Bringing Balance

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Chapter 5

Prologue

“I am neither proud nor ashamed. I followed the best course of action I could discern, even if you don't agree with, or even understand my reasons.” -Secret Seeker

The gates of Tartarus loomed before the two demigods. Their presence meant that nothing else was nearby as they held the tiny blue orb, using it to scry on the creature that had visited. The being, they had gathered from a handful of witnesses, had been very weak. It could never have generated the void blast that had destroyed Uldrazzi.

Now they watched as it battled the sentience that had taken up residence in their most powerful creation. Their followers had only just constructed the thing when the trio struck. Mephistopheles snarled as it remembered the two alicorns and their draconequus friend. How they'd been able to separate the two, and banish Carryion. How they'd then tracked him down, despite all the snares and false trails, and trapped him behind this infernal gate!

With a flick of his arm his claws smacked against the black metal, causing a flare of white and midnight blue fire to stick to him like tar. It burned for a little while, consuming some of his black, stone-like skin, before running out of energy and dying. In moments, the damage had healed.

Carryion had looked up when he'd struck the gate, but said nothing, returning his gaze to the scrying orb. His characteristic calm. Even in the battle with the trio, he'd never lost his cool. It was what made them such a great pair. Mephistopheles could deceive anyone, anything, and could goad Carryion into action when the Lord would normally have sat and waited. While Carryion's levelheadedness and imperturbable nature often tempered Mephistopheles' outlandish imagination.

Together, they were nigh unstoppable, and they were easily the most powerful force in Tartarus, excepting, of course, those rare occasions the Ur-dragon came through. Mephistopheles shuddered at the memory of the last such visitation. He hated the feeling of helplessness that stole over him whenever he gazed upon the massive beast. Much the same way he felt whenever he stood before the black gate.

Carryion gasped.

The sound was so uncharacteristic Mephistopheles merely sat and stared for a few seconds, before rushing to the demigod's side. The man was pointing at the space between himself and the Necrogolem, gathering an incredible amount of power into a tiny pinprick area. The sun alicorn was building a shield around the two of them, designed to shape some kind of unfathomable force. His wit as sharp as ever, despite the long years of his imprisonment, Mephistopheles realized what the man meant to do.

“He's creating a black hole, and Celestia is going to bend the event horizon so it doesn't consume the entire planet.” Carryion nodded. “But when he does, his soul will be destroyed!” Carryion had looked up from the sphere now, a smile on his face. It was one of the most unsettling things Mephistopheles had ever seen. He didn't expect he'd ever get used to that smile. The black hole appeared, and their scrying died, the sliver of soul no longer having a corresponding part in the outerworld.

They waited, and soon, the orb underwent a nearly imperceptible change. A lesser being wouldn't have noticed a thing. To the two Lords, it was like an acorn turning into a rhino. Carryion thrust the orb against the gate. There was a brilliant flash, and in that instant both tied their beings to the soul fragment. Then it was gone. Carryion waited, not willing to be the first to see if their spell had succeeded, until Mephistopheles strolled up to, and then through, the gate, emerging unscathed.

With his second smile of that millennium, Carryion too passed over to the other side. Cerberus turned and saw them, recognizing who they were. Before they could stop the massive, three-headed hound, it reared back and howled, all its heads resonating with each other, creating a noise that would easily have deafened any mortal, and would likely have caused the unfortunate creature's brain to melt.

To the demigods, it was merely annoying. With a wave of his claws, Mephistopheles silenced the overgrown mutt, causing it to fall into a deep sleep, filled with nightmares of the beasts of Tartarus escaping and torturing it. When Celestia came to see why it had howled, she'd be hard pressed to figure out who, if anyone, had really escaped, and which had only been dreams.

As they left Tartarus behind, their forms shifted. Mephistopheles became a brown coated, white maned unicorn with pumpkin orange eyes, while Carryion transformed into a silver-eyed, black maned earth pony with a dark pink coat. Both ponies sported a black crown with five elongated spires as their cutie marks, signifying them as Lords to anypony who still remembered.

Mephistopheles shook his head at his now female companion. He could never grasp why the other Lord took such delight in performing his duties in a body of the opposite gender. Some mysteries were beyond even his considerable intellect.

“Well then Celestia,” Mephistopheles mused as they journeyed, “let's see how you cope with the return of Death and Deceit.” His laughter echoed off the rocks, causing any creature that heard it to slink away. To hide from the malice in the sound.

