of their conspiracies? Oh, that one went on for days!”

Seath let out a half-rumbling, half-grinding laugh as he contemplated his daughter removing the limbs from a pony in a few mere swings. “Ah, those were the days indeed. And it appears that the next generation is coming along just fine too! Truly, this is a beautiful day to be alive.”

Scholar nodded in agreement. “I concur wholeheartedly!” He turned his attention to the prisoner of the runic cage he was leaning against. “And what say you, Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn was far too busy emptying her stomach contents to respond. Her actions were being imitated by the rest of the Elements. Only Spike managed to withhold a violent reaction, and even then just barely, much to Seath’s shame.

The Rune Keeper raised an eyebrow at the vomit. “Well now, that’s unappetizing.” Turning to
face her fully, he sighed, “So, are you learning anything from all this? Do you understand now? This is not some kiddy story where all of the problems go away so your mother can tell a new story every night, this is real.” He waved a hand at the mess, and Twilight’s eyes followed it just in time to see a Crystal Pony’s corpse get stabbed over and over again by a maddened Royal Guard.

She turned away as Scholar saw a bolt of lightning turn the insane pony into a scorch mark as he continued, “This is a war, Twilight Sparkle, one that was delayed but was long in coming, because your mentor made mistakes that now cannot be forgiven or fixed by any way except by the destruction of all that she has built.”

He leaned closer, “And unfortunately for you, it is only going to get worse. You think this is bad? This is a walk in the park. All the forces of Concordia that Celestia tried to hide away are going to come roaring back with a never before seen fury, and not all of them will be on my side. And none of you can even hope to compete.”

Suddenly, a flash of pink magic drew his attention to the side. He blinked in surprise before raising an eyebrow. “Well, almost none of you anyways.”

Twilight followed his gaze uneasily and gasped in shock.

Shining Armor was in the full middle of the battlefield, flaring his magic energetically. He was a sight to behold. Shields flashed around him again and again, blasting away attack and attacker alike. He maneuvered his hooves expertly, making sure to clip enemies in just the right way to turn them away from him. He bore a few scratches, but was a faring far sight better than most others.

Chrysalis sniffed condescendingly, “I recognize those moves. They’re the same tactics that the Crystal Ponies used to use for riot suppression.” She cast a glance over her shoulder at the still paralyzed Cadance. “You must have taught him those. Hardly fitting on a battlefield, but he may survive yet.”

Scholar nodded sagely in agreement. “Indeed. See, Twilight Sparkle? This is war. And in war, people fight to their best. Hell, even those four Generals are-!” The human cut off as he glanced around, his searching becoming even more frantic as he failed to discern his targets. He snarled furiously and cast a glare up at Seath. “Where the hell did those traitors go!?”

The dragon craned his neck back, staring upwards as he hummed thoughtfully, a few runes flicking past his eyeless face. Finally, he nodded. “Pilum has rallied a squadron and taken to the Subarchives, Gladia is roaming Lucente, and Arcus and Sagitta are up amidst the Overloft.”

Scholar eyes darted back and forth behind his glasses as he searched his memories. “Anything compromising they can do?”

Seath shook his head definitively. “None. No weak points, no nodes, no escape. They act out of desperation.”

The human chewed his lip thoughtfully. “Maybe so, maybe so, but still... I’d rather they not be out there in the first place.”

“Shall I dispose of them?”

Scholar waved his hand dismissively. “No, no, we’ve still got forty more minutes on the clock. I’ve got a better idea.” He flipped his grimoire open with a hand, flicked to a page, and touched it with a finger, lighting the whole thing up in runes.

Almost simultaneously, runes appeared near the ears of Gilda, Trixie and Iron Will.

“Alright, listen up you three.” Scholar’s voice filtered out and over the din of combat. “The Generals have gone AWOL. Now, they can’t do us any harm, but better safe than sorry. They’re in the districts. Hunt them down and end them.”

Iron Will nodded definitively, turning and stomping towards the edge of the plaza. “Iron Will will find Pilum, and will see which of them is stronger.” And with that, he jumped over the edge, slamming his maul into the side of the crystal structure to slow his fall.

Trixie wheeled around and galloped up one of the bridges leading away from the Palace. “Trixie claims Gladia’s head. Skill-on-skill combat, as is appropriate.”

Gilda snorted, releasing the charred equine corpse she was clutching by the throat. “Guess that leaves the gruesome-twosome to me.” Her beak twisted into an eager smirk. “Perfect. I needed a challenge.” She flared her wings and took to the skies anew, this time soaring far higher than before, loosing bolts of lightning as she went.

Seath snorted as he watched the three depart. “So, you have faith in those three?”

Scholar folded his arms and nodded confidently. “Are you kidding? Those three are prodigies, pure and simple. Out of everyone present, us and the P.O.W.s excluded, they’re the most likely to survive. Well...” Scholar turned his head and glanced towards Shining Armor, watching as he caught one of Chitter’s stray bombs and redirected it upwards, where it detonated harmlessly. Well, as harmless as possible considering the current state of events. “Them and him I suppose.”

“Him!?” Chrysalis scoffed. “Please, that two-bit pomp is worthless. Captain of the Guard? What’s the point of such a title if the ‘Guard’ doesn’t even qualify as competent?”

The Rune Keeper shrugged evenly. “In my opinion, it means he’s the only one who’s actually worth a damn in the whole lot. He’ll live.” He then winced when he saw the unicorn get clipped by a changeling hoof. “Maybe.”

“Hmm...” Queen Chrysalis hummed in thought as she tapped her chin, a cheeky grin playing across her chitinous lips. “Well now... care to make that a wager?”

Scholar blinked in surprise and gave her a befuddled look. “Clarify.”

Chrysalis waved her hoof airily. “Oh, it’s easy. I bet that by the end of the time limit, Shining Armor will be little more than a corpse on the pyre.”

“Hmmm...” Scholar grinned and looked upwards contemplatively. “Well now... in that case...” He stuck his hand out towards her. “I’ll put up five that he isn’t.”

Chrysalis took his hand and shook it. “Make it seven.”

“Deal!”

“You too lunatics are betting fourteen lousy bits on my brother’s life!?” Twilight screeched in disbelief.

Scholar and Chrysalis gave each other disbelieving looks before bursting into laughter.

“F-fourteen bits!?” Chrysalis giggled.

“Puh-leeze!” The human chortled. “Give us some credit! When we Oligarchs make a bet, we bet big! That’s seven million standard credits apiece we’re putting up! Payable in either valuable metals, favors, or objects and information of sufficient worth.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Umm... well...” She shook her head and growled angrily at him. “That doesn’t change the fact that that’s my brother’s survival you’re betting on!”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. “Eh. We’re immortals. When you’ve lived for so long, you take your excitement where you can get it. Besides...” He gave her a disbelieving look. “The heck can you do about it?”

The lavender unicorn grit her teeth and lit her horn up in response, putting as much force as she could behind a magical push.

The Rune Keeper merely raised his eyebrows before flexing his own arcane muscle. The runes composing her cage flared briefly before knocking Twilight on her rump.

“That’s what I thought. So, anyways, clock is starting now.”

“Perfect! Now then...” Chrysalis suddenly flapped her insectoid wings, rising up above Scholar to hover by Seath’s head. “Dearest Duke Seath...” She drawled in a tempting tone. “Would you be so kind as to aid one of your oldest and dearest friends in her pursuit of wealth and power?”

“What!?” Scholar protested. “Why you lying-”

The changeling matriarch cut him off with a childish raspberry. She then went back to giving the dragon a pleading look. “Well?”

Seath merely turned his head to give her a flat look, despite his lack of eyes. “Fifty percent of the prize.”

Chrysalis’s smile turned into a scowl. “Thirty-five and not a credit more. I’m the one who started this bet in the first place.”

“Forty-five. You asked for my help.” He raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Why is that anyways? For what reason do you require my assistance?”

The Queen bore her fangs and growled angrily as she crossed her forelegs. “I’d order my hive to deal with the ponce myself, but they’re wrapped up in liberating your city. I’ll need your help if I’m to guarantee my prosperity.”

Seath snorted angrily. “And you think my citizens aren’t either? These damn soldiers aren’t cheap to go down, you know. I can’t spare any of them.”

Almost instantly, Chrysalis clasped her hooves together and pouted, the picture of cherubic benevolence. “Pleeeeeease? I’m just trying to ensure the wellbeing of my poor, innocent hive.”

The dragon renewed his flat look. “Endos has several caverns filled to the brim with silver, gold, and every valuable object in between. Most of which were acquired via swindling and cheating others. Me included!”

Chrysalis dropped the act and snorted in frustration. “Do you want the credits or don’t you?”

Seath scratched his chin contemplatively before slowly gaining a smirk. “Now that I think about it... there is one option...” He raised a massive hand and snapped his fingers, producing a medium-sized array that flashed before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor was straining visibly as he kept a shield conjured, utilizing it to hold back the crystal broadsword of a particularly large rebel.

Suddenly, a shadow falling over him drew his attention upwards. Shining Armor spared a glance upwards before widening his eyes in panic.

Relying on his old training, he pushed back on his forelegs the same instant his back legs kicked, the white unicorn performing an graceful hop that drew him back seconds before a lance impaled the space he had been occupying moments before, landing on all fours. His legs were spread evenly, prepared either to charge or to block.

Slowly, with a great amount of cracking and grinding, the statue that was once Prince Aristo withdrew its lance from the ground, swinging it around in a grand sweeping flourish before pointing its dragon-shaped tipped at Shining Armor.

Seath let loose a rumbling chuckle as he crossed his arms pridefully. “How’s that for service?”

Chrysalis gave an appreciative whistle as the two started to square off. “Oh yes, you’ve earned that forty percent.”

“Yes, I have earned my forty-five percent.”

“Drat.”

Shining breathed heavily as he and the statue faced off. “Alright...” He growled under his breath. “You want me?”

Lightning began to crackle up and down the construct’s lance in response.

“So be it...” His horn shone pink as he prepared to cast a new shield. “Come and get me!”

The energy coalesced at the tip of the spear, and prepared to blast at the unicorn. In three... two...

“Look out!”

Suddenly, Shining Armor was tackled out of nowhere, taking him out of the diamond lancer’s line of sight and forcing it to cancel its attack.

Shining Armor shook his head as he tried to reorient himself. He found himself clutched in the white aura of an Equestrian soldier’s magic, being dragged down a flight of stairs and away from the battlefield. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?” He tried to struggle, but was rewarded with a hoof upside the back of his head.

“Saving your life!” The soldier huffed before setting the other unicorn down. “Now hurry up and run!”

“But!” Shining Armor stared desperately at the runic cages containing the Oligarch’s prisoners. “Cadance-!”

“Is alive!” The soldier interrupted. “Which is something you won’t be if that Gem Custodian catches us! And unless the princess is into some seriously weird stuff, I’m fairly certain she wants you with a beating heart! Now hurry!”

Shining Armor gave the battlefield a final, mournful look before galloping after the soldier.

Seath scowled furiously, raising a claw to point in their direction. “After them, you fool!” He ordered, his voice layered with violent magic.

The crystal remains of Aristo acted briskly, darting through the throngs of fighters in the direction indicated, occasionally stabbing or blasting Equestrians as it went.

Scholar growled as he watched the construct give chase. “You slippery sons of- two can play at that game!” He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. “Nix! Null!”

The lethal blurs came to a sudden halt, Null holding a soldier up with a pair of foot-long hand claws and Nix impaling one with an aetherial blade. “Yeah?” They called out.

“Tail Shining Armor and keep his ass in one piece!”

“WHAT!?!” They cried in shock, the red one airing his struggling target’s chest cavity when he jerked his claws to the side and the green one all but blowing the back of hers off in a magical detonation. “Are you nuts!?”

“Less lip, more moving!” Scholar bellowed. “Hurry the hell up, I’ve got a fortune riding on that stallion!”

The twins growled indignantly for a moment before wheeling around and darting away into the city.

“Cheater.” Chrysalis pouted.

“Oh cram it up your abdomen.” The human groused. “You’re the ones who started it!”

Seath sighed and moved his head in a direction similar to another being rolling their eyes as the two started to bicker and snipe at each other. “Here we go again...” He muttered under his breath.

Nonetheless, nothing could hide the shifting of his lipless fangs. One might have been able to say that the dragon was smirking as he turned his head towards one part of the city.

Seconds later, an explosion erupted from deep within the Subarchives.

Author's Note

And there we go. Sorry it's taken so long to post, but I've had other stories, the wifi in France sucks, and some writer's block. So, I decided 'what the hell'. I cut this chapter in half and posted this! The actual showdowns will be in Chapter 17, and hopefully done soon! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 17. Faceoffs and Showdowns and Duels, Oh My!

Author's Note

Gideon020, Alternate Madness, DestructivePwny, you three ROCK! As for my readers, let's push it to 1000 likes! And don't forget the TVTropes either. Enjoy!

Chapter 17. Faceoffs and Showdowns and Duels, Oh My!

Pilum growled angrily as he slid on his hooves across the floor, barely dodging the spikes of crystal as they erupted around him. Finally, he wheeled around to face the minotaur that was attacking him, utterly unscathed.

The same however, could not be said of the soldiers that had followed him.

Everywhere the General looked, their corpses lay strewn about the cavern, either whole or in multiple pieces. Some were impaled on crystal spikes and fallen stalactites while others had portions of their bodies either caved in or simply ripped off.

“Credit given where credit’s due,” Pilum snarled. “You’re more skilled than you look.”

Iron Will snorted as he tapped the club in his hand. “Please. Iron Will and his friends were the ones who busted Scholar out of Tartarus. Do you really think you can beat me?”

“Who knows...” The General muttered. Slowly, he reached a hoof into his armor and withdrew a foot-long cylinder. Then with a flick of his hoof, the cylinder extended in both directions so that it transformed into six feet of rune-engraved metal. Topped at both ends with glowing magical blades.

With an expertise only achievable through years of practice, the Earth Pony swung the staff around his body in a precise controlled manner, carving a path of light through the air before finally slamming the blade into the ground before him. “Let’s find out.”

Iron Will gave a roar of fury as he and Pilum charged at each other. The minotaur swung his club in from the left, intent on taking his opponent’s head clean off his shoulders. However, the plan failed when his weapon was halted dead in its tracks by the spear.

The bronze-armored minotaur snorted furiously as he leaned in until he was face-to-face with the pony. “That’s... impressive...” He grunted as he struggled to overcome his adversary.

Pilum grit his teeth as he pushed back with his spear. “Runes... don’t underestimate them...”

Iron Will growled as he grit his teeth. “Well... in that case... don’t... underestimate... Iron Will!” He raised his hoof and slammed it hard into the ground, shaking the whole of the cavern.

Pilum’s eyes shot wide open in shock before he jerked backwards, a falling stalactite suddenly entering the space he once occupied and obscuring him from sight.

Iron Will breathed heavily as he leaned forwards and rested on his mace. “How’s that?” He asked himself quietly.

“You’re not bad.”

Iron Will’s eyes shot wide open in shock upon receiving an answer. He tried to move in any direction, to dodge...

SHNKT!

In vain.

“But I’m better.”

“RAGH!” Iron Will roared in pain as he whipped his free hand to his left shoulder, where the General’s spear had torn through his armor and punctured his flesh, right after thrusting straight through the stalactite.

“Y-you-!”

“You put up a hell of a fight,” Pilum admitted begrudgingly through the barrier of crystal. “But at the end of the day, all it takes is one unlucky move. I respect you Iron Will, and that’s why I’m not asking for your surrender. That answer’s obvious enough. Any final words?”

The minotaur panted heavily, his breath labored from the pain, before he glared at Pilum straight in the eyes through the semi-translucent stalactite. “Yes...”

Before the general could react, he jerked his left hand, passing his club’s handle from his left to his right.

“Iron Will is not left-handed.”

Pilum reacted instantly, hastily withdrawing his spear from Iron Will and backpedaling, narrowly missing the backhanded swing of the club that reduced the stalactite to slivers of crystal.

“That gambit was old a thousand years ago!” The pony general shot back, hastily dodging left and right as he narrowly avoided the flurry of mace swings that dogged him wherever he went.

“Iron! Will! Decided! To! Bring! It! BACK!” The minotaur bellowed, punctuating each word with a quake-inducing smash of his club. “Now! Hold! STI-GAH!”

Iron Will’s rampage was cut off by Pilum suddenly dodging to the side, resulting in the Magister slamming head long into a hitherto unnoticed wall. He tried to push off it, but...

SHIRK!

“GAH! STOP DOING THAT!”

Pilum panted heavily as he stood behind Iron Will, pinning him to the wall with his lance through his right shoulder. “Thousand years and things barely change. Once a minotaur gets going, he never stops. That was true then, and it’s still true now. Well, enough playing around.” He tensed, preparing to swing his weapon and cleave his opponent to pieces. “Time to die.”

The Mountain Shaker twisted his head around, just enough to glance back at Pilum and shoot him a blood-thirsty smirk. “Iron Will agrees!”

“Wh-!?”

CRASH!

Time seemed to freeze for Pilum as he tried in vain to process what had just happened. Slowly, it started to dawn on him as blood began to fill his mouth and pain radiated from his abdomen.

“B-b-but...” The general slowly turned his head and stared in numb horror at the spike of crystal that had run him through. “H-how...” He let his grip on his weapon go slack, allowing its butt to slip from his hooves and clatter to the ground as he looked back at Iron Will.

All Pilum could do was stare at the hand that was buried in the crystal wall.

The left hand.

“Y-you said... that you weren’t... left-handed...”

“Iron Will did say that,” The minotaur grunted as he removed his hand from the wall and reached over his back to wrench the weapon from his shoulder. “And Iron Will didn’t lie. Iron Will isn’t left-handed. Iron Will is ambidextrous.”

Pilum blinked slowly before giving out a slow, bloody chuckle. “Heh... heh heh heh... I guess... things really have changed... I’m just... behind the times... heh heh... heh...”

And with that, Pilum, the great Earth Pony General died.

Iron Will gave the pony a final nod of respect as he walked away. “It’s like you said general.” He looked ahead, gazing grimly into the expanse of crystals before him.

“All it takes is one unlucky move.”

And with that, Iron Will left the caverns.

Unseen to him, a faint light was glowing from within Pilum’s chestplate.

-o-

Seath tilted his head slightly, staring blindly at nothing. “Well, that’s that then, isn’t it?”

“Hm?” Scholar glanced up from the Lexicon at his draconic ally. “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing...” The dragon scholar waved him off idly. “It’s just that Iron Will dispatched Pilum is all, it’s not important. What is important...” He jabbed a finger at a part of the page Scholar had opened up to. “Is fixing that!”

“That!?” Scholar protested indignantly, taking in the line indicated. “What’s wrong with that!?”

Chrysalis looked over his shoulder and snorted in disgust. “What isn’t?! The tone is atrocious, far too pompous, the vocabulary is most definitely archaic, most likely because you’ve been skipping my reports again, and as for the pacing... eurgh!” She covered her mouth with her hoof. “I think I might be sick.”

The Rune Keeper gave the insectoid matriarch a scathing look. “Alright then, Windy Churchill! What would you suggest!?”

“Well, for starters...”

And with that, the Oligarchs and Duke started debating back and forth over the offending passage.

Meanwhile, sealed in their runic prisons, six ponies tried their best to keep their spirits up.

Pinkie Pie’s cell was filled with a flurry of paper that she had pulled from somewhere, the party pony’s view of the battle obscured by her hastily written out plans for a citywide victory party. Judging from the half-manic way she was scribbling and muttering to herself, her heart just wasn’t in it. If anything, she was just doing it so as to have anything else to do, other than watch the fight. “Buffet table here, fireworks here, dance party over there... Wait, would the Princesses prefer three cakes, each their own flavor, or one giant uber cake all mixed up? Hmm...”

Rarity was a bit more... frantic, flipping between lamenting and sobbing over the Crystal Heart’s destruction and exulting over the city’s revival as a whole. She seemed to be refusing to acknowledge that any violence was taking place anywhere near her. “Oh, the Heart, the Heart! Such a beautiful thing! Gone! Gone! Oh, but how that spire just seems to glisten in the sunlight!” Rarity’s eye twitched violently as what appeared to be the remains of a severed wing slammed into the side of her cage. “Yes... it just... glistens.”

Rainbow Dash growled furiously as she rammed her shoulder into her cage’s wall repeatedly. “Come on, let me out, let me out!” She repeated over and over, panting from the strain.

“Settle down, Dashie.” Applejack groused from her cage next to the Pegasus’s. She was leaning against the side of her prison, her hat tilted down over her eyes as though she was simply snoozing against an apple tree. “Besides, what do ya think ya’ll do once you get out?”

Dash snorted and pawed at the crystal ground restlessly with her hoof. “I-I’ll fight! I-!”

“You’ll die.” Applejack froze her friend with a simple statement. “Look around. We’re outclassed. The only reason we ain’t bit the big one yet is ‘cause Scholar’s protectin’ us. If it weren’t fer that, we’d be cooked worse than a snowmare on a summer beach.”

“But...!” The blue Pegasus grimaced and ruffled her feathers uneasily, watching the dogfight going on above the plaza. “I... I want... I need to do something! I can’t just sit around doing nothing!”

“We ain’t doin’ nothin’, Dash.” Applejack muttered as she shifted her shoulders a bit. “We’re restin’. Conservin’ our strength. Gotta wait for the right time. ‘Till then... we just wait.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip uneasily before folding her legs and sitting down, her wings twitching nervously. “I... ergh... don’t know if I’ll be able to stay like this. I’m not used to waiting.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m a farmer. Waitin’ for the harvest is second nature.”

The Pegasus grumbled as she adjusted her position, trying to get comfortable.

Fluttershy was in a similar position as Applejack, her wings wrapped around her body. Her eyes were scrunched shut and her hooves were kneading her temples ceaselessly. “It’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic, it’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic, it’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic...” She muttered to herself calmly and consistently. The wet slam of a body landing mere feet from her caused her to shudder and curl in on herself a bit. “Feeding day, feeding day, feeding day, feeding day!”

And finally, the last of the Elements was flashing her horn, trying desperately to teleport, disrupt the cage’s walls, anything and everything she could conceive of to escape. But to no avail. “Come on, come on...” She pleaded helplessly, her horn erratically sparking out flashes of magic. “Please work, please!”

“Enough, Twilight...”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she jerked her head to the side in shock. “Cadance!” She cried, pressing herself up against the side of her prison closest to her old foalsitter. “You’re alright!”

The pink Alicorn flashed her a shaky smile. “Barely,” she turned her head and glared tiredly at Chrysalis. “Seeing how she isn’t focusing on me right now, the effects of the mindset she set up are being... lessened. I... I can’t concentrate enough to use my magic, but at least I’m coherent now. Ergh...” Cadance kneaded her forehead in frustration. “I should have searched my psyche the second I was alone even for an instant with her, it was a rookie mistake. But... then again...” She let out a shaky laugh. “I suppose she would have blocked any notion of that as well. Classic Chrysalis, always playing her enemies like puppets.”

“C-Cadance!” Twilight protested. “We need to get out of here, Shining-!”

“Shiny will be fine, Twilight.” Cadance reassured hastily. “I know it seems like hell out there, but Shiny will be just fine. I... Celestia and I taught him a lot of old moves from Concordia, old magic, and if I remember that soldier that saved him correctly, he has a good amount of help. Factor in the Twins and, well...” She shrugged casually. “He might as well be untouchable.”

The lavender Unicorn frowned dryly at Cadance. “You think it’s safe to trust the two psychotic golems who have threatened to cook me alive twice in the past with my brother and your husband’s safety?”

The Princess snorted lightly and waved her concerns away. “These are two entirely different situations.”

“How?!”

“The difference is their orders. Right now? Scholar ordered them to protect Shining Armor. And the fact is? They weren’t kidding when they called themselves the Right Hands of God. Any orders Scholar gave, they followed them both to the letter and to the spirit of it straight to the end, regardless of their personal feelings. Once Scholar gives them a mission, they’ll complete it come hell or high water.”

“Oh... so the reason that they threatened me like that-”

“They just flat out didn’t like you.”

“Well that’s reassuring.”

“Still, they wouldn’t have really done it.” Cadance cast a longing look at Scholar, Chrysalis and Seath. “None of them would have. When you get right down to it, Twilight? You and your friends and most other Equestrians are innocent. None of you have blood on your hooves. But the rest of us...” She sighed heavily. “We aren’t that lucky. You’re safe. We’re doomed.” She gave Twilight a pleading look. “Twilight... there’s no way out. Just... follow your friend’s examples. Rest. We’re going to need our energy for whatever comes next.”

Twilight worked her jaw silently for a second before bowing her head and sitting down. Pressing herself as close to Cadance as she could, a move which her sister-in-law reciprocated.

While all this was happening, Scholar’s final prisoner was staring silently through the runic walls of his prison, watching the battle play out before him.

Spike was afraid. Actually, afraid was an understatement. As he watched the blood fly, ponies falling on each other and ruthlessly kill one another, Spike was terrified.

But not by the fighting. No, Spike had read plenty of mature fantasy novels while he lived in Canterlot, he’d watched the Guard train. To an extent, he was desensitized to violence. The fighting didn’t necessarily scare him.

What scared him was that as Spike watched the battle play out, as he watched weapons clash and soldiers fight for their lives, he felt something.

A feeling, a tiny niggly feeling, right in the pit of his stomach.

It was a feeling he’d felt multiple times over his life, all about very specific things. And the fact that he was feeling it now?

It meant that his mind was processing the fierce combat in front of him, taking it all in...

And finding that he liked it.

-o-

Trixie huffed tiredly, her shoulders and legs shaking from exhaustion.

“Come on!”

The blue Unicorn’s head snapped up, her face set in a scowl.

“Is that the best you got?” Gladia taunted casually, flipping a pair of curving, mirrored scimitars with rune-encrusted blades around in her mint-green magic’s grip.

Trixie let out a feral growl before charging straight at the General. As she ran, her horn flared briefly with her magic, a shining blue rapier materializing directly above her.

The Unicorn General snorted dispassionately at her approaching enemy. “Obviously it is.” And with finely trained ease and grace, she sidestepped the haphazard charge. She then went into action with her swords. One of the scimitars caught the descending rapier mid-swing, slicing straight through it and shattering it to pieces. The other...

“GAH!” Trixie grunted in pain, stumbling as the blade nicked her rear leg, matching the numerous other gashes and injuries she was sporting. She tried to stop herself, but ended up running into the ring of soldiers surrounding her and Gladia. Two of them caught her on the flats of their blades before roughly tossing her back into middle of the clearing.

The white-coated Unicorn snorted despondently at her blue counterpart. “Honestly, now I’ve been using swords since before you were- er... For longer than you’ve been alive. Did you honestly think that you could beat me in a straight up fight?”

Trixie gave her a scathing look before lighting up her horn. The air around her started to shimmer with a silver mist...

Right up until Gladia’s own horn flashed in a pulse of green light, dispersing the mist and causing Trixie to cry out in pain.

“And that won’t work either.” She continued in a bored voice. “Your skills with magic are admirable, but my ability to cut through anything, even magic, far surpasses your own. So, no tricking my men, to tricking me. The only magic you can use is that semi-passable conjuration trick. Other than that...”

Trixie gave a shriek of rage before charging at Gladia once more, her rapier rematerializing as she launched a flurry of jabbing strikes at the General.

Gladia dodged every one of them, weaving back and forth between the stabs as though she herself were made of water. “See, let me explain a bit about my past to you.” She stated casually. “My whole life, I trained to be a guard. I joined up when I was sixteen and served as per usual. I was trained by the elite of not only the Equestrian military, but Concordian in general. I went from swordmaster to swordmaster, learning their arts, their skills, and whatever else they had to offer. I am the epitome of that era’s warriors could achieve. That is what I am capable of. The fact that you’re still alive?”

She suddenly moved, her scimitars both becoming blurs of green and silver. Moments later, The rapier shattered and Trixie was sporting a slash straight across her muzzle.

“It’s because I’ve let you live. After all, I needed to do something to pass the time.”

Gladia rolled her neck, blades twirling around her in a complicated dance, circling the other unicorn with a cool expression on her face, “But then, your death is inevitable. Just like the failing of your group’s little rebellion. Celestia and Luna won, and the last gasp of a dead empire isn’t going to change a thing. Honestly...” She trotted up to the illusionist’s prone form. “I can appreciate conviction, but right now? Give up. I’m sure that the Princesses would be lenient towards- GAH!”

The General gave a shriek of pain as the rapier once again reappeared, this time slicing straight across her eye and leaving a nasty gash before she could react. Her reaction was swift and sudden as she took ahold of Trixie’s throat and slammed her into the ground.

Gladia huffed angrily, swiping a forehoof across her brow. She stared at the blood on her fur numbly for a moment before sending an acidic glare at the blue Unicorn. “I... on the other hand... am feeling no such leniency. In fact... I’m feeling rather... acrimonious.”

Before Trixie could get to her hooves, Gladia held her up by her throat with magic. “Trixie... Lulamoon, did you say it was? Under my authority as a General of the Equestrian State, I hereby charge you with High Treason against the crown. The punishment is death, may you find peace in the afterlife.”

And with that, both the scimitars swung, blood sprayed into the air, and a head thumped against the ground.

Gladia breathed heavily for a moment before sighing despondently. She brushed away a strand of her mane before turning around and starting to walk away. “That’s that. Too bad, she was fairly competent too. Ah well. What’s done is done. Come on men let’s hurry, we’ve only got about thirty minutes left until Scholar blows us all to kingdom c-!”

SCHLICK!

“-URK!” Gladia blinked blearily, coughing up a glob of saliva and blood, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Her magic flickered out, causing her scimitars to drop to the ground in a clatter of metal. She slowly looked around, taking in the unbelievable facts.

Namely, the fact that her men had all approached her and proceeded to stab her in multiple painful, yet not immediately lethal areas.

“Wh-why...?” Gladia trailed off in horror as she caught sight of their eyes.

Of the silver sheen within.

She slowly turned her eyes, gasping in horror when she saw that the illusionist’s body had disappeared, blood pool and all. “I-imp-”

“Impossible? Pah! Fool!”

Gladia whipped her head around and stared in shock at the Prim and Pristine Trixie as she smirked confidently at the General.

“Honestly now...” Trixie shook her head in disappointment. “Trixie is surprised at you, Gladia! You, who lived in the world of Concordia, still see that word as having any form of meaning? Truly, truly shocking.”

“B-but...” Gladia coughed up another burst of blood. “How? T-there was no magic o-or...”

Trixie snorted in disgust. “Please. Trixie managed to fool Cerberus, do you really think you can surpass him? Essentially, you can’t cut what you can’t see, so Trixie was able to ensorcel both you and your remaining soldiers with ease.”

“But...” Gladia wheezed, wincing as she felt what had to be a punctured lung. “H-how... how did... I cut you... I-I-I cut you... I felt it...”

“Oh, yes, that.” Trixie waved her hoof airily. “See, there are three kinds of illusions: mental illusions which affect one’s mind, mirage illusions which are the basic smoke and mirrors... and conjured illusions. Meaning the sword spell I used, only far more refined. Observe!”

Trixie’s horn glowed blue for a minute. Then the space next to her erupted in silver light and an exact duplicate of her was standing beside her, wearing the exact same cocky grin.

“You see?” The doppelganger asked, flourishing her cape.

“It’s easy!” The original flourished her own in a mirror move.

The two then threw their hooves over each other’s shoulders and threw their heads back in a hearty laugh. “HAHAHA!”

“I...” Gladia worked her jaw uselessly. “W-why? Y-y-you could have... have killed me... at any time... why... why just... play this charade?”

Almost instantly, the Trixie’s moods sobered and the duplicate was dispelled. “Why?” She asked with a sickly sweet false smile. “I’ll tell you why. You see... even after you disappeared along with Vitrum, the legends of your prowess became quite renowned. So many old tales and rumors of Gladia the swordsmistress. So Trixie thought to herself, why not put her in a situation to show off? A way Trixie could just sit back, relax, and take in your moves.”

Suddenly, she dashed up to Gladia, grabbing her by the throat with her hoof. “Because you see...” She snarled darkly. “That is what Trixie’s past was like. Trixie never had any masters, or disciplines to teach her. No, Trixie had to scrimp and scratch by. She had to learn through observation alone, through what she could pick up here and there. You might think that yours was a hard life that you did a lot to earn your strength, and who knows? You might even be right. But you are nothing, nothing! Compared to the Academia!”

Gladia’s only response was a gurgle of pain.

Trixie dropped her hoof and looked away solemnly. Then her eyes landed on the scimitars lying on the crystal floor. She slowly reached a hoof out towards them... then hissed in pain when a spark of magic leapt out to greet her. She muttered vehemently, flashing her horn several shades of silver before finally picking them up with her magic and examining them closely. “Impressive...” Trixie muttered begrudgingly. “Runes to enhance the edge, resist wear and tear... truly works of art. Trixie will be keeping them. Now then...”

She slowly turned her head to stare coldly at Gladia. “How did it go again?”

The Unicorn General shook and shuddered, trying in vain to escape her soldier’s swords before finally hanging her head in despair.

“Ah yes...” Slowly, the scimitars rose up above her. “Gladia Steelblade, under my authority as a Magister of the the Academia Arcana, I hereby charge you with High Treason against the Concordian Empire and crimes against sapient life. The punishment is death.”

The blades fell, blood sprayed, and a head hit the ground.

“May you burn in hell.”

Trixie stared morosely at the General’s headless corpse for a moment before turning around and trotting away.

She went a few yards before stopping and slapping her forehead with her hoof. “Almost forgot!” She turned around and gave the remaining soldiers a cocky grin. “At ease, boys!”

The Equestrians saluted her wordlessly with their swords across their throats.

Trixie chuckled morbidly to herself as she began trotting towards a nearby staircase, away from the bloody platform that the duel had taken place on. A once clear shining crystalline platform, now stained crimson.

She never noticed the glow that lit up Gladia’s armor.

-o-

Seath blinked in surprise, halting mid speech.

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the blind dragon. “Someone else bite it?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, yes. The unicorn, Lulamoon? She just liquidized Gladia.”

“Oh, good for her now! Now then, what about- wait, what the heck!?” Scholar blinked in shock as he whipped his head around and stared at the plaza around him.

What had once been a roaring battlefield was now practically a no man’s land, with bodies lying everywhere, some dead, others only just alive. A number of crystal ponies were picking through the plaza, some carting off the corpses, others administrating healing to those who needed it. And others...

“We got a runner!”

“Ten credits say I hit him.”

“Fifteen say you don’t.”

“Deal! And here... we... GO! Aaaaaaand...”

THUNK!

“YEARGH!”

“Yes!”

“Lucky shot.”

“Heeheehee! Nice goin’! That was fun! That was fun!”

“Indeed. Quite the admirable toss.”

Rotfang, Lacewing, Chitter and Priscilla were occupied with a... different form of clean-up duty.

“Where’d everyone go!?” Scholar demanded incredulously.

Chrysalis slapped him upside the back of his head with her hoof, her face set in a bored expression. “They left. The fighting spread out to the rest of the city. Try and look up once in a while, will you? After all, that’s how you got those train marks on your-”

“I keep telling you that was a deliberate act of sabotage!”

“Oh, like the time when somebody ‘sabotaged’ the month-old sandwich you swallowed without even looking at it?”

“Why you-!”

“Er... excuse me...?”

“WHAT!?” Scholar and Chrysalis screeched, whipping around towards the speaker and causing the Pegasus to flinch back in fear.

The two breathed heavily, staring down the unfortunate messenger and causing her to sweat fearfully...

SMASH!

Right until one of Seath’s crystal-encrusted tentacles slammed down on the two Oligarchs.

“Stop frightening my citizens.” The dragon growled.

“The pain...” The two groaned out simultaneously.

Seath gave out a rumbling mix of a sigh and a groan. “Ladies and gentlemen, the hope for a free world.” He refocused his attention on the Pegasus. “Amethyst Glitter. Report.”

The violet pony blinked blearily for a second before hastily snapping a salute. “Uhh... right! Report! So far we’ve managed to clear most of the central plaza of the enemy presence and our sweeping should remove any other stragglers-”

“Excuse me, traitor, but are you still alive?”

“...”

“He blinked!”

THWACK!

“Wow, Pricilla, that one got good air!”

“Why thank you, Rotfang.”

“Momentarily...” The Pegasus swallowed heavily as she tried to keep her disgust from showing on her face.

“Alright then!” Scholar jumped to his feet and clapped his hands together eagerly. “Now... gather up everyone you can and take them out into the city. Run support, gather up the dead, protect the civilians, so on and so forth.”

“ROTFANG! LACEWING! CHITTER!” An equally rejuvenated Chrysalis ordered.

“Priscilla!” Seath called out.

The four quickly ceased their games and snapped into a trio of salutes and a nod of acknowledgement.

“Ma’am yes ma’am!”

“Father.”

Scholar crossed his arms and gave them all serious looks. “Enough fun and games, head out into the city and coordinate our offensive forces. We’ve got about twenty minutes left, I want the mop-up to be a formality.”

The four all gave him nods of understanding before taking off, the changelings buzzing into the air and Priscilla vanishing into a flurry of snow.

Seath gave Amethyst Glitter a nod as well. “Follow them, do what you can.”

The Pegasus snapped out a salute and turned around to follow them. But before she did, she hesitated and glanced back at Seath hesitantly. “...Umm... sir... m-my lord...”

The Duke tilted his head in confusion. “Yes, Glitter?”

“I... er... well... i-it’s about...”

Almost instantly the dragon frowned to the extent he could. “Amethyst, we have talked about this-”

“I know, I know!” Amethyst Glitter said hastily. “B-but regardless of what she’s done, she still meant well and-and-and she tried, she really really tried and-”

“Peace, Amethyst, peace.” Seath held up a massive hand to silence her. “The discussion will be discussed at length at a later date. For now, we liberate our city. Judgement will be reserved for later.”

Amethyst nodded hesitantly before flaring her wings out and taking off after the changelings.

Seath watched her silently for a moment before speaking. “She did not lie. Many other citizens will agree with her. She did mean well, and she did do good. Not enough to make up for everything, nothing will ever be enough, but...”

“I’ll take it into consideration, Seath.” Scholar cut him off firmly. “A fair trial. That’s what I promised, that’s what we’ll deliver. Even after all this time and all that’s happened.”

Chrysalis snorted and flicked her mane back. “Either way, Scholar, you know what has to be done. We all made our vows. One way or another, they have to be honored. Mine especially.”

The Rune Keeper waved his hand absentmindedly. “Yes yes yes. We’ll deal with that when it becomes relevant. Right now, this is what’s relevant! Here, take a look, right here!”

The Queen and the Duke leaned in to observe the line indicated before groaning and shaking their heads in disgust.

“No! I- no, just no!”

“That is by far the most offending example of the printed word I have seen in a long time.”

“What!?” Scholar protested. “What’s wrong with it!?”

“Well, for starters, the body of it? Far too lengthy. You want to impress? Shorten it. A lot.”

“And the opener. Dreary, no chance whatsoever of it grabbing attention. And need I say anything about the conclusion?”

“Everyone’s a critic. Hopefully Gilda’s having a better time than I am.”

-o-

“COME ON YOU DWEEBS!” Gilda cackled as she dodged out of the way of a flurry of arrows, sending a blast of electric magic back at her opponents. “IS THAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOT? MY GRANDMOTHER FLIES FASTER THAN YOU TWO, AND HER REMAINS HAVE BEEN IN TARTARUS FOR OVER A CENTURY!”

The Pegasus Generals huffed angrily as they barely twisted around the blast, glancing at each other ruefully. The two had been playing a game of cat and mouse all throughout the Overloft’s expanse with the aggravating griffon. All too many times the gold-clad warrior had effortlessly evaded their strikes while they, on the other hoof, had experienced multiple near-misses, resulting in a large amount of singed feathers.

“Just do yourself a favor!” Arcus growled, pulling his bow’s energy-string back and blasting out a large bolt of magic.

“And give up!” Sagitta shrieked, flapping her wings and letting loose a new volley of glowing arrow-shaped bolts of magic.

A bolt and volley which Gilda batted away easily with her wing.

“Oh come on.” She taunted. “That’s the best you’ve got? Ah well. In that case, fair’s fair.” A menacing grin played across her beak as she held her arms out to her side. “You show me yours...” She snapped her talons, engulfing her claws and gauntlets in lightning.

“I’ll show you mine!”

The Generals glanced at each other uneasily before hastily wheeling around and darting away.

“GET BACK HERE!”

And so the hunters became the hunted, with Arcus and Sagitta winding and weaving through the nigh interminable maze of the Overloft’s numerous floating constructs of crystal and stone and Gilda relentlessly pursuing them. They darted above, below, sometimes even through when possible, utilizing every trick they could think of to avoid the griffon.

Finally, they came to rest back to back on one of the smaller islets, their chests heaving violently.

“Do... you think... we lost her?” Arcus questioned tiredly.

“I... I think so...” Sagitta gulped, wiping her brow hastily.

SMASH!

The two jumped in shock when a larger island they’d just rounded exploded in a blast of smoke and crystal shards. A few seconds later their worst fears were confirmed.

“SKREEE!” A hawk-like screech pierced the air, punctuated by multiple bolts of lightning.

“Then again, I have been wrong in the past.” Sagitta whispered numbly.

“MOVE!” Arcus roared, shoving his sister off the rock and diving after her, the both of them very narrowly avoiding being cooked alive.

“FIGHT AND DIE WITH HONOR, SHITSTAINS!” Gilda screeched as she rocketed after them.

The griffon rampaged through the sky in her pursuit of the twins. Where the Pegasi had to avoid large solid structures, she simply blasted straight through them with her destructive magic. Intent on making them suffer for their crimes through any means possible.

Suddenly, she was forced to come to a sudden halt after rounding a blind corner.

Gilda snarled furiously as she whipped her head around, adjusting her goggles and flicking through varying settings on them as she tried to locate her prey. “Where the hell did those damn dweebs go!?”

Suddenly...

SLAM!

“GAH!”

Gilda screeched in surprise when a weight slammed into her back, nearly knocking her out of the sky as she flapped furiously to stay aloft.

The gold-clad griffon struggled violently to dislodge whatever was grappling with her. A flash of light before her eyes was the only warning she had but it was enough for her to whip a talon up in front of her throat, catching the runic bow before its heavily charged string could lacerate her trachea.

Arcus heaved back with his hooves, trying his best to take out his opponent. “Just... do yourself a favor... and give up!”

“How about a better option?” Gilda shot back. In a deft move, she reached over her shoulder with her free hand, gripped him by his mane. “TAKE A HIKE!” And with that, she flapped her wings and flipped herself over. The result was Arcus being sent smashing into a nearby piece of floating debris still held up by its enchantments before he plummeted out of sight, lost amongst the varying other islands and levitating structures.

Gilda huffed heavily for a second, flapping her way over to the rock and landing on it, clutching it with her talons. She took a moment to catch her breath, reorient herself...

CLANG!

Until she was forced to snap a wing up and block an arrow aimed straight at her head.

Gilda twisted her head around and smirked victoriously at the fuming Sagitta. “Awww, is somebody cwanky about the fact that I beat her brother’s ass? You wanna piece of me, huh birdy?”

“Yes, I do.” Sagitta grit out. She flicked her forehooves, producing an elongated pair of arrow-shaped constructs over them. “Preferably mounted over my mantlepiece!”

Gilda’s smirk became down-right predatory as lightning began to crackle along her wings and gauntlets, her goggles flashing eagerly. “Bring it on, gluestick.”

And with that, she peeled off the rock-face, tearing through the sky towards Sagitta, an ear-shattering screech emerging from her throat.

The Pegasus and the griffon clashed in midair, wing scraping against hoof, magic raging against magic, all in a mere instant before they came apart. They then flapped off a few feet before wheeling around and clashing once anew. Back and forth, back and forth, dancing through the sky in a duel of will and skill.

The two were complete and utter equals, the battle refusing to shift an inch in either of their favors.

But that was about to change.

‘Alright, let’s see...’ Arcus mused as he pulled back on his bow’s string. ‘Wind speed and direction optimal... elevation difference... distance is about... eh, quarter of a mile? Target speed and direction... seriously fast and just about everywhere. Still though...’ Arcus smirked a bit as he narrowed his eye behind his scope. ‘That should change soon enough.’

As if on cue, Gilda and Sagitta suddenly locked together in midair, talon against arrow, wings beating furiously as they tried to shove each other into submission. Face to face, teeth and beak grit furiously from their exertion.

‘It was a nice run, Gilda,’ Arcus begrudgingly admitted as he pumped energy into his bow, like he was preparing a cloud to disperse a bolt of lightning. ‘One of the best fights we’ve had in years. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Goodbye, Gilda Behertz. Rest in peace.’

And with that, he loosed a silent yet powerful blast of energy, which streaked through the air like a comet.

Suddenly, time seemed to freeze, each second feeling like a minute.

Gilda turned her head around, and smirked at Arcus.

Arcus’s eyes widened in shock as he tried to process what he was seeing. How could she have seen him? How could she know where he-?

Gilda was encased in yellow light and suddenly disappeared.

Arcus was off his perch and moving before it even happened.

But happen it did.

THUNK!

Sagitta blinked in surprise, staring in shock at the magical projectile protruding from her chest.

She beat her wings weakly, trying to keep herself aloft, but both she and her brother knew it was in vain. Arcus’s bow was an anti-aerial weapon, its arrows designed to lock up the muscles of whoever it hit, outermost extremities first.

It had been Sagitta’s idea: let gravity ultimately be the death of their enemies.

And now, it would be hers.

Sagitta’s wings slowly froze in place, causing her to plummet towards the crystal city below.

Arcus pumped his wings mercilessly, desperate to reach his sister. Faster and faster, trying and trying to succeed in a race against time and nature.

Closer and closer to her, trying to catch her before she hit the crystals. His hoof was extended towards her, feet, mere feet from her. Just a few more instants. Just a few more...

“Come on...” Arcus muttered. “Don’t worry, Sis. I’ve got you, I’ve got you!”

A shadow fell over the two of them. Sagitta’s eyes widened in horror. Arcus’s heart skipped a beat.

“Say goodbye to your sister, General.”

A strong grip on the back of his cuirass yanked Arcus back, nearly snapping his neck. But the pain was nothing compared to watching his sister fall away.

He didn’t even try to struggle his way out of the griffon’s grip. He knew he wouldn’t be capable of reaching her in time. It was simple math and he had no choice but to accept it.

“Why?” He groaned, his eyes scrunched firmly shut. “Why do this? You were faster than us. Why... why just toy with us like that? Why delude us into thinking we could win?”

“You know why.” She whispered harshly in his ear. “All those years ago, during the wars. How many Storm Knights did you bring down, huh? How many Pillars did you collapse? You know what they say, Arcus: Turnabout is fair play. And besides...”

Gilda’s talons suddenly wrapped around the General’s head, wrenching his eyes open. “I’m part lion. And you know how we big cats are.” She forced his head down, forced him to watch as his sister drew ever nearer to the spires of crystal.

“We toy with our prey. We bat them around with our paws, let them scurry and run, think they have a chance to survive. And then, when their suffering is at its highest...”

Closer and closer, impending death drawing near.

“When their last dregs of hope have finally been extinguished, all chances of survival are absolutely nil...”

Less than a moment.

“We go in for the kill.”

SMASH!

Impact.

The scream that tore its way out of Arcus’s throat had nothing to do with the electricity running through his brain.

Gilda chuckled morosely as smoke wafted out of Arcus’s head. “Well, that’s that. Good game, you two. That was fun. Well, buh-bye!” She tossed the charred corpse away, letting it fall and join its twin. “Now then...” she wheeled around and smirked eagerly at the other dogfights going on throughout the Overloft. “It’s hunting time!”

As Gilda took off in a blast of electricity, the armor of both Sagitta and Arcus began to glow with hidden magic.

Chapter 18. Play to Win

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 19. Hope Springs Finite

Author's Note

Guess who's back with a brand new chap! Hope you enjoy it, because I'm about to bury myself in the Last of Us Remastered and Assassin's Creed Black Flag!

Enjoy, live long and prosper, thanks to Gideon020, and contribute to the TVTropes!

Chapter 19. Hope Springs Finite

Shining Armor groaned as he slumped against the railing of the stairwell he and Faithful Shield had been hiding in. “That... was not fun.”

“Tell me about it!” Shield cried, shaking his mane and trying to dislodge the ichor that was stuck in his mane. “I hate swarm tactics!”

“Speaking of which...” The white Unicorn gave his subordinate a searching look. “A lot of those changelings seemed more focused on you than me. Why is that?”

Faithful Shield had the decency to look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well... remember that tour I mentioned? It was less a changeling hive, more the changeling capitol. Yeah, I’m pretty sure a soldier with a tendency for flashbangs would piss someone off.”

Shining Armor nodded in acceptance. “Fair enough. So!” He clapped his hooves together. “We finally managed to shake them. Any thoughts on where we’re going?”

“Er...” The soldier tapped his chin in consideration. “Give me a second, will you? They started shutting off parts of this place and placing them underground a bit after I arrived.”

“Yeah...” Shining looked at him questioningly. “Why is that, anyways?”

“Eh...” Faithful Shield shrugged absentmindedly. “A lot of people started moving out over time and the city was becoming too big to manage. So, higher ups decided to put a bunch of it away. Cut out unnecessary parts, hide away old weapons, stuff like that.”

“Huh...” Shining Armor grunted sadly, contemplating the structures around them, from the Overloft above to the Subarchives below. “A pity. This place is...”

“Something else?” Faithful Shield chuckled at his superior’s bemused look. “What can I say? I felt the same way when I walked into this place. Anyways...” He looked up at their surroundings. “I’m fairly certain that we’re on Diamond Lane. That means if we go down this way for a bit, we should reach Starlight Square. With any luck, we can hide out there for the next nine minutes. After that...” He grimaced. “Well, you’re safe, so I’ll try not to think about that.”

Shining Armor winced in sympathy as he stood up. “Right. Well, after you.”

The two galloped down the street, glancing around and making certain that they were alone.

Suddenly, as they came to a corner in the road, they were forced to a full stop. The reason...

“GAH!” Shining Armor clamped his hooves over his nose. “W-what on Mundus!? It smells like a griffon slaughterhouse! And do not ask me how I know that, because that escapade involved way more alcohol than somebody with my rank should consume on a diplomatic visit, even if the local Guard invited me into a drinking contest..”

Faithful Shield, on the other hand, paled drastically, a deep, onset terror materializing in his eyes. “‘She reeks of the blood of countless enemies...’” He breathed in horror. “‘A smell she revels in and accept without question, taking joy in how it instills an unending terror in her foes.’”

Shining Armor shot the frightened pony a wide-eyed look. “You know who smells like this!?”

Faithful Shield nodded numbly. “Somewhat. She’s a legend. One of three. And if she’s here... then there’s a fair chance she’s here as well. And they’re both going to want to kill us. Well...”
He chuckled darkly, slowly starting to step forwards. “At the least, they’re definitely going to want to kill me.”

“Wh-!?” The white Unicorn sputtered. “Then why the hell are you going forwards?! We should-!”

“No use.” Faithful Shield shook his head miserably. “There’s one part of the legend that’s persistent: If you can smell her, then you’re too late. She can already smell you.”

Shining Armor glanced around hesitantly before reluctantly following behind the soldier.

“After all, it’s just a fact of life...”

The pair rounded the corner and simultaneously reeled back in shock, barely restraining themselves from vomiting.

Faithful Shield finished in a sickened voice. “You can’t escape the Wolf.”

“HAHAHAHA! YOU GOT THAT DAMN RIGHT, FUCK-ASS!”

What laid before the pair could best be defined as the remnants of a massacre. A full platoon of corpses was strewn about the square, their blood and innards staining the floor and walls. Their bodies were in varying states of destruction, but one thing was assured: not a single one of them was whole. Some had varying parts of them shorn off, be it their torsos, limbs or their heads. Others... others weren’t anywhere near as clean. About half of them looked like they had been either torn to pieces or had chunks of them bitten out.

The two perpetrators of the crime, both female, were standing in the exact center of the carnage, staring at the two ponies.

The one on the left appeared to be a child, standing only about four and a half feet tall. She was clad entirely in black. She was wearing a black shawl with a white fur fringes and white laces with a pair of similarly colored tassels. She had a coat with the same design beneath it. She had a pair of knee-high white lace-up boots on her feet. She was wearing a black bucket hat and had a curtain of short black hair that parted over her eyes. Perhaps most disturbing of all were the two lines of stitches that ran up her face, meeting perpendicularly between her piercing blue and emotionless eyes. She had the cold, frigid air of death around her. Someone who was so used to killing that it was boring. Clinical. A fact of life.

The other, on the other hand... if the shorter person was cold, then she was demonic. Everything about her, from her stance to her rabid grin, just screamed ‘predator’. She was wearing dark blue leather pants, boots and a jacket with metallic braces affixed to her joints. Her jacket was open with no shirt beneath to hide her bare skin. She had long, ghostly blue hair that ran down her back. Latched around her head was what appeared to be a metallic pair of blood-red square headphones with dials on them. She had piercing red eyes that stared at them hungrily, her tongue sliding over her spiked teeth and blood-stained lips. Running directly beneath her eyes and over the bridge of her nose was a line of stitches, similar to another that seemed to encircle her throat. Perhaps most disturbing of all was what she held in her hand: a leg from one of the corpses, several prominent bite-marks in it.

“Well, well, well,” The taller one cackled madly. “Lookie here! Two more shithead lambs to the fucking slaughter!” To the disgust and horror of the two ponies, she brought the dismembered leg up to her mouth and tore a chunk out of it with her fangs. “Jus’ my lucky fucking day!” She got out through her messy chewing.

The shorter individual rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You just love the fear factor, don’t you?” She muttered. “Either way...” She refocused her attention on the ponies. “Shining Armor. We have been looking for you.”

Shining Armor swallowed his bile as he stared at the two in abject horror. “W-who are you!? And why would you be looking for me!?”

“Gavrill the Wolf and Veronica the Shredder,” Faithful Shield breathed. “Franken Fran’s sisters.”

“HA!” Gavrill barked out. “Sweet! My name’s lasted long enough to become a boogeyman! And as for you...” She looked at the shorter girl contemplatively. “The Shredder? Eh, it’s decent. I’ll give you that much.”

Veronica ignored her, continuing to emotionlessly observe the ponies. “In response to your questions, I am Veronica Madaraki, and this is my eldest sister, Gavrill Madaraki. We’ve been searching for you because Scholar ordered us to protect you.”

“S-Scholar?!” Shining Armor gasped in shock. “What do you-!?”

“He’s the one who created them.” Shield answered quietly. “Just like the Twins. They’re his creations, and if they’ve been informed of what rides on your head, then they’ll protect you.”

“W-well...” Shining looked at the field of dead for a moment before swallowing heavily and gritting his teeth. “Alright then. Fine. So be it. You both make me sick to my stomach, but we’re in the middle of a war with a majority of the opposing faction wanting me personally dead. I’d rather stick with someone who wants help me rather than kill me,” He glared at them vehemently. “No matter how vile they might be.”

Veronica nodded in agreement. “That works.”

Suddenly, she disappeared in a blur and reappeared between the two. In the interim, her right arm had shifted. Where once there had been a human hand was now a pole of metal with a crescent-shaped scythe affixed to the end. Her arm was raised up above Faithful Shield’s neck.

Just as the blade came down, the ponies were engulfed in a flash of pink light. In the next instant, the scythe dropped through the air and buried itself in the ground.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at her weapon-arm accusingly before turning to glare at the spatially displaced ponies.

Shining Armor panted from the exertion of the teleport. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” He grit out.

“Trying to kill me.”

The captain snapped his head around to face Faithful Shield, balking at the dead look in his eyes.

“She already said it...” Shield groaned miserably. “They’re here to protect you. Me? I’m a grunt. Disposable,” He gave Shining Armor a shaky grin. “At least one of us will survive.”

“Well, you’re half right, fuckwit!”

Faithful glanced over his shoulder for a second before hastily tackling Shining Armor.

Not a second too soon. If he had been a second too late, then the both of them would have been cleaved in half by Gavrill as she raked her suddenly massive and clawed arm through the space the two had occupied.

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield rolled along the ground for a second before staggering to their hooves and backing away from the murderously grinning monster.

“What the hell was that!?” Shining Armor panted.

“What do you think you’re playing at, Gavrill!?” Veronica demanded furiously. “Scholar told us to protect Shining Armor! I don’t care what you do to the spare, but the captain is off-limits!”

“Fuck what Scholar said!” The fanged human snarled. “He just wants us to keep this shithead alive for a fucking bet. If he had tactical value or something like that, then fine! Fuck it! I’d bite my tongue and take my lumps. Better than the alternative. But this?” Her grin went from blood-thirsty to savage. “Oh-hoh, with this I can do what I want with him. And what I want is to rip both their heads off!”

“It was a direct order, sister,” Veronica intoned darkly. She snapped her scythe-arm up and pointed it at Gavrill. “Don’t think I’ll let you disobey them so lightly.”

Gavrill’s slasher smile widened a few fangs. “Awwww, you think you can take me? That’s cute.” Her grin widened even further, far more than should have been possible. “Real fucking cute.”

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield watched the two stare each other down silently, barely keeping from flinching as the sparks flew.

Slowly, the captain leaned over to his subordinate. “Well, they’re distracted. Want to make a run for it before they notice us?”

Due to not turning his head, he was unable to notice Faithful Shield frantically shaking his head.

Thankfully, he did notice the projectile flying towards them just in time to flash up a shield and catch the double-bladed knife before it went straight through Faithful Shield’s eye.

Slowly, the two turned their heads away from the projectile and caught sight of the sisters glaring at them both, Veronica’s hand still outstretched.

“Now do you see what you almost did?” She demanded coldly. “If we’d started fighting, it would have taken forever for us to find them again!”

“Tch, yeah, yeah...” Gavrill groused as she tore another chunk out of her dismembered pony leg. Suddenly, she brightened up and grinned savagely. “Saaaay... I’ve got a helluva compromise for ya!”

“If it’s the Lazarus gambit, don’t even start,” Veronica cut her off. “Chrysalis sunk that idea when she invoked the Law of Inheritance.”

“Yeah, he said we can’t take him in alive...” The elder sister mused before swallowing her meat down and grinning bloodily. “But he never really said ‘whole’ now, did he?”

The younger sister blinked in surprise. “Care to elaborate?”

“Eh, easy enough. We rip his limbs off and drag his ass back to sis. Then, she stitches him up so that he’s presentable. No fuss, no muss,” Gavrill chuckled savagely. “Just a whole lot of fun.”

Shining Armor didn’t miss the miserable whimper Faithful Shield let out. He slowly tilted his head towards him and whispered him a question. “Their sister... Franken Fran, right? How bad is she?”

It was obvious from Shield’s voice that he was seconds away from a breakdown. “If they end up being close to dragging you away to her, I’ll do you a favor and mercy-kill you. And if at any point over the last few minutes we’ve spent together you’ve considered me your friend, I’ll expect you to do the same.”

Shining Armor paled and swallowed heavily. “Agreed.”

“Hmm...” Veronica tapped her lip in thought for a second before grinning and nodding in acceptance. “Very well then. That is a sound plan.”

“Perfect...” Gavrill slowly raised her hand to one of her headphones, placing her hand on the dial. “And the extra?”

Veronica shrugged indifferently. “Do with him as you will.”

Gavrill cackled joyfully as she yanked the dial on her headphones to the max. “Fan-fucking-tastic!”

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as he glanced back and forth between the two monsters. “Any chance that we can hold them both off?”

“Eeeh...” Faithful Shield waved his hoof side to side in the air.

The younger sister’s left arm shot up into her torso and was replaced by a pair of double-edged sword-blades. One was straight, while the other had several uniform spikes of metal on the side facing the other blade.

Meanwhile, the elder’s body suddenly started shifting. Her body began to bulk up, with her limbs and torso taking on several extra pounds of bone and muscle. She suddenly fell forward onto her clawed hands. Her jaws also jutted out from her face, forming a veritable monstrous muzzle that was leering greedily at the two of them.

“Yeah, no.”

“Right...” Shining Armor backed away slowly from the advancing pair. “Any chance we can make a run for it?”

“One has a nose capable of sniffing out a flea in a pack of pigs while the other’s ears are accurate enough to hear an ant fart in a crowd,” Shield deadpanned. “Honestly, there’s only one idea I can think of.”

Gavrill let out a harsh, cynical laugh. “Oh yeah, little pony? And what’s-?”

BANG!

The monstrous creature kept its eyes shut for a second... before reopening them and letting out another laugh. “Did you re-!?”

BANG!

“ARGH!” Gavrill spat out furiously, collapsing on her side and clawing at her eyes and ears. Veronica was in the same situation, clutching at her ears painfully.

Shining Armor panted furiously as he and Faithful Shield galloped down the street. “How did you know that would work?”

“Well...” The soldier grit out. “They have control of their own biology, so I knew the second they saw the flashbang, they’d shut their eyes and ears off. So, I sent out a second one right behind it to catch them just as they got them working again, catching them head on.”

“That... was gutsy. If it didn’t work...”

“But it did! That’s what counts! So now, I’d say we have about...”

“ROOOOAAAAAR!”

Faithful Shield swallowed heavily and increased his pace, trying his best to stay ahead of the heavy stomping sound behind them. “A few seconds lead. In here!” He quickly hung right and started ascending a covered staircase, Shining Armor right behind him.

They got about sixty, seventy steps up the stairs before the sound of shattering above their heads forced them to a halt.

If they’d kept going, they would have been crushed. Gavrill jumped above them, kicking off from the high walls and wheeling around in the air to face them as she landed heavily on the staircase, slobber dripping from her slavering jaws.

A quick glance over their shoulders confirmed that the way back was blocked by Veronica, her serene facade broken by a small yet nevertheless malevolent bloodthirsty smirk and light dancing over her blades.

“Hehehehe...” Gavrill chuckled darkly. “Looky looky looky... two lost little piggies walking into the butchershop! You’re gonna make a fucking delicious pot roast.”

“Oh yeah?” Shining Armor snarled, lighting his horn up. “Well this pig’s not going down without a fight!”

Faithful Shield bit his lip hesitantly as he glanced over at his superior, nervously eyeing the advancing monsters.

“HAHAHA!” The beast in front of them cackled, raising her arm high. “Say goodnight, pi-!”

BOOM!

“-ARGH!”

CRASH!

Suddenly, the wall to Gavrill’s right imploded. The blast slammed into her before she could react and sent her straight through the opposite wall and out of sight.

Shining Armor raised his foreleg to his eyes, wincing from the sting of the resulting smoke and dust. “W-what on Mundus-!?”

“BAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!”

The ponies and Veronica reeled back in surprise from the sudden outburst. As the smoke cleared, Shining Armor couldn’t help but gape in shock.

“Null!?”

The red golem swung around, staring madly at the ponies. His eyes held a far more manic, insane look then they’d ever held before. The possible cause was a massive, jagged greatsword he held clutched in his hands. Unlike his previous swords, instead of being red itself, it seemed to be engulfed in a blood-red aura. Running up and down the flat of the blade were jagged glowing runes, dissimilar from the ones that Scholar normally used. Perhaps most disturbing of all was the skull inlaid into the sword’s hilt.

Veronica groaned in exasperation, shifting her arms back to normal and palming her face. “Oh great, he’s possessed again...”

“This... is going to be painful.” Faithful Shield groaned as he took several cautious steps back, his ears flattening against his head.

“HAHAHAHA!” Null bellowed, swinging his sword up to bear. “SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!”

Shining Armor quickly flashed up a shield. The sword sparked against the pink barrier for a moment...

“DAMN IT, NULL!”

BLAM!

Before he was knocked away by a blast of green magic.

Nix huffed as she floated through the hole in the wall, rubbing her orb-shaped head tiredly. “Stupid, stupid, stupid idiot. Honestly, I know he enjoys the rush of letting those things try and take him over, but it can still be freaking annoying. Ah well. Now then...” She turned and narrowed her eyes eagerly at the soldiers. “Shining Armor! I’ve been looking for you.”

“Nix!”

The golem looked up past the ponies and reeled back in shock. “Veronica!?” She gasped quietly before squeeing eagerly. “VERONICA!” She zipped past the soldiers and engulfed the black-cled girl in a hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again!”

“Hahaha!” Veronica giggled joyfully, eagerly returning the hug. “Nix! I’m so glad you and Null are alright! We didn’t know what happened, Fran sealed Madaraki Manor and us with it before the Princesses could find us!”

“We went down in a blaze of glory trying to free Scholar! Geeze, we didn’t even remember that you two existed! Fran did a hell of a job!”

Veronica nodded and chuckled in agreement. “I know, right? She’s simply amazing! She’ll be so happy to know you’re both okay!”

“Right, right. But first...” Nix trailed off slightly before turning around to stare at the frozen forms of Shining Armor and Faithful Shield. “I’m assuming you know the mission?”

Veronica tilted her head slightly before smiling darkly. “Oh yes. Gavrill devised a most ingenious plan. Just to confirm, did the bet specify Shining Armor’s... physical condition?”

Nix’s eyes narrowed eagerly as emerald sparks began to waft up from her hands. “No. No it did not.”

Acting on impulse, Faithful Shield whipped around and tried to bolt up the staircase. He didn’t get very far before Veronica suddenly blurred ahead of him and halted him with a sword inches from his nose. “Stand still...” She breathed darkly.

“Yeah...” Nix giggled madly, engulfing her arms in infernos of green flames. “We’re going to protect the shit out of you!”

Shining Armor lit his horn up again, getting ready to fight.

But before he could...

CRASH!

“GYAH!?”

“MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!”

Gavrill came crashing through the stairwell’s right wall, slamming into Nix and carrying her through the opposite wall.

Veronica blinked in surprise and lowered her weapons. “Um... what just-?”

“BLEED IN THE NAME OF KHORNE!”

“ACK!”

Suddenly, Null rocketed through the hole he’d made, barreling into Veronica and launching her through his initial point of entry.

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield blinked numbly as they tried to process what had just occurred.

“Captain?” Faithful Shield whispered. “I’m not crazy, right? That all just happened?”

“I don’t know,” Shining Armor responded blankly. “And honestly? I’d rather not stick around in case they come back and try to ‘protect’ me into an early grave.”

And with that, the two took off up the staircase in search of safety.

-o-

“Null, give me that- Null, I said- Null, Null! DAMN IT, NULL! GIVE ME THE FUCKING SWORD!”

“FOOLISH MORTAL! NONE MAY DICTATE THE ACTIONS OF-!”

SLAP!

“-OW! Damn it, Nix, that hurt!”

“Does it look like I care!? Urgh, stupid sword. It’s sure as hell trying to possess me. Seriously, I don’t get why the hell you like messing around with these things.”

“Well hell, I personally think that it’s kind of-! Heyheyhey, watch what you’re doing, that’s an-!”

CRACK!

“...antique. Niiiiix!”

“That was a Khornate Greatsword, Null. A weapon of mass destruction! Not. A. Toy!”

“...there’s a difference?”

“GAHAHAHA! You little fuckers haven’t changed a bit.”

“Shut up, Gavrille.”

“Quiet, sister.”

“Bite me. Either way, it was still valuable!”

“Brother, because of it we lost track of the target!”

“No we didn’t! Gavrill can track him down, right Gavy?”

“First, don’t fucking call me that. And second, wrong.”

“See, she can- WHAT!?”

“Khornate magic reeks of blood. Normally I like it, but right now it’s blocking out Shining Armor’s smell. It’ll take awhile to track him down, fuckwit.”

“... right, so... I’m just gonna go ahead and... float over here... take some... inventory... yeah...”

“Ergh. My brother, ladies and gentleman. A genius of war.”

“Sister, I have to ask, where were you, anyways? And why was Null using a possessor item? It looked like he was coming down off the high he uses them for when in the heat of a big fight.”

“Eh, we were dealing with a Gem Custodian. Seath sicked it on Shining Armor. It had a lance with a hell of a blast to it. Null whipped the Greatsword out and kicked its ass, but it fell into the Subarchives before I could finish it off. With any luck, we’ll find the good captain before it finds him.”

“Heh, that fucking figures. Well, let’s get to it! Hey Null, quit moping and get your shitty ass in gear!”

“...”

“Umm... Brother are you-?”

“...Ia.”

“Brother?”

“Ia. Ia! Ia!”

“Wait, is he holding-? Ergh, Null! Ha ha, very funny, now cut it-!”

“Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!”

“...Null?”

“Sister, I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”

“Shit, something’s wrong with him!”

“P̘͓̮̙̟̬̠͗͛̈h̗̰̻̗͆ͣͤ̏'͕̲̭͈̠́ͪͣṉ̉̿̒̈́̃g͎̎l̪͖͇̲̮̰ͧ̀ͫ̆ǘ̦͇̜̬̹͋̎͌i̥͈̖̟̺͒́̈́̃ ͖͋̈́̌̆͗̃ͅṁ̟̻͈̪ͥͥ̋ĝ̯̫͎̱̤ͯ̾̌l̮̪͇̹̩͑w͇͍̫'̗̹̘͐͗͛̃̎ͯ͒n͔̺̗̪̼ͣͦͪ͛̌̂ͅa͍̖͂̈̽̿͑ͩf͉̱̭̖͎͍̩ͤ͌͆̈̽̅͌h͚̀̿̊ͪ́̆ ́̑̒̊̾ͩCͯt̗̰͔̣̪̘́ḫ̟̟͋u̠͕͖̰͉ͧ̆ḻ̾̇ͯ̽̅̽̚ẖ̫͈̗̄ͮ̽͌͛͆̿ủ̼ͣ͆̌͂ ͨ̐̈̓̂̿R̙̤̠̖̠'̻̰͈̠̩̉͋̑ḻ̞̺̔̾y̜̭̗̮̠e͌̇̎͊h̙̫̖͙̟̫̓̏ͅ ͓̥̲̪̏͊ͥw͚̤͌̇g͚̬̗̲̯̝ͬa͈͉̺̘̤͇ͩͪͅh͉͈̊͂̓ͫ̎̚'n̪͈͚̮ͩ̃ͯ̿̓̌a͙̗͙̍̾ͨ͆g̟̫̮͐́̂͗ͭ̅ľ͙͙ͪͤ̆̒ͪ ̗̝̝ͯ̀ͩͫͥ͛̃f͍̲̭h̦̆̍ͭt͇̦̪̘̮͔a̠̩̠̙͎̗ͫͤg̰͕͔̲ͭͪ̌ͭ̌n̞̦̥̏̆!̤͎̫̚”

“NULL!”

-o-

Faithful Shield and Shining Armor groaned as they leaned up against the wall of the alleyway they were hiding in.

“We... are doing this... way too much lately...” Faithful Shield groaned.

“It’s like basic all over again...” Shining Armor concurred. “Save that Martial Law isn’t barking down my ears...” He sighed heavily before slowly climbing to his hooves. “Well, come on. No point sticking around. We’d better keep moving.”

“Er... actually...”

The captain glanced over his shoulder in confusion at the frowning soldier. “See...” Faithful Shield continued uneasily. “There’s something I want to talk with you about.”

Shining Armor blinked in confusion and turned around to face him fully. “What’s on your mind?”

Faithful Shield bit his lip momentarily before sighing heavily. “Captain... the entire time we’ve been wandering around, every time we’ve run into someone... you only ever ran away when I did. All you did was engage, try to push the offensive.”

The white Unicorn frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Well... yeah, so?”

The other unicorn gave his superior a flat look. “Sir, forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question, but... what the hell were you thinking!?”

Shining Armor reeled back in shock. “What!?”

“Permission to be brutally honest, sir?”

The captain snorted for a second before turning around and trotting out of the alleyway, gesturing for Faithful Shield to follow. “Reluctantly granted, soldier.”

“Alright then...” The soldier snorted as he walked behind the officer. “To be frank, what you’ve been pulling so far is downright boneheaded. I mean, these people are ridiculously powerful! We know that the Oligarchs don’t like to be worshipped, but it’s widely acknowledged that they are akin to gods. And their closest followers are just as insanely strong! Trying to fight them head on, without any plans or without any forethought is... it’s suicidal!”

Shining Armor grit his teeth and bowed his head. “... I know that it’s not a good idea.”

Faithful Shield’s jaw dropped open in shock. “But...” He tried to search for a response. “Then why...?”

“Because it’s my duty!” Shining Armor wheeled around and snarled fiercely. “I don’t know how it was back then, but allow me to explain to you the duty of the Captain of the Guard today. These days, being the captain signifies one duty, and one duty alone: protection. It’s my duty to protect Equestria and all who dwell within. I know that I’m not strong enough to beat them, damn it. I know that. But even if I can’t beat them, then I can still damn well draw their attention. I’m the shield, so they’ll focus on me. No one else but me gets hurt. That’s my duty as a captain. That is why I always go on the offensive. First to charge, first to fall. I have to shoulder Equestria’s pain. No one else. Do you understand, soldier?”

Faithful Shield stared at him silently for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “Yes... I understand.”

“Good.” Shining Armor turned around and began trotting down the street again. “Now, let’s-!”

“I understand that that is a fucking stupid duty.”

“WHAT!?” Shining Armor roared, whipping back around. “You listen here, soldier-!”

“No, you listen, captain!” Faithful Shield spat out, jabbing his superior in the chest. “I can appreciate dedication, but there is a line between being dedicated and being suicidal. Look, allow me to tell you the duty of the captain. Yes, you are supposed to protect others. Yes, you should shoulder the pain. But that does not give you carte blanche to die!”

“I-!”

“Did I say you could speak, captain!?” Faithful Shield demanded. “Now you listen here: you’re supposed to protect everypony, true enough. But let me ask you this: what happens after you die, hm? What happens then!? Who protects everypony then?” The soldier stamped his hoof definitively. “What happens to your sister, to Cadance, to everyone you left behind? What happens to everyone else!? If your job is to protect everyone, then make sure you do it right! Make sure you’re around to always protect them! For their sake, make sure you live! And if you’re not strong enough to protect them? You’re up against a threat you know you can’t beat? Well then, I’ve only got one thing to say to you.”

He leaned in until he was face to face with the officer. “Back off, think things through, and get. Stronger. You play it smart and make damn certain that nothing, nothing can hurt Equestria ever again!”

Shining Armor opened and shut his mouth for a moment. His face went through the gamut of emotions, ranging from furious to terrified to miserable. Finally, his visage became blank. Pensive. Slowly, he turned around and paced away from Faithful Shield.

Shield made to follow before halting in his tracks. He turned his head left and right for a moment before trotting towards a staircase in an alleyway that led downwards. The Unicorn illuminated his horn and stuck his head into the shadows, looking around curiously.

Finally, after taking only a few steps, Shining Armor halted in his tracks. He sighed heavily and hung his head. “You... you’re right. Celestia damn it, I’ve been such an idiot. I’ve just been thinking about myself, about my duty... but I should have been thinking of everyone else. I... I decided that was my duty. Celestia never told me to do it, Luna didn’t, Cadance didn’t... I did. It’s just... it’s always been my family’s duty, you know? Since... well, since your time, we’ve been doing our best to protect Equestria. I... I guess I’ve just always thought that taking it to the absolute maximum was the right thing to do.”

Shining Armor was silent for another minute before shaking his head. “Faithful Shield... thank you. If I’m really being honest, I think I’ve needed someone to get my head on straight for awhile. If not for you... I really owe you a lot. Heck...” He let out a morbid chuckle. “Without you , I wouldn’t even be alive right now. I’m not sure what I’d do without you.”

“Well sir... you might want to figure that out...” Faithful Shield’s voice wafted through the air behind the captain, weak and tired.

Shining Armor blinked in confusion and turned to face his subordinate. “What are you talking abo-ARGH!” He recoiled in horror at what he saw.

“Because... you see sir...” Faithful Shield stared morosely at the crystal spear of the intimidating Gem Custodian before him that was lodged in his barrel. “I’m... not gonna be around... much longer...” He let out a hacking cough, sending blood and saliva flying.

Before Shining Armor could react, the crystal statue’s limbs shifted, lifting the spear it was holding into the air and Faithful Shield with it. It then flicked the spear down roughly, sending Faithful Shield hurtling towards Shining Armor.

The white unicorn was barely able to flare his magic up in time to catch his hurtling comrade, grunting from the resulting exertion of the task. He only had a minute to look over his profusely bleeding friend’s chest before a horrifyingly familiar shadow fell over the two of them. A quick glance upwards confirmed that the construct had leapt into the air and was falling straight towards the pair, spear first.

Shining Armor prepared to flash up a shield...

ZAP!

And blinked in shock when he was suddenly displaced in a flash of light. He and Shield were several meters up the street from the construct, whose weapon was currently buried in the street.

“CLOSE RANKS!”

In a flurry of rattling shields and armor, a line of soldiers made their way in front of the two, locking their shields together and activating several runes on their respective armors.

One of the soldiers, a Unicorn, glanced back at Shining Armor and snapped up a salute. “Captain Shining Armor! We’ll handle this from here, you keep the corporal safe!”

Shining Armor opened his mouth to protest... before glancing at Faithful Shield’s bleeding form and changing his mind. “I... alright. Keep safe, soldier, that’s an order!”

The Unicorn nodded in understanding. “Alright. Good luck, sir!”

With that, his horn lit up and the pair were engulfed in another flash. When the light faded, the captain and corporal were in a back alley. Judging from the nearby sound of magic blasts and fighting, they were only a few meters away from where they’d been.

Shining Armor hastily propped Faithful Shield up against the wall, his eyes focused on the hole in Shield’s midsection. His mind immediately locked into his training, pressing his hooves down on the area around the wound and producing a shield around it, pressing down in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. “Alright, just-just calm down, soldier. You’ll be fine, you’ll be just fine! I-I just need to-to-!”

“Captain...” Faithful Shield groaned weakly as he held a hoof up. His blood-stained lips were curled into a rueful smile. “With... all due respect... that’s a load of shit... hurk!” He let out a body-wracking cough. “M-my stomach... damn Custodian. Hell of a fighter. Anyways...” He shook his head weakly. “I’m done.”

“I-I-no!” Shining Armor shook his head in denial. “Just-just try and stay awake, Shield! Stay awake!”

“Say... boss...” Faithful Shield mumbled blearily. “You think... you could do me a favor? Somethin’... that needs doing.”

“You’ll be able to do it yourself, Shield, just-!”

“Shining Armor!” The wounded soldier bit out viciously. “Listen to me, damn it. Back left pocket. T-there’s a locket. Get it for me.”

The captain seriously considered protesting... until finally he acquiesced without a word, freeing a hoof to pat down Faithful Shield’s armor and locate the standard issue hidden pocket. From within it, he withdrew a plain golden locket, which he held in front of Faithful Shield’s face.

Shield’s horn flickered weakly for a moment before engulfing the locket in a white aura. An unseen movement triggered the mechanism and let it swing open.

Inside was a simple picture: Faithful Shield, smiling happily as he stood shoulder to shoulder with an equally happy orange mare with a light gray mane. Seated on Shield’s back was a young filly, with a radiant yellow coat and pure white mane.

Shining Armor blinked at the picture in surprise. “Your family?” He then paled, his pupils shrinking in horror.

Faithful Shield all but read his mind and scowled angrily. “H-hey, watch it. They’re being monsters towards us because... we’re the enemy. They... they wouldn’t stoop that low. And... besides...” His eyes were filled with a deep sadness. “I was stationed here in Vitrum... they stayed back home... at the base in-hurk!- Canterlot...”

“Oh. Oh!” Shining Armor’s eyes widened in realization and a minute amount of pity. “I...”

“Yeah...” Faithful Shield nodded weakly in agreement. “Anyways... for whatever it’s worth... I think there’s a good chance of you getting out of here. So...” He pressed the locket into Shining Armor’s hoof with his magic. “I want you... to take this... and... give it to my... next of... kin... whoever they might be.”

“I...” The white unicorn shook his head desperately. “Shield, it’s been over a thousand years, how could I possibly-?”

“M-my daughter... She’ll be -ugh!- in the military records...” Faithful Shield winced, his every word taking a load of effort. He then smiled weakly. “You’re not... the only guy... whose family has a military history... That picture... six years old and already playing soldier...” He let out a hoarse laugh. “I guess it’s in our blood. If... there’s no one left... leave it on her grave, alright?”

Shining Armor was deathly silent, staring numbly at his dying friend before slowly nodding. “I’ll... I’ll need a name.”

Shield shakily raised his hoof and pointed out the mare next to him. “My wife... Radiant Dawn... and...” He moved it over to the filly. “”My daughter... Sheltering Hope.”

Hearing the name, Shining Armor’s brow scrunched up in confusion before his jaw dropped open in numb shock. “I... I know her.”

Faithful Shield’s eyes widened in surprise. “R-really?” He wheezed.

Shining Armor nodded mutely. “Yeah... F-from a story. A few years after Vitrum disappeared, Princess Luna... she was... possessed, I suppose. She became a dark creature known as Nightmare Moon, and tried to shroud Equestria in eternal night. Princess Celestia defeated her and sealed her in the moon, and my sister and her friends save her, but... the few days it took Celestia to defeat Nightmare Moon, the sun didn’t rise and the night drew on. Ponies were panicking and no one knew what to do. Until... a single blank-flank recruit stepped up. She... she used her magic to conjure a-an unparalleled pillar of light. It reached out all over Equestria, spreading light and hope to all who saw it. She supported those who were afraid, protected them from the dark. She got her cutie mark midway through it without even noticing: A pure white shield, with a yellow star in the middle and white wings sticking out of the sides. And her name... was Sheltering Hope.”

Faithful Shield’s eyes lit up with joy. “M-my girl... my little girl... was a hero? She’s got a legend?”

Shining Armor grimaced and shook his head. “I-I’m afraid not. Hope’s exploits were eclipsed by Celestia sealing Nightmare Moon. Her... her story faded into the background. I’m sorry.”

Faithful Shield blinked before smiling sadly. “Doesn’t... doesn’t matter. She was a hero... th-that’s what matters.” He then furrowed his brow in confusion. “But... how do you know it?”

“Umm...” Shining Armor rubbed his forehead in thought. “It’s hazy... my father... he told it to me. He said that... that...”

Shining Armor’s eyes slowly widened in shock as the memory came to him. Slowly, he turned his head and stared incredulously at Faithful Shield.

“That... he always wanted me to remember where our family came from.”

The wounded soldier blinked blearily for a second before snickering. Said snickering evolved into full-blown laughter. “Ha. Ha ha...HAHAHAHA-HURK!” He groaned and pressed a hoof to his chest. “Y-yeah, shouldn’t a done that. Still, though... looks like we were right earlier: DNA. It’s a scary thing, ain’t it?” He raised his hooves up and clasped Shining Armor’s his smile all but splitting his skull. “Either way, best kind of mission, huh kid? The one where it completes itself. Great, isn’t it?”

Shining Armor shook his head weakly. “I-I- this just isn’t fair. We just found out, we-!”

His mounting panic was cut off by a raised hoof.

“Kid...” Faithful Shield muttered weakly, a smile on his lips. “Let me tell you... I’ve only known you for less than an hour. But... I can say... with absolute confidence... that you have made me... and all of our family proud. So... proud. You’ve gone... above and beyond... your duty. And... you upheld... the family’s promise...”

Shining Armor blinked in confusion. “Promise? What promise?”

Shield blinked blearily before nodding weakly. “Oh yeah... I never told Hope... And I doubt Dawn would have told her...”

“What promise?” Shining Armor pleaded, clasping Faithful Shield’s hoof desperately. “Shield, what promise?”

Faithful Shield opened his mouth... and let out a body-wracking cough, sending blood flying. “It was... the promise... our forefathers made... to Celestia... and Luna... when they joined the guard. That... our family... would forever protect... would... forever protect...”

“Protect what? Protect what?”

Faithful Shield slowly leaned his head back and rested it on the wall, closing his eyes and letting a smile ghost across his face. “That we would... protect...”

Shining Armor leaned in, trying to catch his ancestor’s final words.

“Protect... the heart... of... Equestria...”

And with that, Faithful Shield let out a final breath, smiling contentedly. His hoof slipped from Shining Armor’s leaving him holding the locket.

Shining Armor stared at his deceased ancestor numbly, absent mindedly slipping the locket into his own armor’s pocket. He stood there for a moment before biting his lip and scrunching his eyes shut. Despite his attempts to prevent it from occurring, tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes and down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the sound of a massive explosion snapped him out of his misery.

The captain glanced over his shoulder momentarily before staring mournfully at Faithful Shield’s corpse. Finally, he swallowed heavily and lit his horn up. An array of shields flashed before the body before a final one covered them all, blending in to match the wall and hiding him from sight.

The job done, Shining Armor began to trot out of the alley.

Midway out, he stopped, glancing over his shoulder. He fished the locket out of his armor with his magic, staring at it mournfully a final time before shoving it away and galloping out of the alley.

-o-

The street was littered with bodies. Miraculously, close to two dozen or so of them were intact and groaning in pain.

About half a dozen weren’t quite as intact and were doing a bit more than groaning.

The rest... those that weren’t intact were far from intact. Or solid, for that matter.

The Gem Custodian stomped through the bodies on its hindhooves, spear dragging on the ground as it slowly swept its head from side to side. Finally, it came up to one of the groaning soldiers.

Without any hint of emotion, it raised a hoof up and planted it on the pony’s breastplate, holding him down despite his feeble protests. Slowly, it raised its dragon-headed spear up and pointed it straight at the soldier’s face. Said soldier’s protests became far more panicked as arcane lightning began to crackle and gather at the spear’s tip.

But before it could fire...

“HEY!”

The Gem Custodian’s head whipped around just in time to receive a high-speed ball-shaped projectile of magic straight in the muzzle. The blow took the construct straight off its feet and launched it down the road. The Custodian tumbled for a few seconds before flipping itself right-side up and planting its spear in the ground. It tore up the ground a bit before finally grinding to a stop, glaring venomously, if blindly, up the street towards its aggressor.

Shining Armor returned the glare in turn, his horn lit up and several layers of shields surrounding him.

“My name is Shining Armor,” He growled darkly. “You killed my I-don’t-know-how-many-greats-grandfather. Prepare to die.”

Chapter 20. Ascend and Plummet

Author's Note

Sorry about the overly short chapter, but hopefully this delivers. And if anyone has any complaints along the lines of "SCHOLAR OP!" I'm just going to say this here and now: cram it. I've already heard it more than enough to get the message, *and* step things up. This is just the start, the tip of the iceberg. If you're unsatisfied, one word for you: patience!

Chapter 20. Ascend and Plummet

Shining Armor breathed calmly through his nose as he stared down the Custodian.

The golem watched him blankly, tapping its spear on the ground lightly as it observed its prey.

‘Alright, Shining, let’s play it smart...’ Shining Armor thought. ‘Watch out for his lance. Watch out for the soldiers. Fight to protect them...’ He lit his horn up brighter than before, reinforcing his shields. ‘Fight to live.’

The silence drew on interminably.

-o-

“Well well well...” Seath mused as he gazed down into the circle of crystal in the ground that he had illuminated and was showing the faceoff. “It appears that your bet has gone into... sudden de-!”

THWAP!

“OUCH!” The dragon yelped, whipping a hand to his throbbing skull.

“Apologies, father,” Priscilla sighed as she appeared from thin air. “But someone had to, otherwise I fear your friends would have intervened.”

Seath muttered darkly under his breath but nodded in agreement all the same.

“Still...” Chrysalis grinned eagerly. “Despite the horrible pun, he’s right. One way or another, this is all going to end very soon.”

“With five minutes on the clock? No doubt about it,” Scholar nodded, “This is going to be interesting.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that I got back in time!”

Scholar blinked in surprise as he looked up before grinning eagerly. “Gilda! How was the hunt?”

Gilda chuckled heartily, flapping her wings heavily as she landed in the plaza. “It went perfectly! Both Arcus and Sagitta are rottin’ on the spires!”

Rainbow Dash flinched at the open and eager bloodlust, but discretely rapped on her cage’s wall nonetheless. “Gilda!” She hissed under her breath. “Listen to me, please!”

The griffon twitched as she registered the noise, but merely drew her wings up, creating a curtain of metal and feathers. “Buzz off, dweeb.” She mumbled half-heartedly.

Rainbow Dash made to speak up, but before she could...

“The Incredible and Terrific Trixie returns victorious!”

“As does Iron Will.”

Attention shifted from the griffon to the unicorn and minotaur as they stomped up the stairways. It was especially focused on the blood trail that Iron Will was leaving behind.

Trixie reeled in horror as she caught sight of her colleague. “Holy mother of Mars, man! What did you do, lose a fight with a chimaera?!”