Something terrible was coming to Equestria, to bring a little balance to all this peace and harmony.

Chapter 1

“It was a lot safer in there than it used to be, after the Necrogolem's preparatory harvest. Plus, it gave me the privacy to conduct my experiments.” -Secret Seeker

The party had lasted for almost three days before finally petering out, and the cleanup took about two more, since several ponies from out of town continued to linger, starting up impromptu dance sessions, largely assisted by DJ-PON3's portable turn-tables. Eventually, however, things returned to normal in Ponyville, and the six friends returned to their daily lives.

Rarity and Fluttershy were at the spa, getting cleansed of all the sweat, dust and drink from the exorbitant soiree, when Shy voiced her concern.

“Um, I think something might be, uh, bothering Rainbow Dash.” Rarity, who had been humming quietly to herself, only barely registered the soft spoken pegasus had said anything.

“Say what now dear? I was miles away,” she said as she turned to look at Fluttershy, creepily accurate despite the cucumbers covering her eyes.

“That party sure was a blast,” Fluttershy said, unable to speak her mind a second time.

“Oh absolutely! Everypony had such a wonderful time! Pinkie's really outdone herself with this one. Why, her next party will...” Rarity continued for some time, but Fluttershy had trouble paying attention. Everypony... she thought, worried about the pegasus.

Despite her gentle nature and easygoing ways, Fluttershy was probably better acquainted with death than any of her friends. Caring for as many animals as she did meant she outlasted generations of some of the shorter lived species. Plus, nursing wounded animals back to health meant that, sometimes, she couldn't save them.

One might think that it would get easier with time and experience. That the passing of creatures she lacked the power to save would either become less painful, or so painful it chased her away from her calling. For Fluttershy, it was always the same. The pain. The sorrow. The coping. The remembrance. Then, finally, moving on.

Still, despite it all, she couldn't begin to imagine what the experience of dying and being resurrected had done to Dash. She thought back to the party, remembering her sky blue friend performing for a crowd of cheering onlookers. Signing autographs for some of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club. Laughing and joking with some friends from weather control. Sitting in the rafters of Sugarcube Corner, nursing a mug of cider... Telling other ponies her eyes were red from the drink, though she hadn't touched a drop of the hard stuff...

She shivered despite how warm it was in the spa. She'd just have to talk to Rainbow herself. They'd skipped their weekly pet play date yesterday due to the ongoing party, but next week might be the perfect time to try to help her friend. She'd always been closer to Dash than the other mares, being the only other pegasus in the group, and having known her much longer.

So when the blue pegasus had vanished for the second time at the party, not offering any explanation, it hadn't taken Fluttershy long to find her. She knew, she thought, almost all of Dash's hiding places, though she'd never ousted her to her friends when they'd been hoping to get her to do some work. Nothing could have prepared her, however, for what she found.

There had been such a profound sorrow in the sobs that Fluttershy was torn between her desire to help her friend, and crippling fear over what dark secret could possibly cause her indomitable companion to suffer so. Then, with no warning at all, she stopped. Without any more sobs, or even an ending sniffle, the blue mare returned to the party as if nothing had happened, not noticing the petrified pegasus. It happened twice more that she was aware of, and, by the time Dash left the party, she'd resolved to get her some help.

In the gloom of the underground castle, eerie green fire illuminated the dark halls and chambers. Many of the rooms were shut, some magically sealed to keep anypony out. Others were sealed to keep something in... In a large, cavernous opening, a white coated unicorn with a light brown mane and tail stood examining an intricate drawing. It seemed to be a picture of some kind of mechanical spider, built of both rune and metal.

Finally, after long moments of silence, the pony nodded, pressing a switch on the console with his hoof. A small syringe emerged, filled with a clear saline solution. Invisible to the naked eye, the liquid contained millions of the tiny spiders in the drawing. In his weakened state, it had been extremely hard for the stallion to make the little things, but, with the completed injection before him, he felt again the familiar thrill of excitement.

The syringe floated off the console, engulfed in the same eerie green glow the torches put off. For reasons he had yet to discern, his magical nimbus had adopted the unearthly green of the Necroequicon, making him wonder what other effects his temporary storage in the black book had had on him.

He felt a slight pinch as the needle pierced his neck, and the plunger depressed. When it was empty, he withdrew it and placed it into the device he had constructed. The Reshaper, as he called it, utilized power from a soul gem to sterilize pieces of equipment via a simple rune sphere. It could also, by consuming more power, take raw materials or other equipment, and turn them into new tools based on a template.