Iron Will let out a heavy snort, wincing slightly as he pressed a hand to the patched up hole in his shoulder. “Pilum was stronger than Iron Will anticipated, but he still managed to get out of the conflict better than the General. Besides, Iron Will can handle it.” He huffed out a laugh as he looked between Gilda and Trixie. “Still, it looks like the both of you escaped pristine.”

Gilda grumbled under her breath as she rolled her shoulders. “Speak for yourself, bull boy. I definitely pulled a few muscles maneuvering out of those twin bastard’s way.”

Trixie huffed haughtily as she flicked her mane up. “Well, Trixie is hale and hearty! As is only natural of a Fog Weaver, after all.”

Iron Will let out another chuckle before moaning and screwing his eyes shut as another bolt of pain ran through his shoulder.

Scholar narrowed his eyes before raising his right hand towards the minotaur. A flurry of runes danced in his palm...

THU-THUMP!

Until he hissed in pain, hastily, stuffing his hand under his armpit. Scholar cursed furiously in his head as he drew his hand out and looked at the affected appendage. Although there appeared to be no visible damage, the lights in his glasses shrunk to pinpricks.

Hastily glancing around to ensure that no one had seen him, he readjusted his sleeves to cover his hand and raised his left hand instead.

Iron Will blinked in surprise as a flurry of runes enveloped him before sighing in relief as the pain from his injuries started to fade away. “Thank you, Scholar.”

“Not a problem, faithful underling!” The Rune Keeper plastered a grin on his face, but glanced despondently down at his right hand the second he was sure he wasn’t being watched.

“Leave my brother alone!” Twilight demanded, flaring her horn furiously as she fought against the cage wall.

“Hmm...” Lacewing hummed as he suddenly flashed into view next to Twilight’s cage. “I dunno... what do you say, brother?”

Rotfang hummed in the exact same tone as he appeared next to his brother. “How about we don’t and say we did?”

“Let’s not even say it at all!”

“HAHAHA!”

“Talk is cheap,” Chrysalis cut in eagerly. “Now is the time for action. Seath? End this.”

The duke grinned eagerly. “With pleasure.” He waved his hand, letting out a flurry of runes.

Within the image, the Gem Custodian suddenly launched itself into the air...

And the battle began.

-o-

Shining Armor controlled his breathing as he watched the Custodian rise up into the air.

Once it reached the apex of its leap, it swept its free foreleg above it. Suddenly, the forearm spiked out with multiple protrusions of crystal. Then, it brought its hoof down, sending a hail of crystalline spikes down at the Captain.

Shining Armor redirected all of his shields above him, spreading them out to cover the rest of the injured soldiers from the barrage.

The crystal projectiles bounced off of the shields relentlessly, dozens at a time.

Finally, the assault ended...

And Shining Armor’s view of the sky was blotted out by a shape above his shields.

Acting on his trained reflexes, he hastily sprang to the side.

Not a moment too soon, because seconds after the Custodian smashed through the shield as though it were a pane of glass, dropping through the space where Shining Armor had occupied moments before and shattering the street.

Faster than anything that heavy should be, the Custodian moved towards Shining Armor, attempting to jab him repeatedly with its lance.

It was a credit to Shining Armor’s skill that he managed to deflect every blow, erecting layer after layer of angled shields in order to direct the lance away from him. Occasionally, the lance would catch the shield at too great an angle and shatter it, nicking and grazing Shining Armor and drawing blood from several gashes.

Suddenly, the flurry of stabs cut off, the Custodian drawing itself upright as it swept its lance above its head and stabbed it straight down.

Shining Armor hastily back-pedaled, barely the weapon as it crashed down into the ground. Gathering his magic, he retaliated by blasting the Custodian in the face with another sphere of shields, launching it off its hooves and sending it tumbling down the street.

The Captain didn’t give the construct time to react as he slammed a shield down on the Custodian, crushing it down into the ground. He then layered shield after shield on the Custodian, crushing it further and further into the ground. But though the road cracked around the Custodian, it itself did not.

The crystal golem struggled futilely against the magic, attempting to squirm its way out from under the press, but to no avail. Suddenly, the Custodian stiffened, its forelimbs lighting up as magic started to course through them and into the ground.

Shining Armor grunted with exertion, forcing more and more magic into the shields as he attempted to flatten the golem.

Suddenly, a circle of light igniting beneath him broke his concentration. He gazed at it for a second before hastily flashing his horn and teleporting away.

A moment later, the circle erupted upwards, piercing the sky with a pillar of crystal.

Shining Armor reappeared further down the street, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. ‘That thing... its tougher than it looks...’ He thought frantically. ‘I don’t have the firepower to crack it... I... I need something stronger...’ He looked up at the pillar that was blocking off the street. ‘Something strong enough to at least shatter that pillar...’

Abruptly, a light started to accumulate near the middle of the pillar, shining brighter and brighter through the translucent matter.

Shining Armor blinked stupidly for a second before drawing in a hiss of breath and throwing himself forwards.

BOOM!

With an ear-shattering crash, a bolt of magic tore straight through the pillar, detonating the area where Shining Armor had been standing moments before and leaving behind a gaping crater in the street.

“Yeah, that’ll do it!” The pony grunted, scrambling to his feet and tearing across the road towards the pillar as fast as his legs could carry him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Projectile after projectile lanced through the pillar, all of them targeted at Shining Armor. It was only through extensive training, stamina, and a fair amount of luck that the soldier kept in front of the barrage as it rent the street inside out.

Once Shining Armor reached the base of the pillar, he glanced around hastily as he tried to find a way to circumvent the pillar that was blocking the whole of the street. “Alright, so should I take a back alley or...?”

BOOM! BOOM!

He was answered by a pair of explosions and the sound of shattering crystal rending the air in front of Shining Armor on the other side of the pillar. The Captain blinked in confusion. “What the...”

More shattering rent through the air, and a shadow started to fall over Shining Armor.

The soldier’s ears flattened against his skull as his pupils slowly started to dilate. He tilted his head up in horror. “Oh you have got to be kidding me...”

Slowly but most assuredly, the pillar was starting to tilt forwards towards the unicorn, its massive girth blocking out most of the sky.

Acting on impulse, Shining Armor threw up as many shields as he could, as fast and strong as he could manage.

CRASH!

The pillar hit the ground like a falling comet, shattering into a million pieces. The street itself was ripped apart, cracked into multiple large pieces. The fragments lay strewn across the street, obscuring most of the surroundings from sight.

At the remains of the pillar’s base, Shining Armor panted tiredly, his horn flickering weakly as his shields faded away. “I... am never... doing that again...” He groaned miserably.

The sound of magic and lightning crackling above him drew his attention upwards. A single look made him swallow heavily in fear.

The Custodian stood on the lip of the pillar’s base, its lance prepared to launch a bolt of destruction at him.

“Then again, never say never!” Shining Armor tried to produce another shield, but it was no use, his horn sparked and flickered uselessly, too worn out from its previous exertion of energy. All he could do was stare in horror as the golem prepared to fire.

SLAM!

Suddenly, a bolt of metal flew from out of nowhere, slamming into the Custodian’s head. The construct immediately snapped its head around, staring intently at the unseen source of the projectile.

Standing on the opposite side of the base, shakily reloading a crossbow as he balanced on his rear hooves, was a relatively young colt, an Earth Pony. “Come and get some you overgrown rock!” He shouted, his voice wavering frantically. Even as he shouted, his shaking hoof dropped the bolt he was holding. He stared after the bit of metal in horror as it clattered away “Oh buck me...” He whispered in horror.

The Gem Custodian stared menacingly at the soldier for a moment before slowly turning its whole body around, slowly stomping towards him, a looming construct of physical death bearing down on him.

The soldier tried to back away but tripped over his own two hooves. He scrambled frantically for a second, trying to regain his balance, but was instead pinned to the ground by a crystal hoof slamming down on his barrel.

The Custodian narrowed its blank eyes at the soldier, slowly bringing the dragon-faced tip of its spear up to the soldier’s terrified face, magic and lightning slowly gathering in its maw.

But before it could blast...

“Get the hell off of him!”

The Custodian jerked back in shock when Shining Armor suddenly threw himself on its back, wrapping his hooves around its neck and muzzle, exerting as much force as he could to twist its head away.

The Custodian stumbled in shock, squirming its body back and forth in an effort to fling Shining Armor off of it.

The Captain grit his teeth furiously as he hung on for dear life, only remaining safe by the strength of his limbs. ‘I promised Faithful Shield that I wouldn’t pick fights that I couldn’t win...’ He thought fitfully.

One of the Guardian’s hooves came off the spear and reached over its shoulder, swatting fitfully at the interloper on its back.

‘So I’d better not lose!’

Shining Armor’s horn lit up furiously, conjuring a barrier in front of the Custodian’s stomach and expanding it violently.

The resulting controlled explosion blew the two of them off their feet, knocking the spear out of the Custodian’s grasp and sending it skittering away.

Shining Armor coughed tiredly as he tried to catch his breath, “Though I suppose that I could bear to aim for opponents a bit closer to my level...” He wheezed painfully. The soldier struggled to regain his standing...

SLAM!

“GAH!”

Shining Armor cried out in pain as a weight suddenly landed on his chest, crushing him into the ground. A pair of hooves pressed themselves into his throat, cutting off his air supply. Shining Armor struggled violently, pounding his hooves against the limbs holding him down in futility.

The Custodian loomed over him in silence, watching with a cold, unfeeling mask as it slowly choked the life out of him. There was no anger. No rage, no glee, no sadness. No emotion at all. Just cold, calculated efficiency as it performed its task to the letter.

Slowly... Shining Armor smiled. despite his lack of oxygen, he let a small, weak laugh waft out of his throat and into the air.

The Gem Custodian narrowed its eyes, slowly tilting its head to the side.

“Confused?” Shining Armor rasped weakly. “Allow me to enlighten you...”

Tink!

The Gem Custodian looked down at it’s barrel in shock, staring blankly at the spear tapping against it’s midsection.

The spear’s shaft was enveloped in Shining Armor’s pink aura, and it’s maw was fully charged.

“I... win...”

BOOM!

The blast tore straight through the Custodian, ripping it clean in half and sending the lower half flying.

Shining Armor heaved the golem’s upper half off of him, desperately gulping down air as he scrambled to his hooves. “Well, that worked...” He coughed thankfully.

Scratch... scratch... scratch...

The Unicorn’s eye twitched violently as he turned to stare at the legless torso dragging its way towards him . “Really?!” He demanded incredulously, hefting the spear up and pointing it at the Custodian’s head. “Do I honestly need to go this far to finish you?”

The Custodian stared up blankly at him, its legs shaking violently as they supported its weight. And then... something changed. A light went out behind its eyes, in the depths of its crystalline mass. Suddenly, cracks began to creep up along its body from the point of severance, followed by it simply... falling to pieces.

Shining Armor stared at the pile of remains for a moment before sighing wearily and letting the spear’s tip rest on the ground. “That’s what I thought...” His gaze was slowly drawn to the spear he was holding with his magic, examining it closely and hefting its weight in his grip.

Suddenly...

“Captain!”

Shining Armor turned his head to stare at the soldier that had scrambled to his feet and was trotting towards him.

“C-captain, are you alright?” The soldier panted wearily.

Shining Armor stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. “Yeah... yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for your help. That was a very brave thing you did...”

The soldier grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I- thank you, sir! I was just doing my duty is-!”

“Don’t do it again,” Shining Armor cut him off firmly, jabbing him in the chest with his hoof. “The next time you see an opponent who you definitely cannot beat, you run. Got it?”

The soldier nodded hesitantly. “I-y-yes sir... it’s just...”

“Just?”

The soldier looked away miserably. “I... with the way things are... I didn’t think that it would really matter. I mean... with the way things are... I... I didn’t...”

Shining Armor’s eyes softened. “You think you’re going to die, don’t you?”

The soldier looked back up at him with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but... with... the way things are... sir, what are the actual chances we get out of here alive?”

Shining Armor looked the soldier over solemnly, before looking towards where the rest of the soldiers had been, slowly walking towards the edge of the crystal plateau. He watched as the ponies picked themselves off the ground, supporting the wounded and treating injuries. “How many are still alive?”

The soldier slowly stepped up alongside, gazing down morosely at the remains of his comrades. “About half of us. The... The Custodian killed the rest of us. And considering how many other enemies are out there...”

SLAM!

The soldier jerked in shock as Shining Armor suddenly slammed the spear’s butt into the ground, drawing all attention to him.

“Alright, listen up!” He bellowed in a commanding tone of voice. “I want to make one thing absolutely and utterly clear, right here, right now! WE! ARE NOT! GOING TO DIE! Do you understand me!? I don’t care how many enemies are out there, how strong they are, how well-equipped, I just. Don’t. Care! And do you know why?”

Shining Armor pounded the butt of his lance into the ground again. “Because we are soldiers of Equestria! It is our duty to protect and serve for our nation, to guard it from all danger! As such, we cannot, will not die until our loved ones, our friends and families no longer have to live in fear of the next day! That is our duty, and that is why we will not die here today! AM! I! CLEAR!?”

The soldiers broke out into cheers, pumping their hooves into the air ecstatically.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Suddenly, as the cheering died down, a slow clapping sound rang out, echoing up and down the street.

“Well done, Shining Armor, well done...”

Shining Armor sucked in a hiss of breath in horror. “Oh no...”

Suddenly, all the crystal composing the street, every facet, lit up and displayed Scholar. The human glared down and up at the ponies from every angle possible.

“I really must congratulate you on your success, not to mention your speech. Top notch, first class, especially considering it was off the top of your head. Buuuut...” He shook his head sadly, sighing as he idly shrugged his shoulders. “I’m afraid that’s one promise you just won’t be able to deliver.”

Scholar’s smile shone out of his hood, giving him a sincerely deranged expression.

“Time’s up, Shining Armor. Ding dong, time for you to watch as everyone around you dies.”

Chapter 21. Sudden-Death Overtime

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Chapter 22. Victory Lap

Pinkie Pie blinked, looking back and forth to find who Scholar was addressing before looking back up at him and pointing her hoof at herself. “Me?”

“Yes,” Scholar nodded in confirmation, waving his hand and dismissing the cage she was in. “You.”

“Just for the record?” Nix piped up. “If you’re thinking about running? Take my advice: don’t.”

“Or do!” Null cackled eagerly as he cocked a massive crossbow. “I’m fine with either! Nix is just sore because me and Veronica are neck and neck in sharpshooting, while she isn’t even in the running!”

“NOT TRUE!” The green golem protested.

“Kind of true.” Veronica waved her hand in a so-so manner.

“Maybe true...” Nix admitted begrudgingly.

“Ummm... excuse me?” The pink pony raised her hoof as she grinned sheepishly. “While I can appreciate some good black comedy... though I’m not sure how much of that you guys were joking about... what did you want my help with?”

Scholar grinned eagerly as he leaned forwards and loomed over the pony. “I... want you...”

The magus paused.

Nix and Null chuckled ominously, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

Veronica rolled her eyes, Gavrill scoffed and Fran sighed at their creator’s antics.

Gilda, Trixie and Iron Will looked at one another, exchanging looks of eager anticipation.

Chrysalis raised her hoof to hide her smirk, Seath shook his head in mock exasperation despite his grin, Priscilla examined her nails in a bored manner and Cadance hung her head as she let out a tired groan.

Rotfang, Lacewing and Chitter grinned and chuckled maliciously, though to be honest they’d been doing that for awhile now.

Within their cages, Rarity swayed back and forth nervously on her hooves, Rainbow Dash and Applejack glared viciously at the human mage, though their determination was betrayed by the slight shaking in their legs.

Twilight’s eyes darted about in confusion as she tried to think of a solution to their dilemma, and Fluttershy... the cream pegasus glanced around to make sure no one was watching before slipping a flask out of her feathers and taking a hasty swig from it and hiding it once more.

Spike swallowed nervously as he watched with trepidation... and barely restrained fascination.

Pinkie was the most high-strung of the lot. She was seated on her rear as she rapidly gnawed on the tips of her hooves, her eyes widened to an almost comical degree as she watched the decisive factor in her fate.

Silence reigned as all present awaited what Scholar had to say with-

“GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!” Pinkie cried as she flailed her hooves wildly.

Scholar chuckled at her reaction. “Alright, alright. I need you...”

“To throw a party.”

A second passed. Then two.

Finally...

“YOU CREATED ALL THAT TENSION JUST TO ASK ME TO THROW YOU A STINKING PARTY!?” The pink pony shrieked indignantly.

“Not just any party!” Scholar scoffed in mock offense. “The best party you can, city-wide, to commemorate the liberation of Vitrum! We need the best, and from what I’ve seen and heard, you are the best!”

“Yeah!” Nix added eagerly. “We want you to throw the patriarch of all paloozas!”

“The sultan of shindigs!” Null provided.

“The sovereign of soirees?” Fran provided airily.

“The biggest of blasts!” Veronica added with uncharacteristic childish glee.

“The oligarch of wild, untamed-!”

“HELL NO!” The mage and his other four creations roared indignantly.

“OH SCREW YOU GUYS!” Gavrill roared.

“We’d rather not, thanks...” Fran rolled her eyes.

“Aww, but it’s the only kind of party I’ve never thrown!” Pinkie complained, her forelegs crossed.

“Believe me, you’re not missing out on much, especially where Gavrill’s involved. Fran always has to stitch way too many people together once they’re done for my comfort.” Scholar groused before coughing into his fist. “Ahem, right, anyways...” He gave Pinkie a kind grin. “The fact of the matter is, this is a day to celebrate, and I would very much like it to be in style. The reception you threw was grand until we interrupted, which I would like to apologize for. I trust that none of my associates have any complaints?”

Trixie and Iron Will looked at one another before shrugging indifferently.

Gilda grimaced as though she’d swallowed a particularly vile insect and glared at the Party Pony as though she’d like nothing more than to open her throat (which she really would) before sighing heavily. “It might have been meant for dweebs, but I guess that the part of her party I saw was only half lame. I can bite my tongue.”

“We just wanna drink booze and have fun!” Lacewing chortled.

“The source doesn’t matter to us!” His twin snorted.

“Personally, I’d rather snack on the fuckface than party with her...” Gavrill grinned ferociously.

“Yeeees,” Veronica rolled her eyes. “And I’d rather see you act decent in some way, shape or form, but we both know that’s never going to-!” SLAM! “-GAH!” The short assassin flinched as her elder sister rammed her fist down on top of her head. The two bared their teeth and growled directly into one another’s faces before suddenly flying into a violent frenzy of limbs and blades.

Spike swallowed uneasily as he observed the fray. “Are, uh, they going to be okay?”

“After I get through with putting them back together?” Fran asked darkly as she cranked one of her bolts and played with a scalpel. “Debatable. Highly debatable.”

“Eh, this happens all the time, ignore them.” Scholar waved the fight off. “Anyways, back on subject, you will, of course, be properly compensated for your troubles. So... what do you say?”

Pinkie Pie blinked slowly before stretching her mouth in a face-splitting grin. “What do I say!? HECK-!”

“PINKIE!” Four feminine shrieks and one squeak rang out.

Pinkie flinched before retracting her eager smile to a shaky grin. “Ah, on second thought, I’m gonna have to take a raincheck on that. I-I just don’t have the supplies, not to mention I need time to plan it out...” She continued to smile nervously as she used one of her hooves to slide the papers lying around her into her tail. “Sorry... maybe I can help you throw a victory party some other time?”

The pink pony swallowed nervously when Scholar didn’t react, merely pursing his lips as he looked down at her.

Finally, he shrugged and took a step back. “Hey, that’s fine, it’s your choice. It’s not like I can force you, anyways.”

“But first!” The red golem floated next to the pink mare and held out a pair of crimson metal headphones. “Here! A gift from us to you! If you’d put this on, there’s a song I’d like you to listen to!”

Pinkie blinked in surprise before smiling and slipping the headphones over her ears and poofy mane. “Sure!”

“Oh, here, let me help you with that!” Nix’s grin could be heard in her voice as she floated near Pinkie and began fiddling with the phones, green magic snapping out of her digits and into the device.

“Thanks! So, uh...” Pinkie tilted her head as she watched Null toy with the a small red box that had multiple buttons and dials on it. “What song are you going to play? A heartsong? A Hearth’s Warming Eve carol? The Parasprite Polka?”

“Wait, you guys still know that one?” Null asked in shock. “Huh, I’ll be damned. That song was old when I was young. I guess nothing really can kill polka after all... but anyways, nope! None of the above!”

“Awww...” Pinkie slumped sadly before perking up. “So, what is it? What is it? What is it?”

“Ohhh, just a little ditty known ‘The Mad Eldritch Ramblings of an Anchorite of the Chaos Prince of Pleasure and Debauchery’.” Null’s nonexistent grin widened as he slowly cranked up a knob on the box he was holding. “Played in three hundred decibels. An oldie but a goody.”

“Wait a minute,” Scholar said in the background, tapping his chin in contemplation. “That title sounds familiar…”

“Ooooh, that sounds like fun!” Pinkie clopped her hooves together eagerly before frowning as a thought struck her. “Wait... no it do-!”

Null slammed his fist down on a button on the box.

F͚͓̬̪ͪO̧̪̲̝̖̻̱͚R̞̭͓ͭ̇̈ͩ̑͌A͖̟̤͠Z̴͖̙O͉̠̺̺͇̰͎ͧͦͪ̓ͥ͊O̷̰͚͎̪̠O̜̮̐̌̒́̽͜O̫͔̕O̟͓͇̹̠ͣO͙̳̖͆̓͂̊͌ͅOͯO͖̟̮̅̆̕S̴͎̺̤̹̓̍̃̽͑̌̿H͓̫̰͔̏̆̑̓̋̕A̹̪͔̦ͮ͆ͤͧ͂͜!̨̮͎̗̱̑̿ͅ

“-owoahwoahwoahwoahWOAHWOAHWAAAAAAAGH!” Pinkie shrieked as she slapped her hooves to the headphones clamped over her ears, which were now glowing with violent, arcane energy.

The sound... It wasn’t a song. It wasn’t anywhere even close to a song. It was noise. Pure, unabated and untethered noise, unlike anything she had ever heard. No... not heard... felt. This sound, this entity of vibrations, it coursed through her, every inch of her. From the tips of every hair on her body to the depths of her soul, she shook and shook and shook, wildly and violently. And within the noise, something... resided. It was all itcould be identified as. It examined her, searched her, touched the very core of her being.

It was... it was...!

“G’night everybody!” Null proclaimed as he slammed the button once anew.

The noise ceased.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes shot as wide as they could go as every limb in her body went ramrod straight... before slumping forwards and faceplanting.

Null blinked numbly. “Uhhh...”

Nix poked the pink mare’s head slightly. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“PINKIE!” Twilight cried, pounding her hooves against the cage.

“What did ya’ll do to her!?” Applejack demanded.

“Err...” Null stuttered nervously as he slipped the headphones off of Pinkie’s head and placed it and the box back in his hands. “N-nothing bad, just had her listen to a-a-a remix of mine! It’s got a bit of pop, a bit of rock-!”

“Nuuuull...” Scholar growled, the runes floating around him starting to whip into a frenzy.

“Maaaaaaybe a bit too much pure, unrestrained Slaaneshan chaos magic?” Nix chuckled in what she hoped was an innocent manner.

Back at the cages, Twilight blanched as she took in the implications of that statement.

“WHAT!?”

The twins flinched and grabbed each other in desperate mortal terror.

Scholar growled furiously as he loomed over the two golems, magic raging around him in a torrent of corporal fury. “I give you explicit orders that none of these six be harmed under most any circumstances, and you pump her with enough mad, rabid magic to melt her brains!? WHAT IN HADES’ UNHOLY HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?”

“O-oh no…” came a quiet voice from the cages.

“W-w-we thought she could take it!” The green golem protested. “I-I mean, come on! You saw her! She’s loopy beyond belief, and her magic is off the charts for an untrained Earth Pony! I-if anyone could withstand that kind of a jolt, it’d be her!”

“A-after that, well...” Null rubbed the back of his head uneasily. “With her personality and the usual disposition of Slaaneshi magic, we thought she’d... well... uh...”

“Go on a city-wide party rampage?” Chrysalis supplied flatly.

“Uh-huh...” The pair nodded slowly.

Scholar didn’t say anything. The storm of runes around him said it all.

“GAHAHA! You two are so screwed!” Gavrill cackled as she took advantage of a lull in her fight to hold Veronica down. “Hey, old man, mind if I have the honor of cracking these little shitstain open? HAHA-GAH!”

She roared in pain when a blade lashed out from Veronica’s robes, slicing her hands off and liberating her younger sister, who rolled out from beneath her and scrambled to her feet. Gavrill growled at her sibling for a moment, but didn’t react beyond sticking her stumps back to her appendages and reattaching them. Veronica reacted by sticking her tongue out at her.

“W-w-wait!” Null waved his hands hastily. “H-hang on, hang on! We d-don’t really know that she’s dead yet! We can still fix this!”

Nix grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders and began shaking them violently. “Come on, come on, wake up, wake up, or else we’re going to become so much scrap rune stone!”

The only response was a sound exactly like a cowbell ringing from Pinkie’s head as it lolled about.

“Err...” Nix stopped and looked at her brother. “I’m confused. Is that a good sign or a bad sign?”

“Ah ‘unno...”Null shrugged flatly.

“You... you-!” Rainbow seethed in disbelief.

“N-now let’s not be hasty here!” Null looked at his younger, labcoat-wearing sister desperately. “Fraaaan, save us before they skin us alive!”

Fran rolled her eyes wearily at her sibling’s tiresome antics before walking over and kneeling down next to the incapacitated mare. Two of her hands held up her shoulders, while her third and fourth stabilized her head. Her fifth hand held one of her eyes open, and the sixth fished a penlight from her coat and shined it into said eye.

“Hmm...” The mad doctor hummed. “It would appear that her pupil is contracting...”

“Oh thank Hermes!” Cadance breathed in relief.

“And expanding.”

The Alicorn blinked in confusion. “Wait, what?”

“And contracting, and expanding... hm?” Fran tilted her head in confusion. “Remind me, what color were this mare’s eyes again?”

“Light blue?” Twilight provided hesitantly.

“...you’re certain that they weren’t lime- oh, never mind, it’s amber now.” Fran sighed heavily as she slowly set the mare down. “Well, the good news is that her gray matter wasn’t liquified...”

“YES!” The Golem Twins crowed, even as a massive sigh of relief came from the ponies.

“It was merely scrambled into a fine mash.” She deadpanned. “Frankly, I’m surprised it's not flowing out of her orifices.”

Nix and Null froze as terrified squeaks escaped them.

“You...”

They slowly turned to face the rune cages where the ponies were being held, and blinked in honest shock at the amount of magic that was starting to build in Twilight Sparkle’s cage. The unicorn was sitting on her haunches and her head was bowed, but her entire being was shaking violently, and not just her horn but the very air around her was shining with violet light.

“You...” She growled darkly. Twilight snapped her head up, displaying eyes illuminated by a violent aura of violet light. “YOU MONSTERS!” She screamed as she unleashed a massive wave of magic.

Nix and Null swallowed nervously as the magic pressed against the walls of her cage... and jumped in shock when the runes started to outright fracture.

“Booooooss?” They chorused fearfully.

Scholar was silent for a full minute as he watched the cage begin to buckle under the raw power assaulting it before sighing heavily. “Alright, that’s enough of that.” In a fluid motion, Scholar snapped his grimoire open, brought his hand to the pages and sent a roiling sphere of runes at the cage.

In an instant, the fractures were repaired and the thickness of the arcane walls redoubled. A pulse from the runes jarred Twilight’s concentration, rocking her back and snapping her out of her rage.

“Sorry about that, Twilight, but you’re simply not in an appropriate state of mind.” Scholar apologized neutrally. “I honestly did just want Pinkie’s help with a party, that’s all.”

Twilight shook as she stared at the human before allowing tears to flow down her cheeks. “They... they killed her...” She grit out. “They need to pay.”

”Trust me...” He levelled an acidic glare at the globular golems. “These two will definitely pay for their transgressions. Sapientslaughter, first degree. This will not be taken lightly.”

Nix and Null glanced at one another before clenching their fists and nodding firmly. “We acknowledge our mistakes...” They chorused. “And we will atone for them. As is fair.”

“I suppose that that is all that can be done.” Seath rumbled. “Now... if you please... a moment of silence for Pinkie Pie.”

“Why would ruffians such as you care for her death?” Rarity asked miserably. “Especially after… ugh… killing so many today?”

Chrysalis sniffed indignantly. “Say what you will of us, but we do not kill the innocent. We protected you and yours because you were civilians, and thus had no part in this conflict. Those who died were soldiers serving Equestria. All is fair in love and war, and our war is with them, not you. The death of an innocent is as tragic for us as it is for you. Now please...” The matriarch bowed her head solemnly.

Seath, Scholar, and all present followed suit. Even Gilda looked down, albeit after Iron Will forced her head and with a scowl on her beak. For the first time in hours, silence descended upon the square. It was tranquil. Peaceful. Qui-

“THIS QUIET OFFENDS SLAANESH!”

“GWAAGH!”

“HOLY HELL!”

“HOLD ME!”

“HOLD YOURSELF!”

The group reeled back in shock as they attempted to process the sound that had erupted from...

“PINKIE PIE!?” Twilight yelped in disbelief.

It was Pinkie Pie... after a fashion. The mare was standing on her rear hooves without any aid, her forelegs spread wide as her chest heaved violently, her tongue lolling out of her mouth without control. Her eyes were wide as a mad light and utter chaos dancing liberally within her pupils, and her mane and tail shook and writhed like a formless mass of feelers.

“How in tarnation-!?” Applejack sputtered.

“Scholar.” Gilda stated flatly. “Is that dweeb high on chaos magic?”

“Unimaginably so, yes.” Scholar deadpanned.

“Ah. Just wanted to make sure. Scholar?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t pay me anywhere close to enough for this shit.”

“Believe you me, I know the feeling all too well.”

Meanwhile, the ponies were attempting to communicate with their friend.

“Hey, Pinkie, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie Pie didn’t react. Verbally at least.

“Um, girls?” Fluttershy asked. “I think she’s vibrating.”

Cadance groaned and brought her hoof to her forehead as the Party Pony’s entire body shook from head to toe, faster and faster. “This is going to be... interesting.”

Without rhyme, reason or warning, Pinkie jerkily ripped a very large, very distorted object that somewhat looked like her Party Cannon from her mane, rammed it into the ground, and pointed it straight up.

“THINGS SHALL GET FESTIVE NOW!”

BOOM!

The cannon let off a massive swirling blast of technicolor light and energy that rose high into the air, followed closely by the eyes of all present as it rose and slowly came to a halt in the air.

Then... it pulsed outwards, a wave of energy and chaos and grew nearly a quarter of its original size.

“Err... should we take cover?” Lacewing asked hesitantly as he took a step backwards.

Another pulse, another surge in size.

“Be honest, has that ever aided us in such situations before?” Priscilla drawled.

Pulse and grow.

“Eh heh heh heh... fair point...” Rotfang chuckled morbidly.

Pulse... and shrink to the size of a marble.

“Dearest brother...” Nix deadpanned.

“Yes dearest sister?” Null asked in the same tone.

“This is gonna suck, isn’t it, dearest brother?”

“Absolutely, dearest sister.”

“I just wanted to confirm.”

Pulse... and EXPLODE!

The group gave cries and shouts of shock and surprise as the wave of manic, prismatic energy engulfed everything around them.

When the light finally dissipated...

Scholar blinked slowly as he looked down at himself. “Chrysalis...” He asked slowly. “Am I wearing a hawaiian lei?”

“That depends.” Chrysalis deadpanned as she stared upwards. “Am I wearing a fruit hat?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes.”

The Oligarchs weren’t the only ones who had been party-fied. The entire plaza had been redecorated in the sacred name of all-out partying. The floor was layered with glowing, illuminated panels, streamers and crystal-themed decorations hung from every awning, and row after row of food-loaded buffet tables. Even the bystanders, those in meant-to-be-impenetrable-cages included, were redecorated in varying party-themed paraphernilia.

Dominating the square was a massive sound-system of loudspeakers and amplifiers, all set up next to a stage. And standing on that stage were-

“Vinyl Scratch!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock.

“Octavia Philharmonica!?” Twilight sputtered. “What are you two doing here?!”

Vinyl shrugged indifferently as she worked on calibrating the impressive sound-system before her. “Heck if I know! One sec I'm throwin' a kickass party at my club with Octi hangin' around to make sure I don't do anything too radical, the next thing we know, Pinkie shows up out of nowhere, shoves a bag full of bits onto us in exchange for us agreeing to play tandem for some party, and here we are!”

“The mare might be insane and I might not enjoy having to debase my honorable art by combining it with my roommate’s... noise,” Octavia shuddered as she finished tuning her cello and stood on her hindlegs. “But, a job’s a job and bits are bits. I’ve learned not to question these things. Now then, Vinyl, as you so often like to say...” She prepped her bow. “Hit it.”

And hit it they did.

The floor tiles began to flash and throb in time with the rhythm, and rays and patterns of lights shone down from above, dancing across the dance floor and reflecting off the- the...

“Where did that crazy mare get a fifteen-foot wide disco ball and how in the name of heck did she hang it by herself?” Gilda asked, scratching the part of the techno helmet that was covering her skull in confusion.

“Iron Will is more confused about what she’s hanging it on,” the minotaur replied, absentmindedly rubbing one of the sequins on his sparkly purple vest.

“What do you mean, ‘what’s she hanging it on’? It’s on the…. uh, the….” Gilda trailed off as she looked up to the palace up above... which was still quite a bit above the disco ball itself, and smooth as glass. “Oh….”

“Forget about her!” Trixie grinned as she materialized a mirror in front of her and admired the large silver pompadour that she was sporting. “Trixie looks fabulous!”

“I’m with ya there, sexy mama!” Null concurred as he ran a comb through the large blond version he was somehow rocking. He whipped on a pair of sunglasses and shot a finger pistol at his sister. “Ayyy.” He crooned in a deep voice.

“Tsk!” Nix flipped her multi-colored string like hair over her nonexistent shoulder as she readjusted her sunglasses. “So retro.”

“Oh, like you have any room to talk on that front, oldtimer!” Gavrill snarled as she fought with the insanely tight and sparkly jeans she was wearing. “And by the way, that pink mare is goin’ too far! I mean, come the fuck on!” She ripped a wad of fabric out of the back of the pants. “I'm wearin’ underwear here!”

“Speakin’ of the mare of the hour...” Rotfang started.

“Has anyone actually seen her?” Lacewing asked as he glanced around.

“I actually think she went that way!” Chitter giggled... as he pointed in two directions at once.

“Hmm...” Priscilla closed her eyes for a moment before sighing. “I’m afraid my connection to the security systems isn’t quite good enough. Father, can you-snrk!” The homunculus’s words were cut off by a hastily repressed snort when she actually looked at her father.

“Let’s see...” The crystalline dragon conjured a map before his eyeless face and cocked an eyebrow. “It... would appear that she is party-fying the entire metropolis sector by sector. She’s already gotten the west half of the Lucente District, and-!” He cut off and stared at the array in shock. “She... just moved up to the Overloft. From an area without a bridge or transport.”

“Y-snort!-yeah!” Rainbow Dash snickered as she fought to keep her laughter in. “P-pinkie Pie can be l-like that!”

Seath slowly turned his head and glared down at the smaller figures below him. “Dare I ask what she did to me?”

“Ooooh... nothing too drastic.” Scholar smirked innocently.

“I-indeed!” Chrysalis chuckled. “Y-you can’t even-!”

“AFRO! YOU’RE WEARING A RAINBOW AFRO! NO ONE IS SAYING IT, BUT YOU’RE WEARING A HUGE, GIGANTIC RAINBOW AFRO! YOU DESERVE TO BE IN A CIRCUS WITH A RUBBER NOSE THROWING CREAM PIES BECAUSE YOU SIR ARE WEARING AN AFRO!”

All sound in the plaza, including the music, suddenly stopped, the sound of a needle scratching on a record ringing out. Everyone stared in shock at the speaker as she huffed and puffed heavily.

“My word, Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Uhh...” The shy mare hid herself in her hair as she gave Seath a sheepish grin. “Oops? Eheheh... heh... ehh...”

The dragon cocked his eyebrow again before reaching up and flicking the wig off his skull. “Riiiight. Anyways...” He affixed the twins with a somehow caustic glare. “In the time it took us to make this conversation, the mad pony has turned my entire city into a madhouse and she’s coming back here showing no signs of slowing down. I can appreciate a good celebration, but if she redecorates me again, so help me-!”

“We can fix it!” Nix and Null chorused hastily.

“You’d damn well better, otherwise you’re both in big trouble!” Scholar threatened.

“”Wait, were’nt those two varmints facin’ charges earlier!?” Applejack demanded.

“You’d be surprised how often death winds up being negated...” Fran hummed happily. “With the progress we made back then, we often had to drop cases on accidents with a pleasurable frequency...”

“Yes yes, you appreciated it, but it made things so difficult for us assassins!” Veronica groused as she absentmindedly inspected one of her throwing knives. “We had to recheck so many targets...”

“Yes, yes, being a professional killer is a difficult profession, we know, we know.” Chrysalis dismissed her. “To put things simply, no crime, no time. Anyways, how do you two plan on making Pinkie stand still long enough to... ‘fix it’?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Nix replied. “We just need to... uh… we can… Null, help me out here.”

“Don’t look at me, I got nothing,” Null shrugged. “I mean, if we can hold her still, we can use my emergency tuna to slap the chaos out, but, well... the ‘holding still’ part is the clincher.”

“Yu haf an emergency tuna?” Spike asked as he munched on the gem-encrusted gold necklace he was wearing. What the heck was a ‘pimp’ anyways?

“You don’t?” The red golem asked in honest shock.

“Scholar, could you maybe-?” Nix started hesitantly.

“Nope, you guys made this mess, you’re cleaning it up on your own,” he replied as he casually inspected his fingernails. “And don’t think anyone else is going to help you, because if they do, they deal with me... actually, on second thought, they deal with Gavrill who I’ll pay fifty credits.”

“FUCK YEAH!” The carnivorous woman cackled as she messily tore into a meat platter.

“Tempting, but no,” Veronica said.

“I’d rather not...” Fran waved her hands airily.

“Nope.”

“No thanks.”

“Yeah, you guys brought this on yourselves.”

“Trixie is entirely too busy being fabulous! Not to mention staying alive... why does she suddenly feel like breaking into song?”

“TRAITORS!” Nix yelled. “YOU’RE ALL TRAITORS!”

“Nix, shut up, I’m trying to think!” Null yelled, panic creeping into his voice.

“Y-yeah! You’re right!” His sister nodded desperately. “S-still, come on! We can do this! How many times have we captured rampant chaos-mad individuals in the past?”

“Half a dozen, but that’s besides the point! None of them had the kind of space-time fuckery this one does!”

“W-well, what about plan N.D. Sigma Soilent Green? That works on other teleporters, it should work on her!”

“It might, except where are we going to find saran wrap in that kind of bulk on such short notice?”

“Well, excuse me for actually having an idea! I don’t see you coming up with one!”

“Uh, guys?” Rainbow said, holding her hoof up for attention.

“I have ideas! I just know that spouting out every half-baked idea that I think of doesn’t help if we’re not fighting a mind reader!”

“Half-baked?! I’ll have you know that plan was three-quarters baked! At least!”

“With what?! Soggy flour and cockroaches?!”

“Oh forget it.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in exasperation before looking over at Rarity. “Hey, Rarity, remember how you called me popping my neck a disgusting and offensive habit?”

“Err...” The fashionista raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Yes, but what does that have to do with-?”

“I Pinkie Promise not to pop my neck again! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Rainbow Dash went through the motions and proceeded to crack her neck left and right, producing an audible popping noise. “Alright, she should be here s-!”

“Y͢OU ͟B̛ROKE͏ A̕ ͏P͡IN̶KIE̕ ͝P̴R̶OMIS̀E̵!̕”

“YEAGH!” Rainbow Dash slammed her back against the far side of her cage as she tried to distance herself from the incensed mare-shaped fluffy form that was pressing herself against the runic walls as hard as she could.

“RaINbow DaaAAshh...” Pinkie growled angrily. “I hOPe yoU’re REAdy, Because I’m-!”

ZAP!

“MMPH!?”

“I got her!” Nix cried, struggling to maintain the emerald ropes of energy that were wrapped around the doubly chaotic filly. “Now Null! Hit her hit her hit her-!”

SLAP!

Nix was silent for a moment before peeling the large fish off her face. “Try again, dingus.”

“Aheheheh...” The golem chuckled before reeling back. “Alright, hold her still, aaaand...”

SLAP!

“WHEE!!!” Pinkie squealed as she spun around from the force of the fish, vibrant colors flying out of her in waves before dissipating into thin air. Finally, when it was over, she plopped down on her stomach, eyes rolling in her skull as she giggled madly. In a normal way. “Heeheeheeheehee! That was fun! Do it again, do it again!”

“How the heck did you use a tuna to expel chaos magic from my friend!?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “I mean, come on, a tuna!? That- that-!”

“It doesn’t make any sense?” Cadance supplied lightly.

“Yeah, exactly, it doesn’t make-! Any...” Twilight jabbed her hoof at her foalsitter before trailing off as a sense of semi-understanding came over her. “Ooooooh...”

“Hey, you, crazy mare who’s actually kind of funny!” Nix leaned over Pinkie and held up a trio of fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“What kind of question is that? Three, silly!”

“She’s okay!” Null proclaimed.

“You know, the colors floating around them are really pretty!”

“She ain’t okay.” Applejack deadpanned.

Nix was silent for a moment before taking hold of a pair of Pinkie’s eyelids, pulling them way wider than eyelids had any right to go and thoroughly examining her eyeball. “Actually... I think she might be more than okay.”

Null hastily scribbled on a cue card with a stone marker and held it up for Pinkie to see. “Can you describe what you see here?”

“Hmm...” Pinkie tapped her chin in thought before bouncing eagerly. “Oh! Oh! Is it a whale? A dolphin? A toothpick? A Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness? A supersonic VTOL jet?”

“No, no, not even remotely, don’t know what that is, and do you even know what that is?”

“Nope!”

Rarity craned her neck to get a better look at what her friend was looking at before frowning. “Umm... Pinkie, dear?”

“Yes Rarity?”

“That’s a blank sign.”

“To the untrained eye, yes.” Null nodded in agreement. “However, it seems that Pinkie’s eye is trained. Barely. Just barely.”

“Hmm...” Nix stared at Pinkie thoughtfully before looking at her creator. “Boss?”

Scholar frowned and flicked through his novel for a moment before shrugging. “Screw it, couldn’t hurt. Go ahead.”

“Right.” Nix nodded before bringing up two of her fingers in front of Pinkie. “Pay close attention to my fingers, alright? Follow them very closely.” She started to move them towards Pinkie’s head.

“Ooooh!” Pinkie squealed eagerly as she followed the digit, crossing her eyes as they came close. “Is this a game? Do I get a prize? Are you going to-?” She was cut off when Nix touched the middle of her forehead and pushed.

BING!

“-Woooooah...” Pinkie moaned as her head rolled back from the light application of force, allowing it to loll around on her neck as her eyes started rolling again. “Sooo many colors... Triiiiipyyyy...” She suddenly shook her head, producing a cowbell noise again before grinning. “That was fun!”

“Hey Pinkie!” Null flashed the sign again. “See anything now?”

“Hmm...” The pink mare narrowed her eyes as she read the sign. “It says ‘Gavrill is a big fat b-!’ Hey, that’s a bad word!”

“WHAT!?” Gavrill roared as she snapped herself away from the buffet.

“She said it, not us!” Nix and Null cackled.

“Doesn’t make it any less true, though.” Veronica snickered... before screaming when she was hit by a ballistic table. Gavrill started laughing... until her younger sister rammed into her and the pair started fighting again.

“Aren’t they going to ruin the party?” Trixie asked.

“Actually, that is how we usually party!” Chitter laughed. “That, and lots of explosions!”

“It’s not a party unless I have to clean everyone up at the end...” Fran rolled her eyes, smiling nonetheless.

“HEY!” Twilight cried. “Can we focus on what you just did to Pinkie Pie!?”

“Hey, yeah!” Pinkie agreed as she looked around, smiling widely as her eyes darted about. “How come everything’s so much sharper, and why are there so many more colors?”

“Hmm...” Nix rubbed her chin in thought for a moment before coming to a decision. “You know what? Just for kicks, we’ll just tell you it’s an improvement that people would kill to have naturally back in the day, and that it took a lot of trouble to get artificially, so she’s really lucky.”

“Other than that? Figure it out yourselves!” Null laughed.

“...you get a kick out of being unnecessarily obtuse, don’t you?” Twilight asked flatly.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s great. Anyways!” Gilda spoke up. “Can we wrap this up and start enjoying our damn party already? I mean, come on!” She gestured towards the bridges that lead to the plaza, where a number of crystal ponies and changelings were starting to enter. “People are showing up to have fun!”

“Alright, alright, keep you feathers on.” Scholar waved his hands hastily. “Look, I want to party just as much as you do, alright? We just need to tie up a few loose ends and then we can all relax after this long and tiring day, alright?”

The griffon grumbled darkly under her breath before sighing. “Just get it over with.”

“Great!” Scholar laced his fingers and cracked them out eagerly. “First things first: scraping Shining Armor off the pavement. And I know exactly who can do that.”

Without further ado, he stuck his index fingers in his mouth and...

FWEEEET!

Let out a massive, nigh eardrum shattering whistle.

“CERBERUS!” He bellowed at the top of his lungs. “FETCH, BOY!”

“And in five!” Nix proclaimed.

“Four!” Null added.

“Three...” Fran sighed.

“Two.” Veronica rolled her eyes.

“One!” Gavrill cackled eagerly.

Instantly, Scholar’s shadow turned pitch black and started moving, stretching out and lengthening into a massive pool of tangible darkness. Slowly, a massive, massive form composed of said darkness began to rise from the mass, towering high enough to almost match even Seath in size. Without warning, three pairs of bloody red eyes snapped open near the top of the mass, staring down at Scholar.

“Hey there, boy!” He waved eagerly.

“WOOF!”

“That’s Cerberus!?” Twilight squeaked.

“When he’s operating at full capacity, at least.” The human smirked. “Pretty cool, huh?”

He expected many different answers. The sudden sound of a goat bleating was not one of them.

“The heck?”

“Er... It would appear that Trixie might have a slight phobia.” Iron Will supplied as he hesitantly poked at his downed and foaming comrade.

“Err... Cerberus?”

The hellhound’s eyes snapped around to glare at Cadance, causing her to flinch.

“L-look...” She rubbed her shoulder nervously. “I-I realize that I’m the last person to be asking a favor of you any time soon... or ever, for that matter... but... that is my fiance you have in your mouth, so if you could please...?”

The eyes glanced at one another before it shrugged. Cerberus’s heads opened their mouths, allowing what they were carrying to fall to the ground with numerous wet plops.

Everyone was silent as they stared at what the hound had brought.

Gilda blinked slowly. “Uh...”

“That ain’t somethin’ you see every day.” Rotfang noted.

“No, no it isn’t.” Lacewing concurred.

“What. The. HECK!?” Scholar exclaimed.

Chapter 23. Upping the Ante

Author's Note

Credit, major credit to CV12Hornet! I could not, literally could not have done this without him! Thanks man, you da best!

Chapter 23. Upping the Ante

Scholar, Seath and Chrysalis stared down at the results of Cerberus’s delivery.

“Remind me...” Scholar started slowly. “That order I sent out to Cerberus... I imbued it with Shining Armor’s image, did I not?”

“That you did, Scholar, that you did.” Seath nodded slowly in agreement.

“And, to be fair, he did complete the task you set out for him.” Chrysalis noted, nudging said white stallion’s prone form.

“Yeeeesss...” Scholar droned. “Yes he did. Now... second question...”

His eye twitched as he took in the two dozen other armored ponies that the obsidian hound had spit up.

“WHERE THE HELL DID HE PULL THE REST OF THEM FROM!?” He bellowed.

Cerberus snuffled and woofed, bringing up a mass of darkness that looked like a paw to scratch behind what could have been an ear.

Scholar’s eye twitched again as he slowly turned to look up at a very nervous Seath. “What does he mean ‘they were in the ice dome with him’!?” He ground out.

“Er...” The dragon hastily snapped up an array and started fidgeting with it. “Where was it... where was-! Ah...”

“‘Ah’? What ‘AH’?” The human demanded.

“You’re... going to laugh...” Seath chuckled nervously.

“No, I’m not.”

“Right... anyways... upon reviewing the recorded data from the area where he and his platoon were when you cleared out the main body of the city... I’ve come across a... spike of foreign magic that lasted through the first few seconds of the windigoes’ assault?” The duke grinned nervously.

Scholar and Chrysalis gaped up at his compatriot for a second before slowly turning their heads to stare at the unconscious Captain.

“You mean to tell me...” Chrysalis breathed. “That that unicorn managed to erect a barrier and withstand the full wrath of those creatures long enough for a dome of ice to form around him and his soldiers, protecting them from the brunt of those demons’ wrath?!”

Seath nodded slowly in agreement. “Apparently. It would appear that we somewhat underestimated his capabilities.”

Scholar was silent in thought for a moment before slowly raising a hand.

“No, this does not count as ‘bonus points’ on our bet.” Chrysalis deadpanned without looking at him.

Scholar was silent as he slowly lowered his hand. Nevertheless, he narrowed his eyes at Shining Armor as he re-evaluated the variable before him.

“Scholar!” Twilight pressed herself against the wall of her cage, her gaze filled with worry. “What’s wrong with my brother!?”

“Hmm...” Fran knelt down next to the white unicorn, noting his shivering and the death-grip he had on the dragon-headed spear he was holding before speaking. “Considering how he and his men have apparently been in a cage of ice for at least ten minutes, I would have to diagnose him with an early case of hypothermia and some minor asphyxiation. They should be fine.”

“They ain’t gonna be once I get through with them!” Gavrill growled as she cracked her knuckles and took a menacing step towards the unconscious ponies. “I still owe him for his buddy’s flashbangs!”

“PUT ONE MANGY CLAW ON MY HUSBAND AND I’LL CLEAN OUT YOUR INTESTINAL TRACT WITH THAT DEMENTED TENTACLE YOU CALL A TONGUE!”

Everyone jumped in shock at the furious roar that erupted from Cadance, her cage half-buckling from the wave of magic that rammed into it.

Chrysalis’ eyes flashed emerald as she glared at the Alicorn princess, and Seath and Scholar snapped up a pair of large arrays.

Despite the fact that her body was shivering uncontrollably and that her container had all but doubled in size, Cadance continued to level an apoplectic glare at the carnivorous construct, a look that Gavrill was all too eager to return.

“Awwww, what’s wrong?” Gavrill chuckled grimly. “Does the traitorous fuckface not want me touching her pwecious little boy-toy? What, you actually attracted to him or somethin’, despite the fact that he’s gonna kick the fucking bucket?!”

Cadance huffed venomously for a second before glancing to the side and looking back at Gavrill with a solemn nod. “I do.” She answered sincerely. “I love him, more than I’ve ever loved anyone before. I would do anything for him, and him for me.”

Gavrill rolled her eyes and gagged in exasperation. “Eurgh, puh-lease, you know how I hate that sappy shit. Save the mush for-GRK!” Gavrill cut herself off as her train of thought caught up to her. Slowly, eyes wide with fear, she turned her head in the same direction Cadance had glanced. Veronica, Nix, and Null slowly turned and followed her gaze with equal amounts of trepidation.

Fran was still in her position crouching over her patient, only now her body was visibly shaking with an emotion made unidentifiable by the curtain of hair that obscured her facial expressions.

The quartet of constructs began to sidle away from the medical aficionado, intent on putting as much distance between them and her as possible...

“She... loves... him...”

When she suddenly spoke, snapping her head around to pin her siblings in place with a single, irate look.

“Oh dear heaven and hell...” Veronica whimpered.

“She... loves him...” She bit out furiously. “And you tried to grievously injure him!?”

“Fun fact: Fran’s a grade-A romantic, and a sucker for sob stories.” Rotfang chuckled to Iron Will.

“Iron Will would never have guessed.” The minotaur deadpanned.

“Gentlemen, it was an honor serving with you.” Null saluted solemnly.

“You’re lying through your teeth, aren’t you?” His twin asked seriously.

“Oh you have no idea.”

“You tried to grievously injure him and have me clean up the mess?!” Fran hissed venomously as she suddenly stood up and whipped around, glaring at her siblings with untold fury. “I believe that once again, I must... educate you in your mistakes.”

Gavrill fell into a ready stance as she bared her fangs and flexed her clawed fingers. “Looks like we’ve got no choice! Ready, fuckers?!”

Nix and Null pumped their fists. “Yeah!”

Veronica grit her teeth and slid a foot back as she squared her soldiers. “Yes.”

Silence reigned over the plaza as the music ground to a halt, party-goers and original onlookers alike holding their breath as tension started to ramp up.

Finally... they made their moves.

“EVERY FUCKER FOR THEMSELVES!” Gavrill screeched, literally spinning her torso around as she barreled towards one of the massive stairwells that were the exits to the plaza, shoving aside anyone in her path. Veronica bolted for another staircase, while Nix and Null moved for a third.

Sighing wearily, Fran drew a hand from her labcoat and held it before her face. “They never learn...” And with that, she simply snapped her fingers, unleashing a flurry of runes. Without further ado, all four promptly collapsed like they were made of jelly, mouths open in silent screams as they scratched and clawed at their skulls.

“Wh-what did you do to them?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Oh, nothing, nothing...” Fran sighed as she idly spun a finger along the rim of one of her bolts. “I just activated the re-education implants I installed in them is all. I do so wish that I didn’t have to use them so often, but ah well...” She shrugged her middle arms. “Someone has to keep my siblings in line...”

“NghgahgRAAAAAGH!” Gavrill screeched, having finally recovered her voice. “FUUUUUUCK! DAMN IT ALL, FRAN, HOW THE FUCKING FUCK DO YOU KEEP FUCKING TATTOOING THIS FUCKING ARRAY INSIDE MY FUCKING SKULL!?”

“Owowowow!” Veronica rolled around on the ground as she pulled her hat down on her head. “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry, I’ve-learned-my-lesson-I-won’t-do-it-again makeitstooooop!”

“HOW THE HELL DOES SHE GET THESE THINGS IN US!?” Nix screeched.

“WHO CARES!?” Null demanded. “JUST MAKE THE PAIN STOP!”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow at the display before casting a sidelong glance at Gilda. “Is it a bad sign that Iron Will is almost completely unfazed by this?”

The griffon snorted in response. “You’re a bit late on the uptake, buddy. But still... HEY BOSS!” She piped up. “Think they’ve had enough yet?”

“Nah, let’s give them a minute.” Scholar shrugged indifferently. “A little sibling rivalry never killed anyone... and even if it did, Fran’d be able to fix it.”

“It’s true, I could...” The mad doctor mused for a moment before sighing. “But still, I do suppose that enough is enough...” She snapped her fingers again, allowing her siblings to collapse to the ground with relief. “Now, do you all understand what you did wrong, and do you promise to not do it again?”

“Yes, Fran...” Three tired and out of breath voices moaned.

“Yeah, next time we kill both of ‘em before you find out about their fucking star-crossed whatever.” A fourth snarled.

SNAP!

“YEARGH! I MEAN FINE, FUCK, FUCK!”

“I’m so glad you understand.”

“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!” Cerberus let out a string of barks and woofs as he collapsed forwards, his tar-black, indiscernible body shaking with laughter as he repeatedly slammed his paw into the ground.

“Fuck you too, ‘dearest’ brother...” Gavrill snarled.

“Brother!?” The ponies chorused in disbelief.

“Yup!” Nix suddenly snapped up, her previous agony forgotten entirely. “See, Scholar made three series of sentient beings: Gavrill, Fran and Veronica were the third, made from organic matter, Null and I were the second, made from non-organic matter, and Cerberus was the first, forged from the primordial energies of the void from which all worlds are born!”

“To put things simply!” Null floated up and started to scratch the nose-ish area of the hound’s muzzle. “He’s out dearest eldest brother! Aren’t you boy, aren’t-?”

Suddenly, the muzzle split open and engulfed Null's hand, leaving him to stare at the slowly chewing mouth in shock.

He was silent for a moment before lowering his eyes to half-mast. “Spit it out before I figure out how to neuter you.”

The head made a snorting motion before spitting out a mangled collection of stone that might have once been a hand.

Null’s eye twitched as he picked the limb up. “Scho-lar!” He whined as he waved the wreck miserably.

“Null, stop antagonizing Cerberus.” Scholar deadpanned without turning around.

Null’s eye twitched violently as he vibrated faster and faster.

“Er...” Nix raised a finger slowly. “Don’t you have like... twenty spares or-?”

“IT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE MATTER!”

“‘An Ah thought our siblings were a hoof-full...”

“I’m not quite sure what’s more abhorrent, this family’s fashion sense or the way they display their... ‘love’ for one another!”

“Er... excuse me... Cerberus?”

The dog-thing’s eyes blinked before rotating on its mass to face Fluttershy’s cage, the blackness splitting into three distinct head-like protuberances as they leaned over and examined the pink-maned pony within.

“Er...” Fluttershy smiled nervously at the beast. “D-do you remember me? I-I was the mare who played w-with you when you came to Ponyville! I-I realize that you looked a lot different then, b-but we had a lot of fun, right?”

Cerberus was silent for a moment... before slumping down onto its stomach, each of its pairs of eyes morphed into upside down Us and their maws split open to allow shadowy tongues to pant happily at the air.

Fluttershy perked up noticeably at the positive reaction. “Oh good, I was afraid you’d forgotten about me! I’m so happy!”

Meanwhile, Trixie moaned and whined as she slowly raised her hoof to her skull and shook her head as she leaned up. “Gah... oooh... what the heck happened to the Mighty and Infalliable-?”

“Cerberus?” Gavrill piped up as she inspected her her claws indifferently. “Sic her.”

In an instant, Cerberus was on its paws, his eyes narrowed in vicious slits as his jaws morphed into wide, tooth-filled maws.

“ROOOOAAAARRR!”

“EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked as her mane was blown back by the force of the blood-thirsty howl.

Trixie’s body was stock still for a moment until her eyes slowly rolled up into her head and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

“Now then, fuckface... mind if I call you fuckface?” Gavrill leered as she strolled up to Fluttershy’s cage.

“Er, a-actually I would rather-!” Fluttershy stuttered, clutching her head as she kept watch of the ever-snarling heads mere feet from her.

“Fuckface it is!” Gavrill nodded as she leant against the cage, interposing herself between the pony and hound. “Now fuckface, let’s get one thing straight: this rabies-ridden sack of pus?” She jerked her head back at Cerberus. “He’s with us. And I mean, totally with us. Anything we tell him to do? He. Fucking. Does it. We tell him to fetch someone, he fetches them. Shred someone, he shreds ‘em. Heck, it was a goddamn miracle that your Bleach-Butt’s collars worked for as long as they did in my opinion. But at the end of the day? No matter how much of a fucking friend you think you are or how much you think you matter, one fact will always be a fucking fact.”

The Wolf jerked her thumb at herself. “He’s loyal to us, and only to us!”

“BARK!” Cerberus’s maws let out simultaneous woofs of agreement.

His middle head then leaned down and snapped down on Gavrill’s head and shoulders, nipping off her thumb in the process.

The plaza froze again as everyone stared at the scene in shock.

Gavrill herself was perfectly still. Slowly, she brought her hands up and felt the mouth that was holding her.

Then, both her arms lashed out to her sides, lengthening and inflating as they grasped Cerberus’s side-heads by their muzzles and rammed them into the skull that was holding her captive, forcing it to open its jaws and drop her.

Gavrill snarled furiously at the hound, her bitemarks stitching themselves shut in seconds. “You realize that that this means all-natural doggy kibble, right?”

Cerberus’s jaws twisted into malefic leers that promised nothing but pain.

Without warning, the sibling predators lunged at one-another...

BAM!

“GAH!”

“WOOF!”

And were halted by an explosion of light inches from their eyes.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough of that.” Scholar chuckled as he dismissed the runes he’d been holding up. “You can get right back to shredding one another after we’re done. But for now!” He clapped his hands together definitively. “We have some work to do! Seath, we’ve had enough death for one day. Slap these soldiers in a regen cell and lock ‘em up tight. We’ll deal with them at a later date. And put Shining Armor’s spear in a secure location; I want to take a look at it later.”

“Understood.” The dragon nodded as he waved his hands, causing the crystal beneath the comatose soldiers to light up in an arcane glow. The soldiers slowly sank through the light and out of sight.

Twilight cast a nervous glance at Cadance, but refrained from saying anything when she saw the reassuring, if weary smile her foalsitter was giving her.

“And what of those who have... records...” The word dripped from Seath’s tongue like an oil-soaked death sentence.

Scholar chuckled morbidly in response, wringing his hands eagerly. “Oh hoh, I assure you, a fate worse than death awaits them!”

“You make one improvement without supervision one time and no one ever lets you hear the end of it...” Fran pouted, puffing her cheeks out petulantly.

Those older than a century winced and shuddered simultaneously as they fought to keep their bile down in response to the... disturbing images that were associated with that particular memory.

“A-anyways...” Scholar gulped as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Cadance. “Her too. Max security. We pass judgement on her tomorrow for crimes against sapience.”

As expected, cries of protest rang out from the Equestrians.

What wasn’t expected were the numerous similar protests that erupted from varying members of the onlooking crowd. There was no coherence to the protests, every crystal pony saying something different. The important part was that it formed a solid wall of sound that said one thing.

No.

“... Uuuh... Iron Will... doesn’t...” Iron Will blinked numbly at the display, unable to conjure an appropriate response.

“Oh, allow me!” Gilda offered politely before sucking in a deep breath. “WHAT THE FUCK!?” She screeched.

Scholar groaned and slipped his fingers beneath his glasses as he kneaded the bridge of his nose. “Oh for the love of-!” He slipped his fingers down to his throat. “ALRI-!”

“Ahem, Scholar?”

The human ceased his proclamation upon Priscilla’s polite request. “What? What is it?”

The towering humanoid gestured at her draconic progenitor. “I believe that my father can handle his citizens well enough.”

Seath’s head was bowed, showing no sign of emotion as he listened to the complaints of those under his jurisdiction, his tentacles and tail tapping against the ground thoughtfully.

Finally, without forewarning, he whipped his limbs up and rammed them down with an earth-shattering CRASH!, reared his head back, and ROARED!

“SIIIIIIILEEEEEEEENCE!”

All noise in the plaza came to a screeching halt. Again.

“Hey, big, albino and ugly!” Vinyl called out from the stage, where Octavia was vigorously motioning at her roommate to, as they said in Detrot, shut the buck up. “We’re trying to play here! Think you guys could pick up and move it somewhere else if you’re not going to party!?”

“My apologies, good performer,” Seath swept his arm and bowed his neck in apology. “We shall just be a moment more. Now then...” He drew himself upright and crossed his arms imperiously as he observed the assembled ponies. “Citizens of Vitrum!” He rumbled, his voice echoing throughout the city. “We have heard your opinion upon the matter of the judgment of Mi Amore Cadenza, and I assure you, it shall be taken into consideration. We will show her the leniency she is due for her actions...”

He slowly turned his head to glare down at the Alicorn, despite his lack of eyes.

“But no more.” He finished quietly.

Cadance flinched, but merely nodded in acknowledgment.

With that, Seath waved his hand, prompting an arch of crystal to rise up before Cadance in her cage. The innards of the arch were immediately illuminated with a flash of magic and runes.

Cadance sighed heavily as she stared into the light before taking a tentative step forwards.

“Cadance!”

She flinched and halted, glancing at Twilight through the runes of her cage.

Twilight stared at her foalsitter, her mouth open but no words emerging. She tried to find something to say, anything, but... no matter how many books and how much of her acquired knowledge she poured over, but there was just... nothing.

Cadance bit her lip for a second... before smiling. A single, simple, sorrowful smile.

“Goodbye, Twilight.”

And with that, she stepped through, the light died, and she was gone.

The purple unicorn worked her jaw helplessly for a second before snapping an absolutely caustic glare at Scholar.

“Do your worst.” Scholar droned as he inspected his fingernails. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Twilight grit her teeth furiously before lowering her gaze. “So... what are you going to do to us now?” She asked in a dead manner.

“You?” Scholar glanced at her out of the corner of his glasses. “Simple.”

He snapped his fingers, prompting the ponies and dragon to flinch...

As their cages dissolved around them.

“Now, you go forth and party.”

The Elements plus one blinked in shock.

“Er... begging your pardon?” Rarity asked dumbly.

“You heard the man!” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, grinning impishly. “It’s a party, so go ahead and party! After all, it’s not like you can do any real damage, especially with everyone around, and you can’t leave the city either, so there’s no real reason for us to hold you anymore! So go ahead!” She waved an armored hoof airily. “Enjoy yourselves! Have fun!”

She raised her head and addressed the crowd. “My colleagues and I have some business to attend to before we can properly enjoy ourselves! We shall join you all shortly! Until then, have fun!” She looked up at Seath. “If you would?”

Seath rumbled in agreement, bringing up an Array with a wave of his hand and causing light to appear under Scholar, his creations, Chrysalis and her inner circle, Priscilla, the trio of Academics and himself.

Light erupted from below them and they were gone.

Applejack stared at the empty space for a moment before turning to her friends. “So... whadda we do n... where’s Pinkie?”

Suddenly, the sound of a needle scratching rang out as the music and lights became active in the plaza once anew.

“LET’S PARTY!” Pinkie cried out enthusiastically as she slung her hoof over Vinyl’s shoulder.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I can’t believe it... or rather, I believe it all too easily. Anyways, Spike, do me a favor and stay c- Spike? Spike!?”

“Mmm!” The dragon moaned from the buffet table where he was gorging herself. “I dunno what that chaos stuff did to Pinky, but she definitely baked some good crystal cupcakes!”

“Ergh, fine... Rarity, would you-?”

“Excuse me, darling!” Rarity’s eyes glimmered as she sidled up next to a dancing Crystal Pony who had an amethyst belt around her waist. “I’m terribly sorry for intruding, but I couldn’t help but notice that admirable accessory you’re sporting! Would you mind telling me where you procured it?”

“I... I... I’m afraid to even look, but... Applejack?”

“AN’ TEN! YEEHAW!” Applejack hollered as she released the hoof of the struggling changeling she’d been holding down. “An’ that makes two in a row! Anyone else think they can take on an Apple? ‘Cause Ah’m warnin’ ya, I don’t know what mah family’s reputation was back in ya’lls time, but in this day an’ age, we’re known fer havin’ bark fer skin and sap in our veins! So come on! Who’s next?”

“... Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy?”

“THISH ISH THE BESHT SCHIDER AH’VE HAD IN... IN... IN THE LASHT TIME I’VE HAD SCHIDER!” Rainbow Dash crowed from the table where she was balancing on her rear hooves, mugs clutched in her forehooves and hanging off the ends of her wings. “WOOHOO! THISH ISH THE BESHT PARTY EVER!”

Fluttershy glanced around the corner of the buffet table she was hiding behind before smiling at the mug she was clutching. “This is really good cider.” She whispered to herself before draining it in one go.

“... ahhh fuck it! Spike! Pass me a mug!”

-o-

The second the light from the transportation array died down, Scholar pinned Nix and Null with a frigid glare. “Where is it?”

Nix and Null were equally somber as they returned the look. “I’ve got it,” The green golem answered, her hands lighting up with green energy as she started to trace her fingers through the air before her. The energy trailed behind her digits, warping and melding the space it touched. “I have it locked up in a pocket. Give me a second, I- .”

“How bad is it?” Seath growled darkly.

“Bad.” Null growled, cracking his knuckles agitatedly. “‘Total wipe and use a back-up’ bad.”

“He’s not fucking around there...” Gavrill snarled murderously. “This... we’re in deep shit here... real deep shit here.”

Veronica nodded her head definitively in agreement.

“Oh my...” Fran moaned, wringing two sets of hands, cranking a bolt with one of her free ones and biting the thumb of the other.

“Damn it, one thing after another...” Chrysalis moaned as she ground her hoof into her forehead, the other changelings, even Chitter showing equal signs of agitation.

Gilda glanced back and forth between the Oligarchs in confusion. “Alright, either I took a blow to the head I didn’t notice, or you guys are talking about something that’s way over my head. Care to let us in on the loop?”

“Agreed.” Iron Will nodded flatly.

Trixie let out a gargled moan.

“Cerberus.” Scholar ordered firmly.

“WOOF!” The canine mass of darkness drifted or padded or somehow made its way towards the blue mare, knelt over her...

SLURP!

“GAH!”

And proceeded to literally lick her from head to toe.

“Gugh! Ack! Phbt!” Trixie sputtered as she wiped her hooves over her face in an effort to dislodge the pungent slime that had coated her body. “This is positively revolting! Who on Mundus-!” She promptly froze when she felt a breath of hot air wash over her.

Slowly, she tilted her head up and stared at the canine that was towering above her. Trixie grinned nervously as she fought to keep from fainting again. “G-g-good Cerberus... N-no hard f-feelings about Tartarus... r-right? Heh... heheh... heeeh...”

Cerberus let out a low rumbling growl... before panting happily and lapping at her vigorously.

Trixie froze as the slobber dripped off her form, her eye twitching sporadically. “Trixie... has conflicted feelings about this... She also might require a new... everything from the hips down.”

“Ahem!” Scholar coughed heavily into his fist, leveling a flat glare at the Magisters. “Are you all done fooling around yet, or is there more to your routine?”

Gilda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Yeesh, what got stuck in your robes?”

“Gilda, Trixie, Iron Will, answer me honestly...” Null brought his hands together and closed his eyes for a moment before looking at them flatly. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“Er...”

“Ah...”

“We don’t...”

“Now.”

“You’re a spastic dumbass.”

“You and your sister follow every whim you can if it means you get a hoot out of it.”

“The two of you are absolutely deranged.”

“All true.” Null nodded in agreement. “Now... do those still apply in a fight?”

The griffon, minotaur and unicorn glanced at one another before shaking their heads.

“No.” Iron Will grunted. “When it comes to combat, you’re pragmatic, clinical, efficient...”

“That pocketwatch didn’t actually possess you, did it?” Gilda stated more than asked. “You wouldn’t have made as stupid a mistake as grabbing it by accident, not if you were in the middle of a fight.”

“So what could have been the purpose of that charade?” Trixie bit her lip in thought. “A signal? A message?”

“A warning.” Nix stated darkly, jerking her hand a final time and coalescing her energies into a solid green disc before her. “That one of Null’s artifacts is acting up, becoming an immediate threat. It’s covert, so that no one who doesn’t know about it knows what’s going on. It’s to be used for emergencies only. And this!” She jerked her hand, causing the disc to split open into four separate pieces. She then drew her hands backwards, prompting a glowing orb of runes containing an object to drift through the opening and into view.

“This goes far beyond the word ‘emergency.”

The Oligarchs and Duke recoiled in horror as they stared at the object, while the Magisters choked in visceral, instinctual disgust.

“Oh no...” Scholar breathed, his knuckles turning white as he redoubled his grip on his book.

“This can’t be happening.” Chrysalis shook her head in denial.

“Not kosher!” Chitter squeaked.

“What...” Gilda gagged as she tried to keep her bile down. “What in all the nine circles of hell is that thing!?”

Bound within the runes and energy was a... it could be loosely defined as a book. Very, very loosely. If books struggled. And pulsed. And bled. And felt totally, utterly wrong on a basic, animal level.

“Is that thing’s cover made of skin!?” Iron Will asked weakly.

“Does that thing have a face!?” Trixie whimpered.

“Better question than all of them combined!” Scholar spoke up, hastily regaining his wits and replacing his trepidation with anger. “Why. Is it.Alive!?”The room shook with the amount of magic packed into his voice.

Nix and Null barely reacted as they glanced at one another before addressing their creator solemnly.

“You know why, Scholar.” Nix whispered.

“Scholar...” Null shook his head and clutched at his globular head wearily. “It... it made me praise Cthulhu. And he wasn’t even one of them. There’s only one reason why it’d be reacting like this. I know it, Nix knows it... and you know it.”

“Well we don’t!” Gilda squawked. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re out of the loop here! Could someone tell us what that is!” She jabbed a talon at the struggling tome. “And why in the name of Hades, Pluto, and every other dark and deadly god in existence is it screaming!?”

“That...” Priscilla fingered her scythe uneasily. “Is the Necronomicon.”

“Or at least...” Seath rumbled. “It is our world’s variation of it. It is an Eldritch tool, and one of the few constants of the multiverse. In every world where there is life, the Necronomicon will find a way to worm itself into existence. From there... it serves as a gateway for its progenitors, opening doorways into unwitting minds, and allowing the creatures who spawned it to manipulate and interact with mortals at will.”

“Before today, this thing was inactive.” Null glared at the book. “Dead as a doornail with enough left over energies for a good laugh. Now... now it’s back at full, mind-rending power, plus change. And there’s only one reason it’d come back to life.”

“The Eldritch Court is returning.”

“GAH!”

“SONNUVA!”

The Magisters jumped when the until-now silent bandaged woman who had been shadowing Fran spoke up, reminding everyone of her presence.

“The Eldritch Court is returning from its exile.” She whispered in a raspy voice.

Two of Cerberus’s heads let out vicious growls as they bore their fangs. The third whimpered pitifully and bowed low.

Scholar nodded slowly in agreement. “Adorea is right. The only way that the Necronomicon could regain its powers... would be if its masters were becoming active once anew. I am afraid... that the Eldritch Court is indeed returning to Mundus.”

“Iron Will is going to go out on a limb and say that’s a bad thing,” the minotaur said.

“Apoplectic.” Adorea whispered in reply.

Scholar let out a morbid chuckle as he leaned against a wall, pressing his palm against his forehead. “To comprehend the sheer scale of what we’re dealing with here, you must first understand what we define as ‘Eldritch’. And to be honest... no one can. That’s...” His chuckle took on a slightly manic tone. “That’s how we define them: the undefinable. These are... things! Not even monsters, monsters can be killed, have been killed! Things! Things that... that... that warp everything around them. Merely by existing.”

“We feared them.” Chrysalis stated factually, her voice devoid of all emotion. “Every one of us to the last. What other reaction is there to something like that? To something whose sole discernible emotions are anger and hatred?”

“The last time we fought them...” Scholar shut his eyes and shook his head slowly. “When we expelled them from Mundus. It... it was the founding of Concordia. I mean, we- the rest of the Oligarchs and I- had been forming Concordia for years before that. Struggling to pull everything together. We were close. But that... that war... it was the keystone of our empire. Because when you go into a fight like that...” He slowly turned his head to stare sadly at his subordinates. “You either leave it together... or you don’t leave it. At all.”

Trixie, taking in that information, swayed on her hooves, barely staying upright. Beside her, Iron Will had fallen back on his haunches, while Gilda had simply frozen in an expression of stunned horror.

“I-it took all of the Oligarchs…?” Trixie breathed.

Seath bowed his head, almost leveling his head with his waist. “More than all of them. I might not have participated at the time, but I certainly observed and read the reports. It took armies to expunge them from our realm. The odds were... insurmountable. The victory we won, and the life we live today... a miracle. Each and every second of it.”

“That conflict... it was years in the making.” Scholar started flipping through his book. “I... me and so many other intellectuals and strategists, we spent close to a decade writing out the strategy, plotting out every instance we could foresee. It doesn’t matter how many times parts of it failed or blew up, without that time to prepare...”

Chrysalis slowly shook her head. “I don’t even want to consider what would have happened in that madness.”

Gilda finally unclenched her beak and started to speak. “And... they’re coming back.”

Veronica tilted her fedora down over her eyes. “It’s the only explanation for the Necronomicon.”

“No hope of negotiating... anything?”

Chitter swallowed heavily. “Only ones who’d communicate either left peacefully or are still here, somewhere, left alone. The Court is nothing but bad juju.”

Iron Will slowly brought his hand up to his muzzle and rubbed it heavily. “How... long do we have?”

“Judging by the book?” Priscilla glared at the howling tome. “Distinctly less than a decade.”

Silence reigned for a moment.

“So...” Trixie started slowly. “We’re fucked?”

Scholar thought for a moment before speaking. “No. No, we aren’t. This time, we’re fighting a defensive battle, plus they’ve spent a long time locked between worlds. Very little comes out of that looking pretty. I think that if we meet them with everything we have, then we stand a decent chance.”

Gilda and Iron Will let out sighs of relief. Trixie’s pupils dilated in horror.

“Everything?” She squeaked.

Iron Will and Gilda looked at her in confusion before paling in realization.

“Everything.” Scholar confirmed grimly. “And everyone. Or at least something equivalent.”

Gilda worked her beak for a second before sputtering. “I- that’s- why the hell haven’t they attacked before!? Equestria could never match them in any number of millenia!”

“They wouldn’t have to.” Seath huffed. “As insurmountable as the Court might be, credit to the alicorns, harmony is a hell of a thing. They couldn’t have come near Mundus if they tried. But now... now the harmony has been disrupted by magic. The world is shattered. It must be reforged to withstand the coming storm... one way or another.”

“...What are you saying?” Iron Will asked slowly.

“He’s saying that we’re over a barrel.” Gavrill growled, pacing agitatedly like a caged animal. “We can’t negotiate with Celestia and Luna because they have all the cards. They don’t need to ally with us. They know that harmony can protect the world, and so do we. If we want this world to survive, we have two options: we win this war, fast, free everyone and get ready for the fight of our lives... or we surrender to Equestria, full-stop. Harmony coats the world, protecting it from harm.”

She suddenly lashed out with her fist, burying it wrist-deep in the crystalline wall.

"Forever.”

The room fell silent as everyone processed the ultimatum before them, Nix taking the opportunity to shove the Necronomicon back in the hole in reality she’d pulled it from before it could rile anyone up further.

Finally, Null broke the silence. “Well... come on!” He spread his hands wide. “W-we can do this! I mean, you said it yourself, they’re not strong enough to face the Court, surely we can take them! Just, come on!” He gestured at the Magisters. “How strong are they? Really?”

The trio looked at one another slowly before Iron Will groaned and hauled himself to his feet. “Iron Will will explain.” He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “As it stands, the current pony population across the globe, counting provinces of Equestria and entirely separate nations, is approximately two billion individuals.”

“Two billion!?” Veronica choked.

“What happened to the hardy eighty million of old!?” Rotfang demanded.

“Two thousand years of population growth is what happened,” Iron Will replied.

“Plus earth ponies are really good at sowing their seed.” Gilda quipped.

“Moving on,” Iron Will growled, glaring at the interruption. “From what demographic records survived, population growth before Princess Luna’s corruption into Nightmare Moon was close to two percent every year.”

All three Oligarchs, as well as Fran, froze in stunned amazement.

Chitter’s scrunched an eye shut and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth for a moment before freezing in horror. “Wuh-oh.”

“Ha! Only two percent? That’s, like, nothing!” Null laughed.

Scholar and Nix’s reactions were to simply slap their hands to their faces.

“Cousin...” Priscilla stated in exasperation. “You have a calculator in your head. I’d suggest you take the time to use it!”

Null paused as if in deep thought, before a look of dawning horror spread over his face.

“Iron Will sees you grasp the implications. The Equestrian population was doubling every thirty-five years. The one silver lining is that after Luna’s fall from grace, the pony population’s growth came to a screeching halt, presumably because there simply wasn’t any more space without driving out another race or going where they really didn’t want to go.”

“You mean the Realms?” Seath asked.

“Indeed.” Trixie nodded. “They have all been sealed, and we have had little luck breaching them. But that is neither here nor there.”

“Indeed.” Iron Will nodded. “That is merely their population. What matters here is their military. As it stands, including all nations, Equestrian and otherwise, an average of one percent of the global population takes up a military career of some form or another. Of that percentage, about one half of them are merely glory-seekers who wish to join the guard for the image it projects. The rest are from military families or are truly determined. And of that number, only about half of them have the necessary experience and skill to be a tangible threat to a well-trained member of the Academia. These are the ponies who count as actual soldiers.”

It wasn’t merely silent in the room. It was... noiseless. Not a single sound. All anyone could or would dare to do was stare at the minotaur in sheer, unrestrained horror.

“To elaborate...” Iron Will rumbled darkly. “The Alicorns have almost five million soldiers who are more than capable of fighting us. In addition to fifteen million other loyal soldiers who, while distinctly weaker, must be factored in. In all? A military of twenty million. Give or take a few hundred thousand.”

Veronica was the first to find her voice. “That’s not a military,” she squeaked.

“THAT’S A MEDIUM-SIZED FUCKING COUNTRY!” Gavrill roared.

“W-what about us?” Fran stammered. “How many do we have on our side!?”

“Counting the disciples and students of the Academia, as well as the descendants of non-Academia individuals, factoring in the changelings and citizens of Vitrum that were liberated...” Gilda counted on her talons before sighing. “Close to six hundred thousand... rounding up.”

Null scratched the side of his head nervously for a second before slowly raising a finger. “The... Spartan Three Hundred faced worse odds?”

Nix shot an acrid glare at her twin. “The Three Hundred were eventually slaughtered like dogs.”

Null flinched but remained silent.

Trixie placed her head between her hooves and shook it slowly. “What do we do?” She asked quietly.

Scholar perked up at the question. “Now? Right now? At this instance? That’s the easy question.” He clapped his hands together definitively. “Absolutely jack shit.”

The Magisters stared at him in shock.

“Ex-cuse Trixie!?” The unicorn sputtered.

“Well, come on!” Scholar spread his arms helplessly. “What did you expect we were going to do? Jump straight into it? Hell no!” He snorted derisively. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we kind of just liberated an entire city. The city! We have given ourselves a foothold, a starting point! The war hasn’t started in earnest yet, no, but we have just scored ourselves an unequivocal, resounding victory! This is far from the time to be moody and depressed, to worry about the future! This is the time to celebrate! So go on!”

He marched over to the door to the room and flung it wide, gesturing towards the hallway. “Go, all of you! Leave, celebrate! We have the information we need, it’s as simple as that! We’ll deal with everything at a later date, when we’ve had a chance to unwind and relax! But for now, we revel in our victory, and we dream of all the better tomorrows to come. So go ahead, all of you! Have fun! And if you need someone to worry, leave that to me. Alright? Actually, on second thought, forget that. It’s an order, a direct one. All of you out, gogogo!”

The assembled soldiers and leaders looked at one another bemusedly before Rotfang finally stepped forwards.

“I have decided!” He declared. “To get larva-fucking drunk! Who the hell is with me!”

“Aye-aye, brother!” Lacewing crowed.

“Me three, me three!” Chitter whooped.

“The hive has spoken.” Chrysalis chuckled.

“Hey, kibble-breath!” Gavrill growled through her massive grin. “You, me, and a few thousand fans screaming for us to shred each other in the Colosseum. You in?”

“WOOF!” Cerberus barked eagerly.

“To the nearest source of booze!” Gilda proclaimed.

“The Magnificent and Majestic TRIXIE longs to entertain the masses once more!” The unicorn swept her cape back dramatically.

“And Iron Will will need to keep the two of you out of jail.” Iron Will groaned good-naturedly.

“Shall we, daughter?” Seath gestured.

“After you, father.” The demi-humanoid curtsied politely.

“HI HO, LET’S GO!” The Golem Twins whooped ecstatically.

And with that, the assorted individuals began to make their way out of the room, splitting off into their own directions to reach their own destinations.

Scholar left the door and wandered back into the room itself, deep in thought as he flicked through his Lexicon and muttered to himself.

The sound of the door clicking shut prompted him to glance over his shoulder at the exit... and then to snap his head around entirely when he saw who was in front of it.

“Fran?” He asked in confusion. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be getting back to your manor to direct triage or-?”

“What is it?” The artificial woman asked firmly.

Scholar’s eye twitched minutely as he smiled a wide, honest smile. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I mean, come on, have you seen me today? I’m in-!”

BA-BUMP!

He hissed in a minute breath through his slightly strained grin. “Peak condition, physically and magically speaking!”

Fran’s flat glare and trio of crossed arms spoke volumes of how unimpressed she was with his performance. “Scholar, I will kindly ask you to respect me as an equal in the field of general intellect, and as your superior in medical knowledge. I can read your micro-expressions like a roadmap, and for a second, just like before, you were in intense pain, this time without performing a feat of magic. What. Is. Wrong.”

Scholar’s right hand clenched unconsciously, but he hastily moved it behind his back as his smile became all too strained. “Fran, please. I swear to you, I’m fine. It’s really none of your business, just-”

“FATHER!” Fran barked fiercely, causing Scholar to flinch back as she marched up to him in a storm of indignant fury. “I am the Surgeon General of Concordia! I am in charge of all health-related matters within this city, and the wellbeing of every living creature within these borders is exactly my business! You will tell me what’s wrong with you, or so help me I will tranquilize you, haul you back to my manor and vivisect you to find the problem!”

She huffed furiously for a second before allowing the tension to flow out of her face, replacing her frustration with intense concern. “Father... ” She begged, bringing one hand up to his shoulder, and another to his face. “Please...”

Scholar let himself relax at her touch for a moment before sighing heavily and stepping back, raising his hands to brush her off. “Fran... I’m sorry... but... I just can’t alright. You wouldn’t even begin to understand in the first place.”

Fran grit her teeth in frustration made to respond... then suddenly let her expression go slack as she focused on his right hand.

“Does it have anything with the dilapidated array on your body that looks like it’s about to disintegrate?” She squeaked.

Scholar’s eyes shot wide in panic as he whipped his hand around, staring in horror at the cracked, chipped and worn lines of white energy that had appeared on his skin, running into and from an inhumanely intricate design in the center of his palm.

He unconsciously snapped his book open with his free hand, intent on doing something, anything...

And could do naught but watched as the light in the array died, the runes and designs fading to a stony gray before crumbling, falling off his hand and down his arm, the devastation disappearing into his sleeves.

Scholar’s breathing hitched momentarily. “Oh. Shi-!”

eeeeeEEEEEEEEEE-WHI-CRACK!

Pain. That... that was the only word. The only single word physically capable of even beginning to grasp Scholar’s world in that instance. No light. No dark. No sight, sound, touch, taste or smell. No memory. No past, present or future. No war. No peace. Just pain. Enough pain to overwrite any thought or memory. Enough pain to define his world in its entirety.

When he finally, regained some modicum of thought, his vision was filled with Fran’s terrified face, lightly shaking his shoulders and saying something. But whatever it was, he didn’t hear it and he didn’t have the time to read her lips. Instead, he grasped her shoulder and spoke.

“D-doctor...” He slurred. “D-doctor-p-patient conf-fidentiality...”

Fran blinked in confusion, her lips asking some form of question. He was able to make out a protest of some form.

In an instant, Scholar’s mind was flooded with enough magic to banish any and all pain from his body. Quick as a whip, he snapped his hand out, grabbed Fran by the collar of her labcoat and jerked her forwards so that they were face to face. “DOCTOR-PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY!” He roared.

Fran gaped at him in abject terror, barely breathing as she stared at him. Scholar had to fight to keep himself from apologizing when he noticed the moisture in the corner of his eyes. He wanted to, god knows he did... but the gravity of the situation meant he couldn’t afford it. She needed to understand how critical the crisis was. It killed him, stabbed at his core... but he couldn’t let anyone else know. Fran was bad enough. No one else. No one...

Vworrrp... Vworrrrp...

He stood corrected. Almost no one.

Scholar hauled himself and Fran to their feet, whipping around to face the tall blue box that was slowly materializing in the room. “I will explain...” He hissed under his breath. “Later. But for now... business as usual.”

Fran’s hands clenched into fists, but she hardened her expression and nodded slowly. “Business as usual.” She parroted in a dead tone.

Finally, the box materialized in full, and the door swung open with an ancient, ancient creak.

From between the doors trotted a stallion. He was a simple, average stallion in most all respects. Light brown fur, messy dark brown mane and tail, wide blue eyes... in fact, the only outstanding aspect of him was his Cutie Mark.

A golden hourglass, with sand flowing from the top half down to the bottom.

Scholar and the stallion stared at one another impassively for what seemed to be an eternity. Neither moved, neither breathed, neither spoke. They just... looked at one another. Both seemingly in their primes, and yet... at their cores, unspeakably ancient. Titans come face to face.

Finally, Scholar’s composure broke, a light smile playing across his lips. “It’s been far too long, Doctor.”

The stallion grinned in turn. “Too long indeed, Scholar. Far, far too long.”