With the syringe cleaned and put back in its place, Secret Seeker closed his eyes and set to work attuning the spiders to his mind, and instilling in them the basic programs they'd use to assist him. Being a golem would reduce his regenerative needs, since his body already sported some powerful healing capabilities of its own, not to mention some mild magical resistance. Thus, he was able to set the machines' primary directive to assisting his chakra control.

“Yet another thing I learned from the Necroequicon that helped me defeat it.” he muttered to himself, chuckling at the irony. This step had been crucial to his return to power. Since Celestia's return, he found himself unable to even attempt to reconstruct his sun-harvesting rune sphere. It was, presumably, protected somehow by its link to the Princess.

With his new nanobots coursing through his veins, his magical abilities were enhanced, but only slightly. Since it only affected his control, and not the amount of power available, the increase was some percentage of his base strength, which, at this point, was minimal at best. Still, having the nanobots, especially once they were back to their proper numbers in a week or so, would bring a welcome return of some functions he was sorely missing.

He'd really enjoyed being able to see his vital statistics whenever he wanted, having it display on his HUD (Heads Up Display). The notifications he could receive about the statuses of others was also something he would dearly desire if he found himself in a combat situation, or even just a hostile argument. Once they were up to full capacity, he'd be ready to reveal himself. A nervous flutter in his gut disagreed with him. Hopefully... he thought.

Rainbow Dash was reclined on a cloud over Ponyville. The Daring-Do book she'd brought with her lay forgotten to the side, while the rubbed a forehoof on her chest. “You died, hon.” Applejack said. “Been gone for ten minutes.” The human turned back to them, seemingly looking right at her, “We're not all evil.” then the black orb appeared. Celestia had explained later what had happened. Something called a singularity, and some kind of horizon. She had truly wanted to listen. Wanted to pay attention, to learn everything she could about the being she owed two life debts.

But she couldn't.

Whenever she thought back to that time, or dreamed of it, she'd snap out of her reverie with tears in her eyes, heart racing. When she'd asked the Princesses what was wrong with her, she'd been told it was being caused by a dissonance with her Element. That her sense of loyalty was causing her to need to repay those debts, even though it was impossible. They had said that the feeling should fade in a few days.

It hadn't.

It had been especially problematic during the party. For seemingly no reason at all, she'd suddenly need to get away. To be alone so she could sob uncontrollably for a few minutes. Then, as quickly as it had come, the feeling would disappear, leaving her bewildered. Fortunately, her laziness had once again paid off, in that she knew all sorts of places to hide away where other ponies tended not to look.

She'd been pretty careful, and was fairly sure nopony had seen her or suspected anything. She'd also come up with some pretty rad excuses to explain her unusual behavior. That her new training regimen was affecting her stomach. That she'd added random workout sessions to her schedule to keep her body in a state of constant alertness. That she'd had too much hard cider too fast. Not too proud of that one... she winced, thinking of the foals that looked up to her.

Eventually she'd decided to abandon the party altogether. It was getting too hard to explain her sudden need to be alone, and, besides, she really had been getting quite tired. Which made it such a shame that, when she got home and went to bed, she couldn't fall asleep. Each time she'd closed her eyes, she'd seen flashes of the battle between Secret Seeker and the Necrogolem. Of the black orb vanishing with a pop. Of the sorrow in his eyes...

Finally, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she'd drifted off into fitful slumber. She woke once in the night, screaming through tears, forehooves clutching her chest where the hole had been. Despite her racing heart, and her fear of another nightmare, she'd fallen back asleep quite quickly, the rest of the night passing peacefully.

Chapter 2

“Intent is a powerful force, and one still not fully understood. We believe it is responsible for a magician's inability to capture and control the spells of another by their will alone. Some kind of protection granted by the original caster, or OC.” -Intent: A Perfect Method & Calm Storm Guide

The pony slipped through the shadows of the massive city. Why am I still here? it wondered, as it continued its journey through Canterlot. Twists and turns, alleys and streets, it knew nothing of the layout or its purpose, and yet it moved, driven by the will of another. As it watched through its own eyes, it saw, in the distance, a building it did recognize. The Royal Palace.