And with that, the tension broke. Both laughed enthusiastically as they lunged forwards, Scholar kneeling down to accept the Doctor’s hug. “Ah, come on, you old fart! It must have passed by in the blink of an eye for someone like you!”

“Pshaw!” The Doctor threw his head back and snorted dismissively. “Now why would I do something like that? Skipping about all willy nilly? That’s just downright improper! Naw, I felt it best to take the scenic route!”

“A scenic route that took you straight through a certain princess’s wedding, eh?” Scholar released the Doctor and stood up, shooting a cheeky grin at the time traveler.

“Ah, you noticed me?” The Doctor chuckled.

“Who else would have responded to Null’s banana joke?” Scholar rolled his eyes. He then frowned and crossed his arms as he looked down at the Doctor. “So...”

The Doctor’s expression fell and he looked down and away. “I... I did try. But sometimes...” He sighed heavily and ran a hoof through his mane. “Neither omniscient nor omnipotent, simply the best. The words you used to describe us, Oligarchs and equals alike. But... I suppose that my best just wasn’t enough. Believe me, it hasn’t been more times than I care to count.”

Scholar was solemn as he observed his age-old friend. “You have a debt to pay, Doctor. And it must be paid in full.”

The Doctor sighed heavily and nodded. “Very well then...”

The human grinned cheekily. “A quarter of a million standard credits.”

“WHAT!?” The Doctor squawked indignantly. “Th- b- that’s highway robbery!” He shook his hoof at the human indignantly. “I owed you ten credits, at most!”

“Two thousand years of interest is a bi-atch!” Scholar crowed.

“That’s twelve-thousand and fifty percent interest per year!”

“Phbt!” Scholar blew a raspberry at the Time Lord.

“I- you-! Gagh!” The Doctor threw his hooves up in disbelief. “You are just as insufferable as you were all those years ago! Simply... unbelievable!”

“Heheheh...” Scholar chuckled before gazing curiously at the blue box. “Anyways... you have someone in there, right? Because I’ll find someone for you if you don’t, and it will be someone I made from the ground up.”

“Oh, no no no!” The Doctor shook his head vigorously as he turned around and stepped up to the box’s doors. “I’ve got companions, I swear! Four, in fact! One moment, I’ll go and get them. I told them to remain inside until I, ah...”

“Ensured I hadn’t become the kind person who would blast them without remorse?” Scholar asked, a glimmer of humor in his glasses.

“Hmmm...” The Doctor tapped his chin before grinning and nodding. “Yes, that’s about right.” And with that, he pushed the door open. “It’s alright you lot! Come on out, meet a good friend of mine!”

Out of the box came four female ponies. They consisted of a light gray pegasus with a blonde mane , misaligned eyes and a bubble Cutie Mark, a light purple unicorn filly with a blonde mane, a light pink juvenile unicorn with a purple mane and three diamonds for a Cutie Mark, and a yellow earth pony with a curly orange mane and a bushel of carrots for a Cutie Mark.

“Wooow...” The pegasus breathed as she took in the crystalline composure of the room. “This is a really nifty place, Doctor!”

“Yeah! It’s really pretty!” The filly piped up, eagerly looking about. She suddenly focused on Fran and smiled eagerly. “Oh! And she’s really pretty!”

The filly made to gallop towards Fran, but was stopped when she was picked up by an amethyst aura. “How about we not do that, alright Lil ’sis?” The slightly older unicorn suggested nervously.

“Awww, Big ‘sis!”

Meanwhile, the earth pony was shaking violently as she stared at Scholar in horror. “D-D-Doctor!” She half stammered, half squawked. “T-this is the ‘friend’ you wanted us to meet!? Are you cra-!” She facehoofed and tried again. “Are you trying to get us all killed!?”

“Bah, there there, Carrot Top!” The Doctor reassured her as he patted her on the back. “I assure you, Scholar is a dear friend of mine, and he’d never hurt any of you!” The last part was accompanied by a swift, literally momentary murderous glare at the human in question before the smile returned. “But anyways! Scholar, allow me to introduce you to Derpy ‘Ditzy’ Hooves,”

“Hello!” The wall-eyed pegasus waved happily.

“Dinky,”

“Hi!” The filly waved with equal energy.

“Sparkler,”

“Er... hey...” The teenager waved half-heartedly.

“And Carrot Top!”

The earth pony chose to swallow heavily.

Scholar smiled and waved in turn. “Greetings to you all! I’m Scholar, and this is my daughter Fran Madaraki!” He gestured at the medical professional, who smiled and bowed politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Fran smiled pleasantly before addressing Derpy. “Ah, Miss Hooves, about your eyes...”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it by now,” The pegasus waved her hoof indifferently, her smile never leaving her face.

“Ah, it’s not that. I’m a doctor, a medical one you see, and-!”

“Fran...” The Doctor spoke up warningly.

Fran puffed out her cheeks in response. “I’d be supervised! Honestly, one time...”

“There’s no need, Miss Madaraki, really!” Derpy shook her head. “I’m happy with my eyes, thank you very much, but thanks for offering.”

“Ah well...”

Scholar chuckled at the interaction before noticing a slight tugging sensation on his robes.

“Um, excuse me? Mister Scholar?”

Looking down, he caught sight of Dinky trying to get his attention.

“Dinky!” Sparkler yelped upon noticing she’d let the filly go. “Don’t-!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Scholar smiled kindly as he knelt down and ruffled the filly’s hair. “Is there something you wanted to say to me, Dinky?”

The little unicorn chuckled at the nice feeling then nodded. “Yeah, I do! I’ve got a question for you!”

“Well go ahead and ask it!”

“Well...” Dinky frowned and tilted her head to the side. “Are you going to destroy the world?”

The room froze as all attention snapped to the filly and mage.

Scholar frowned and crossed his arms. “What makes you ask that?”

“The stuff that big version of you said.” Dinky replied honestly. “I didn’t know what a lot of it meant, but some ponies were saying before we left that you were gonna end the world and stuff. Carrot Top was really scared of you.”

“Was she now?” Scholar mused as he shot an amused look at the named pony.

A slight gurgling sound came out of the earth pony’s throat as a result.

“And, well... you can’t really destroy the world, you know!”

“Oh?” Scholar raised his eyebrow at the filly. “And why is that?”

“‘Cause the Doctor would stop you, duh!” Dinky smiled as she stated the simple, truthful fact. “He’s done it lotsa times before, and he’ll always be there to do it again!”

The air became tense in the silence that followed the statement... until Scholar laughed and ruffled Dinky’s mane again.

“You’re right!” He concurred. “The Doctor has saved the world lots and lots and lots of times in the past! And he’s going to do it lots and lots and lots of times in the future too! But luckily, I don’t want to destroy the world!”

“You don’t?” The ponies asked. Well, Dinky and Derpy asked happily, Sparkler stuttered and Carrot Top squawked in disbelief.

“Nope!” Scholar shook his head definitively. “I just... want to change it, that’s all. The world will be different as a result, but I promise you, it won’t be destroyed!”

Dinkie put on a pair of massive puppydog eyes and pouted as cutely as she could. Which was to say, very much so. “Pinkie Promise?”

Scholar chuckled and went through the motions. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Yay!” The filly bounced happily.

“Now then!” Scholar stood to his full height and stuck his finger high into the air. “This city is in the midst of the grandest Pinkie Party of all time! How about you all go and enjoy it? Me and the Doctor have some unfinished business to discuss, alright?”

“Oh, can we mommy? Can we? Can we?” Dinky squealed eagerly.

“Of course we can, my little muffin!” Derpy smiled happily as she scooped her daughter up in a hug.

Sparkler tried to find something to say for a moment before sighing and shrugging. “Bah, what the heck. Sounds like fun!”

Carrot Top looked at the other ponies like they were all mad before sighing and hanging her head. “Why me...”

“Fantastic!” Scholar clapped his hands together as he smiled at Fran. “Fran, would you mind guiding these good souls to the festivities?”

The ponies all gave the Doctor inquiring looks with varying amounts of skepticism, which he responded to with a reassuring nod and smile.

Fran momentarily shot him an indignant look before sighing heavily and accepting defeat. “Very well, Scholar. I’ll show them the way out. But I am coming right back, understand?” The last part carried no small amount of threat.

Scholar allowed a minute amount of regret to enter his stance. “Completely.” He breathed.

Fran pursed her lips before wheeling around and striding out of the room.

Dinky, Sparkler, and Carrot Top followed her with varying amounts of reluctance, though Derpy halted, hovering near his shoulder as she gave him a concerned look. “Child troubles?” She asked gently.

Scholar flinched and glanced over his shoulder at Fran, who was happily demonstrating her numerous limbs to a mesmerized Dinky. “I... betrayed her trust... and hurt her...”

Derpy’s eyes momentarily came into focus as she stared at the human. “Do you care for her?”

Scholar met her eyes with determination. “More than anything.”

Derpy’s smile came back in an instant. “Then it’ll all work out!” And with that, she flew off to join the rest.

Scholar smiled after as she went, even as the Doctor stepped up next to him wearing a similar expression. “She’s a wonderful mare.”

The Doctor beamed and nodded in agreement as his companions stepped out the door. “That she is. That she is.”

The second the door to the room closed, Scholar and the Doctor’s expressions became deathly grave.

“How bad is it?” The Doctor stated more than asked in a stony voice.

“It’s only just started...” Scholar growled as he clutched his right hand. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop it.” He scowled and shook his head. “I... two thousand years, Doctor. I had time. So much time, and now... now it’s all gone. In the blink of an eye. Although...” Scholar let out a grim chuckle. “I suppose you wouldn’t know what that’s like, would you?”

The Doctor looked up his old friend with ancient, sorrowful eyes. “I wish I didn’t. I truly, truly wish I didn’t.”

Scholar tried to find a response, but merely resorted to shaking his head again. “I don’t want to go...” He stated numbly. “For once in my life, I really, really don’t want to go. I just... I...”

The Doctor placed his hoof on his friend’s leg, this time smiling sadly. “I know what that feels like too.”

Scholar looked down at his friend for a second before sighing, expelling all his misery and grievances in a single breath.

Without flair or panache, the human waved a hand through the air, conjuring up a trail of runes that followed his fingers and illuminated the air. In response, a section of the wall glowed and shrank away, opening a hole to the outside and allowing a wall of noise and light to enter.

Slowly, without so much as a care in the world, the mismatched duo stepped through the opening and onto the newly formed balcony, staring out over the wide, wide crystalline metropolis.

Scholar and the Doctor wordlessly watched as the festivities took place, soaking in the sheer amount of life below them.

Finally, the Doctor spoke.

“Was it worth it?”

Scholar was silent for a full minute before finally reacting. “Hm?”

“This.” The Doctor jerked his head, indicating the festivities. “All of it. Was it worth all the death and bloodshed that’s occurred today? Is this the Vitrum you dreamed of returning to? In your honest opinion I mean.”

Scholar chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. “Well... without my friends... the Oligarchs... and all the other species and beautiful, beautiful beings that populated it... it’s not whole. It’s not... complete. It’s Vitrum, but it’s... hollow. Ever so slightly empty...”

Suddenly, the sound of whooshing and whizzing drew the attention of the two ancients, and they watched as numerous streaks of light shot up into the sky.

All grew dark for a moment.

Then...

BOOM!

The night lit up in a dizzying array of patterns, designs, colors...

Scholar allowed a smile to slide onto his face. “Yeah... yeah, it was worth it. It all will be.”

The Doctor smiled and nodded in agreement.

And with that, Scholar and the Doctor stood there, and for the first time in a long time...

They knew peace.

Chapter 24. Explosive Reunions

“Is it ready?” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down around the Changeling that was crouched in front of a crystal tube that was pointing skywards. “Is it? Is it? Is it?”

“Hold on...” Chitter mused, fiddling with the chemicals and substances in the shell located at the bottom of the tube. “Just a bit more...” He slowly slid a wick into the bottom of the launcher and proceeded to light it with a spark of magic. “DUCK AND COVER!” He chortled, wheeling around and covering his head with his hooves, a motion that Pinkie imitated immediately.

The fire burned down the fiber, coming closer and closer to the tube until it went inside. Then...

Chitter blinked in confusion before standing up and peering down into the tube. “What the heck...?”

“Hmm...” Pinkie rubbed her chin as she sidled up next to him and mirrored the motion. “Did you use enough explosive powder? That always happens to m-!”

BOOM!

Chitter and Pinkie Pie blinked slowly as they cleared the spots from their eyes.

“I think we had enough gunpowder...” Chitter wheezed, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth.

“Yeah...” Pinkie agreed as she wiped the soot from her fur.

BA-BOOM!

The pair’s heads snapped up as the firework exploded high up in the sky, unleashing a wave of colors for all to enjoy.

“Wooooow...” Pinkie breathe in awe. “How do you think that kinda stuff works?”

“A mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate is ignited, causing it to combust with enough force to launch a shell containing more gunpowder into the atmosphere. The gunpowder in the shell is set on a timed fuse so that it’ll detonate at an appropriate altitude, which in turn ignites gunpowder that is mixed with such ingredients as lithium, calcium, copper, cesium and other elements in order to produce a variety of colored flames.” Chitter recited in an academic tone before blinking and shrugging. “Or at least, that’s the technical explanation. Personally, I think that it’s easier to just say that fire plus black powder equals boom.”

Pinkie’s jaw hung open as she stared at the brown-eyed changeling before speaking. “Ya know... I really don’t get ya.”

“Hm?” Chitter twisted his head around and raised an eyebrow at the party pony.

“I mean!” Pinkie waved her hoof around helplessly. “One second you’re acting all loopy-loopy like me!”

“You mean like when I comment on how yellow bananas smell like purple elephants?”

“Yeah, like that!” Pinkie jabbed her hoof at him before turning her eyes upwards and tapping her chin. “But then you say really, really smart egg-heady stuff that I’d expect from Twilight, and she’s the egg-headiest person that I know! So how come you’re like that?”

Chitter bit his bottom-lip and tilted his head side to side before shrugging. “Weeeell...” He clopped his hooves together as he grinned eagerly. “It’s like this! I was always a smart little larva, growing up. Top of the classes, Neophyte when I was two, Magister by four. Impressive, even with my kind’s growth rates. But, ah...” He tapped his hoof against the side of his head a bit harder than had to be comfortable. “Rules were always a bit loosey-goosey for me. I kept takin’ explosions and booms to the head, but I always felt fiiiine afterwards! Sometimes, even more than fine! So, I just kept goin’ and goin’ and here I am!”

Chitter turned around completely and leered at her with a somewhat madness-tinged grin. “Nowadays... the madness comes!” He inhaled and hastily drew his hooves up his chest. “And then it goes...” He exhaled, slowly pushing his hooves away. “And then it comes...” He slowly brought his hooves together. “And then it goes!” His hooves leapt apart from one another. “And then it comes and goes!” He tapped his hooves against his forehead and threw them apart. “And then...”

Suddenly, without warning, Chitter leapt at Pinkie Pie and bowled her over, pinning her to the ground as he leered over her menacingly. “It’s there, right there!” He roared, spittle flying from his mouth. “Baying for blood and fire and rampage, howling and clawing at my skull for days on end with no rest!No tolerance! No end! Just fire, fire,FIRE!!!”

He whipped one of his hooves to his side and returned it holding a large, green fruit. “Would you care for some watermelon?”

Pinkie blinked before slowly shaking her head. “No thanks.”

Chitter blinked in turn before stepping off her and falling on his rear, tilting his head in confusion. “Where the heck did I get a watermelon?” He asked.

Pinkie scrambled back to her hooves and beamed at the deranged changeling. “Oh, that’s easy! You brought your hooves to your side, where this weird swirly thing of colors showed up before you put your hoof in and took out the watermelon! It’s really neato, I’ve been seeing people use it all over town! Even me!”

“Psh!” Chitter scoffed and rolled his eyes. “That’s just my personal pocket dimension, everyone can use those, either instinctively or with training. No, I mean this watermelon specifically!” He leaned in and sniffed the green skin. “I don’t remember picking it up...”

Pinkie shrugged helplessly. “Weeell... in that case, I dunno!”

“Huh...” Chitter stared at it for a moment before shrugging. “Ah well! Bye bye!” And with that, he heaved his leg and tossed the watermelon over the edge of the street.

Pinkie chuckled at the antics... before freezing as her entire body started to vibrate. “Doozy! Doozy!”

Chitter blinked in surprise. “Wow, you’ve got precognition too? You’re really, really lucky! What’dya think’ll happ-?”

BOOM!

The two jumped in surprise when an explosion rang out from below the street.

Slowly, the pair peered out over the edge and took in the array of juicy, fruity destruction below.

“Oh yeeeaaah...” Chitter breathed as he pounded one hoof into the other. “Nooow I remember where I got that watermelon. I was checking the auxiliary lab I had set up here in Vitrum and saw that my nitroglycerin-hydroponics project was still active.”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side as she watched pink juice drip down from... everywhere. “Looks like it worked to me.”

“Ha!” Chitter barked. “Boy did it! I had two right then and there and saved a third for the road!”

The pair continued to observe the scene for a moment before Pinkie blinked and slowly looked at the pyrotechnic insectoid. “Waaait... you ate two explosive watermelons?”

Chitter shrugged indifferently. “Yeah? So wha-?”

He was cut off by a very loud roar erupting from his gut.

The pair slowly looked down at his stomach before looking back up.

“On second thought, I get your point.” Chitter whispered. Acting fast, he rammed his hoof into the road, causing a large rectangular construct of crystal to rise up behind them. He ripped the door open and wheeled around to stand in the entrance. “In case I don’t make it out of this, the code to stop my lab’s self destruct is Alpha-Tango-79-Papa...” He trailed off before shrugging. “Bah, I forget.” He then proceeded to grimace as another louder roar rang out. “This is gonna suck!” He stepped back and shut the door.

Suddenly, a very loud, very gastric sound erupted from the stall, shaking Pinkie and the street in general. “OH GOD, IT BURNS! WHY!? WHY DOES IT BURN!? WHYYY-Hey, wait!” The sound and shaking suddenly stopped. “Huh, on second thought, it’s a bit uncomfortable, but it’s not like it’s that bad! I think that I’m gonna be oka-AHH!” The sound redoubled in force. “I WAS WRONG! I WAS HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY WRONG!”

Pinkie stared at the stall in confusion before a look of understanding came across her face. “Ooooh! ‘Explosive diarrhea’! Nooow I get it!” She frowned and tilted her head to the side. “Wow, that kind of humor is a lot more mature than usual. I thought we were rated-?”

She was frozen in place by parts of her body jerking about.

“Quakey front hooves!” Pinkie listed as her forelegs trembled from the knees down. “Rapid blinking!” Her eyelids fluttered rapidly. “And talking really really reallyreallyreallyreallyreaaaally fast! But that means-!” Her eyes shot wide in shock as she jumped into the air and let out a huuuuge gasp. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”

Pinkie hastily knocked on the stall door. “Hey-Chitter-sorry-I-gotta-go-something-really-important-came-up-I’ll-try-and-find-you-later-but-I-gotta-go-bye!” And with that she shot off.

“Hey, wait!” Chitter opened the door and made to follow her. “I’ll come too!”

His stomach rumbled and roared.

“Or-maybe-not!” He bit out before jumping back and ramming the door shut... which caused the stall to tilt and fall over.

“... well this is going to stain.”

Pinkie bounced down the road, weaving through the crowd of partygoers as she followed the tingly feeling she had in her muzzle. The pink mare frowned as she recognized the distance between she and her target, and as such made a hasty decision in her head. She glanced around for a moment before grinning as she found what she was looking for.

Pinkie bounced off the back of a low-flying changeling, up to the top of a booth that was selling crystal donuts, and into the flare of light that was hanging right inside the barrel of pastries the booth was selling.

She popped out of an empty staircase a block away, slid under the hooves of a conga-line that was about a dozen ponies and changelings long and dropped into the light that was just over the edge of the square.

And so it went, from street to street, block to block, from bush to crate to dress to a large replica clam being carried by two crystal ponies to the hingeless mouth of a griffin statue. On and on, across the city, closer and closer to her destination until finally...

Pinkie leapt out of a discarded mug of... something, sprang at her target and wrapped her hooves around the neck of-

“MAUDIE!” She squealed eagerly, picking up her eldest sister and swinging her around gleefully. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, it’s been so loooong, Maudie! How’ve you been? Have you had fun? When was the last time you had a cupcake!?”

Maud Pie smiled exuberantly, the corners of her lips tilting up a full five degrees. “Hello, Pinkie Pie. I’ve been fine. I have had fun, and it has been about a month since my last cup-” She was cut off by pink hoof ramming a pastry into her mouth.

“It's sooo good to see you again, Maud!” Pinkie smiled eagerly. “Things have been really crazy for awhile! I still can’t believe that I managed to set all this up, especially after-!” She cut herself off by gasping deeply. “Oh my gosh, were you here when the fighting was happening, are you hurt?!”

The purple mare swallowed and wiped her mouth with the heavy cloak she was wearing. She visibly frowned at her sister. “No, I’m fine. I got into Vitrum after everything was over and done with. I was pleasantly surprised to find one of your party’s going on. But what about you? Are you fine?”

Pinkie smiled and nodded happily. “Yuppers! I’m a-okay! I wasn’t anywhere the fighting! Well...” She frowned and shrugged as she corrected herself. “Actually, I was close to it for a bit, buuut I wasn’t in any danger. But anyways!” She beamed at her sister. “What are you doing here, Maudie? How’d ya get here? How’d you know where to find this place?”

“Yeah...”

The Pie sisters looked up in surprise at the voice that sounded above them.

Hovering above them were Nix and Null, both of their eyes narrowed in the closest expressions they had to a frown.

“That’s what we wanna know too.” Null stated firmly.

“Hello, Miss Pie,” Nix greeted in a faux-saccharine voice. “Welcome to Vitrum, a city whose name you somehow already know. The degree to which your stay here will be a pleasant one depends entirely on how you answer our questions.”

Pinkie smiled nervously as she waved at the twin golems. “H-hello, Nix and Null! This is my sister, Maud! Are you two enjoying the party? Can I try and getcha anything, or... uh...” Her cheer deflated under the cold demeanor of the normally wacky and jovial constructs.

“So... Maud, was it?” Nix continued, clapping her hands together. “We’re a tad confused here. How did you know where we were, much less what the name of this city was?”

“Uhh...” Pinkie blinked in confusion. “Why... does that matter? I mean, it doesn’t sound that important, so-?”

“It matters,” Null cut her off frigidly. “Because this city hasn’t really been... anything for the past two thousand years. It hasn’t existed. Period. So the fact that someone was able to find out it’s location and name within the week it’s come back into being, not to mention making their way past the defenses to reach here? Yeah, it’s important. Important enough to concern the both of us.”

“Yeeeaaah, that’s another thing.” Nix tilted her head at her brother. “Defenses around Vitrum? They’re reeeal tight. Making it through the mountains and tundra is one thing. Making it past the Windigoes? We have very real reason to be concerned.”

“The Windigo let me in.”

The Twins snapped their heads towards Maud.

“I’m sorry?” Null questioned flatly.

“The Windigo who stopped me.” Maud shrugged minutely. “It went away and let me keep coming towards Vitrum.”

“Yeeeaaah...” Nix droned again as she tilted her head side to side. “That’s the thing... impressive as the Windigoes might be, they’re not infallible. See, if Princess Bleach-Butt and Ink-Blot choose to play hardball with us-”

“Which they will,” Null interjected.

“Which they will,” His sister nodded in agreement. “Then it would be child's play for them to, say, implant artificial emotions in any agent they chose to send north so that the Windigoes might read them as friendly or inoffensive, and choose to let them pass by unharmed.”

“Plus...” Null drifted closer to the dark purple mare. “You still haven’t answered how you know so much about where we are. And that’s an answer we really want to hear.” He began to casually flex his fingers. “And we’d be ever so disappointed if we didn’t get those answers.”

Pinkie swallowed and smiled nervously as she took a step back, while Maud remained impassive as she stared up at the golem. “Boulder told me.” She responded evenly.

“And who is this... ‘Boulder’?” Null air-quoted.

“He’s my pet rock.”

Nix and Null stared at Maud flatly for a minute before slowly turning to stare at one another. They then slowly looked back. “Excuse me?” Null asked flatly.

“Boulder is my pet rock.” Maud repeated.

The twins looked at each other again before Null gave Pinkie Pie a flat stare. “Is she serious?” He deadpanned. “Because you’re related to one another, so tell me, is she bullshitting us or just flat out crazy?”

“Nope!” Pinkie chirped gleefully. “She’s had Boulder for years!”

“Here...” Maud dug through her cloak before holding out her hoof, a medium-sized rock balanced on the end of the limb.

Nix and Null stared at the rock. Null’s look was flat, with one of his eyes twitching slightly, whereas Nix was staring intently at the stone, analyzing it intently.

“Right!” The red golem clapped his hands together, his voice all too sweet. “What say we go on a quick little date? You, me, Boulder, a dark room about a mile below the-”

“Actually!” Nix interjected, hastily interposing herself between her brother and the mare. “Would you terribly mind if I had a little... chat with Boulder for a moment?”

“Sure.” Maud held up the rock, which Nix gingerly took into her hand.

“What!?” Null squawked in disbelief. “Nix, what’re you-?”

“Continue the line of questioning.” The green golem said quietly without looking up from the rock she was holding.

“Oh come on!” He scoffed in disbelief. “You can’t actually believe-!”

“Null!” Nix snapped her head around and glared at her brother. “Continue. The line. Of questioning.” She ordered firmly.

Null spread his hands in disbelief before slapping one to his face. “Son of a... fine!” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Fine! Fine.” He lowered himself down to Maud’s level while his sister continued to examine the stone, a few bits of energy sparking from her fingers on occasion.

“So... Maud... ‘Pie’, was it?” He droned dully, bringing a notepad out of his hand and making a show of looking it over. “Let’s just skip ahead a bit. What are your intentions here in our fair city of Vitrum, blah blah blah...”

Maud was unfazed. “I would like to become a Neophyte of the Academia Arcana.”

“Excuse me?” Null demanded sharply, snapping his head up as he dismissed the pad.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie yelped, jumping in front of her sister and clutching her shoulders. “B-b-but Maud! What about your rocktorate in rock studies!? I thought you wanted to be a-a-a rock-sciencey-person or-or-!”

“A geologist, Pinkie.” Maud answered softly, placing her own hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “And I still do. But the fact is, the Academia Arcana can offer me a far more thorough education and more opportunities than the Stalliongrad College of Geology could ever hope. I’m just looking for the best option I can get.”

“But...” Pinkie bit her lip miserably. “Y-you’ll have to fight Princess Celestia and Equestria and-and-!”

“No.” Maud cut her off hastily. “I wouldn’t.”

“She’s right...” Null added slowly. “She wouldn’t have to. The Academia Arcana has five ranks of members: Neophyte, Alumnus, Magister, Arch Magus and Professor Magnus. Technically four, seeing how Scholar permanently holds the sole rank of Professor Magnus. The Neophytes are entry-level members, students and apprentices in the truest form. They are never required to take part in any conflicts the Academia becomes a part of, and no members of the Academia are discriminated against, regardless of race or nationality.”

“However...” Null began to raise into the air, his voice taking on a dangerous undertone. “During times of conflicts, we take recruitment very seriously. We scrutinize our latest Neophytes for security purposes.” He slowly wandered forwards to loom over Maud. “Even if we were to ignore the fact that you know a lot of stuff that you shouldn’t know, it’d take a lot more than you just asking to get into the Academia. And if we even considered you for admission, you’d need to prove your worth, someway, somehow. And frankly?” He brought himself within inches of Maud’s impassive face. “I seriously doubt you have what it takes to make the cut.”

“Hey!” Pinkie shot up between the two of them, jabbing her hoof at the golem. “Maud is a great geolo-whatsit! She can totally prove how incredibly super-tacularly awesome she is, no-!”

“Alright, you know what!” Null snarled, tapping his face against Pinkie Pie’s. “I’m enjoying the party, and frankly, I find your antics to be hilarious, but right now? I’m on the clock! So either you back up or I will demonstrate to you how we here in Concordia define the term acceptable for-!”

THWACK!

“GYAH!” Null cried, his head literally spinning as he was snapped away from the pink pony by a purple hoof.

Maud snorted and stepped in front of her sibling as she glared at the golem. “Don’t threaten my sister.” She warned.

Null clamped his hands on his head, ceasing his spin-out as he returned the glare ten-fold. “Okay... I’ve been trying to be polite... I’ve been having nice, non-violent fun, because frankly, I try not to enjoy violence... but if it walks like a troll, talks like a troll and smells like a troll, then you can be sure as hellfire that I’m gonna treat it like I would a damn tro-OAGH!” He squawked when, the moment he released his head, it began to spin just as fast as before. “WHY CAN’T I STO-O-OP!?”

“Hang on...” Nix interjected, grabbing her brother’s head with one hand, while the other held on to Boulder. She leaned in and inspected Null’s skull. “It looks like the portion of your stabilizer array that controls your x-axis has been cracked clean through.”

Null’s eye twitched before he stared at Maud in disbelief. “Ignoring the sheer brute strength needed to do that, how the hell would she hit me there apart from pure luck?”

“Your body told me where to hit you.” Maud replied flatly.

Null’s eye twitched again before slowly cracking his knuckles. “I take back what I said earlier...” He droned. “I am going to very much enjoy this.”

“Null.” Nix interjected, bringing up another hand. “I want you to look at Boulder.”

“Nix, what the heck are you-?” Null looked at his sister like she was crazy.

“Null!” Nix hissed, emphasizing her every word. “I told you. To look. At the damn rock!” And with that, she rammed Boulder into Null’s hand, green energy wrapping around both her and her brother’s hands.

In an instant, Null’s eyes shot wide in shock as he stared at his hand. After a minute, Nix let the magic dissipate and drew her hand away. Finally, Null looked back up at his sister. “You... don’t honestly think...?”

“It’s the only explanation!” Nix spread her arms helplessly. “How she knows so much, how she knew where to hit!”

“But the chances of her being able to-!” Null was cut off by Nix jabbing her finger at Pinkie. Null stared at her for a moment before nodding in Nix’s grip. “Point taken, but still, the chances of her getting that are-!”

“Pinkie, Maud!” Nix spoke up. “Where did you grow up and how did you get Boulder?”

“Oh!” Pinkie waved her hoof in the air eagerly. “Me and Maud grew up on a rock farm!”

“I got Boulder when I shattered a rock that Pinkie Pie gave me for my Cute-cenera.” Maud stated.

Nix jabbed her hand at the sisters, her entire body seeming to scream ‘told you so’.

Null stared at her wide-eyed for a second before looking back at Maud. “Alright...” He said slowly, bringing out a clipboard and pen from his hands and holding them before Maud. “Congratulations, you’re in. Me and Nix will vouch for you. Just sign on the lines with Xs...”

He waited as Maud took the pen in her mouth and proceeded to do so before bringing the board and implement up, allowing Nix and himself to sign it before putting it away. “Okay, today’s obviously a festival day, so feel free to enjoy yourself. When you get tired, ask around and someone will direct you to the Neophyte Dorms, orientation will be at noon tomorrow. Until then... have fun, I guess.”

He looked at Nix. “Now, can we go to the golemancy labs and get my head fixed? I’d like to be able to move of my own volition, thank you very much.”

Nix gave a lax salute to the Pies. “See you around, Neophyte.”

And with that, the Twins flew off, weaving around Vitrum’s cityscape.

Pinkie watched as the pair left before pouting at her sister. “I wanna be happy for you, but now we won’t be able to see each other again for a really long time!” She whined.

Maud’s mouth tilted up a whopping fifteen degrees as she beamed at her sister. “Then we’ll just have to enjoy this party to it’s fullest. After all...” She looked around at the festivities going on around them. “It is one of the best you’ve ever thrown. Though I don’t know how you threw a party for an entire city.”

Pinkie’s smile returned full force, albeit a bit shakily. “Outside influences, but still! You’re right, it is a party! Let’s have some FUN!” And with that, she lifted onto her back-hooves and spread her forelegs wide. “HEY EVERYBODY!” She bellowed. “THERE’S A CONGA-LINE FIFTEEN PONIES LONG ON DIAMOND BOULEVARD! WHO WANTS TO SHOW THEM HOW IT’S REALLY DONE!?”

“I’M IN!” A voice called from a rectangular stall made of crystal that hopped its way on to the street. “LET’S DO THIS! WOO!”

Nearly fifty other resounding cheers and one modest “Alright” answered her, causing her smile to widen even more.

Chapter 25. Quiet Meetings

Fluttershy glanced around at the tall, markless walls of the hall she was trotting down.

“Wow...” She breathed to herself. “This place is... incredible. And I thought it was impressive from the outside...”

And it was. Fluttershy had been wandering the streets of Vitrum for about an hour or so. Sure, she’d been having a bit of fun here and there as she went, but mainly, the pegasus had been doing what she always did during a Pinkie Party: searching for a quiet corner where she could weather the brunt of the cacophony that the affair inevitably produced.

At first, she hadn’t had much luck. Pinkie had been very thorough with the organization and dispersal of the festivities. There wasn’t so much as a single inch of the crystalline metropolis where the party wasn’t in full swing.

Finally, however, Fluttershy had come across a large structure. Though, to be accurate, ‘large’ didn’t even begin to cover it. The dark-red crystal building was over a hundred feet tall, and judging by how the curve of the walls meant she couldn’t see all the way around it, it had to be over 1000 feet wide.

Nevertheless, despite the immense stature of the edifice, Fluttershy couldn’t hear even a single sound coming from it, and that was exactly what she was hoping for. Luckily, as circuitous as the rest of the city might be, the roads leading into the building were easy enough to locate and follow.

Once inside, Fluttershy trotted down a large, nigh-cavernous corridor that followed the curve of the building and was illuminated at regular intervals by arcane lights that hung near the ceiling. The further she went, the more the sounds of the party faded behind her. A fair bit of her time was spent peering into abandoned alcoves that seemed to line the wall, as well as what appeared to be doorways that led into nothing but crystal. On occasion, she came upon stairwells that led up and down and perpendicularly intersecting corridors of equal stature, but she instead elected to continue straight ahead.

After a few minutes, she came to a corridor larger than any of the others that led to a doorway as large as the initial entrance that was filled with a wall of bright, intangible light. Fluttershy bit her lip as she considered her options. On the one hand, while the arch was no doubt intimidating, she couldn’t deny that there wasn’t so much as a peep coming from beyond it.

Finally, Fluttershy exhaled a large breath, dug her flask out of her feathers and took a deep swig. “Come on, Fluttershy...” She mumbled to herself as she trotted forwards. “Iron Will might have been a lying faker, but there was one thing that I can take to heart!”

She stepped through the light, allowing the magic to part around her like a gas-liquid combination.

“Attack the-!”

“ROOOOAAAAARRGH!”

“MEEP!” Fluttershy squeaked in terror, slipping onto her hindquarters in shock at the near-literal wall of sound that slammed into her ears.

As she reeled from the sensory overload, Fluttershy slowly came to process her surroundings. Closest she could tell, the pegasus was between the bleachers of an absolutely massive colosseum. Only half of the noise that was vibrating the air was composed of titanic bestial bellows and howls. The other half was a multitude of cheers and cries of elation sounding out from the mass of ponies and changelings that were watching from the stands.

Even from where she was sitting, Fluttershy had a clear view of what they were cheering about: in the pit of the arena, two titanic creatures were facing off against one another. One was the smoky, ethereal form that she recognized as Cerberus, grown to massive proportions, the closest he had to fangs bared and his pseudo-muscles tensed in eager anticipation.

The other was... it was something. Vaguely canine in nature, like how a dragon resembled a lizard, it was as equally massive as Cerberus, save that it was coated in actual- if twisted and strained- flesh, and any facial features it had were covered by a messy mop of hair that was a familiar shade of blue.

Any mysteries about the creature’s identity were dispelled when it started to laugh in an all-too familiar, somewhat distorted voice.

“BAHAHA! IS THAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOT, YOU DUMB MUTT?!” Gavrill barked mockingly. “COME ON, YOU CAN DO BETTER! FIGHT LIKE YOU’VE ACTUALLY GOT A FUCKING P-!”

“WOOF!”

“GAGH!” Gavrill cut herself off when her canine sibling lunged forwards, clamping his side heads on her shoulders and working at mauling her limbs while his middle head snapped forwards, trying to get at her face.

Nevertheless, in a herculean feat of strength, Gavrill managed to wrench her hands up and catch the middle head’s jaws mere feet from her face, ignoring the assault on her shoulders. She then wrenched her arms backward, ripping the head from its shoulders and causing the other two to howl in pain, releasing her from their grasp and allowing her to stagger backwards, the head dissipating into nothing in her claws.

As swiftly as the damage was done, it was undone, Gavrill’s shoulders rapidly stitching themselves shut while the stump of a neck erupted in darkness before coalescing into an unharmed but no less infuriated head.

Gavrill panted heavily for a moment before leering eagerly. “NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! READY FOR ROUND TWO, SHITBRAIN?”

Cerberus matched her grin for grin. “WOOF!”

And with that, the pair fell into a furious, senseless brawl of fangs and fury, prompting the onlooking crowd to roar their approval all the louder.

Fluttershy swallowed heavily as she worked to get herself to her hooves and backpedal into the archway as calmly as she could. She wasn’t paralyzed by the fight like most would have expected. If anything, it was all too similar to the fights that some of her more carnivorous friends back in Ponyville sometimes got into. Nevertheless, all she wanted to do at the moment was get as far away from there as poss-!

She had just about shuffled her way back into the archway she had come through when a familiar voice cut through the haze of raw terror.

“What the- Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy span around in shock at the familiar voice just off to her left and up. “I-Iron Will!?”

The minotaur in question looked down at her from the bleachers in surprise before vaulting over the railings and landing in front of her “What are you doing here?” He queried.

“U-uh...” Fluttershy stammered nervously. “I-I was looking for a q-quiet place, so...”

“Ah, right, the soundproofing wards,” Iron Will nodded in understanding. “Those are actually meant to keep the sounds of that,” He jerked his head towards the arena. “In. Inside, though... Well, while Iron Will can certainly see the appeal - watching those two tear into one another is certainly entertaining - it’s not the kind of spectacle Iron Will wants to partake in at the moment.”

“O-Oh. W-Well, don’t let me k-keep you…” Fluttershy squeaked out.

Iron Will cocked an eyebrow at the paralyzed mare for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh. “Look... Iron Will got directions from a Crystal Pony leading to a truly quiet place that you might enjoy. Do you want to come find it with Iron Will, or...?”

Fluttershy mentally weighed her options for a moment. On the one hand, follow the heavily armed and armored minotaur to whereabouts unknown. On the other…

The sound of snapping cartilage and tearing flesh rang out, followed by a pained howl that
prompted another round of roaring cheers and applause.

“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, THREE-LEGS?”

“I-I think I’ll come with you… if that’s alright...” Fluttershy replied, her voice barely audible over the crowd.

Iron Will grunted and nodded. “Come on, then.” He stomped through the archway and its foggy barrier, followed closely by Fluttershy.

As the two made their way into the arena’s outer rings, Fluttershy looked around at the abandoned corridors curiously. “Wh-why is this place...?”

“Abandoned?” Iron Will provided. “Easy enough. Vast majority of Vitrum’s population is out partying, and only a thousand or two are currently watching the fight. The booth owners and vendors haven’t set up yet, either, and they’re normally the ones occupying these spaces.”

“H-how do you-?”

“Iron Will asked while he was following the crowd in. Now then... ah, this one should do.” He stopped in front of one of the empty doorways that led into the wall. “Now, let’s see... Iron Will thinks...” Iron Will raised his arm to his left shoulder, removed a circular piece of metal from his pauldron and pressed it into the crystalline wall. Instantly, the doorframe lit up with runes, and the doorway itself filled with light.

“There we go!” Iron Will grinned as he put the amulet back in his armor. “Scholar was right, these things are useful. Now then, come on.” He strode through the wall of light, once again followed by Fluttershy.

When she stepped out, Fluttershy rubbed her forelegs over her eyelids in an effort to clear her vision. As the spots faded away, Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her pace slowed as she took in the scenery before her.

It was... nature. Simple as that. A field of grass and flowers and soft rolling hills, broken only by the occasional tree or vertical outcropping of stone. Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the land was simply how... natural it all felt. Like it was an honest to goodness slice of wilderness instead of just another urban park.

Fluttershy opened and shut her mouth numbly. “I... This... where...?”

“This is the Overloft.” Iron Will grinned pleasantly. “Remember those small islands that started floating above Vitrum after it was completely unsealed? Each of them has its own ecosystem on it that acts as a nature preserve and natural laboratory for the ecology-focused researchers.”

“Are-are there… animals?” Fluttershy breathed. A small lapine head poking its head out from behind a nearby tree answered her. Fluttershy’s face lit up with a radiant smile at the sight of the animal... before swiftly withering as a thought struck her. “Ah...”

“Worried that they’ll snub you?” Iron Will chuckled, not unkindly.

Fluttershy paled and her ears folded against her head. “Y-you h-heard about that?”

“Everyone from Manehattan to the San Palomino heard about that little... Iron Will will be polite and call it an ‘event’.”

“W-well...”

“And to answer your question...” Iron Will knelt down on his hooves, held out his hand and whistled. The rabbit perked up, jumped out of its burrow and hopped up to Iron Will, rubbing its head against the palm of Iron Will’s gauntlet. “The animals are used to interacting with the researchers and anyone else here for a picnic or otherwise. They’ll take kindly to you.”

Fluttershy let out a squee of joy as she swept the bunny up in a joyous hug. The bunny reciprocated, cheerfully nuzzling her. The sound of more squeaks drew her attention away from the hug and to a small crowd of animals. Mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds of all varieties, even some small rodents that Fluttershy didn’t recognize.

Reluctantly putting down the rabbit she had been hugging, Fluttershy cautiously made her way to the small crowd of animals, though picking up speed as they didn’t run away from her. She leaned over to take a closer look at one of the unfamiliar rodents.

“Oh, I don’t recognize you. What’s your name?”

Iron Will smiled as he watched the pegasus interact with the small crowd of animals, flitting about and speaking with them pleasantly.

Leaving her to her frolicking, the armored minotaur looked around for a moment before heading towards an isolated tree standing alone on one of the low hills.

Reaching the side of the tree that was casting a healthy shade, Iron Will reached over his shoulder, unlatched his club, and leaned it against the trunk before sitting down and leaning himself against the tree in turn.

He reached up to his shoulder... and froze. His face twisted in intense thought before flashing with horror, disgust, and finally resignation. Slowly, and with great trepidation, he clutched his pauldron, unlatched it, and gingerly lifted it off his shoulder.

Or, at least, he tried. The piece of armor stuck fast, and he was forced to start peeling it off. Once there was a gap between his skin and the metal, he leaned in and gave a sniff, recoiling almost immediately. With a weary sigh, he finished removing the armor off and set it aside.

Iron Will repeated the process with the rest of the armor on his legs and arms, slowly and surely peeling them off, a process made difficult due to the sweat matting his fur.

Finally, he reached his chestplate. This one was more difficult, and it took a lot of effort, but when he finally managed to lever it off...

Iron Will grimaced as he stared at the bronze plate he was holding. Slowly, he reached forwards and felt over the twin holes in the metal. When he drew his fingers back, they came back stained red. Looking down, he lightly touched the areas of uninjured muscle that were surrounded by patches of blood-matted fur.

After repeating the process with the back half of the armor, he finally leaned himself back against the tree, his muscles going lax as he let out a massive exhalation, filled with exhaustion and weariness.

Iron Will laid there for a few minutes, thoughts flitting to and from through his burnt out mind.

Finally, he leaned forwards and started digging through the pile of his armor until he found his pauldron. Once he found it, he worked the amulet out of its socket again. Iron Will then held it in his palm and tapped its center, causing the circle of metal to light up with magic and runes. He swept his fingers through a sequence of glyphs before waiting patiently.

After a few seconds, the amulet pulsed with magic and a translucent copy of Scholar’s head appeared floating above Iron Will’s hand.

“Hey Iron Will! I see you’re enjoying Prairie Field! Not the most originally named of locations, sure, but I’ll admit to catching a quick nap there once in awhile. Aaanyways, what are you calling for?”

Iron Will opened his mouth to speak... then hesitated, the words dying in his throat.

Scholar frowned. “Iron Will? What is it?”

Iron Will heaved a heavy sigh and slowly shook his head. “Scholar... is this... any of this... ever going to get any easier?”

The light in Scholar’s glasses blinked momentarily before he too sighed with equal weariness. “What brought this on?” He asked quietly.

“Iron Will...” The minotaur’s free hand unconsciously came up to his shoulder. “Iron Will just took off his armor...”

“And you realized that you couldn’t remember the last time you took it off.” Scholar completed in a somber tone.

“No...” Iron Will shook his head. “Iron Will remembers when he last took his armor off. The problem is that the last time Iron Will did that was two weeks ago. Not!” He hastily rose his hand when Scholar flinched. “That Iron Will blames you. Iron Will knew what was coming, he expected this... or...” He groaned and ran his hand over his muzzle. “Iron Will... Iron Will thought he did... he’s killed before, life as a vagrant all but guaranteed it happening, but... but this...”

Iron Will gestured fruitlessly. “He... Iron Will just needs to know if this is how things are going to be. If... this is Iron Will’s life now. Iron Will can live with it if it is, but... Iron Will just wants to know for certain, that’s...” He hung his head. “That’s all.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before he groaned, lifting his glasses onto his forehead as he rubbed his eyes. “I... Iron Will... I want to tell you that things are going to get better. I want to reassure you... but I respect you too much to rehash a platitude. So... I’ll be honest. Things... things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better. This is a war. We’ve only just begun, and before this is all through, we’ll all be up to our elbows in blood, Equestrians and Academics alike.” Scholar lowered his glasses and shook his head slowly. “I... I’m sorry.”

Iron Will grunted and nodded somberly. “Iron... Iron Will understands... it’s not your fault. It’s... just how things are...”

Scholar was silent for a moment before speaking. “Iron Will... I can guess what you’re thinking about. What you’re worrying about.”

“Hm?” Iron Will grunted noncommittally.

“You’re afraid you’re going to fail.”

That caused Iron Will’s head to snap up, his eyes filled with honest shock.

“You’re afraid that you’re going to falter, or stumble, or just wind up being flat out not strong enough, either physically or mentally.” Scholar forged on. “You’re afraid that when push comes to shove, you’re going to buckle and everyone around you will suffer for it as a result. Iron Will, let me be clear on this: That is not happening. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. You will not break. I know with a vengeance that you are not going to give up or give in. I’m certain of it.”

Iron Will opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. “H...how?” He breathed.

Scholar fell silent as he bowed his head, his glasses glinting idly.

“LEFT FLANK! LEFT FLANK!”

“They’re trying to go for a pincer maneuver! Fall back, fall back!”

“Sir, the front lines have been overrun!”

“Damn it! Alright, get orders to the third division, tell them to reroute towards the east. We’ll turn this on them, catch them between the third, first and fifth. Then-!”

“SIR! THE ENEMY CHARGE HAS BEEN BROKEN!”

“What!? I thought you said the front lines were-!”

“Chief Minos is still alive! He’s taking them all on singlehanded!”

“Son of a-! I WANT ALL FORCES CONVERGING ON THAT OLD BULL, RIGHT GODDAMN NOW! FULL FRONTAL ASSAULT! GO GO GO!”

“SIR YES SIR!”

Scholar shook his head as he came out of the memory. “Empirical evidence. Way back when, during our heyday, while Concordia was still young and the more hostile remaining nations were taking potshots at us, we won a battle known as the Battle of the Red Plains. The fact of the matter is... we had no right winning that battle. We were outmanned, out-supplied, almost outmaneuvered... and we still managed to succeed. All thanks to one stubborn bull too headstrong to die and too obstinate to even consider surrendering. That was the day I became aware of it.”

Scholar allowed a small smile to show out of his hood. “Defiance is an all but genetic trait of the minotaur species. It’s not one-hundred percent, it can skip a person every once in awhile, sure... but when it’s there, you know that it’s there. Iron Will, I’ve seen more than enough of you to tell you with certainty that you have the signature will of the minotaurs.”

He held up a hand. “Now, there will be times where you’ll flinch. Times when you’ll strain and hesitate, and even times where you bend. I expect that. And I trust that every time, you won’t break. You won’t shatter. Instead, you’ll come back ten times stronger as a result. I trust that when push comes to shove, when the hammer meets the anvil, I’ll be able to trust you. And why shouldn’t I? After all...” His grin widened as he folded his arms behind his head. “Your name suits you perfectly.”

Iron Will gaped at Scholar wordlessly for a few seconds before slowly grinning. “...thank you, Scholar.”

“Not a problem. Now... I have a mission for you: Relax. Lay back, get some rest. I want the guy who I’m trusting my back to to be fully back on his game by tomorrow. Capiche?”

Iron Will nodded. “Capiche. So... see you tomorrow?”

“If it’s a second sooner than twenty-four hours, I’ll charge you with insubordination.” And with that, the image dissipated.

Iron Will took a deep breath, in and out, his shoulders slumping as tension he’d forgotten he’d had flowed out. He eyed his armor, in need of some repair work and a good cleaning, before mentally shrugging. The armor could wait.

Instead, the minotaur simply leaned back and stared at the horizon, watching as a certain pacifistic pegasus played with the local fauna and finding shapes in the white fluff of the far-off clouds.

Pretty soon, Iron Will’s mind was serenely drifting along, as peaceful as his surroundings.

-o-

“- thank you, darling. You can be quite sure that the next time I need gem polish, I’ll buy from you! Ta ta!”

Waving the crystal pony goodbye, Rarity allowed herself a quiet squeal of joy. So many ideas! Already, she could picture an entire line of new accessories utilizing the absolutely incredible gem and crystal work she had seen many of the crystalline citizens wearing. And that wasn’t even mentioning their radiant bodies themselves. The sheer flood of creative ingenuity was... there were simply no words that could describe it!

Currently, the fashionista found herself rubbing shoulders with Vitrum’s upper-class, courtesy of an invitation from a sufficiently impressed well-to-do stallion she’d met an hour back. It wasn’t anything extravagant, just a calm little soiree, a quiet celebration of victory and freedom.

The event was being held upon an extensively decorated veranda situated on the edge of one of the chasms that formed the Subarchives. Rarity had to admit, as daunting as the drop might appear, it was most definitely majestic in every sense of the word.

The ponies she was interacting with matched that description to a T. What they lacked in the pomp and circumstance of Canterlot’s nobility, they made up for with the innate feeling of honest power they seemed to exude. It was as if they knew they were nobility, and felt no need for the displays the Canterlotians preferred. Honestly, they almost made the nobility seem insecure by comparison.

And so polite! Well, to be fair, there had been more than a few party-goers who had given her varying degrees of the cold shoulder, but apart from them the rest of the opulent ponies were very welcoming, eager to hear about how fashion and customs had changed in the past millennium.

Rarity shook her head and smiled as she exited from her thoughts and started seeking out another target of fashion to speak with. Her smile widened as she caught sight of a pegasus mare whose exquisite mane was done up in a flawless bun thanks to a pair of ornate crimson pins.

“Excuse me!” She simpered, tossing her mane as she trotted up to the crystalline pony. “Pardon me, but I couldn’t help but notice those exquisite hairpins you’re sporting! Could you tell me where you acquired them?”

The mare beamed at the praise. “Why, I’ll have you know that I made them myself!”

Rarity gasped in awe. “Oh my! How incredible!” She extended her hoof in greeting. “I’m Rarity! A pleasure to meet such a pleasantly fashion-oriented pony!”

The pegasus giggled and shaked her hoof. “Garnet Orb! A pleasure as well, especially considering your luxurious mane-do! Did you style it yourself, or-EEP!” Garnet suddenly cut herself off as she stared up at something behind Rarity. And above her, if the angle of Garnet’s head was anything to go by.

Rarity blinked in confusion before looking over her shoulder. She paled when she saw the hem of a furry dress, and paled further as she looked up and up at a grim-set face with yellow eyes and horn-lined eyebrows, all framed by snowy white hair.

“W-Why, hello! L-lady Priscilla was it?” Rarity stammered out nervously, slapping on High Society Grin #32: ‘I know I’m going down, but I might as well go down fabulous!’

The tall artificial being cocked an eyebrow at the panicked unicorn. “Indeed.” She then smiled lightly as she turned her attention to the pegasus next to her. “Garnet. I am glad to see you well. I trust that you have found all your affairs to be in order?”

Garnet Orb immediately smiled gratefully. “Yes, but thank you for your concern. An uncomfortable number of my employees were injured in the battle, but with any luck my business should be able to return to operation by tomorrow. Apart from that, the majority of my and most everyone else’s assets were perfectly preserved in the Archives and elsewhere. For that, you have my thanks.”

Priscilla shrugged, but smiled nonetheless. “The credit deserves to go to my father for his research into preservation magics, but your thanks are appreciated nevertheless. I eagerly await the return of your business. Armaments will be a valuable commodity in the coming days, your specialized ceramics most of all.”

Garnet smiled openly as she ran a hoof over her hairpins. “Thank you for the compliment, milady. So!” She gestured at the ongoing event. “Are you here to partake in the festivities? I’m certain that there are more than a few entrepreneurs present who would like to speak business with someone of sufficient authority.”

The tall woman sighed melancholically as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the blade of her scythe. “I’m afraid I must decline. I was merely passing through on account of this being the most expeditious route to my abode. I have business awaiting me within.”

“Ah, I see.” The wealthy pegasus nodded in understanding. “A shame, truly a shame.”

“Er, excuse me?” Rarity spoke up, finally recovering her voice. “I don’t mean to be rude, but... you live...” Rarity cast her gaze out over the abyss that lay past the veranda’s balustrade. “Down there? It’s just that it seems a bit... how shall I put this...”

“Unsightly?” Priscilla cocked an eyebrow, rotating her scythe’s shaft in her fingers.

“Ah, well, t-t-that’s not quite how I would put things...” The mare hastily denied. “Though I will admit that the view from up here is not terribly flattering.” She couldn’t help but add under her breath.

“I agree, the Subarchives are quite underwhelming at the moment due to maintenance being run on the thaumaturgical matrices incorporated into the structure.” Priscilla informed her absentmindedly as she stared at the void. “After all, it wouldn’t do to have them decay to the point where they release all their energy at once. We didn’t reclaim our home just to blow it sky high, after all.”

Rarity somehow managed to pale even as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Still...” Priscilla hummed, stroking her chin in thought. “Nevertheless, my home is a fair sight more impressive than the Archives as they are now. Especially considering...” She trailed off in thought.

Garnet ‘Ah’-ed in comprehension. “I see... so you’re going to...” She too trailed off as Priscilla nodded in agreement.

Rarity glanced between the two ancient individuals for a moment before clearing her throat and interjecting, “Excuse me, but I do not appreciate being left in the dark like this! What, precisely, are you referring to?”

Priscilla stared at Rarity blankly for a moment before heaving a sigh and shrugging. “I... suppose it would do no harm to show you some of what we have stored there. You might even find it to be...” She waved her hand slowly. “Culturally stimulating, if you will.” She tilted her head inquisitively. “Would you be interested in accompanying me to my residence?”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth slowly in shock before gathering her wits and coming to a conclusion. “I-I-I suppose... it would be my honor?”

Priscilla nodded in acceptance before directing an inquisitive look at Garnet. “And you?”

The pegasus waved her hoof in a negative manner. “I’m afraid not. This gathering of the not-so-nouveau riche is very important, you know, I can’t just up and leave!” Garnet suddenly grinned in a predatory manner as she caught sight of a blue Earth Pony on the other side of the room. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I need to remind a certain vendor of earthen supplies of the contractual obligations he holds! Wish me luck!”

And with that, she opened her wings and took off.

Priscilla hummed as she watched Garnet catch up to the Earth Pony. “I wish her well. It would not do for us to find issues within our economy at such a critical juncture...” She mused to herself before shrugging. “No matter. The matters of the nobility are ones that they shall sort out themselves. For now...” She swept around and started to stride towards one of the exits. “Come. Let us be off.”

Rarity adopted a swift trot in order to keep up with the Homunculus’ long stride as Priscilla went through the exit.

The archway opened up into another of the long halls that were apparently common in Vitrum, made of the same white crystal and lit by large arched windows that let in the light of the sun, scarce as it was. At the end of the hall Rarity could see a staircase, leading further down and into the depths of the cliff itself, presumably to the very heart of the Subarchives.

From the top of the stairs at the end of the hall she could see soft white light emanating from globes attached to the wall, and as the two got closer Rarity could see that they were made of a very thin, seemingly non-existent transparent crystal.

Bolstered by her thus far peaceful interaction, Rarity chose to speak up. “I’m curious...” She started, pointing her hoof up at one of the lights. “How do these globes emit light like they do? I highly doubt they use fire. After all, flames don’t emit this kind of light.”

Priscilla turned her body enough to cast a shocked look down at the unicorn. “The Princesses do not employ manaluxes? Not even in Canterlot?”

“Oh, is that what they’re called?” Rarity mused. “No, I’ve never seen anything like them, and I’ve been to the palace. I admit, I have heard Twilight ramble about more science-minded ponies working on some sort of electrical light source, and they sound somewhat similar, but those are years off, if they even work. Is that what these ‘manaluxes’ are?”

Priscilla frowned and shook her head, regaining her composure as she adopted a thoughtful expression. “So they restrict not simply the populace, but themselves as well? Why... an air of fairness, to prevent the line between classes from becoming too distinct? Or something simpler...”

She shook head lightly as she exited her thoughts. “Either way, no. Manaluxes are magical constructs that emit light and are conjured and kept stable by arrays carved within the walls. I know of the light sources to which you reference, and they rely on wires; manaluxes have no such physical component, and the crystal is merely an illusion in order to specify the area in which the magic is contained in order to prevent careless collision. When Concordia was still extant, they were the primary light source for almost all buildings in arcane-centric territories.”

Rarity gaped up at the draconic woman as she attempted to process the explanation and the implications that it held. The mare tried to formulate a response, tried to find where to even begin... and realized with a sinking feeling that, in the end, she just couldn’t.

It wasn’t that Rarity was a simpleton, far from it, it was just that her intellectual skills weren’t suited for the task at hand, being focused on an entirely different subject. She couldn’t analyze the information, she couldn’t infer any earth-shattering implications, she couldn’t ask the right questions.

The best she could do at the moment was file away the explanation and Priscilla’s musings with a heavy heart and plan on presenting them to Twilight at a later date.

Rarity then put her actual skills to use by putting on a convincingly winning smile and nodding in pseudo-understanding. “Well, I must say, it’s quite impressive how well you’ve managed to integrate them into the architecture. You would not believe how many light fixtures I’ve seen where it looked like somebody just decided to pick a spot at random and sloppily hammer it in!”

To her surprise, Priscilla nodded in seeming agreement. “Yes, I know what you mean. The construction of Vitrum was before my time, but I have heard the stories from my father. He rarely recounts the apparent hell it was to get everyone to cooperate without being sufficiently inebriated.”

Rarity’s smile became more natural as it took on an eager tone. “Oh, do tell!”

And so the conversation went, drifting through idle topics as the pair descended deeper and deeper into the repositories of knowledge, occasionally turning this way and that at Priscilla’s discretion.

As they walked, the architecture gradually shifted around them. Arches and buttresses lost their air of nobility, instead taking on a rune-laden sense of security. Intersections and off-shoot paths became rarer and rarer, replaced with long-reaching corridors and walls lined with firm, unyielding doors. And had either of the two looked up, they would have seen the ceiling looming higher and higher.

Finally, Rarity stopped when Priscilla came to a sudden halt. “Oh? Are we there no-ho-how-!” Whatever she had to say died off in her throat as she stared up and up and up at the fantastic sight before her.

Without her noticing, Priscilla had led them into one of the doors that had been lining the hall. Said door had opened up into a grand room of very similar aesthetics to the prior halls, but on a far greater scale. Two facts stuck out about the room like a sore hoof: First, it was almost absolutely empty. Nothing, not a thing, be it a mote of dust or a worn table and chair or even a stray hair besmirched the well-polished crystal.

Second, the room wasn’t completely empty. There, hanging on the wall opposite the door, was a painting.

But what a painting. The most immediately eye-catching attribute was its sheer scale. Exquisitely framed within a sturdy seal of crystal with a clear screen over it, the piece was nearly two or three dozen feet across, no question, and well over a hundred feet tall, nearly brushing the room’s impressive ceiling. And that was to say nothing of the scene the painting depicted. Although it was rendered in monochrome, the simple color palette did not do anything to harm the painting’s beauty. If anything, the contrast of black and white served to accentuate the beauty of the grand, sweeping panorama held within the portrait.

Rarity wasn’t overly familiar with the architecture of castles; they were rather rare in Equestria, after all, and she was fairly certain Canterlot Castle wasn’t representative of all the myriad architectural styles that had been created over centuries of castle building. Still, the difference between the fortress portrayed in the painting and Canterlot Castle was, quite literally, like night and day. Looming in the background atop a rocky, craggy peak, this castle did not look like bright, inviting Canterlot. Squat, grey, studded with slits Rarity had a sneaking suspicion she knew what for, and by the seams in its stone construction completely unpainted, it looked simply mean. And though it should have offended all of Rarity’s aesthetic sensibilities, it had a certain brute charm to it, a beauty of purpose. It declared that it was there, and that it was going to stay there, and damn any attempt to dislodge it.

Still, the castle and its peak were only part of the painting. The foreground was dominated by a battered-looking rope bridge, of the exact kind found in Daring Do novels that broke at the most appropriately dramatic time. At the other end a dirt footpath led into a dark forest, dominated by snowcapped evergreens that looked about as inviting as the Everfree. On the whole, it was a bleak and desolate landscape, but beautiful in its solitude and simplicity.

And the details! Rarity could hardly believe it had been painted, it was so precise and fine. She shivered involuntarily, feeling the biting cold that had to blanket the landscape in front of her. Though, that wasn’t the only reason she was shivering.

“My word, it’s absolutely frigid in here!” Rarity snapped out of her awe as she came to terms with the vault’s - for that was what the room was - glacial atmosphere.

“But of course.” Priscilla swept across the floor to the painting, absolutely undeterred and perhaps even a little relaxed by the temperature. “After all, it would not do for me to allow my abode’s paints to run, no?”

Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. “Well of course, that goes without-GRK!” She froze suddenly, her eyes slowly widening as her mind caught up with Priscilla’s words. “Wait... your-?”

Priscilla smiled fondly as she gestured at the masterpiece. “Allow me to present to you the Painted World of Ariamis.”

Rarity worked her jaw fruitlessly for a number of seconds until she managed to reclaim a piece of her wits and slowly trot forwards. “P-painted-! Surely you don’t mean...?”

The giant woman’s smile became all the more proud as she lightly brushed her fingers over the canvas. The painting rippled around her digits like a pool of water. “Its name is indeed accurate in every form.” She slowly pushed her hand into the painting. “I did invite you to my residence, did I not?” She extended her other hand towards the mare.

Rarity fumbled helplessly for a second before swallowing her nervousness and hesitantly grasping the proffered hand with one of her forehooves. Nodding, Priscilla stepped into the painting as if through a curtain of water. Rarity had no time to even try to avoid being carried in with her, passing through the barrier with a sensation not unlike stepping through a spider’s web, largely due to the wall of snow that greeted her as she came through the film.

“Ack! Pfeaugh! Is the weather in here always like this?” Rarity called - not yelled, heaven’s no! - over the heavy wind blowing snow in her face. Oh, her mane was going to be ruined! That windswept look was Rainbow Dash’s, or Twilight after making her own choices at the spa, not hers!

Priscilla hummed contentedly as she ran her hands over her arms. “But of course. This is the ideal temperature for our purposes. And besides, in my opinion, this temperature is quite pleasant.”

Rarity sputtered indignantly as she swept the snow from her eyes. “Well of course you would, you’re wearing what I pray is a fake... fur...” She trailed off as she stared up at the castle before her. It was even more imposing in real life, as even to Rarity’s decidedly non-military mind it clearly had an absolutely commanding view of the entire area for miles in every direction.

Every direction... including straight down.

“EEEEEEK!”

“... Miss Rarity, I assure you that the state of this bridge is simply due to my aesthetic preferences. It is structurally sound, I promise. Now, if you would please stop strangling my leg?”

“Not until we’re back on solid ground!”

A weary sigh. “Fair enough...”

After a few minutes, Rarity collapsed onto the frigid stone steps with relief. “Never again!” She hissed.

“The only other exit is by dropping from the ramparts of the tower.”

Rarity’s eyes snapped open, ablaze with fury. “Sadist!”

Priscilla shrugged as she started to climb the steps. “An occupational hazard often made inconsequential by a host of viable targets. What of it?”

Rarity grumbled darkly as she hauled herself to her hooves and followed behind the dual-blooded Homunculus, ascending the stairway to the entrance of the looming fortress. It was only upon cresting the steps that a thought struck her. “Priscilla...” She started slowly. “I do believe it’s time you elucidated our reason for being here...”

Priscilla gave Rarity a morose, searching look before gesturing at the gates and letting out a flurry of runes, causing them to slowly begin to grind open. “The greatest treasures in all of Concordia. Safeguarded by me for the duration of my imprisonment.”

Rarity tilted her head in order to catch sight of what lay through the gates as soon as possible, but the instant she did, her heart nearly stopped.

It was... an art gallery.

Or, perhaps more accurately, the art gallery. Sure, she had been to art galleries where the up-and-coming of Equestria’s art scene demonstrated their work. She had been to art museums in Canterlot and Manehatten celebrating the greatest works Equestrian artists had produced. All of them collectively paled in comparison to the collection now arrayed in front of her. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, calligraphy, glass; every kind of visual art imaginable, in dozens of styles familiar and entirely unknown; and all exquisite masterpieces of the kind that sold for millions of bits at art auctions, that were protected by the most advanced security measures in museums. And that was just the first corridor!

Rarity scanned the paintings in numb, open-mouthed shock, before suddenly shooting to her hooves and dashing for one particular painting. A broad, sweeping portrait depicting two individuals, a wolf with a minotaur’s stature and an equally statuesque figure composed entirely of wood, both wearing armor, both with solemn expressions and both firmly clasping each other’s forearms.

“The Peace of Blackthorn Knoll.”

Rarity jumped as Priscilla’s wistful voice drifted from behind her. Looking up, she took note of the giant woman’s nostalgic expression.

“Rendered by the good sir White Tail.” She went on with a sigh. “Those were hard times. We truly feared that the lupen and the arboreal populaces would return to war once again.”

Rarity shivered lightly as she stared at the array of artwork. “This... how?” Was all she could manage.

Priscilla’s expression soured visibly as she turned sharply and began to march down the hall, followed closely by a shocked Rarity. “Your ‘Princesses’...” She said solemnly, her voice as cold as the air around them. “As much as I and most Concordians currently loathe them... I cannot truly describe them as evil. Not after this. Every time they sealed away a populace, they did not allow their armies to ravage or ransack or run rampant. They were careful. Methodical. They preserved as much as they could. What art they could safeguard, they brought to Vitrum and sealed it alongside me for safekeeping.” She shook her head solemnly. “An evil person would have eradicated these masterpieces wholesale. This... this is worse.”

“How so?” Rarity asked slowly.

“Because this shows that they had not changed at all. That even after all that occurred they were still the individuals I respected and admired and followed and...” Priscilla waved her hand helplessly before sighing. “And considered my friends. And that will make this entire endeavor all the more complicated...”

Before Rarity could respond, the pair emerged onto a plaza and she was forced to a halt. She stared at the grand edifice erected before her in unmitigated awe. “This... this is...” She breathed.

Priscilla’s mood lightened instantly. “I consider this to be the Painted World’s center piece...” She breathed. “The Moment of Truth. Depicting what is widely considered to be the true birth of the Oligarchs.”

~~~

Scholar knelt forwards and rested his forearm on his knee, staring out over the edge of the cliff. “That’s a lot of fire demons. Remind me again, why do they want us all dead?”

“Well, let’s see...” Chrysalis stepped up to his left, one chitinous hoof raised as she smirked viciously. “They’re sadistic, they’re psychopaths, they’re bloodthirsty, we’re in their way, so on and so forth. Take your pick. In the end, does it really matter? After all, they’re nothing more than a legion of mindless brutes.”

“Hmph.” Celestia flared her wings as she stood next to the Queen, an equally cocky expression on her muzzle. “You’d think they’d get along with you, at least. If opposites attract, I suppose the flip side must be true as well.”

Luna ignored her sister’s antics in favor of raising her nose at the army below. “‘Tis of no consequence. The battle shall be difficult, but we will succeed. It’s, quite simply, inevitable.”

Cadance nodded in agreement and smiled pleasantly as she flanked the Lunar Mare. “If you could employ some form of caution, I’d appreciate it. Ichor is hell to wash out of my mane.”

Minos snorted harshly as he swung his battleaxe up onto his shoulder and towered over Scholar’s right. “I’ll break their lines on the eastern front. Serpense, can you take the south?”

The hydra’s many heads swayed and whipped about to and fro as they sported equally vicious and fang-filled grins. “With ease!” “I’ll use the river that runs through the plains!” “Or rather...” “The river that’ll be running through there once I’m through with it!”

“Do try not to be too cocky...” Solum Nox moaned, crossing his arms flatly. “As tempting as it would be to collect on your contracts, I fear that I will be too occupied to collect on your dues in the midst of combat.”

A synchronized trio of booming laughs erupted from three figures who were floating behind the party upon a large storm cloud. Each member of the group was massive in their own right, an adonis with rippling muscles and bare chests. Each of their heads was obscured by a helmet of gray steel whose sole opening was a single lens situated in the middle of their forehead.

The middle-sized member of the trio, whose hands were wrapped in blackened chains, chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. “Your opinion is as amusing as always, Nox!”

The largest, who was toting a ridiculously massive sledgehammer, swung it over his shoulders and pulled the shaft against his neck with both hands. “But have no fear, we are confident in our survival.”

The smallest, whose helmet was more elaborate than his brothers’ and sported a multi-layer lens within the inner workings, fiddled with the mechanisms, causing the glass discs within to click and rearrange and refocus. “Either way, we will concentrate on making the sky untenable. Any objections?”

Daemos let loose a jaw-cracking yawn as he slowly crawled to his claws, raising his head proudly and spreading his wings to the fullest extent of their massive span. “Just avoid striking me or others and I shall be perfectly content.”

“Enough prattle!” Discord cackled as he snapped into existence, standing atop Celestia’s back, one foot firmly planted on her rear and the other on the back of her neck. A tan military jacket festooned with medals and a metal military helmet adorned his twisted body. A cavalry saber in his claws rounded out the ensemble. “Come on, gallop closer!” He cried enthusiastically as he swung the weapon about wildly, “I want to hit them with my sword!”

Scholar’s grin widened beneath his hood as his robes lit up with vicious runes.

“Well then... let’s get to it.”

~~~

Celestia sighed sadly as she ran her hoof down the photograph she was holding.

It was… always painful to look at this photo. Any photo from back then, really. To remember the better times, when they had all stood together in camaraderie and friendship. No guilt, no nostalgia.

She wished she could bring those times back.

But those times were never going to come back.

She contemplated burning the thing, as she always did when she looked at it. For a few seconds, she simply stared at it, the spell ready to be cast. And, like always, she tucked it back in the box and magically sealed it again. This was no time for pointless regrets.

Celestia steeled her nerves as she slipped the gut-wrenching memory back into its hidden position in her desk before clearing her throat.

“Private?”

The door to her office cracked open as one of her soldiers poked his head in inquiringly. “Yes, Princess?”

“Send for General Pilum. I require his presence immediately.”

“At once, Princess.”

Chapter 26. Rowdy Discussions

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Chapter 27. Academic Proposals

There are generally three kinds of people at a party. Most simply go in and mingle, talk to people and munch on snacks, and generally participate in the activities.

Some dive in wholeheartedly, taking to the party with tremendous enthusiasm and boosting the experience for everyone. More often than not, they’re the ones who started the party in the first place.

And then there’s the third type, which usually only consists of one person per party: the loners. The ones off in a corner, not talking to anybody, probably with their nose in one of the host’s books. They’re usually dragged into the festivities reluctantly, if at all. And at nine, when the party’s really getting interesting, they’re the ones heading home first.

Twilight was very much of the latter persuasion. Just because she’d been forced to participate in the party and just because she’d had a mug or two of cider by no means meant she had to enjoy it. She had a strict quota on her amount of daily social interaction, and it had long been exhausted.

It was easy enough for Twilight to slip out of the crowd with the partygoers caught up in the revelry. Finding a corner to retreat to, on the other hand, was proving to be a much more difficult endeavor. It seemed to Twilight that no matter where she went there was an endless parade of ponies and changelings living it up to the extreme.

‘Logically,’ she thought to herself as she trotted off of a staircase and turned onto a street where several changelings were trying to wrestle a very large plant waving its vines around into a wooden crate, much to the onlookers’ amusement. ‘There should be at least one place in this city that’s nice and quiet. It’s simple statistics. Unless...’ Her eyes widened as she dropped to her haunches and snapped her forehooves to her temples. ‘Unless I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum and this is the one iteration of the city where there aren’t any quiet places!

‘If there aren’t any quiet places…’ Twilight scrunched her eyes in panic as she started to slowly rock back and forth. ‘Then I’m just going to keep wandering through this- this cacophony, until I can’t take it anymore and then I’ll lose my mind! And then Scholar will throw me out without my friends, and Princess Celestia will see that I not only abandoned the mission but also my friends, and then she’s going to send me to- No!’

Her eyes snapped wide open. ‘I refuse to let that happen! There’s only one logical solution!’ A manic glint lit up her eye as her horn flared up. ‘I have to make a quiet pla-!’

“LOOK OUT BELOOAAARGH!” A panicked scream cut through her panic like a knife. Twilight hastily looked up just in time to see a flailing blur of hooves and white before a heavy something, or someone, slammed into her, sending the both of them rolling across the street in a tangled ball.

“Oww…” The mass, a moderately-sized earth pony with a white pelt and gray mane that had once been slicked back but was now in spiked every which way, moaned. “Whose bright idea was it to move that Venomous Stranglethorn to the Overloft via the Lucente District instead of using a teleport-? Waaaait...” The pony trailed off before snapping upright in a panic. “VENOMOUS!?” He quickly flailed about, running his hooves all over his coat and thoroughly checking himself before finally relaxing. “Oh thank Ceres...” He breathed as he flopped onto his back.

“Buweeeargh...?” Twilight moaned from where she was squashed under him.

“Hm?” The pony turned his head this way and that before catching sight of Twilight underneath him. He promptly let out a panicked squawk as he scrambled off her so fast Twilight almost wondered if he knew how to teleport. “Ohcrapcrapcrap! I’m soooo so so so sorry!” He apologized, practically shoving her back onto her hooves as he frantically ran his limbs over her in an effort to locate any injuries.

“This is typical, just typical!” The stallion grumbled to himself as he circled the still-dizzy mare. “Not only do I get caught up in that damn dastard’s monstrosity!” He spat out the insult like it was ten times more vile than it actually was. “But I also wind up slamming into one of the few very-much do-not-touch individuals in the city! Ty-pic-al!”

“Wh- h-hey, hey!” Twilight protested as she snapped out of her stupor and waved him off. “I’m fine! Thank you for that...” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “By the way, what exactly is a Venomous Stranglethorn, anyway? I’ve never heard of it. Though...” She looked away awkwardly. “That’s becoming less and less of a surprise the more I interact with Concordia.”

The pony perked up instantly as he trotted before the mare and gestured at the plant. “I’m so- moderately, admittedly, considering the topic- glad you asked! That is a fine specimen of the species Taxus Quercifolia, commonly referred to as the Venomous Stranglethorn! It’s rather self-demonstrating, to be honest. It’s something like a Venus Flytrap, only it actively hunts its prey as opposed to luring it in, it dissolves its food externally with its venom as opposed to internally, and its thorns act as an analog to teeth, so...” He tapped his chin contemplatively. “I suppose it’s really nothing like a Venus Flytrap at all, is it?”

“Huh...” Twilight nodded along as she processed the information, the familiar sensation of learning helping to calm her nerves even further. “I suppose it makes sense that I haven’t heard of them. From what I know, the harmony would have forced something so dangerous to devolve into a different species entirely.” She then blinked as another fact hit her. “Wait, why did you call it a ‘dastard’s monstrosity’?”

The stallion instantly scowled in irritation. “Ah, yes.” He raised a hoof and pointed at the plant’s swaying tendrils. “You see that irregular coloration on its limbs?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “The blue polka-dots? What about-?” Her pupils immediately dilated as she came to the most logical conclusion she could. “Tell me that thing is not a hybrid with what I think it is.”

“I dearly wish I could.” The stallion drawled venomously. “The plant on its own is bad enough as is, but to combine it with Discord’s Poison Joke... eurgh. In case you can’t tell, my colleague had a most rancid sense of humor.”

“Your colleague?” Twilight inquired.

The stallion’s mood seemed to sour even further, though this time he appeared more saddened than angry. “Cory. Cory Garlez. Doctor Cory Garlez. A genius at manipulating the genetic foundation of plantlife and a right pain in my flank. He...” He bowed his head. “He... he’s not in the city.”

“O-Oh... I’m sorry...” Twilight winced in sympathy, mentally berating herself for a moment... until a thought struck her. “Um... sorry if this sounds rude, but... isn’t Cory Garlez a bit of a strange name?”

The stallion snorted in a macabre manner. “Yes yes yes, I suppose that would be a strange name for a pony, wouldn’t it? Not so much for an arboreal, though.”

Twilight’s brows furrowed in thought at the unfamiliar use of the word. “I assume you’re not talking about the ecosystem formed by the canopies of large forests.”

The stallion smiled sadly and shook his head. “A Concordian species, I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of them. Sapient flora, often taking a bipedal, bimanual form. Quite common back in the day, as a matter of fact. It gave Cory a bit of a foothold when it came to his field.”

Twilight winced again, this time from a bolt of self-conscious shame. “Oh...”

The stallion gave her a sidelong look before rolling his eyes. “Oh, don’t be like that. You’re not several millennia old, you’re not at fault. Besides, the Alicorns eventually managed to overcome the arboreals, and for all his many many many faults, Cory knew when to fold ‘em. I suspect that I’ll see him before I even begin to miss him!” The pony started to smile exuberantly... before flinching and darting his eyes back and forth. “Er-! That-that-that is to say-!”

Before his panic could progress any further, it was cut off by Twilight giggling in amusement. “Let’s start over, shall we?” She suggested, sticking her hoof out. “Twilight Sparkle, student of one of your country’s greatest enemies.”

The stallion stared at her hoof in dumbfounded amazement before grinning in turn and shaking it. “Helix. Triple Helix. Doctor Triple Helix. Head of genetic research here in Vitrum, and most likely a mad scientist by your modern standards.”

Twilight perked up even further following his introduction. “Really? That’s incredible! What kind of research did you conduct? Would you mind compa-?”

“AND A-ONE AND A-TWO AND-!”

BWAAAAAAP!

Twilight jerked in shock, nearly leaping into the air as the sound of a blaring trumpet erupted less than five feet behind her.

Said trumpet was then followed up by even more brass instruments, including a number of sousaphones, a whole twelve-pony drum set, and over a hundred clomping hooves as an impromptu marching band marched past on the stairs. The sound of the band, merged with the general cacophony of the party and the shouts of the workers trying to subdue the Venomous Stranglethorn resulted in nothing short of a swirling maelstrom of noise.

Twilight’s eye twitched frantically as her mind reeled, attempting to wrap itself around the jarring turn of events, sparks occasionally hissing and spitting from the tip of her horn.

Triple Helix was in a similar, though lesser, state, shooting a murderous glare at the band of ponies. “OCD can be a bit of a nag at times, can’t it?”

“Personal experience, I take it?” Twilight managed to grind out.

“How’d you guess?”

“You’ve got a verbal tic where you repeat things three times.”

Helix flinched and rubbed his jaw self-consciously. “Could have sworn I’d gotten that under control…”

The sound of sousaphones blaring in unison flared into a crescendo, causing both Twilight and Helix to flinch simultaneously. “We need to get away from this noise, otherwise I will do something I won’t regret later!” Twilight yelled.

“Couldn’t agree more, I’m all of ten seconds from unleashing a plague that would rid the genepool of these buffoons once and for all!” Helix replied. “Academia Grand Central Library is nearby, we can duck in there.”

“You have a -” Twilight smacked her face with her hoof. “Of course there’s a library system, I was in it earlier today and your nation was founded by a man named Scholar, why didn’t I think of that!? Anyway, where is it?”

Helix didn’t answer, instead pointing a hoof off to to Twilight’s side. The unicorn glanced back to see a large crystalline building with an impressive flight of stairs leading to its entrance, the words ‘Academia Grand Central Library’ carved into the crystal arc above it.

“How did I miss that?” Twilight wondered faintly.

“To be fair, you were in the midst of a nervous breakdown. Anyways, come on, before we do something rash...” And with that, the geneticist lead her up the staircase.

Twilight gave Helix a sidelong look as they went. “So, to be clear, how extensive is this library? The library I saw earlier was impressive enough, so-”

“Library?” Helix furrowed his brow in thought. “What was outside it, a pair of griffons or a pegasus with spread wings and a mortarboard?”

“Griffons, why?”

“Ah, right, that’d be the... East End Branch. Eh...” He shrugged. “Not the largest branch, but still, respectably sizeable.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, that was a branch-?”

Words failed her as Helix pushed the Library’s doors open and she stepped into the lobby of the structure and first beheld the interior of the massive building. Two columns of bookshelves twenty feet high and filled with books lined the sides of what Twilight realized with increasing giddiness was a hallway. Tables with installed desk lamps filled the center of the hall. Craning her neck up, Twilight saw a second floor, also lined with bookshelves the same size as the ones on the ground floor. A distant corner of her mind noted that she seemed to be drooling, but the rest of her was beyond caring.

Triple Helix let out an amused chuckle at her reaction. “Yes yes yes, most people have the same reaction. Wait till you see the archives in the basement.” Reaching over, he used a hoof to close Twilight’s open jaw with a click. “Aaaanyways, I’m going to go and look up a few tomes on chronomancy, see if I can either revert a few of the experiments I had in storage to their original forms or put them to use as is. You can find an index over... thataway.” He gestured towards a pedestal upon which rested a large tome that could have been used to stop open a bank vault.

“Well, do enjoy yourself! Tatata!” Triple Helix made it a few feet before facehoofing. “Damn!”

Twilight continued to stare at the immense collection of knowledge in dumbfounded delight...

CLAP!

Until she jerked back in shock from an impact inches from her face.

The mare who’d snapped her book shut in front of Twilight’s nose rolled her eyes in exasperation before continuing on to wherever she’d been headed.

Twilight grinned sheepishly for a second before hastily galloping over to the index and wrenching it open. “Ooooh, where should I start?!” She squealed exuberantly as she flipped through the many pages. “Twelve different shelves on Arcane Theory, an entire wing dedicated to Spellcrafting, a twenty-volume biography on Starswirl the Bearded?” Twilight nearly jumped out of her pelt with joy at the mere thought. “The one back home only has fifteen! Guess I know what I’m going to be doing for the next... five...”

Twilight trailed off as something caught her eye. Specifically, a pegasus carrying a small mountain of books above her with a cloud of runes originating from the tattoos on her wings.

The lavender unicorn stared after the pegasus for a minute, then glanced at the index thoughtfully for a moment before reluctantly flipping to a different page. “‘Introduction to Rune-Based Magic and Array-Composition’, Runic wing, third floor, Row J, eighth shelf from the bottom, should be... twelfth from the right.” The location committed to memory, Twilight trotted off to find the wing in question.

After about a half-dozen wrong turns, three confused turnarounds, and a staircase that led to literally nowhere, a thoroughly frazzled Twilight managed to finally drag herself to her intended location.

“Why do they even have an empty pocket dimension in here anyways?!” She groaned tiredly.

Twilight shook her head to clear the fog from her mind as she examined the shelves around her. “Alright, that’s enough rest. Come on, Twilight, need to get that book, need to bridge the gap. J, J, J... There we go!” She shot to her hooves and trotted over to the shelf in question.

“Alright, eight up, twelve left... jackpot!” Twilight’s eyes and horn lit up simultaneously as she focused on the book she wanted. She concentrated her magic on the book’s spine...

“ZUUUUUL!”

And jumped several feet in terror when an evil, obscenely loud voice erupted from all around her at once.

The eruption of noise was then closely followed up by a screeching sound, like a ton of glass shattering into shards all at once.

Before Twilight could properly process these noises, an all-too-familiar laugh cut through the haze over her psyche.

“Hahahaha! Perfect, just perfect!” Trixie chortled eagerly as she trotted down the row of bookshelves, an average-sized tome floating in front of her nose. “With this, the Majestic and Bombastic Trixie’s performances shall be more grandiose than ever! Though she wonders... ‘ZUUL, MUTHABUCKA!’” She roared, rearing up on her hindlegs and flailing her hooves about wildly before falling back down and tilting her head in thought.

“Hmm... not bad, but it makes Trixie sound like somebody from Neigh Orleans. Or from Colt Fiction, for that matter... Bah!” She dismissed her misgivings with a shrug. “First one for chills, second for laughs. Either way, Trixie can finally work that Ventriloquist Fridge she’s wanted to use for so long! Let’s see, what else is in here...” She started flipping through her book eagerly before pinning a page with her hoof. “Ooooh, instrument conjuration and auditory refinement! Trixie knew those vuvuzela lessons would pay off! And a one, and a two-!”

“TRIXIE!” Twilight shrieked, her eye twitching furiously as she marched up to the mare. “Does the word ‘library’ mean nothing to you, you boorish, arrogant, uncouth, insufferable- insufferable- Pliohippus!”

Trixie reeled back in shock from the outburst. “Wh- you- who do you think you are, you blind ignoramus of a dog!?” Trixie spat back furiously. “Trixie was simply testing out a new spell she discovered, as most researchers do when they get the chance! Trixie has half a mind to-! To... to...” Trixie trailed off as her gaze slowly drifted up, staring with widening eyes at something above Twilight. “Eeeeeeep...”

Twilight barely even noticed as she snorted furiously in Trixie’s frozen face. “I don’t care where we are or who you think you are, what you did was rude and inconsiderate to other patrons of this establishment! I might not be a violent mare, but I have half a mind to give you a good smack upside the head in hopes of teaching you some manners!”

“Oh-sweet-Hecate-no-anything-but-that-please!” Trixie babbled desperately as she fell on her rump and frantically scrambled backwards. “Trixie wants to live! LIIIVE!”

Twilight blinked in confusion as she followed Trixie’s gaze. “What the heck are you... talking...” Twilight trailed off as well as she stared above her. “Ohhhhh sweet Celestia’s luscious, glorious ass what the hell...”

There, hovering barely a foot above Twilight’s head, was one of the library’s massive bookcases. Perhaps even more impressive than the sheer weightof the thing was that the telekinetic field was holding each individual book, preventing them from falling out due to the tilt.

There were no sparks from Twilight’s horn, no wavers in the field, and no strain whatsoever.

“Hmm... Impressive,” a deep voice rumbled from behind them. Both unicorns whirled around to see Seath closely examining Twilight’s telekinetic field. “Well-balanced, little to no fluctuation in stability, barely even wavering... This is just an estimate, of course, but judging by sheer power alone I’d say you might qualify as a Magister. Very impressive indeed.” He turned his sightless gaze down towards Twilight. “Now, if only you didn’t vandalize my beloved library to prove it.”

Twilight’s pupils dilated as she tried to back away from the drake. “I-I-I’m sorry Duke Seath, sir! I-I didn’t mean to deface your wonderful, magnificent, superb...” Twilight started to trail off slightly as she stared at the multitude of books around her... and was promptly brought down to Mundus by Seath impatiently snapping his claws in front of her nose. “Er, r-right! Anyways, I was just reaching for one book when she!” She jabbed her hoof at Trixie. “Rudely startled me! This is her fault, give her to the six-armed sociopath for inequine experimenting!”

“Me!?” Trixie sputtered indignantly. “Trixie did no such thing! Trixie was just testing a new spell of hers, she did nothing wrong! This nag is the sole culprit!” She jabbed Twilight’s chest. “Blame her, feed her to the laughing obscene garbage compactor!”

“Pompous ass!” Twilight snapped furiously.

“Stuck-up zealot!”

“Self-aggrandizing charlatan!”

“Well at least Trixie’s mane-!”

SNAP!

Twilight and Trixie froze as a loud snap shook the air around them. Then the air froze as well. Then the color of everything nearby inverted momentarily before becoming a dull gray.