If it had been able to, it would have felt a cold chill at the sight. The nonpony was beginning to understand its master's purpose. No! it cried, futilely struggling against the prison its mind had become. Not the Princesses! It had no idea if it would, or even could succeed in what it thought to be its mission. It was just a simple earth pony.

No... it thought, I was just a simple earth pony. How had it come to this? That purple mare... He would've blushed at the memory, had he been in control. Embarrassment and shame welled up within him as he recalled her flirtatious smile. The way the light had sparkled through her black mane, giving the illusion of stars in the night sky. He was nopony, just a simple farmer in the market to sell some corn.

At first he'd assumed she'd wanted a discount, but it soon became clear she had no interest in his wares. A few honeyed words had gotten him to leave his cart behind with a sign up saying he'd “Be Back in Five Minutes”. At first he'd felt a little insulted by the time, but the mare had assured him, “It's all the time we're gonna need...” as she lasciviously licked her lips, her silver eyes consuming him. Once they were secluded in a dark alley, everything had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

He recalled the other pony, a brown unicorn with a white mane and brilliant orange eyes, stepping from the darkness, seeming to materialize from nowhere. He remembered the black glow of the magic surrounding the knife, hints of blue buried within it, like the color had been leeched out over time, leaving the blackness of the void. The tug, as it slid across his throat. It was in that moment he was actually glad he'd never had children. The thought of leaving them behind like this would have been unbearable. As darkness clouded his vision, he bravely faced the transition into the next life.

Things were never so simple.

Now he stood inside the castle, having snuck past the guards and excited onlookers, waiting for the Princess' address, through a maintenance gate to a side garden. He'd utilized some set of tools he'd never seen before with a deftness of hooves so far beyond his own skill it was ludicrous. The experience of seeing himself performing these feats was surreal, like some crazy dream.

But he knew it was not his imagination. He remembered being yanked back from the passage to death, his soul snared by ethereal chains, roped into his body and imprisoned there. The two ponies had muttered in a strange language, the words themselves painful to hear, though he could no longer experience any sensation through his body. When they finished, his corpse stood, and began its quest, as he helplessly looked on. With his goal so near, he prayed that Celestia and Luna would take pity on him. Would know he never intended any of this. That he wasn't in control.

He continued to bypass all defenses with ease, some sense guiding his hooves, until he was in the room accompanying the balcony overlooking the gathered crowd. Guards were checking the area, ensuring nopony was hidden within, while he shadowed their steps, silently sneaking past them, and secreted himself away in a large vase. There he waited, his body twisted up like one of the contortionist showponies he'd seen at the circus, amazed, even as he was terrified, by his newfound flexibility.

Celestia waited in her room, serene, as hoofmaids brushed her already perfect mane and tail, groomed her already perfect coat, and adorned her with various jewels and insignia, before taking them all off in favor of the simple necklace she always wore.

Sometimes she wondered why they even bothered.

Finally, preparations complete, though her appearance hadn't changed at all, they all left, and Celestia was free to move once more. Even when she'd been paralyzed, she'd had more freedom than when those ponies were fussing over her. At least then she'd been able to move her mouth and eyes!

With a chuckle, she rose to her hooves and left the room behind, making her way to the balcony beneath which her subjects gathered. It was important to set their minds at ease by returning things to the way they'd been, maintaining order and a sense of structure. Thus, her State of Affairs address needed to be given today, as it had been every year before.

A bloom of happiness grew in her heart as she thought again of her beloved sister. This would be the first time in one thousand years she'd get to make the address with Luna beside her. She hadn't been able to convince the mare to take part in the speech, the night time alicorn still lacking confidence in her speaking abilities, and not wanting to look a foal in front of the whole city, but she had consented to at least appear before them. It was more than Celestia had dared to hope for.

Quickening her pace a little, she trotted up the stairs, hoping her sister might have arrived early, and they could speak before the address needed to be made.

Luna paced the room adjoining the balcony, her horn, now back to its full size, glowing her signature midnight blue. Her spells revealed nothing, and yet she still felt unease in her gut. There's something here... she thought, but couldn't seem to find what. She jumped slightly when the door opened, admitting her sister, and blushed at the look on Celestia's face. Lips pursed, cheeks puffed out as she exaggerated her efforts to withhold her laughter.

Luna shook her head at her sister's antics. A thousand years had done little and less to change Celestia's love of pranks. In fact, it had seemed to have made it worse, and Luna was starting to understand why.