Seath snorted loudly through his nose as he kneaded his brow. “Deep breaths, Seath, deep breaths...” He ground out. “They’re not even a century old, they don’t know any better, they both want to learn and you don’t want your darling Priscilla to get angry at you about scaring everybody again...”

Finally, he clapped his hands and nodded in finality. “Alright, let’s try this again...”

Seath snapped his claws, causing a glyph array to appear around his hand. Color inverted once more before returning to normal. Before either Trixie or Twilight could say another word, the drake hastily cleared his throat. “As impressive as it is that Scholar’s progenies have left such a.... lasting impression on you two... Am I correct in understanding that you did not intend to vandalize my property?”

Twilight shook her head furiously. “No, no, of course not! I-I’m as surprised as you are! I mean, look at that thing!” Twilight gestured frantically at the massive bookshelf. “I could lift the books, sure, but that has to be over ten tons of crystal!”

“Eleven thousand, five hundred and twelve kilograms, not including the books.” Seath rumbled.

“See!?” Twilight demanded frantically.“I’m a powerful unicorn, I’ll admit to that, and I have lifted approximately that much weight in the past, but I was struggling the entire time and was bedridden with a stress-induced headache the next morning! This? This is effortless!”

“Trixie can confirm this, if we’re thinking of the same incident,” the blue unicorn added, if somewhat reluctantly. “Not the stress headache part, but definitely the weightlifting.”

Twilight started to frantically pace back and forth as her mind flew a mile a minute. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! What’s happening to me!? Is my magical core mutating? Am I being subverted by invisible radiation? Am I dying!? Is Celestia going to send me back to magical kindergarten!?” She suddenly grabbed Trixie by her shoulders and started shaking her desperately. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME YOU DEMON-WORSHIPPING DEVIL-NAG-WITCH!?”

“Tri-i-i-i-xie is un-un-uncomfortable-le-le with thi-i-i-is!” The mare managed to get out.

Seath twitched for a second before taking a slow, calming breath, leaning down, and releasing it right in Twilight’s face. The mare immediately let go of Trixie, the manic gleam in her eyes softening into a serene calmness.

“Did I use the correct dose, or are you going to be stoned for the rest of the day?” Seath growled.

Twilight blinked in surprise before shaking her head and smiling sheepishly. “Nonono, I’m good, thanks!”

Seath snorted in satisfaction. “Good.” His blank gaze flicked back to the space above Twilight’s head. “You can put the bookshelf back now.”

Twilight’s head snapped up in shock. “Wait, I kept that up through a panic attack? Wow, something is up with my magic...”

“Ahem?”

“Ah, right!” Twilight’s horn flared as she exerted her will on reality. The bookcase suddenly plunged towards the ground...

And was promptly caught in a series of rune arrays that encircled its mass.

“Drop it.” Seath grunted in frustration, his fingers twitching slightly as he held the arrays stable.

Twilight hastily killed the light around her horn, stepping back as Seath lowered the bookshelf into its previous position. “I-I’m so sorry!” She apologized. “I tried to lower it gently, but the motion-!”

“Was multiplied far beyond what you initially anticipated, right?” Trixie asked hastily.

Twilight blinked in surprise. “How did you-?”

“Trixie was affected the same way when Scholar purged the harmony from Trixie and her friends!” The blue mare answered eagerly. “Its removal must have unleashed your full potential. Trixie was able to handle it because she’s been fighting against harmony her whole life, so the margin for improvement was present but far from drastic. You, on the other hand, have always used a fraction of your strength for your spellcasting, hence you’re overcompensating by attempting to use the same percentage of energy you’ve used your entire life, which is currently far bigger than it’s ever been!”

Twilight and Seath stared at Trixie in open-mouthed shock.

Trixie looked back and forth between them before frowning petulantly. “What? Just because Trixie is a performer doesn’t mean she isn’t intelligent! Trixie will have you know that a lot of attention to detail goes into maintaining her illusions!”

Seath sighed and rolled his head. “Well, anyways, for whatever reason, Scholar wants you and your friends to remain in good health. As such, I had better assist you with reclaiming control over your magic.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Huh? I realize my magic is a bit out of control, but how could I possibly hurt myself?”

“Third dimensional relocation through the æther coupled with a surcharge of energy twice what the atomic bonds can take equals out to?” Seath asked in a deadpan voice.

Twilight scrunched up her snout in thought for a second before paling in terror. “Every stone structure within a two-kilometer radius shattering from the force of the blast?” She squeaked.

“Three if you’re feeling particularly pessimistic. Or optimistic, depending on how you view these things.” Trixie piped in.

“So is there a testing site we can slowly walk over to or-?” Twilight whimpered.

“Reading room seven, follow me.” Seath drawled, hauling his mass around and dragging his way down the corridor, stopping only a moment to glance back at Trixie. “Would you like to come as well or...?”

“An opportunity to watch one of the strongest unicorns on the continent relearn how to use magic from the ground up? You’d need to pay Trixie to miss this!” The showmare squealed as she galloped behind the drake.

“Don’t enjoy it too much, Trixie.” Twilight grumbled darkly.

“Oh, Trixie won’t, she promises.” The blue unicorn held her hoof over her heart before grinning sadistically. “By the way... that was quite the exclamation back there. Luscious and glorious?
Was your student-teacher relationship a little… closer than usual, or was that a Freudian slip indicating you wished it were?”

Seath rolled his eyes as Twilight gave a squawk of protest behind him and retorted with a comment that earned a splutter from Trixie in turn. Children. He was surrounded by children. But at least they were following him.

Finally, after a few long minutes of walking they reached a large set of double doors, large enough that even Seath could fit through them with no trouble or adjustment. A small placard with a large number seven carved into it sat attached to the wall next to the doors.

“This is a reading room?” Trixie and Twilight exclaimed simultaneously, the former in incredulity and the latter in excitement.

“Well, our researchers are quite active, you know.” Seath rumbled, examining a panel of runes he conjured with a wave of his hand. “Now, let me just check and make sure... Oh come now, really!?” He exclaimed in frustration. “I keep telling them to clean it out whenever they’re done, but do they listen? Nooooo...”

“Is there a problem?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“No, no, nothing much, just clearing out somebody's leftover work...” Seath grumbled darkly as he tapped a few choice runes.

Seconds later, a wave of heat rolled from the doors, along with a multitude of tortured, inequine squeals of agony.

When the wave relented, Seath pushed the door open and took a deep breath through his nose. “Ahhh, fresh ashes. A smell that’s only equaled by the smell of hot coffee in the morning. Well, let’s get started!”

Trixie and Twilight glanced at one another uncomfortably as the Pale Drake shuffled his way into the room.

“Alright, tell me you’re at least a little disturbed by that.” Twilight demanded.

“Eh...” Trixie tilted her hoof side to side in a so-so manner. “To be fair, Trixie is fairly certain those were hideous abominations of science and magic that lived their short lives in agony and that Seath did them a favor. But yes, it is a little disturbing. There is a reason why Trixie didn’t decide to major in biology, after all.”

“Then why follow someone who allows them to do things like that!?” Twilight demanded indignantly.

“Well, for one, their experiments do often provide vaccines to horrible afflictions.” Trixie shrugged. “There was this one disease long ago back in Concordia. Evil thing, really, almost a guaranteed death penalty. ‘Franken’ Fran Madaraki managed to eradicate it in little under six months when she and a team of researchers were granted unlimited resources.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Really? What was it called?”

Trixie tilted her head in thought. “Can...seer? Something like that. Either way, it was a very well-recorded moment in history.”

“Never heard of it,” Twilight stated flatly.

“Ex-actly.” Trixie shot back with a smirk.

“If you two are quite finished…” Seath interjected, his voice trailing off menacingly.

The pair hastily scrambled into the room, unwilling to poke the very awake and irritated dragon any further.

The room itself was fairly impressive, a crystalline cube bigger than most houses. Shelves lined the walls, holding notebooks, references and manuals, and all manner of arcane lab equipment. In the center was a large wooden table, liberally engraved with runic arrays and decorated by scorch marks and stains of unknown origin. Leaning against the walls were several mats, also liberally covered in runic arrays. More runes lined the walls and windows, though some looked… faded. And, of course, a baker’s dozen of small piles of ash scattered around the room.

“Now then...” Seath tapped the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully. “Let’s start with the basis of all magic: theory. Explain to me how you employ your magic on a day-to-day basis.”

Twilight perked up eagerly at the opportunity to discuss magic with another intellectual. “Well, let’s see...” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “First and foremost, I visualize the intended goal or target of whatever spell I’m using. Then, I reach deep inside myself to find my magical core, grasp ahold of my energy, and direct it towards my goal while focusing on moulding the energy towards its intended purpose. That way, I can use the energy to warp the fabric of reality and alter the laws of physics in such a manner that suits my needs. I have a wider variety of spells than most unicorns thanks to my Cutie Mark focusing on magic in general, as opposed to a singular specialized skill or talent. Most unicorns can only perform spells related to their talent, besides standard telekinesis.”

Twilight slipped out of lecture mode to see Seath staring at her with his jaw hanging open. “That’s- It’s- I don’t even-”

The dragon visibly shuddered as he collected himself, furiously kneading the blank space where his eyes would be. “I really should have expected this, but- Very well. Clearly we are talking about two very different systems of spellcasting here. Very, very different.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean? Magic is a byproduct of life, controlling it is an instinctual process highly dependant on visualization and intent.

“If Trixie may?” Trixie interjected, raising her hoof as she stepped forwards. “Trixie believes that we may have a case of divergent evolution on our hands. After all, it’s been over two thousand years, hence Equestrian arcane theory has shifted over time based on very different conditions, such as less magical flexibility due to harmony, the loss of the Concordian knowledge base, and a singular dominant magic-using species, as opposed to numerous species with different philosophies pooling their knowledge. Add in the universality of Cutie Marks and their personalized magic amongst the population, and it’s little wonder Equestrian magic has evolved the way it has.”

Seath rumbled unhappily as he nodded along. “I understand, but still. The idea of using such a system... it’s more than enough to make my skin crawl.”

“Hey!” Twilight protested. “What’s wrong with my magic!?”

“Besides the fact that it’s essentially an arcane club with little to no concept of grace or nuance?” Seath asked flatly.

“But there are advantages to the Equestrian system,” Trixie cut in hastily. “Namely, it is supremely flexible and easy to learn. There are documented cases of unicorns learning new spells simply by seeing them once, and spells can be created on the fly. This is something that cannot be done to nearly the same extent in the Concordian system.”

Seath frowned in thought, but didn’t say anything. Trixie took that as her cue to continue. “In the Concordian system, learning spells is a two step process. One must first learn the underlying framework behind that family of spell, all of which have been worked out in exacting detail by prior researchers. Generally, each framework deals with a specific cluster of desired effects, and it is within that cluster of effects where visualization and intent come into play. You picture the specific effect, and enter that image into the framework, which takes care of most of the work directing the magic for the desired effect. As a result, while the base framework may be difficult to alter or create, it can then be applied to a vast array of circumstances. Similar to a magical skeleton key, if you will.”

Once Trixie was finished with the speech, which she’d apparently been reciting from memory, she smiled up at Seath expectantly. “Correct?”

Seath rumbled out a thoughtful hum. “It’s an intuitive style of magic, flexible yet utilitarian, definitely solid and frankly quite impressive...” He shook his head slowly. “And totally foreign to me.”

Trixie and Twilight’s jaws dropped open in shock. “W-what?!” Trixie squawked in disbelief.

“Concordian magic is a rigorous, scientific process.” Seath lectured. “Each step of a spell is meticulously constructed, formed from the base up in such a manner that each individual spell is unique to the caster. The reason why Runic magic is so popular is that it makes magic easily recordable and analyzable by all observing it. The idea of allowing instinct and chance to take a part in magic is... quite frankly, reckless.”

Trixie worked her jaw helplessly. “Bu- But Trixie-! This was the magic that Trixie was taught since she was a child, the one she’s always researched! How could it possibly be so different!?”

Twilight bowed her head in thought for a second, rubbing her chin contemplatively before blinking in realization. “Divergent evolution,” she breathed, snapping her head up to stare at Seath, who shared the same look of realization.

“Of course…” he breathed. “Two thousand years of cultural and intellectual isolation… they were probably working from an incomplete knowledge of the Concordian system, so they filled the gaps with Equestrian magical theory.”

“An unrecorded, completely foreign arcane methodology that perfectly melds intellect and intent into a singular expression of will upon the fabric of reality!” Twilight squeed. “Can you imagine the possibilities!?”

“So many different laws and treatises... ooooh, to finally break the Dilopian Limit!”

“Over a dozen theories, at the least, the least!”

Trixie snapped her gaze back and forth between Seath and Twilight, shrinking in on herself as they suddenly snapped their manic gazes towards her, identical gleeful grins adorning their mouths.

“Uhhh... Trixie... thinks she left the stove on...” The mare started to slowly inch backwards.

Almost instantly, Seath snapped his claws, causing the doors to the room to slam shut with a heart-dropping BANG!

“You interrogate, I’ll take notes.” Twilight drooled.

Seath’s grin displayed every last one of his menacing fangs. “With pleasure.”

Trixie’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Mother.”

Throughout the library, patrons glanced up as an ear-splitting shriek of terror coursed through the halls before shrugging and returning to their ministrations.

-o-

One of the lasting mysteries of the victory party would be where Pinkie Pie had found an entire travelling carnival, persuaded them to set up shop in Vitrum, and gotten them to the crystal city, all in the span of seconds. Scholar, when asked, merely shrugged it off with a “It’s Chaos; I don’t gotta explain shit.”

The reaction was shared by most of the partygoers. None of them cared how the carnival had gotten there. All they cared about was that it was there, and now they could blow their money on greasy food, prize games that were probably rigged, and a half-dozen rides, including a small (and unimpressive) roller coaster.

Spike scanned each booth as he passed by, looking for a plushie Rarity might like, all while munching on a funnel cake topped with whipped cream, powdered rubies, and candied strawberries.

“Alright, let’s see...” Spike nibbled on his funnel cake thoughtfully. “Bottle rings? Too hard. Water shooter? Ugh, no, don’t want to get wet, plus it’s way too easy. Ball toss?” He watched as a pegasus stallion whiffed on his last ball before walking off in a huff. The booth owner had a smug grin on his face the whole time. “Yeah, that’ll do it. Not too hard, not too easy, and that guy needs to be taken down a peg.”

“He’s actually earned the grin. After all, it takes some ingenuity to hide runes on the bases of clear bottles instead of just using glue.”

“Yeah, but still, that’s no reason to be a big headed as-YEARGH!” Spike jumped almost five feet in the air in shock, on account of how the space to his left had not been occupied ten seconds ago.

Veronica rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Was that really necessary?” She groaned.

“That’s my line!” Spike snapped back. “You couldn’t just walk up and tap me on the shoulder like a normal person?”

“I’m an assassin! If I let everyone know where I was at all times, I’d be out of a job!” Veronica shot back.

“Well maybe if your family weren’t completely and utterly psychotic, I wouldn’t be so freaked out by you!” The dragon growled.

“My family is psychotic, I’m the normal one! Why does everyone always forget that!?” She demanded.

Spike opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it. “Nah, too easy, plus I want to live. So, what do you want, anyway? That plushie isn’t going to win itself.”

“Yes, because every mare wants a four-foot stuffed diamond-dragon.” Veronica muttered sarcastically. “Anyways, you have more pressing matters to attend to. Scholar wants a word with you.”

Spike shot a flat glare at the black-clad homunculus. “So your sadistic sociopath of a father who’s the greatest enemy of my home nation wants to ‘have a word with me’. Yeah, like that’s not suspicious at all. I’ll pass, thanks.”

Turning his back on the homunculus, Spike started for the ball-throwing booth again. He didn’t go two steps before Veronica flashed back in front of him.

“Let me clarify my job description.” Veronica intoned darkly. “I’m primarily an assassin, meaning I kill whoever Scholar thinks needs to be killed, no matter what, but in all honesty I like to think of myself as an overachiever. I do whatever Scholar needs me to do, make sure that he gets what he needs. So when he says he wants to speak to you, what makes you think that your opinion is a factor?”

Spike swallowed heavily before managing to redouble his glare. “You know, it’s things like this that make people doubt your position as a ‘good guy’, you know that, right?”

“Duly noted. Follow me.”

Grumbling darkly, Spike finished his funnel cake as he followed Veronica through the teeming tide of equinity in a direction vaguely towards the center of the city.

“So, uh, where are we going, exactly?” Spike asked as they meandered around what seemed to be an entire hoofwrestling tournament.

“Scholar will be meeting you at Concord Spire,” Veronica answered. At his blank look, she elaborated. “The big palace-tower in the center of the city.”

“Oh, heh, right...” The drake scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Veronica rolled her eyes before suddenly slowing down and shoving Spike into an alcove. “In here.”

“Wha-hey!” Spike protested as he stumbled into a windowsill. “I thought that we were supposed to be going to... the...” He trailed off as he caught sight of the cityscape sprawled out below the window.

Veronica cast a disinterested look out the window before shrugging. “Bolthole network spread across Vitrum. It’s not that impressive, to be honest. Come on, this way.”

Spike hastily tore his gaze away from the impressive sight and hastily followed Veronica down the winding crystal hallways, ultimately reaching a large pair of slightly cracked-open double doors, from which both light and voices were streaming out.

The dragon made to enter the door, but was halted by Veronica’s outstretched arm.

“-don’t care how much this benefits us, Scholar, it’s still amoral!” A familiar female voice exclaimed indignantly.

“Oh lighten up, will you? I’m not going to hurt him!” An even more familiar male voice shot back.

“Nooo, you’re just going to cause him mental and emotional trauma!”

“Solely for his benefit!”

“And you think that makes things better!?”

“Doesn’t it!?”

“Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my father!”

Veronica flinched and groaned as she dragged a hand down her face. “Oh perfect, Fran and Scholar are arguing over ethical limits again. I’d better break this up before Fran tries to strangle him and winds up drinking herself to sleep for a week over breaking her ‘do no harm’ oath.”

“Uuuh...” Spike slowly stuck up his claw.

“Do no unnecessary harm, you know what I mean.” Veronica grumbled before pushing the doors open hard enough to cause a loud BANG! “Pardon me!” She announced.

“WHAT!?” Scholar and Fran snapped furiously, breaking the glares they’d been directing at one another.

“I brought the drake.” She jabbed her thumb at Spike.

The human and pseudo-human glanced at one another before composing themselves, grumbling darkly as they readjusted their clothing. “Show him in.” Scholar grumbled.

Spike glanced nervously at Veronica, who jerked her head forwards expectantly. He gingerly poked his head into the room, hesitantly darting his gaze between the creator and the creation.

Scholar cocked an eyebrow before grimacing and kneading the bridge of his nose. “How much did he hear?”

“Mental and emotional trauma.” Veronica deadpanned.

“Oh for the love of-!” He moaned, slamming the heel of his palm into his forehead. “Look, Spike, it’s neither personal, nor as bad as it sounds. My dearly beloved daughter,” he ground the words out while shooting a glare at Fran. “Is overreacting. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Over-!” Fran hissed incredulously before cutting herself off with a raised hand. “You know what? Fine, fine. But this is on your head, got it?” She pinned Scholar with a glare.

Scholar shook his head in exasperation. “Whatever. Just... get in here please. There’s something very important that I’ve got to discuss with you.”

Spike swallowed heavily before hesitantly stepping into the room.

“Great, thanks. And Veronica-?”

“Guard duty?” Veronica asked flatly.

“Is that a problem or...?”

“No, no, it’s fine...” She waved his concerns off. “The high quality of prisoners makes up for it. Besides, festivals aren’t for me. Enjoy whatever game you’re playing.” And with that, she blurred out of sight.

Scholar blinked in surprise before shrugging indifferently. “Well, alright then. Now then, Fran, if you wouldn’t mind...?”

Fran glared at Scholar furiously for a second before relenting with a weary sigh. “I actually kind of do, but fine.” She marched up to Spike and knelt down in front of him as she fished a tongue depressor out of her labcoat. “Say ‘Ah’.”

Spike blinked in confusion. “Wha-AGH!” He spluttered in protest as Fran stuck the piece of wood into his mouth and held his mouth open, intently inspecting it with a light another one of her hands procured.

“Alright, let’s see...” She mused. Before Spike could react, another of her hands darted out and tapped his throat, causing Spike to involuntarily heave and burp up a flare of flames. Fran jerked her tongue depressor out instantly, intently inspecting the green flames burning on the tip of wood with a few quickly-conjured arrays.

“Hmm... interesting...” Fran muttered as she inspected the results..

“Hey!” Spike protested as he rubbed his throat. “What do you think you’re doing!?”

“Look into this, please.” Fran droned, holding up a hand and generating a bright glyph array.

Spike blinked and rubbed his eyes as the array flashed and resolved into a mirrored image of what he was pretty sure was his own skull. Wow, that was some thick bone around his brain... He really hoped this didn’t say bad things about him.

“Alright, let’s see...” Fran started fiddling with the array, adjusting the angles and zoom. “Normal, normal, norm-Ooooooh dear that’s not right...” Fran trailed off uncomfortably as she stared at an enlarged section of flesh.

“What, what is it? What’s wrong with me!?” Spike grabbed her collar and started shaking her frantically.

“No-o-o-othing!” Fran managed to get out, prying Spike off of her with two of her hands. “You’re fine, perfectly healthy!” She tried to reassure him with a wide smile.

“Are you kidding me!?” Spike demanded.

Fran winced and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Uh...”

“Well, Fran?” Scholar asked expectantly.

Fran rolled her eyes and shot a dark look at Scholar. “Alright, so your hypothesis was correct to a T. Can I go now?”

“You know why I need you to stick around a little longer.” Scholar folded his arms firmly.

Fran grumbled darkly in response, but nonetheless stood up and walked towards the back of the room. “I’ll have no more part in this than I need to. In the meantime, I’ll be going over those implants you sent me.” And with that, she pulled a stone tablet out of her jacket and went to work.

Scholar stared at her flatly for a second before shaking his head and sighing. “Kids these days... Well, anyways...” He focused on Spike. “Let’s talk.”

“About what!?” Spike demanded furiously. “What was she talking about? What hypothesis? What’s wrong with me? What do you want with me!?”

Scholar stared at him blankly for a moment before shrugging. “Alright then... let me start with a question. Spike...” The human readjusted his glasses. “Have you ever thought that you look a bit... weird? In terms of being a dragon I mean.”

Spike froze instantly, his every muscle locking up. After a second, he swallowed heavily and looked away. “W-what do you mean?” He stammered uneasily.

Scholar sighed and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Spike, you’re abnormal and you know it. You don’t have any wings, I bet you’ve barely even grown since you were hatched...”

“P-ponies don’t know a lot about dragons,” the young drake stammered out. “T-Twilight said it could be because I’m part of a subspecies, that this could- is normal. I-I mean...” He looked around uneasily, his voice indicating that Scholar wasn’t the only one he was trying to convince. “It’s been two thousand years, I-I bet that dragons have evolved a lot since then... right?”

Scholar stared at him flatly before letting out a heavy sigh. “Spike... with a lot of other species in this world, you’d be right. But... not with the long-lived ones. Not with the ones whose members can live several centuries or even millennia at a time. Not with the bigger arboreals, not with the titans, not with the island-turtles... and not with the dragons. Evolution can’t even begin to scratch you, not on anything short of geologic timescales.”

Spike swallowed heavily. “But... what about... subspecies?”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. “Smallest subspecies of wingless pygmy dragon is about as tall as I am. And they definitely do not have your musculature, or skeletal structure for that matter. The fact of the matter is... you’re unique, Spike. The only dragon like you is you.”

Spike worked his jaw helplessly for a second before biting his lip and bowing his head. “What’s... wrong with me?” He ground out.

Scholar glanced back at Fran, who met his gaze with a sharp glare before sighing wearily and standing up. She waved her hand, conjuring up a translucent image of a brain. “Biological growth in most organics beings, dragons included, is controlled via a section of the brain known as the pituitary gland. It secretes a cocktail of growth hormones, some specific to each species and some common across many. These hormones, in turn, are what induce the tissues and growth plates of the bones to grow. If the any of these hormones are not produced, the growth of the being in question will be stunted without regular injections from an outside source.”

“This,” she enlarged a section of the brain, highlighting a pair of fleshy bulbs. “Is a healthy draconic pituitary gland. And this,” the image was replaced with a pair of shriveled... somethings. “Is your pituitary gland. As you can see... it’s not healthy, by most anyone’s definition of the word. I’m sorry.”

Spike’s mouth ran dry as he stared at the horrific image before him. “...how?” He finally managed to whisper.

Fran cleared her throat uncomfortably, refusing to look Spike in the eye, prompting Scholar to step forwards. “The reason is twofold.” He explained quietly. “The first is nutrients. Spike... what do you think a dragon’s diet consists of?”

The drake stared at him blankly before speaking. “I... c-crystals?” He barely kept himself from crying when Scholar shook his head.

“It’s a critical part of your diet, and theoretically you can survive on them indefinitely sure, but... It’s just one part. You see...” The Rune Keeper rubbed the back of his head before groaning miserably. “There’s no easy way of saying this, so I’ll just come right out with it: Carnivore.”

Spike’s claws dug into the palms of his hand.

“Sorry, kid, but it’s true.” Scholar shrugged apologetically. “Dragons need iron and protein something fierce. At best, dragons are low-end omnivores who can eat fruits and vegetables. But no matter how you cut it, the fact is that you need meat to function.”

A small cloud of smoke puffed out as Spike took a deep breath and released it. When he spoke, his voice was filled with barely-controlled anger. “And... the second reason?”

“Well...” Scholar grimaced. “As you can imagine, dragons are highly-magical creatures. It courses through their veins, helps them maintain their size and fuel their fire. It’s as intrinsic to them as blood. It’s the whole reason why you and many other species chow down on crystals. See...” He opened his grimoire and projected an image of a spike of quartz. “Crystals are natural energy absorbers. It’s... difficult to explain, a lot of quantum physics is involved, but the long and short of it is that on an energy-level, crystals are just a little bit alive. Normally, they absorb magic like nobody’s business, but... nowadays… Well...”

Scholar spread his hands helplessly.

“There isn’t a lot of magic in the air, is there?”

Spike’s entire body twitched once in a single, rage-filled spasm as his mind forcibly made a connection he had not been wanting to make.

“When little dragons want to get big and strong...” He snarled out through his fangs. “They eat jewels and gems all day long.”

Fran winced in sympathy, while Scholar groaned and dragged his hand down his face. “Ohhhh crap.”

“She... knew...” Spike hissed, fire flaring through his fangs.

“If it’s any consolation,” Fran offered gently. “Celestia wouldn’t have done it without a very good reason.”

“Fran’s right.” Scholar nodded in agreement. “I mean, think about it: Twilight Sparkle hatched and raised you from what I’ve been told, right? Well, dragons grow fast, and I doubt a filly would be able to successfully raise a four-foot long-!”

“Stop. Talking.” Spike growled.

Fran slapped three of her hands over Scholar’s mouth at once.

“What do you want from me?” He demanded, fury rumbling beneath his words.

Fran and Scholar momentarily glanced at each. “Uhhh...” Fran slowly raised a finger.

“Don’t deny it!” Spike roared. “You just poisoned every single memory of my childhood that even remotely involved Celestia. Either your dad’s a sadistic fuck who gets off on the misery of others, or he wants something from me!”

Scholar worked Fran’s hands off of his mouth and gave Spike a flat look. “Let’s start with what I can give you: Your size, your wings, and fire worthy of a steel-mill.”

Spike blinked at Scholar in shock before slowly calming down. “You... I... you can do that? For real?”

“Yes, I can.” Scholar nodded in confirmation, while Fran glared at him and slowly backed away. “But first...” He snapped his Lexicon open and drew an array out of the pages. The circle of runes spun slowly as an image coalesced within the array’s boundaries, showing...

“Rarity!?” Spike sputtered in disbelief as he watched the beautiful white unicorn gush over a painting. “W-what-!?”

“You see Spike, I’ve decided to make a bit of a... tactical decision.” Scholar lectured in an absent-minded manner while he inspected the pages of his book. “See, while I doubt that Celestia will let the Elements of Harmony out of their vault in Canterlot for fear of me getting them, that’s...” He shook his head somberly. “Well, that’s just not a risk I can take. As such, I need to eliminate one of the Element Bearers, and the easiest one to get rid of is her. Sorry, Spike.”

“WHAT!?” Spike yelled in horror. “N-no, you can’t do that!”

“Can, will, have.” Scholar rebutted with a frigid glance. “I already sent the order. Priscilla will be disposing of her in five, four, t-”

“NO!” Spike screamed, flinging himself at Scholar’s feet. “Y-y-you can’t do this, please, please!” He begged frantically as he clawed at his robes. “I’ll do anything you want, anything, just please, please don’t hurt-!”

Scholar suddenly knelt down and snapped his fingers in front of Spike’s eyes, unleashing a small flurry of runes and a bright flash of light.

Spike’s eyes unfocused, causing him to let go of Scholar’s robes. “Vvawha...?” He slurred as he staggered to his feet, casting his gaze around in confuzzlement.

“What the hell?” Scholar demanded in disbelief as he stared at Spike in confusion, the image of Rarity fading into oblivion. “This doesn’t make any sense! He’s infatuated with her, he shouldn’t have-!”

“Shouldn’t have what, Scholar?” Fran demanded frigidly. “Broken down? Pleaded for her life, like any person would do for a loved one?”

“Yes!” Scholar flung his arms wide as he started to pace about furiously, tearing at his hair in frustration. “This isn’t right! You know what should have happened! His reaction should have been completely different! This goes against my hypothesis entirely!”

Fran’s mouth flapped helplessly for a second as she stared at her creator in disbelief. Finally, she flung her arms up in surrender. “I’m done. I. Am. Done.” She marched up to Scholar and poked him furiously in the chest. “I am going back to my manor, so that I can do my job, practicing medicine and actually helping people. Next time you need a quack to help you tear a person’s mind apart for your political agenda?” She grabbed his collar and shoved her irate face in his. “Find someone else.”

And with that, she shoved him back and stormed out of the room in high dudgeon.

Scholar stared after her in disbelief before sighing and adjusting his robes. “Kids these days...”

Spike blinked and shook his head furiously as he cleared the haze from his mind. “Wait, wha... what just happened? I-I think I just zoned out...”

Scholar regarded the young drake wearily, starting to open his mouth before pausing in thought. He slowly closed his mouth as he rubbed his jaw, his mind whirling. Finally, he looked back at Spike, an inquisitive glimmer in his glasses. “I was just about to inform you of a... tactical decision I made.”

“Huh?” Spike stared at him in confusion. “W-what do you mean?”

“Well, see, here’s the thing...” Scholar sighed heavily as he prompted the lingering array to display Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight Sparkle... I know she’s innocent in all of this, truly, but... well, she’s Celestia’s student, and as such her presence here is a dangerous liabili-!”

SLAM!

“-GAH!” Scholar wheezed as ten tons of enraged dragon-fist pinned him to the wall of the chamber.

“DON’T YOU DARE HURT HER!” Spike bellowed in apocalyptic fury, his gargantuan mass filling the room as he shoved his carriage-sized head at Scholar. “NEVER NEVER NEVER HURT HER! OR I’LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU!”

“H-hah!” Scholar managed to bite out through a pained grin. “I knew my hypothesis was right! Instinctive emergency transformation brought on to protect a loved one, suck it Fran!” Spike’s bloodthirsty growling snapped Scholar back to the present. “Oh, yeah, right, dragon. Well, Spike, you can suck on this!” He snapped one of his hands out of Spike’s grip and snapped his fingers in front of the dragon’s eyes, conjuring an all-out array of runes that flashed as bright as a magnesium flare.

Spike’s only reaction was to redouble his glaring and growling.

Scholar blinked in confusion and dawning horror before snapping his fingers rapid-fire as he tried to work his book out from Spike’s grip. This lasted all the way until Spike squeezed Scholar harshly, causing him to let out a squeak of pain. “Oh crap...” He noted with increasing concern as his ribs started to creak alarmingly. “Uhh... heheheh...” He grinned winningly. “C-come on Spike! You wouldn’t roast a quasi-innocent old-man, would you!?”

Spike’s only response was to slowly open his jaws, revealing the blistering inferno at the base of his gullet.

Scholar’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Ohfuckme... Fran? Little in over my head here Fran, I need some help here! Fran? Fran!” He squawked with steadily increasing panic as he felt the temperature ramp up by a significant factor. “DAMN IT FRAN, HELP ME!”

Spike inhaled a massive lungful of air... then roared in pain and outrage as he felt a series of sharp pinpricks along the length of his spine. He reached back to dislodge this new annoyance and- why was his vision going black along the edges?

THUMP!

Awareness returned slowly to Spike as loud, piercing noises intruded on his blissful sleep. Very familiar piercing noises. Eh, probably Twilight at the end of an all-nighter yelling at her books. Happened often enough.

“- cannot believe you thought this was a good idea! What were you thinking, you moron!? Were you thinking!?”

… That didn’t sound like Twilight.

“Oh come on, you can’t really be that mad! Ow! Okay, yes, you can be! But why?!”

“You drove an adolescent dragon into a bloodthirsty rampage for the sake of proving a hypothesis!”

“A very important hypothesis, critical to the war eff-! GAH THAT WAS MY DAMN RIB!”

“Oh, don’t be a baby. Ribs grow back.”

“THE ABSOLUTE HELL THEY DO!”

“Well, they do with the appropriate modifications at any rate, which I am seriously considering performing right here, right now, without anesthesia.”

Spike announced his return to consciousness with a pained groan, rubbing his temple in an effort to ease his throbbing headache. “What... hit me?”

“Three liters of propofol injected directly into several major arteries that run along your spine.” Fran deadpanned. “How do you feel?”

“Uhh... a little fuzzy...” Spike managed to groan out. “What happened to me?”

“Heh, funny story...”

“Bite this.”

“Say wha-?”

CRACK!

“GAGH- YOW! YOU PUT MY HAND IN MY MOUTH! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?”

“Funny story.”

“Yeah yeah...” Scholar spat furiously before sighing heavily. “Alright, fine. I tricked you into thinking I was going to have Twilight killed so that you would fly into an extreme rage. The emotional high kickstarted your magic and, well, basically made you grow straight to full size in one go. Of course, seeing how the mass was magically-created, once the emotional high, and thus the magic, was gone you shrank back to your normal size. Satisfied?” The last word was spat at Fran.

“No.” She crossed her arms definitively.

“NO!” Spike yelled. “You did what!?”

“Look, will the both of you calm down!?” Scholar demanded as worked his way back to his feet. “This was completely necessary! Look!” He snapped the Lexicon open and caused an array to coalesce above its pages. This array displayed a number of lines that were shifting in size, color and length. “See this? I was recording your magical signature the entire time. I was lucky to actually get anything, seeing how you seem to be ludicrously resistant to magic, probably because of how much harmony you’ve ingested over the years. Now I know what happens in your body whenever that kind of a transformation occurs. And now, I can start looking into a way to induce it without the emotional high, as well as making it permanent.”

Spike stared at Scholar wordlessly for a second before swallowing heavily. “Y-you can do that?” He asked quietly.

Scholar nodded definitively. “Yes, I could...” He snapped his book shut, dismissing the array. “But there’s a catch.” The human scowled the second the drake did. “Hey, don’t look at me like I’m some kind of monster! The country I’m responsible for is going to fight a war! A very uneven, one-sided war at that! Every resource is precious to us, time especially, so as such I can’t spend even so much as a second of what little time we have without thoroughly justifying it! I’d love to make this a charity case for you, and in any other situation I would, but I don’t have that luxury! If I do this, then it has to be because it’s worth my while! Not just for me, but for every person who’s counting on me!”

Spike ground his fangs angrily for a second before crossing his arms in defiance. “I’m not going to join your stupid academy.”

This prompted Scholar to scoff and roll his eyes. “Please, don’t flatter yourself. You’ve got some impressive power, eating gems’ll do that, but no. What I want from you is... information. You control the correspondence that runs between Twilight and Celestia, yes? All I want is a... peek at it.”

“You want me to spy on Twilight!? Are you insane!?” Spike demanded furiously.

“Not on Twilight, you dodo drake, on Celestia!” Scholar flung his arms out in frustration. “I could give a damn about Twilight, what I want to know is what Celestia knows! Just-!” Scholar kneaded the bridge of his nose and took a deep, calming sigh before continuing. “Look, it’s nothing big, alright? I just want to plant a bug in the spell that enchants your fire. That way, whenever the link is used, a copy of whatever is being sent through is sent to me.

“The partnership would last until I managed to find a cure for your... issues. Once I fix you, I’ll remove the bug and you’ll be scott-free. And believe me, I won’t even be able to lollygag because if I did, Fran here would make me pay for it.” Scholar jabbed his thumb at his daughter.

“That I most certainly would.” Fran emphasized darkly.

“So, Spike...” Scholar eyed the young dragon curiously. “What do you think?”

Spike looked the human mage up and down for a second before scowling darkly. “Personally, I think you’re a real piece of work.”

Scholar blinked flatly. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, seriously? You want my help, you’ve got an, uh, incentive in mind, and you don’t even think to just ask me about all this?!” The drake waved his claws energetically. “I mean, you could’ve just said ‘Hey, Spike, I could use your help on something, and I’ll even offer to make you big and strong, I just need to test something real quickly.’ But no, instead you had to use this convoluted scheme to test your hypothesis, in the process scarring me for life and pissing off your daughter! So, are you an idiot or just that much of an insensitive bastard?! Personally, I’m leaning towards the latter!”

Scholar stared blankly at the young dragon in heavy silence for what seemed like eternity.

Fran, meanwhile, swallowed heavily as she slowly backed away from her progenitor. “Ooooh dear...”

Spike blinked at her in confusion...

“That was a mistake.”

Until his focus was snapped back to Scholar, who was looming over him menacingly. His entire being radiated malice and raw, unadulterated rage, the runes floating around him flashing and zipping about angrily, while his glasses shone like twin suns.

“Let me be clear, Spike.”Scholar spat, his voice echoing menacingly. “I don’t choose to do what I do. I HAVE TO!” The boom in volume caused Spike to stumble back in fear, a motion that Scholar was swift to follow. “DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS AN EASY JOB, HM? MANAGING THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS, OF THOUSANDS, ALL DEPENDING on YOU, ALL NEEDING YOUR GUIDANCE!? I HAVE HELPED THESE PEOPLE, I PROTECT THESE PEOPLE! I HAVE DEVOTED MY LIFE TO ENSURING THAT THEIR LIVES ARE HAPPY ONES, THAT THEIR LIVES ARE PEACEFUL ONES! I WILL DO ANYTHING TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, AND IF ALL I MUST DO TO ACHIEVE THAT END IS COMMIT A FEW MORALLY QUESTIONABLE ACTS, SO BE IT!”

“B-but you’ve done things as bad as the Princesses! As bad as the people you’re fighting!” Spike protested weakly.

“DO YOU THINK I NEEDED YOUR PERMISSION TO IMPLANT THAT BUG!?” Scholar demanded. “I COULD HAVE SLIPPED IT IN YOU AT ANY TIME AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN NONE THE WISER! I CHOSE TO GIVE YOU A CHOICE! I CHOSE TO RESPECT IT, I CHOSE TO POSSIBLY LOSE OUT ON A POSSIBLE WAY TO WIN THIS WAR BY DOING THINGS THE 'RIGHT WAY'! YOU WANT A PERFECT WORLD? A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING IS SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND HAPPINESS?! THEN FIND A WAY TO ANOTHER WORLD, BECAUSE IT’S SURE AS HELL NOT THIS ONE, AND IT’S NOT ANY OF THE ONES NEARBY! I’M NOT THE GOOD GUY HERE, YOU LITTLE WHELP! I’VE NEVER PRETENDED TO BE THE GOOD GUY, NEVER TRIED TO BE THE GOOD GUY! I’VE JUST TRIED TO BE THE GUY WHO WINS, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON ON THIS WORLD! AND IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN LECTURE ME FOR THAT, THEN SCREW-GAGH!”

Scholar suddenly cut himself off with a cry of pain as he stumbled back, his magic dying as he clutched at his upper-right arm.

Fran hastily ran up to him and started running arrays over his arm, but he waved her off in favor of glaring down at Spike. “I don’t have time...” He hissed. “To debate ethics and morality with a child whose age is only a fraction of my own. I need an answer. Are you in... or out?”

Spike stared up at the human fearfully, a million thoughts running through his mind. Finally... he bowed his head and looked away. “I...” He swallowed heavily. “I will never hurt Twilight. Or her friends. They’re... they’re my family.”

Scholar stared down at him impassively for a second before snorting and striding past him. “Then so be it. A venture lost and time irreversibly wasted. If you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. Fran will escort you out. Oh, and Spike?” He froze in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at the drake. “Enjoy the party. I imagine it’ll be the last one that Vitrum will be enjoying for a long, long time.”

And with that, Scholar left the room, leaving Spike to stare into the dark.

Chapter 28. As One Storm Passes...

Author's Note

Better late than ever, eh? Eh? Aheh, seriously though, sorry for taking so long, you guys are an awesome audience! Good night and good reading!

Chapter 28. As One Storm Passes...

The dungeons of Vitrum, located beneath even the ever-expansive Subarchives, could be described in a single word: imposing. A massive warren of vaulted crystalline caverns, located so deep that they were noticeably warmed by geothermal energy, they were at once unfathomably large and nightmarishly claustrophobic, due to the creeping darkness that pressed in on the barely-lit tunnels.

In many more, they could be described as inescapable, terrifying, nightmarish... and monotonous.

For all that the atmosphere of the dungeons was horrific, the fact remained that the vast, extensive labyrinth of crystal was perfectly devoid of detail, uniform to a T. From the outside, every corridor looked like the other, every door and cell appeared the same. Even if one were to somehow figure out how to escape their cells, that ‘one’ would be liable to spend eternity (or the vast majority of it) wandering aimlessly.

Of course, that assumed said ‘one’ could manage to slip out of their personally-tailored bindings, whether they be chains latched to the ceiling, walls and/or floor, arrays wound around them like an arcane gordian knot, or some unholy yet sickeningly beautiful combination of the two. And that was all without mentioning how the cell’s exits were not apparent, blending into the translucent walls.

Unsurprisingly, more than one prisoner had gone mad over the centuries. Few tears had been shed over them.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was currently being subjected to the full suite of her prison’s capabilities: her wings, limbs, hooves, neck, barrel and horn were all equally ensnared in both a myriad of glyph-engraved mana constructs and enough chains to supply the Manehattan harbor’s needs for the next year and still have plenty left over for a full dozen goths.

However, for all that she was restrained, it appeared that none of it was truly necessary. At least, not if her dejected expression and the way she allowed herself to hang limply by the chains was anything to go by.

“Cadance.”

A voice prompted Cadance to glance upwards slightly, barely registering Scholar, Seath and Chrysalis as they stood arrayed before her, watching her with carefully neutral expressions.

“I know that I’m gong to most likely regret this...” Scholar sighed as he hung his head. “But... do you have any last words?” His long-suffering tone plainly begged for a negative answer.

Unfortunately for the chief academic, his wish would not be granted as Cadance slowly lifted her head and stared at the Oligarchs with long-dead eyes.

“We did what we did... for our people...” she croaked. “It was... and always will be... that simple...”

She didn’t make a noise as Chrysalis slammed her hoof into Cadance’s throat, wrenching her head up to a full ninety degrees. Seath and Scholar could only sigh wearily as they observed the exchange.

“You murdered billions...” the changeling matriarch snarled, inches away from Cadance’s ear. “Practically enslaved countless others. Crippled our artistic and intellectual expertise to a nigh irreparable degree. Do you really think that that... that worthless excuse of an excuse will absolve you of anything?!”

Cadance shivered in by-now-numb horror at Chrysalis’s proximity before slowly shaking her head. “It’s... not an excuse... don’t want to be excused... It’s just... fact...” Cadance sniffed as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. “We couldn’t take it anymore... so many died... so many died every day... every second... we couldn’t... you didn’t care...”

“We couldn’t allow ourselves to care, you stupid, worthless idealist,” Chrysalis hissed. “Time and time again we emphasized it. Time and time again we faced off against fools who never listened! The words that should have been like gospel to you: we. Are not! GODS! We are not omniscient! We are not omnipotent! We have neither the ability, nor the knowledge, nor the right to permanently change our world! What you did was the height of foolishness! Of stupidity! Of hubris!”

Cadance sobbed weakly as she attempted to shake her head, not seeming to hear Chrysalis’ rant. “We-We never wanted to hurt them… but they didn’t stop... nobody listened, so few stopped… w-why? We begged them... we tried... we tried... why didn’t they stop…?”

Chrysalis faltered slightly. A myriad of emotions swirled within her for a moment before ultimately defaulting to rage. She swung her hoof back-

“Enough.”

-and froze at Scholar’s tone, his voice more tired, more exhausted than anything else.

“Just... just... enough.” The human held his hand up. “She’s going to be punished enough as it is. We’re already taking something irreplaceable from her. We can’t do anything else. Let’s...” Scholar hesitated for a second before letting his hand drop with a defeated sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Chrysalis glared over her shoulder at Scholar for a minute before snorting and withdrawing her hoof, allowing Cadance to hang limply from her restraints once again before stepping back.

Scholar nodded at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

Chrysalis snorted darkly, refusing to look him in the eye.

The Rune Keeper glanced up at Seath. “Do it.”

The crystalline dragon huffed in agreement, raising his hands and conjuring a wide rune-circle before him. In response to Seath’s ministrations, the cell started to light up with wave after wave after wave of runes and glyphs, the light causing the shadows to dance and writhe across the crystal.

Cadance slowly tilted her head back and forth as she took in the arrays, before looking up at Seath. “Will it be painful?” she breathed.

Seath rumbled for a moment before dipping his head into a nod. “Excruciatingly so.”

A smile of fatalistic bliss wormed its way onto the Alicorn’s lips.

“Good.”

And with that, the cell was flooded with light.

-o-

“- and while I personally do not find their music to my tastes, I find myself continually impressed by the creativity of electronica artists.” Octavia glanced furtively back into the small crowd of ponies trailing through the snow behind them, specifically at Vinyl, who was in an animated conversation with Rainbow Dash. “Please don’t tell Vinyl I said that. She and I are roommates, and it would make her absolutely insufferable.”

Priscilla absentmindedly nodded in agreement, her mind still mulling over the music Octavia had described. “It is gratifying to know that new forms of art continue to still be created. And your opinions are safe with me, though I doubt I shall have an opportunity to share them anytime soon so long as you reside in Canterlot.”

“Oh, well, you know...” Octavia shrugged as the group started to mount another hill of snow. “What with Scholar’s declaration of not intending any harm towards we civilians, I’m certain that I can arrange to return to Vitrum some time soon. I’ll most likely listen to a few operas, share my art, so on and so forth. I’m certain that relations won’t be that bad between our nations.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Miss Philharmonica.”

Octavia and Priscilla looked over their shoulders at the voice, the pony wincing in admonishment whereas the homunculus maintained her cool expression.

Shining Armor was glaring furiously at Priscilla, marching shoulder to shoulder with his
sister through the tundra.

“I think,” the captain stated, his tone colder than the surrounding snowfall. “That any interactions between Concordia and Equestria are going to be very tense for the foreseeable future, especially so long as my wife is unlawfully held in captivity!”

Priscilla merely rolled her eyes at the very thinly veiled accusation, which prompted a frustrated growl from Twilight. “Will you just answer us already?! What did you do with Cadance?! Where is my sister-in-law!?”

Apparently having reached the limits of her patience, the homunculus sharpened her gaze on the unicorns and rotated her scythe just enough so that the sun’s dying light glinted off it menacingly. “I kindly request that you still your tongues, lest I still them myself. Trust me when I inform you that that will not be a pleasurable experience.”

Octavia pursed her lips as the two pseudo-royal ponies followed Priscilla’s commands, albeit unwillingly. “That was... rather crude, was it not?”

Priscilla shrugged indifferently as she repositioned her weapon on her shoulder. “Mayhaps. But it was also direct. Simplicity was-” She hid a wince. “-is a much sought-after virtue in Concordia.”

The earth pony musician considered this for a moment before shrugging in acceptance. “Fair enough. But nonetheless, I reiterate: Equestria is a peaceful nation. Surely some form of compromise can be achieved, no?”

Priscilla made to answer, but before she could, she and the group crested a final hill on the tundra and came within sight of the train station. She promptly froze in her steps and stared forwards, taking in the sight before her with a neutral gaze. “I believe that that should serve as an adequate response to your question,” she supplied evenly.

Octavia’s very verbose response was to choke on her own spit.

Arrayed across the snow and ice were thousands of armored ponies, equipped very differently from the usual spears and golden half-plate of the Royal Guard. Earth ponies were arrayed along the border in a line twelve ponies deep, covered head to tail in mottled brown armor arrayed with somewhat darker runes. Horseshoes with wicked spikes covered their hooves, and a sharp metal horn protruded from their helmets, which left only their eyes and some of their muzzle visible.

A glance up to the sky would reveal dozens of squadrons of pegasi. Some were equipped similarly to the earth ponies, in heavy armor liberally equipped with piercing weapons. Others wore a lighter, sky blue armor that left their wings bare but for sharp blades along their front edges. Saddlebags were draped over their backs, bulging with unseen but likely unpleasant cargo. Many of these lighter pegasi could be seen pushing storm clouds into place.

And, though not visible behind the solid wall of earth ponies, there likely stood masses of unicorns preparing combat spells.

But the army, impressive though it was, was simply window dressing for the two mares at the head of the line. Celestia and Luna stood at the forefront of the army, armor in gold and midnight blue on their bodies and a warhammer and twin sabres clutched under their respective wings, ready to be drawn and used at a moment’s notice. The alicorns, their armor and their weapons alike literally glowed with power; Celestia alone was outright melting the snow around her.

“PRISCILLA!” Celestia called out, Royal Canterlot Voice in full effect. “SURRENDER YOURSELF AND YOUR PRISONERS.”

Grabbing her hammer with her telekinesis, Celestia lifted it in the air and smashed it, handle first, into the ground, sending a out wave of heat that melted snow for a hundred meters in each direction and raised the ambient temperature by a few dozen degrees.

“OR BE DESTROYED.”

The party stood stock still as they stared at the display of power in aw.

“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash whispered into her ear. “Have you ever seen Princess Celestia get like this? ‘Cause I’m not gonna lie, this is kinda scary.”

“N-No, never!” Twilight hastily stammered out before gaining a contemplative look. “Though... I think she might have done this if Blueblood had been allowed to speak for another five minutes during a budget session a few years ago. Guess I didn’t imagine that smoke coming from her throne after all...”

“Oh, this is nothing,” one of the Concordia-age ponies hissed out of the corner of his mouth. “You should have seen what she used to do whenever someone slipped up and used...” He shuddered in horror. “Instant tea powder.”

“She wasn’t that bad... was she?”

“My hoof to the gods,” the pony deadpanned, holding said limb up and displaying the prosthetic latched over the end.

“You lost that to a manticore,” one of his comrades deadpanned. “A drunk manticore!”

“You know what I mean!”

Meanwhile, the homunculus who had been directly addressed was notably unperturbed. “Hmm...” Priscilla hummed, tapping her chin in thought. “Allow me to ponder my answer for a moment...”

Without warning, Priscilla spun her scythe off her shoulder and slammed the tip of its blade into the ground, causing the earth to crack and splinter as it flashfroze, a tide of cold clashing with Celestia’s heatwave and causing the border between to steam and hiss furiously.

“Never.”

“BRAVE, BUT FOOLISH,” Luna scoffed, sliding her blades from their sheathes and twirling them menacingly. “YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLY OUTNUMBERED AND OUTPOWERED. YOU ARE A FORMIDABLE FOE, PRISCILLA, BUT FAR FROM INSURMOUNTABLE.”

Priscilla sniffed haughtily as she wrenched her weapon from the earth and slid her finger down the blade. “I thank thee for the compliment, but the fact is that just as I am outmatched, you and yours are ill-informed. I have three advantages in my favor that serve to balance the odds.”

The diarchs stiffened as they processed the statement. “AND THESE WOULD BE?” Luna demanded imperiously, not even her voice’s volume quite capable of masking her trepidation.

“Advantage the first...” Priscilla raised her free hand and spread two fingers to indicate a pair of locations before her. “Backup.”

A moment later, a pair of what appeared to be sharpened steel tree trunks impaled the areas indicated, the harsh and spiky runes engraved up and down their lengths crackling with restrained electricity.

The sisters stumbled back from the spikes in shock, swiftly following their trajectories back to their points of origin. They promptly hissed in frustration when they realized that they came from the sides of two of the surrounding mountains.

“Oh fuck,” Luna spat acridly.

-o-

“Hey sis, I think they noticed us!”

“They don’t appear to appreciate our sharpshooting skills, do they?”

“No, no they do not! All the more reason to show them off even more, no?”

“Yes. Sister, would you mind adjusting our aims so that our next strikes will result in maximum casualties?”

“Done and done, Veronica! Any specific requests, Null?”

“Hmm... think you can point out their train cars?”

“Hoooold oooon... got it!”

“You’re the best, Nix!”

“And don’t you forget it!”

-o-

“They have soldiers manning Outposts Kappa and Delta,” Luna hissed out of the side of her mouth at her sister.

“No, they have the Twins and Veronica manning Outposts Kappa and Delta,” Celestia corrected morbidly. “The difference between normal soldiers and those three manning the ballistae is the difference between one of our soldiers and a newborn foal.”

“Point...” the lunar sister admitted sourly.

“Advantage the second,” Priscilla spoke up, waving her free hand in the air and trailing a line of runes.

Instantly, the winds blew harsh and fierce over the tundra, howling and snapping furiously at the assembled army.

Literally. Ponies in the first line shifted nervously as spectral lupine jaws snapped shut inches from their faces. To their credit, no one bolted. To their deficit, several dozen would later be treated for frostbite on very... private parts of their anatomy.

By this point, the massive runes that lit up both through the earth below and in the clouds above were practically overkill.

Priscilla tilted her head to the side in a motion that could have been mistaken as innocent in any other situation. “Homefield advantage.”

“We are starting to see why our foes always cursed so vehemently whenever we brought the fight here...” Luna murmured with a tinge of nervousness as she contemplated the gargantuan arrays. “Never thought we’d be on the receiving end of this particular innovation. We would have been more lenient while designing it...”

Celestia, on the other hand, promptly rallied and held her head high as she glared at the construct. “IMPRESSIVE, BUT STILL FAR FROM ENOUGH TO DETER US. THE BATTLE WILL BE DIFFICULT, BUT WE WILL STILL TAKE YOU!”

Priscilla waited for a moment before allowing herself a slight smirk. “Advantage the third.” With a hand, she conjured up a relatively small and simple runic array, one designed simply to shoot a ball of light into the sky, which it proceeded to do without fanfare.

For a few moments, the ball simply hung in the clouded sky, before a light gust of wind blew over the tundra. Then another, stronger. Then another. And another.

The Equestrians looked up in confusion... and promptly paled in abject horror.

“...shit.” Celestia concluded flatly.

“Indeed.” Luna swallowed in agreement.

“Oooooh boy...” Twilight pressed herself as low to the ground as she could.

Fluttershy glanced around quickly to confirm that no one was looking at her before whipping a flask out of her wing and gulping down as much as she could.

Priscilla lifted her chin haughtily at the Princesses. “Allies.”

A shadow streaked overhead once anew, this one accompanied by a fierce, triumphant roar as a silver-blue dragon soared by at impressive speed, heading straight for Vitrum. The dragon was followed by another in dull bronze, then one in bright magenta, and then another, and another, until there was a steady stream of what must have been hundreds of dragons overhead, their wingbeats sending the snow awhirl and causing the very air to ripple with sound.

The stream stretched from horizon to horizon, and as the ponies watched in stunned fear, a dozen draconic shapes broke off from the stream and started heading straight towards the gathering.

“Please tell me We're imagining that they look familiar,” Luna squeaked in a distinctly higher-pitched voice.

The choked sound that Celestia managed to conjure was answer enough.

Before anyone could react, the dragons impacted with the earth like a cluster of meteors, each sending up a spray of snow, ice and dust. When the debris finally cleared, the Equestrian soldiers tensed furiously as they were confronted face-first with the unsurmountable truth that they were well and truly surrounded, the particularly titanic dragons looming menacingly above their ranks. Some clawed at the earth in ill-contained eagerness, snorting smoke as they eyed the soldiers, while others chose to merely glare with frigid hatred, their arms crossed and power seeming to pulse from their beings.

Three dragons had landed to surround Priscilla’s captives: a lazy-looking dragon with red scales who had smoke trailing from the corners of his mouth, a sharp and attentive green-scaled dragon, and an ancient, and thus scarred and absolutely massive, pitch-black dragon.

Priscilla nodded at the dragons in greeting. “Sorth. Franaxis. Kalurme,” she addressed to each in turn. “It is good to see you are well.”

Sorth heaved a massive, jaw-stretching yawn, loosing a small fog of smoke in the process. “Well but tired, Lady Priscilla. The journey here was long and arduous. I would not begrudge a morsel at the moment...” His lazy smile took on a particularly menacing tone as he shifted his mass to loom over the group. “Particularly this familiar one here. Remember me, little pony?”

Fluttershy shivered in terror as she stared up at the dragon, wishing she’d had a better proof in her flask. “H-h-hell-HURK!” She hacked and wheezed as the dragon engulfed her in a cloud of smoke.

“Do be quiet, little pony,” Sorth snarled, smoke billowing from his everything as he loomed over her, the plume obscuring his form and making him appear more demonic than draconic. “It is taking all of my self-control to keep myself from smoking you alive for ousting me from my roost.”

“For once, Sorth, we are in agreement,” Franaxis sneered, his emerald scales glinting as he eyed another member of the party.

Spike shivered and shrank under the dragon’s glare. “Ah... h-h-hey big guy. Long time no see... h-how’s your horde doing?”

The green drake’s leer grew as he flicked his tail, causing his entire body to become in what appeared to be a suit of scaled armor, a million million spikes and blades covering his body entirely. “Smaller.”

“Ah crud...”

As for Kalurme, the obsidian dragon merely chuckled menacingly as he spread his arms wide. “Ahhh, Celestia! Luna! My dears, it has been far too long!” he addressed the alicorns in what could almost pass as a jovial tone. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time.”

Luna swallowed heavily as she stared up at the dragon, her swords faltering slightly in her magic. “H-Hello Kalurme. We have... missed you...”

Kalurme responded with a harsh, dry laugh. “Ahhh, but nowhere near as much as I have missed you. I have been eagerly awaiting this day for... centuries...” The dragon hissed the word out. In the process, his features started to blur and fade out, his body becoming a silhouette of black. Said silhouette then started to... ‘open up’ for lack of a better word, becoming pockmarked with eyes and fang-filled maws.

“The struggle to contain my enthusiasm has been...” The silhouette sucked in a harsh, raspy breath. “Unbearable...”

Celestia shivered at the display, but rallied nevertheless, hastily sheathing her hammer as the rest of the dragons started to show their own unique abilities, with Luna following suit moments after. “Alright, Priscilla, you’ve made your point,” she ground out, unable keep a small note of fear from creeping into her voice. “Just... just have them stand down.”

Twilight gaped at the display in shock, incapable of processing what she was witnessing. “P-Princess Celestia is... surrendering?”

“I don’t think she has much of a choice, Twilight,” Shining Armor stated grimly, eyeing the dragons nervously. “I’ve heard rumors of these things. Elder Dragons. They’re supposed to be as old as time itself...”

“A bit prosey, but essentially correct,” one of the soldiers supplied nervously. “Elder Dragons are dragons who are really, really, really old. As in, I recognize a lot of these guys old. And they were still old back then too. An Oligarch can beat one, sure, but a dozen at once?” the soldier shook his head flatly. “It’d be a long, drawn out fight and it’d be tough, but they’d win. Or at least, they’d live. Can’t say the same about us, though...”

“I’m glad we can talk like civilized beings, Celestia,” Priscilla replied. “Sorth, Franaxis, could you step back a little, please? I don’t want them to be too nervous.”

The dragons snorted in response, but complied nevertheless, backing away from the ponies.

“And what about me?” Kalurme rasped as the other two slunk back a few feet.

“You may stay. It would not do to be too lenient.”

The shadow dragon grinned, displaying every sharp fang in his maw. “Excellent.”

Nodding, Priscilla turned back to Celestia. “I came here to deliver a few missives from my father, and also send these ponies-” And with that she swept her hand over the small crowd behind her. “Back to Equestria. As you can see, they are unharmed.”

Celestia nodded curtly, acknowledging the point. “What does Seath wish to tell me?”

“First. Mi Amore Cadenza has been tried under Concordian law, and been found guilty of Xenocide, Grand Treason against Concordia, and Macro-Environmental Manipulation, along with an assortment of countless other minor crimes.”

Predictably, that announcement led to an uproar, both from the Equestrian lines and from the ponies behind her. Soldiers leaned onto their front hooves, ready to charge; dozens of different voices were shouting all at once. And that was provoking the dragons, one of whom was already opening its maw. Even Luna was milliseconds from pulling out her sabers.

Celestia and Priscilla were bastions of calm in the chaos. The two stared at each other, each waiting for the other to blink first.

Finally, Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“SILENCE!”

Everyone present froze, naturally responding to the natural command in Celestia’s voice.

“Continue, Priscilla,” Celestia stated in a tone of icy calm.

“Thank you,” the homunculus replied. “She has been sentenced to life imprisonment within the walls of Vitrum. However, due to her honest guilt, and her actions in defending the city and its citizens, she has been granted some degree of liberty.” Priscilla’s eyes narrowed at Celestia. “Liberty that can be rescinded at any moment.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed in turn at the thinly-veiled threat, but did not say anything.

“Either way.” Priscilla crossed her arms and held herself up to her full height. “She will remain imprisoned until the end of her days.”

Shining Armor ground his teeth furiously as he glared daggers at the homunculus’ back. He wanted to cuss her out, wanted to rant and rage at the sheer injustice of it all... but he knew that that would accomplish nothing.

“Second.” Priscilla went on. “All members of the Equestrian military are hereby banned from Vitrum until the end of their days.”

Shining Armor’s last strand of self-control promptly snapped like a dry twig. “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” he roared, lunging at Priscilla with all his might. He was only stopped by Twilight and Rainbow Dash hastily grabbing on to him, holding him back.

“We can,” Priscilla corrected politely, as though she hadn’t almost been assaulted. “And we have. Of course, this interdiction extends solely to individuals in military positions. Should you desire to re-enter Vitrum, the solution should be rather self-evident, no?”

“Priscilla…” Celestia wearily interjected. “Please don’t try to poach my soldiers.”

“Poach?” Priscilla laughed airily at the word. “You give your soldiers far too much credit, Celestia. No, this is simply cold-blooded torture of a deserving enemy. The conflict between heart and duty. I believe that Cadenza employed it more than once, no?”

“You sick-!” Shining Armor bit out, but was cut off with a disinterested look.

“Not sick, logical. There is a marked difference,” Priscilla shrugged before returning her attention to Celestia. “Moving on. Third is a declaration of status: in the simplest of terms, Concordia and Equestria are not at war.”

“Uh, ex-cuse me?!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Was I hallucinating the big fight we were just in earlier today?!”

“That was us simply expunging the invaders who had occupied our city,” Priscilla replied without missing a beat. “We have chosen not to press the issue... for the time being at any rate. As for Cadenza, she is a criminal of Concordia who entered our borders and was thus tried accordingly. Of course,” she eyed the alicorns frigidly. “On account of your own status as criminals, sharing Cadenza’s crimes, any and all attempts at diplomacy between our nations can be considered well and truly nonviable, at any point in the future. But for the moment, we can agree on a truce: you leave us alone and we shall leave you... relatively alone.”

Celestia’s nostrils flared as she recognized the threat for what it was, but attempted to remain civil nevertheless. “Priscilla-”

“I apologize for interrupting you,” Priscilla interrupted without so much as a hint of apology in her voice. “But I do believe that it is time for you to depart. After all!” she emphasized when Celestia made to say something. “My father will be reactivating Vitrum’s border defenses soon, and will thus purge your railway from our leylines. It would be most... unbecoming for your army to be stranded within our borders. We might even need to...” Priscilla waved her hand airily. “Take action.”

Kalurme chuckled out a gargled laugh, licking his mouth... mouthes eagerly. It was a thoroughly disturbing sight.

Celestia briefly considered trying to protest, but instead reeled around and flared her wings at her army. “SOLDIERS! BOARD THE TRAIN! FULL RETREAT!” She sighed aggravatedly as she restrained her magic. “We’re going home...”

The neat, orderly Equestrian lines collapsed as the soldiers started boarding the train, casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the leering dragons. The survivors of Vitrum followed, too, just as nervous around the dragons as the soldiers. Shining Armor was the last to leave, shooting Priscilla one final glare before trudging on board.

“Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as the two entered the car, her voice very small. “What happens now?”

“Now, my little pony?” Celestia gave Twilight a genuine smile. “Now you get to go home and put this behind you. I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”

“It’s alright, Princess,” Twilight replied. “I’d like to rest right now, so are there-”

“The sleeping cars are three cars ahead,” Celestia replied. “Rest, Twilight. We have all the time to talk.”

Twilight didn’t respond as she walked down the car. She barely even noticed as Spike split off from the group, mumbling something about using the restroom. She was tired; between the battle, the party, and the relearning how to use her magic in the span of hours, she was running on fumes. There was no reason not to trust Celestia. After all, omitting something wasn’t lying, right? Not... not technically at any rate.

Yeah, yeah, that logic sounded about right to her. Sure, she was almost dead on her feet from exhaustion, but it still sounded about right.

The sleep car was fairly basic, this being a military train. Just cots stacked three high with a thin foam pad, a sheet, and a pillow. To Twilight, it might as well have been a soft feather mattress. She plopped down on the cot and was asleep within seconds.

Celestia, meanwhile, watched her last soldier board the train just as the car lurched into movement. Walking back to the rear window, she gazed out on the frozen tundra; if she squinted, she could convince herself that she could just see the islands of Vitrum’s Overloft in the distance.

As she stared, Celestia found herself thinking back to the point in time when those same islands had not been present.

“Come oooon! Look, I realize that it’s a bit of a fixer-upper-!”

“A fixer-upper? A fixer-upper!?”

~~~

“A FIXER-UPPER!?” Celestia shrieked as she grabbed Scholar by the collar of his robe. “A fixer-upper is a house that needs new drywall and a fresh coat of paint. Maybe some roofing work! A fixer-upper is a dilapidated wreck of a shack, rotted by time and collapsed in on itself! Hel, a fixer-upper is a cave, dripping with moisture, lined with moss and sentient slime! This is not a fixer-upper!”

With a twitch of telekinesis, Celestia swung Scholar around to survey the vast stretch of land before them.

“This is a barren! FROZEN! TUNDRA!”

The icy tumbleweed that rolled by only served to underscore the Alicorn’s point.

Scholar stared forwards for a moment before popping a finger up. “If I might point something out?”

“Please do,” Minos ground out, tapping the shaft of his great-axe in his hand menacingly. “We’re so interested in what you have to say.”

“Well... Celestia said that this tundra was barren, which means it’s lifeless. However! That statement is inherently in-correct, on account of there actually being life on these plains.”

The minotaur and alicorn present glanced over the frozen plain.

“I don’t see anything,” Minos deadpanned.

“Maybe some lichen on that rock over there. If you squint,” Celestia hissed.

“Ah, no no no, you misunderstand!” Scholar held his hands up hastily. “There are plenty of indigenous species in the Great Ice Plains, they’re just not present at the moment. For example, the local subspecies of Windigo, the Boreads! There are also Ice Giants, Frost Spiders, more than a few Long-Haired Trolls, albino wyverns... oh yeah! I even heard tell of a blizzard atronach blowing through down in Black-GRK!”

The human was cut off by Minos grabbing him by his collar and lifting him a clear ten feet off the ground so that they were at eye-level. “This. Is. A wasteland,” the minotaur ground out.

Scholar choked and gagged for a moment before managing to catch a breath. “It’s also one of the most concentrated leyline convergences on the planet!”

Celestia snorted as Minos dropped him onto the permafrost. “You couldn’t have opened with that?”

“I told you last week when I informed everyone of the results of the global survey!”

Celestia and Minos glanced at one another flatly for a second before glaring at Scholar. “We weren’t there for that meeting,” they chorused in flat unison.

Scholar blinked and stared at them for a second before slapping a hand to his forehead. “Ooooh, riiiiight... My bad.”

The two glanced at one another once anew... before they proceeded to simultaneously smack Scholar up the back of his head.

“OW! Alright, alright! Geeze...”

“So... anyways...” Celestia sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. “We’re really going to build a city out here?”

“Ah! Not quite! We’ll actually be building our capital here! Our primary base of worldwide operations!”

A moment of silence. Then...

“Minos, hit him again.”

“GAH! Waitwaitwait!” Scholar hastily squirmed his way out of the minotaur’s grip and staggered away from them. “Look, it can happen! We’ve got more than enough free energy at our fingertips, so the sky’s the limit! Imagine it now!” He turned around and held his hands out wide. “A stronghold, impenetrable, protected both by its environment and arrays stronger than you’ve ever seen! A library, unparalleled in size and scale, containing the sum total of our planet’s knowledge.”

“Just make sure it has a nice sparring ring,” Minos interjected, his voice showing he was clearly tired of the conversation.

“A sparring ring!?” Scholar scoffed, visibly offended. “My dear Minos, this city will have an arena! Nay, a colosseum! The greatest, grandest center for combat and conflict on the planet! Worthy of housing fights between the gods! Or, lacking, them, us!”

That caught Minos’s attention.

“And... what about a greenhouse for my tea plants? I refuse to have them transported, it dries them out and ruins the flavor,” Celestia added hastily.

Scholar chuckled lightly as he flung an arm around Celestia’s shoulders. “Celestia Celestia Celestia. Your scope is too small. I will show you a greenhouse like your mind couldn’t even begin to conceive! Entire ecosystems, built specifically for sustaining your tea, and only your tea! Cultivating it will be as simple as walking out your front door.”

The human then released the mare and started to stride out into the wastes, gesticulating wildly. “I can see it now! Laboratories, lounges, libraries, clubs, shops, salons, restaurants, kitchens, barracks... this place will have it all and more!”

He spun around and flung his arms out wide, presenting the world. “This will be our capital! Our home, our seat of power, our piece de resistance! With this, we will make each and every last one of our wildest dreams come true!”

Scholar’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he all but burst from excitement.

“This will be... our masterpiece!”

~~~

Celestia was jerked out of the memory as the train rumbled over… She glanced out of the window again. A bridge. She sighed as the memories slowly faded. Scholar had certainly delivered on his promise to make a masterpiece. Canterlot was a pale imitation of the grandeur of the crystal city.

Not for the first time, Celestia thought back to ways she could have stopped this whole mess. It was a long list; two millennia of regrets will do that.

“Princess?” came a voice from behind her. Turning around, she saw a white-coated Royal Guard. “They’re ready for you.”

“Thank you. I shall be there shortly.”

The time for regrets was long past. Mourning wouldn’t bring back what once was, and she was going to have a rough enough time dealing with what was now and what would soon be.

-o-

Priscilla sighed morosely as she watched the train pull away. Once it was well and truly gone, she turned on her heel to begin the long walk back to Vitrum. At last, she could finally check the progress of the maintenance work that was being performed on the city’s systems. Yes, she had faith in both the rune-workers and the city’s own automatic processes, but at times micro-managing was simply a necessity.

The first few minutes were spent idly flicking through the reports. It wasn’t until somewhere in the middle that something caught her eye. But oh, what a something it was.

Priscilla hastily skimmed the rest of the report, and then reread it, just to be sure. It said the same thing the second time, and the third. Eyes wide and mouth open, she let the rune display fade into aether as she quintupled her pace through the snow, tearing back towards Vitrum as swiftly as she could.

“Oh, father is not going to be happy about this...” she hissed to herself.

-o-

“We are gratified that the Bearers are all uninjured,” Luna stated with some relief, flanking Celestia as the two and Shining Armor made their way down the length of the train. “Though, in light of circumstances, We find that the prospect of saying ‘We told you so’ is rather less satisfying than We expected it to be.”

“Mmmph...” Celestia grunted noncommittally, her mind obviously elsewhere.

“We are curious about one thing though...” Luna mused. “What of the musicians? How did they get all the way out to Vitrum? Last We heard, the two were at Miss Scratch’s club in Canterlot.”

“I... think I can explain that one,” Shining Armor offered. “I wasn’t able to get all the details, but I’m fairly certain that I heard something about Pinkie Pie and a remix made by that red golem, Null?”

“Say no more,” Luna snapped her hoof up with a sigh. “Knowing the little maniac, ‘tis more than answer enough.”

The white unicorn thought about that for a moment before shivering heavily. “Yeah, I can see how that would work...” He then turned his attention up to Celestia. “So, what’s our next move, ma’am?”

Celestia blinked as Shining Armor’s voice intruded on her thoughts. “Hm? Ah, yes...” the Alicorn frowned darkly. “As it stands, this detente that Concordia has established is little more than a facade, meant to earn them time with which to build up their forces and prepare to attack us. It will not be tomorrow, and it will not be next week, and there is every chance that it might not even be this year, but they will attack us, of that we can be certain.”

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes as he considered the statement. “So what do we do in response?”

The solar diarch sighed morosely at the question. “What can we do, Captain? For all that Scholar is crass, he prides himself on his accuracy... whenever he isn’t actively deceiving someone, at any rate. For all that our protracted period of peace has been kind to our people, it has also had the inevitable end result of making us soft. As it stands, we and Concordia are opposites: they do not attack us because of a lack of means, we are unable to defend ourselves because of a lack of will.”

“As such,” Celestia came to a halt in front of a door to a cabin. “We take our only option: waiting, planning, and above all, preparing. As such...” Grasping the door’s handle, the Princess slid it open and stepped aside. “Captain, I’d like you to meet my new Military Chiefs of Staff.”

“Or rather,” one of the ponies inside rumbled as he stepped forwards and presented himself. “Her old ones, so to speak.”

Shining Armor’s jaw dropped open in shock as he registered the voice. “Wha- G- General Pilum!?”

The ancient Equestrian grunted and nodded firmly. “In the flesh.” He raised a hoof and contemplated the rune-engraved that metal and stone that composed it. “So to speak...”

Indeed, the Earth Pony General was no longer a ‘pony’, by most definitions of the word. Instead of natural flesh and blood, Pilum’s body was a golem, glowing with engravings and giving off an air of solidity.

“So... you’re the only one of us who got out alive, hm?”

Shining Armor snapped his head around and stared at the second golem in the room, this one built with a more slender frame and with a mana-encased horn protruding from its forehead.

“Well...” the unicorn-golem sighed in a female voice. “I suppose that one is better than none.”

“Oh lighten up, will you?”

Another female voice spoke, drawing attention to a pair of golems with wing-shaped constructs protruding from their backs that were hovering near the roof of the cabin.

“After all,” the second pegasus-golem continued in a male voice. “It’s not like we have any room to speak.”

Shining Armor gaped in vivid disbelief. “Wh- I don’t-? Gladia? Arcus? Sagitta!? How is this- how are you all-!? I thought they killed you!?”

“Reports of our deaths were greatly exaggerated,” Arcus supplied cockily.

“Or...” Sagitta sighed and scratched the back of her neck sadly. “Slightly exaggerated, at any rate.”

The Captain of the Guard could only work his jaw as he tried to come up with an appropriate answer before a white hoof landing on his shoulder snapped him out of his astonishment.

“Everything alright, Captain?” Celestia asked gently.

Shining Armor looked up at her in search for an answer. “How are they-? They died!”

“You will find...” Luna provided patiently. “That while death was quite prominent in the days of Concordia, so too were means of preventing it in the midst of battle; so long as one were aptly prepared at any rate.”

“Our armor had backup systems in them. Revenant Circles, we call them,” Pilum explained stoically. “They’re designed so that, upon death, our souls are preserved and automatically transported back to Canterlot. Once there, our souls are placed in simulacra until new organic bodies are grown for us.”

“Thing is, though, we were really lucky to have been killed when we were!” Sagitta nodded sagely.

“Yeah! If we bit it when the city’s soul-catching array was still up...” Arcus shivered heavily. “Well, let’s just say that it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

“Still,” Gladia cut in with a sobering tone. “As it stands, the process is not perfect. Only half of our soldiers managed to escape, so we only have somewhere around one thousand soldiers from our time fit for duty, us included. The remaining two thousand are being held in stasis for their simulacra to be fashioned.”

Shining Armor perked up at the statistics given. “W-was a soldier called Faithful Shield among you?”

Gladia looked at Shining in what was most likely surprise. “Corporal Faithful Shield? He was one of my best soldiers, on the fast-track to a promotion. How did you know him?”

“He saved my life in the battle, helped me get my head on straight,” Shining Armor explained. “I-is he-?”

His heart dropped when the Unicorn general heaved a sigh and shook her head. “I’m... sorry, Captain, but the Revenant Circle isn’t foolproof. It tends towards a 40% failure rate, even on the best days, wherein the soul naturally dissipates into aether, and it doesn’t help that the majority of the enemy soldiers knew about the Circles, and were thus aiming to hit them. So... I’m truly sorry, Captain... but Faithful Shield is gone, and he will be sorely missed.”

Shining Armor seemed to practically deflate at the news, his head dropping with a mournful groan. Still, as the soldier that he was, he visibly pulled himself together. “So. When will your new biological bodies be ready?”

That question served only to drop the Generals into their own bouts of depressed silence.

The biological Unicorn blinked in confusion. “Uh... what’d I say?”

“Shining Armor...” Celestia started uncomfortably. “It’s been several thousand years since the Royal Equestrian Army was in the field. While the preservative capabilities of Canterlot’s archives are... extensive, to say the least...”

“None of the recovered soldiers have any viable DNA samples from which to grow bodies, and their original forms are no doubt being disposed of as we speak. These ponies will never truly reclaim their own flesh and blood.”

“LUNA!” Celestia admonished her younger sibling.

“There is a reason that we considered bluntness a virtue, sister,” the Alicorn in question deadpanned.

“It’s... alright, your Highness, Captain,” Pilum spoke up, his voice carefully devoid of emotion. “We’ve acknowledged and accepted our fates. But!” He held up a hoof. “We are soldiers of Equestria, so we will continue to fight for our nation for as long as we are able.” He held a hoof out to Shining Armor. “And we’d be honored to do it with the current generation of soldiers. We look forwards to working with you, Captain Shining Armor.”

The Unicorn stared at him for a moment before smiling and shaking his hoof firmly. “Same here, General Pilum. There’s no time to waste; let’s start talking strategy.”

Celestia nodded and made to speak... when she was interrupted by a knock on the cabin door.

Luna rolled her eyes with a sigh before sliding the door open, revealing a somewhat skittish unicorn soldier who shrank back in surprise. “What?”

“U-um... Pardon the interruption, your highness, but I was just running inventory on the armory and well...” The soldier lit her horn up and drew an object into view. “Is this yours, Captain?”

Shining Armor’s jaw promptly dropped open in shock. “Holy-!”

-o-

“HELLFIRE! HELLFIRE INFUSED WITH SULPHUR AND BRIMSTONE! IGNEOUS BRIMSTONE!”

“Now father...” Priscilla attempted to placate her progenitor. “I realize that this situation is most unfortunate-”

“UNFORTUNATE!?” Seath bellowed, crystal fog billowing from his maw uncontrollably as he ranted and raged, pacing back and forth in the conference room he and his comrades were situated in. “BECAUSE OF OUR BLUNDER, HALF OF OUR INVADERS HAVE MANAGED TO ESCAPE JUSTICE! THAT IS WELL BEYOND UNFORTUNATE!”

“Maybe so...” Priscilla admitted. “But the other half are still very much dead. As such, the matter is closed, no?”

“NO! IT IS NOT CLOSED!” The pale drake snarled at his daughter as he rammed a fist into the nearest wall he could reach. “THIS MATTER WILL NEVER BE CLOSED! NOT SO LONG AS THAT- THAT CURSED WEAPON, THAT STIGMA UPON OUR SPECIES STILL EXISTS!”

“It is not your fault that you missed the lance’s honor policy, father!” Priscilla pleaded.

“But I did...” Seath fumed, no longer bellowing but still layering his voice with magic. “I overlooked it, I missed it, and now that blood-soaked abomination is in the hooves of our enemies. Of that ARROGANT BLOWHARD!” The dragon punctuated the statement with a blast of crystal.

“Trixie demands to be let into the loop!” the blue unicorn interjected, confused frustration marring her voice as she hid beneath the table in an effort to escape the drake’s wrath. “Again!”

“And hopefully with less rampage!” Gilda spat as she hugged the room’s ceiling. “I’m not keen on experiencing death by crystalfication! That honor is for the pony dweebs!”

“We understand the issue with the soul-field,” Iron Will grunted as he tried to chip a layer of crystal off of his arm. “But what in the name of Hel do you mean by an honor policy!?”

Chrysalis snorted as she pulsed the magic in the shield she was holding erect, causing the topmost layer of crystal to slough off. “A foolish enchantment that was occasionally engraved into Concordian weapons. It binds a weapon to its master in such a way that even space and time will fold in order to ensure that the two can never be kept apart. Only very specialized defenses are capable of stopping an honor policy.”

“The problem...” Scholar mused as he leaned back in a chair, tilting it back and propping his feet up on a platform of magic. “Is that ownership of said weapon passes from person to person via ‘honorable’ combat. Basically, you defeat the weapon’s owner, said weapon becomes yours. Shiny beat what once was Aristo, so he inherited his dragon-slaying lance. Said lance is no longer awaiting processing in a vault, so we can assume that it’s in Shining Armor’s hooves by now. It’s simple, really.”

“AND INFURIATING!” Seath howled, letting loose another blast of magic. “OUR VICTORY! OUR TRIUMPH OVER THOSE TRAITORS,SOURED BY A SLEW OF ROOKIE MISTAKES! I-! I AM-! RAAAAARGH!”The dragon threw his head back and howled, causing the room’s floor to erupt into a forest of crystalline spikes.

“EEP!” Trixie squeaked, literally teleporting to land on Iron Will’s head.

“Iron Will thought Trixie had not yet managed to master teleportation,” the minotaur noted, crossing his eyes to look up at his passenger while he held the crystals off with his free hand.

“Trixie has discovered that terror is a terrific motivator...” the illusionist squeaked fearfully

“Father! I must insist that you compose yourself!” Priscilla demanded fretfully. “This conduct is most unbecoming!”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis added. “Even with this issue with the lance, the day wasn’t a complete waste.” Smirking, she cast a glance at the far wall of the room, prompting the disheveled pink blur that was somehow being reflected in the crystal without a caster to flinch and hide behind what could have been a mane.

Seath fumed as he glared at the blur for a moment before snorting furiously. “You were granted this mercy so that you could continue to watch over ‘your’ ponies, not us. I suggest you get to it,” He let loose a vicious rumble. “Lest your privileges be... rescinded.”

The blur flinched again but promptly complied, running along the walls and out of the room.

Scholar watched her leave with a cocked eyebrow before turning a neutral stare upon Seath. “Well, you’re more than a little stressed.”

To the human’s credit, he didn’t even even flinch as the dragon slammed his claws down on either side of him, craning his neck to loom over him menacingly. “And you are nowhere near stressed enough,” the drake hissed furiously. “I would think that you, a fellow being of science, would understand the necessity of each and every victory, the menace of every defeat. How are you so calm!?”

Scholar pursed his lips and thought for a second. He made to respond... and promptly froze without warning. He then proceeded to snap out his Lexicon in a burst of runes, tear it open to a certain page... and grin a massively content grin.

“The same way I’m calm most of the time, my good dragon...” he mused. “I know something that you don’t. And what I know is that I have just received confirmation of a massive victory in our favor.”

That prompted Seath to hesitate for a beat in shock, his magic sputtering out like a blown candle. “Wh- wait, what? What is it? What have you learned?”

Scholar held his hand up placatingly. “Tomorrow, Seath. It’s been a long day and we’re all tired. I’ll brief you once you’ve had some rest and are thinking clearly. Okay?”

Seath opened his mouth to speak for a moment before ultimately trailing off with a regretful sigh. “You... make a good point. Very well, I shall retire for the evening. We will continue this discussion in the morning.”

Scholar nodded in agreement before turning his attention to the other occupants of the room. “That goes for the rest of you as well. Grab some shuteye. We start work early tomorrow. Dismissed.”

The others streamed out of the room, each heading to their own quarters and talking about something or other. Seath was still visibly upset about the day’s losses, but that was to be expected.

It wasn’t long before Scholar was alone in the room, Lexicon still open to one specific page.

Scholar glanced down at the page and read the scant few words written across it with a victorious smile, his mind drifting back to recall what had guaranteed the appearance of those words in the first place.

~~~

“Enjoy the party,” Scholar shot over his shoulder as he marched out of the room. “I imagine it’ll be the last one that Vitrum will be enjoying for a long, long time.”

The human stomped down the corridor, fury and frustration lining his being. He was en route to the closest training ground he could manage with the intent of blasting apart as many targets as he could possibly manage...

“WAIT!”

When he was brought to a halt by a very familiar voice

Scholar briefly entertained the idea of letting his wrath loose on the young dragon again as he ran to catch up to him, but was swift to reign in his temper. “You already gave me your answer, Spike. We have nothing more to discuss.”

“No...” Spike panted as he doubled over, fighting to catch his breath. “No... I-I didn’t...”

The Rune-Keeper rolled his eyes in exasperation without looking at the drake. “Didn’t what?”

Spike shook his head desperately as he sucked in a new breath. “I didn’t give you my answer...”

That prompted Scholar to turn around and shoot a look at the young dragon. “You just said you wouldn’t hurt your family,” Scholar stated with a deadly calm.

Spike shook his head again as he looked up at Scholar. “I said... that I wouldn’t hurt Twilight...” he clarified in a quiet voice. “I never said anything about Celestia.”

Scholar hid his jerk of surprise by drawing himself up to his full height, crossing his arms behind his back. “Name your terms,” he asserted emotionlessly.

The young dragon swallowed heavily and hesitated for a moment before answering. “My wings, my fire, my size, my magic, all of it. Also, you do not hurt Twilight, or any of her friends, no matter what.”

“If they stand in the way of my plans or of Concordia’s wellbeing and leave me no other choice, they will be dealt with. Non-negotiable,” Scholar shot back without so much as a second thought. “Understood?”

Spike ground his teeth in exasperation for a second before nodding tersely. “Understood.”

“Then deal.” Scholar rolled his shoulders and neck with a very audible series of pops. “In return, you will provide me with intelligence on the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Equestria. Any information you believe to be pertinent to anything, any information you believe could be beneficial to me you will forward to me via an enchantment I will layer into your fire. Deal?”

Spike opened his mouth to say something... then shut it with a snort of green fire. “Deal...” he groused.

“Good.” Scholar knelt down and held his hand out to the drake, a small array of runes glowing in the palm. “Put ‘er there.”

Spike stared at the runes with trepidation, doubt coursing through his being...

“Now or never, kid,” Scholar prompted.

Twilight’s number one assistant sucked in a deep breath and grasped Scholar’s hand with his own... and promptly fell to his knees with a choked cry of pain as runes wound up his arm, encircling his neck and chest and flaring up before fading away.

Once his hand was released, Spike choked and gagged as he massaged his throat, hiccuping up bursts of neon-purple flame.

“And with that, we’re done,” Scholar announced, standing up and dusting his hands off with finality.

“Y-you...” Spike wheezed through the foreign fire.

“Calm down, that’s the enchantment I mentioned,” Scholar brushed the aborted insult off. “You can use it to send messages to me. Now, listen carefully: when you next see Celestia, there’s a chance she’ll notice this enchantment, even with your consent.”

Spike snapped his head up and stared at Scholar in horror.

“Oh suck it up!” The human rolled his eyes at the reaction. “Even if she does, you can deny it entirely and you’ll be free of fulfilling your end of the deal. However, if she doesn’t notice, then the first thing you’re going to do is find somewhere private and send me a message. It’s easy, all you need to do is flame me a note that says-”

~~~

“All clear.”

Scholar smiled and nodded triumphantly as he reread the message once anew.

"First move to me, Celestia,” he whispered to himself. “Here's hoping that this game is a quick and painless one."

Without warning, the human hissed as a bolt of pain lanced up his right arm, originating from his hand.

“For everyone’s sakes...” he grit out.

Chapter 29. Ominous Winds

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