“Honestly sister,” she said, “one would think you spent all day surrounded by stuffy colts and fillies who had nothing better to do than vie for your royal attention via an intricate system of veiled threats and implied slights.” Celestia raised one eyebrow at her sister's eloquent prose.

“And you thought you weren't ready to make a speech to the public?” she said sarcastically. Luna gave her a mischievous grin.

“Well I know how much you love all the attention. All those young stallions making, dare I say, moony eyes at you. Taking mental snapshots for later...”

“Enough Luna.” Celestia cut her off, imposing her best regal tone on her voice. Unfortunately, her sister wasn't deceived. If anything, Luna's grin widened. As their conversation drifted onto other topics, Celestia fought down tears of joy. How she had missed these moments with her sister! She'd need to organize a new holiday to celebrate the day the Elements of Harmony had reunited them...

Too soon, Day Planner, Celestia's personal assistant, entered the room and moved towards the balcony.

“All prepared Princess...es?” he corrected, still getting used to Luna's return. The two nodded, and stood just beyond sight at the balcony, while the unicorn stepped up to the railing.

“Mares and gentlecolts,” he bellowed, his small frame belying the powerful voice belting from him, “it is my great privilege and honor to present to you, Princesses Celestia and Luna!” He stepped back as the two Princesses moved to the railing, the crowd stamping their hooves in applause. But only Luna appeared before them.

Glancing to her right, she became suddenly aware of her sister's absence.

“Celestia!” she hissed, trying to move her mouth as little as possible to maintain her smile, “this is no time for games...” Her voice trailed off as she felt a wave of panic come through their bond. Not just panic, she realized, terror. Turning, she saw Celestia standing stock still, not a muscle twitching, eyes frozen in a look of shock.

Heart pounding, Luna watched as a human emerged from the vase in the corner of the room. Impossible! she screamed in her mind, I scanned thoroughly... Her thoughts trailed off as she realized that, even now, with the creature standing before her, she could not sense its presence. With a jolt, she recognized the being.

“Seeker?” she breathed, incredulous. It couldn't be! This had to be some trick of the Necroequicon. But that's impossible! We sealed it in the Chamber, no influence can escape. The Chamber had been designed as a mimic of a black hole, albeit an imperfect one. Even Luna and Celestia couldn't appear or vanish from within unless the doors were opened, breaking the seal. Only the Ur-dragon had that kind of power. Which means this is something else... Somepony's trick to throw us off...

Tears welled in her eyes at the sacrilege. Secret Seeker had been beautiful. The Necrogolem may have been a monster, but the man himself had been a hero. To see his image abused in such a fashion... Her eyes faded to white as righteous wrath consumed her. Throwing a barrier around her sister, she channeled the rest of her power into a snare, designed to freeze the monster in place.

It moved. Way too fast. As the barrier materialized around Celestia, it dove through the air, a vibration humming in the space the shield converged upon, slowing its formation. Luna dispelled the ward, but a circle of runes flared to life on the carpet within the area of effect, erecting a new one even as the other fell.

Furious, Luna changed the nature of the spell she was channeling, and unleashed a blast at the wall of magical power. Too slow. Much too slow. She watched as the netherblade appeared, crackling with black lightning. Watched as the blade came up, to cut through Celestia's underbelly, and shatter her soul. Even through the shield, Luna could sense the power of the weapon. The way little spinning blades of magic would be unleashed when it cut, shredding the spirit of its victim.

She could only stare in horror as time slowed to a crawl. Her sister was going to die, and there was nopony who could save her.

Luna shook her head, trying to clear the stars she was seeing. She tried to move, but was stuck in something. With a lurch, she freed herself from whatever had been holding her, and fell to her hooves. What the buck? Looking behind her, she saw the remarkably alicorn-shaped indentation in the wall. Guess that explains that... Turning back to the room, she saw something else she did not expect.

The barrier was gone, and a pony's corpse lay on the ground beside Celestia, who was, Luna noted with a massive sigh of relief, remarkably unharmed. The pony had a cutie mark of a storm cloud, a small clear spot in the middle framing the outline of a question mark. Somehow, it seemed familiar...

That's when she noticed what she should have seen to start with. Secret Seeker lay on the ground, twin blades of eerie green lightning poised over his throat. It appeared to float from either side of the being's hand, shaped almost like an inverted omega symbol, but with the top elongated instead of flaring sideways. Hand!?

She finally took in the entire scene. Secret Seeker stood over the mockery, like the soul image she'd seen before, only this time he was the greenish-black color of the manifested Necroequicon spirit. If she hadn't been able to feel the love and wrath radiating from him, she might have thought it was another trick, but there was no denying that this was, somehow, the real deal.

“You're alive?” she sputtered, unable to believe, unwilling, lest this all turn out to be some mad dream and she wake up in a cold sweat in her bed. With one hoof, she stepped on her other, wincing in pain. This was no dream.

He ignored her, focused completely on the thing under his blade.

“The ignorance of my enemies has ever been their downfall,” he said, the merciless cold in his voice sending a chill down Luna's spine. With a flex of his waist, he bent forward, plunging the twin blades through the neck of the creature.

“You are no exception.” When he withdrew the weapon, it held two massive spheres on the end, one of a black color, with slight hints of blue, the other a rich brownish orange, like an autumn leaf.

Reaching up, he pulled the beach-ball sized black orb from the blade, his fingers combining into three massive onyx claws that could encase the thing, and squeezed, causing it to burst into a thousand wisps of black fire. Celestia gasped as control was returned to her. The claws vanished, once again becoming fingers, as he gingerly twisted a strand of the black stuff between two of them. As Luna looked on, the thread wove its way into his chest, stretching from his stomach up over his right shoulder, fusing there. Becoming part of him.

When he'd removed the two orbs, the body had begun to change, the power for the enchantment having been dislodged, and now it shifted back into a brown-coated earth pony, with a wicked gash across his throat. Seeker considered the other orb for a moment, then plucked it from the blade as well, letting the weapon vanish. Carefully, he extended his arm, dropping the sphere.

In the split-second that it fell, it changed, turning into a translucent replica of the dead pony, which immediately fell to its knees, weeping.

“Please!” it cried, a southern accent in its voice, “Ah never meant for any uh this! Ah wasn't in control! They made me do it! Ah'd never...” Seeker had knelt before the pony, and placed a calming hand on the poor thing's shoulder, stopping its stream of apology.

“I know, my friend,” he said, that same genuine warmth Luna remembered in his voice, “I know.” The pony looked up at him, seeming to recognize him for the first time.

“You're tha one, aintcha? That one that saved the Princesses before, that they made that statue of?” His gaze roamed over the two pairs of wings, which were slowly folding back down, making the man appear much less imposing.

“Yes, and it seems I may have saved them again, though not without Celestia's help.” He nodded in the alicorn's direction, who had turned to watch the spectacle.

“Thank you! Thank you!” the poor farm pony spouted, grabbing his hand in its hooves and planting kisses on it. Seeker gently extracted his limb, and stood, turning to face the two alicorns.

“What shall become of this one?” he said, gesturing to the still kneeling pony, whose gaze was darting between the three beings. Celestia stared at the creature for a while.

“Did anypony see you die?”

“No my Princess.”

“Who is waiting for you?”

“Nopony my Princess, ah live alone. Ah work a small farm between Ponyville and Manehatten, growing corn to sell, and a hoofful o' other things for m'self.” Celestia sighed and turned her gaze on the human.

“The words he speaks are true to the best of his knowledge. As far as he knows, nopony knows of his death but those responsible.” Secret Seeker nodded,

“Then I'd like to resurrect him, seeing as I am responsible for the release of the ones that did this to him.” Celestia's eyes narrowed slightly at this. She had recognized the signature of the magic that had bound her as belonging to Mephistopheles, but couldn't begin to puzzle out how it was the creature had escaped. Hopefully, if the stars are good, he will be alone. She gave her ascent, and Secret Seeker returned the spirit to its shell, repairing the damage. Before the stallion departed, he was strongly cautioned against speaking to anypony about what had happened here.

When the door closed behind the fleeing earth pony, Secret Seeker walked back over to the inert form on the floor, and green tendrils of his being stretched out, pulling him back where he belonged. Once he had completely merged with his body, Celestia closed the gateway she'd been using to funnel her power into him, and felt her strength return.

For a time, none of them spoke. Then, without a word of warning, both sisters rushed the startled pony, crushing him in their enthusiastic embrace.

Chapter 3

The two sisters had finally released him, though it took Luna a minute longer, as she'd whispered in his ear how thankful she was that he'd saved Celestia, again. Tears streamed freely down their faces. Day Planner had been roused, having been rendered unconscious by the blast, and given instructions to calm the masses while the three of them talked. With a weary, but thankful, sigh, he exited the room, preparing excuses in his mind.

Finally, as the two continued staring at him, Celestia voiced the question burning in their minds.

“How?” Secret Seeker grinned a little wider,

“I think you know.” Her own mouth quirked into a smile,

“You hid a tiny piece of your soul in the book, and left an empty golem behind for it to fill if you failed.” The white unicorn nodded. It had proved to be an effective, if simple, fail safe. Luna chimed in,

“What I don't understand, is why the Necroequicon didn't leave any of itself behind in case it failed.” More musing out loud than engaging in conversation. Secret Seeker answered anyways,

“I have a theory for that.” The two sisters locked their gazes on his, “The Necroequicon was a book of knowledge that lacked an overarching focus. I at first thought it was about mastery over life and death, but that turned out not to be true. It was... chaotic. It had no unity. No harmony. It was just a mess of ideas and spells, in no particular order. Without that, I believe the spirit that manifested itself in the tome had no harmony either. No love.”

Both alicorns nodded in understanding.

“Without love, there is no fear,” Luna muttered, remembering her time as Nightmare Moon, “and where there is no fear, there is no need to plan for failure.” The three ponies sat in silence for a time, pondering the revelation, until Luna said, “You know, this calls for a-”

“Luna no!” Celestia cut her off before she could say “party”. Luna stared at her sister, surprised, while a blush crept onto the white alicorn's cheeks. “She's like the boogeycolt. She has a tendency to hear if you use the P word.” Luna continued staring at her sister, until both of them burst into laughter. A moment later, Seeker joined them, caught up in their contagious mirth.

When their hysterics ended at last, he explained what had happened to the moon castle, how he'd moved and rearranged it before coming to the palace, and where they could find him if they ever wanted to visit. Both eagerly agreed to stop by soon and see what he'd done with the place. Luna even promised to bring a barrel of a particular wine she'd set to cure before her banishment. Something about her tone gave him the impression Celestia wouldn't be accompanying her on that visit...

With their time rapidly running out, the gathered ponies were likely growing anxious, Celestia once again loaned her power to the unicorn, giving him the boost he needed to get back to his abode.

“When will you tell the others?” she asked.

“Tomorrow, during their pet play date.” Celestia nodded and tried, successfully, to hide her smile. She'd have to be sure to have some free time with her scrying mirror tomorrow... With a small distortion in the air around him, like water going down a drain, Seeker vanished from the room. Celestia shut the gateway to her power, and rose, with Luna, to her hooves. Together, they walked out onto the balcony, and gave a State of Affairs address of such warmth and love, that most attendees never even realized that neither Princess had said a single thing about the state of the world, the nation, or indeed, even the city.

Those that did, just couldn't seem to be bothered to care.

She couldn't sleep. Nightmares burned in her mind. Her body ached with a need she couldn't fulfill. Pins and needles pricked in her muscles, but stretching them out just made it worse. Nothing was helping. She couldn't do this! She was going insane! She needed to save somepony. Anypony! With a snap of her wings, she burst through the window of her home, streaking down to the slumbering town.

Somepony had to be in danger somewhere. She'd just have to make do with saving them. After a few minutes searching, finding nothing, she stood in the middle of town, shivering despite the warm night air. Her ears flopped as her teeth ground together, unable to stand the thought of being incapable of fulfilling her obligation. Silently, she flew over to Matches and Megaphones, and creeped in through the window. She'd leave the bits on the counter, she just needed these right now. Heart pounding, Rainbow Dash made her way through Ponyville, trying to decide which house to pick...

Twilight Sparkle was sound asleep, having the most wonderful dream where she'd found a hidden door in the basement of the library. Inside she'd found a dimensionally compressed space housing a repository the size of the Canterlot Archives. And it featured some kind of time distortion as well, allowing her to spend days inside, and then emerge to have only had a few hours pass.

Drool leaked freely from the side of her mouth as she imagined reading book after book, with no need to sleep, or eat, for weeks at a time! As she cracked open another tome, she stopped. What is that odor? It smells like...

“FIRE!!” she screamed, as she tumbled out of bed. Glancing in all directions, eyes wide with panic, she saw the telltale lights outside her window of the fire brigade. Dashing through the front door, she ran up to the fireponies who were spraying down Couches and Quills.

“What happened?” she asked one of them, a buff stallion with wild hairs on his chin.

“Fire,” he said, as if that explained everything. Rolling her eyes, Twilight looked for somepony else to pump for information, when her eyes fell on the soot-streaked mane of a certain sky blue pegasus.

“Rainbow!” she called, cantering over to the tired looking mare. Rainbow Dash looked up and around, before finally settling her eyes on Twilight.

“Oh hey Twi. What's up?” Her voice was gruffer than usual.

“What happened? The fireponies wouldn't tell me anything.”

“Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I was out flying to blow some stress, when I saw this place burning.” She jerked a hoof in the direction of the smoldering building. “Fortunately, I was able to get the two ponies inside out to safety before they breathed in too much smoke. Guess they must've left a lamp burning or something.” Twilight looked impressed,

“Wow! Lucky for them you couldn't sleep, huh?” She could've sworn she saw a flicker of anxiety cross her friend's face, but it was gone as soon as it'd come, and she chalked it up to the stress of the rescue.

“Yeah. Yeah lucky...” Dash said, eyes gazing off into the distance. After a minute of silence, Rainbow Dash stood up and stretched.

“Well, I'm feeling kinda beat now, I think I'll head home and see if I can't get some shut-eye. See you around Twi.”

“Later Rainbow!” She waved a hoof enthusiastically as the pegasus flew away. She'd never been able to study a burned down building before, and although the fire brigade had managed to stop the worst of the damage, it was still a great opportunity. After a little bit of pleading, the two fireponies, too tired to argue with the stubborn mare, gave her permission to explore the outside of the structure.

A little disappointed, Twilight began her examination, noting the different burn patterns, and how they shifted depending on which materials were nearby, or how much air was available. Looking up where the thatched straw roof had been, she saw something red on the corner. After looking around to make sure nopony was watching, she grabbed the object in her magic and levitated it down.

A box of matches? she thought, intrigued. Looking closer, she noted there were teeth marks on the box. A clue! Remembering the mystery on the train to the desserts competition, she stealthily stashed the matchbox in her mane, and nonchalantly strolled back to the library. Once inside, she pulled out her trusty microscope and took a closer look.

After making a mold of the indentations, she went down to the precinct, which was really just Brass Badge's house, and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, and a bit of stumbling from within, the door opened to reveal a stocky black pony with bags under his eyes. His cutie mark was a five pointed metal star. When he saw who it was, his face became, if possible, even more tired.

“Twilight,” he deadpanned, “what can I do for you at this ungoddessly hour.”

“Hi Brass Badge! Sorry to disturb you,” she cheerfully spouted, oblivious to the pony's tone, “but I think I'm onto something big here, and I was hoping I could get a peek at the dental records.” The pony considered his options. On one hoof, he could say no and try to go back to bed, but he knew from experience that the resourceful mare would just find some other way to sate her curiosity. On the other hoof, it was one in the bucking morning, and he'd gotten to bed late because he'd been stuck helping old Pony Jenkins find his teeth, which he'd been certain had been stolen this time. (They'd been in the pocket of his recliner.)

With a resigned sigh, he stepped aside and lit the lamp, allowing the purple pony to enter. Stifling a yawn, he made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a midnight snack and some orange juice. Knowing Ms. Sparkle, it was probably going to be a while...

After almost two hours of searching, she hadn't found a single pony who came close to matching the bite marks. On a whim, just to eliminate them from the list of ponies she knew personally, she checked the mold against the records for her friends. Rarity? No. Fluttershy? Of course not. Rainbow? Yeah right, she'd been the one...

Twilight's heart stopped. No... I must've made a mistake. She checked again. Then a third time, but it was still a perfect match. A cold chill had settled in her gut. She wouldn't! Another part of her mind chimed in, The evidence doesn't lie. No no no, there's some other explanation for this.

As badly as she wanted to believe it, she simply couldn't bring herself to do so. Still, she wasn't about to turn her findings over to the police. Using her magic to subtly make a copy, she put Dash's official record away, and continued checking the mold against other ponies, ticking them off the list.

After another twenty minutes had gone by, she decided enough time had passed, and put everything away, giving a mighty yawn, and trying to look very tired. It didn't take much effort. She thanked Brass Badge for indulging her, and promised to be extra lenient on his due dates in the future, even though the stubborn pony never set hoof in the library.

Finally, she got home, hid her things away, and collapsed into bed. Her sleep was fitful, and she woke up once in the night, having dreamed of Rainbow Dash grinning maniacally at her as she tried desperately to open the window of the blazing inferno that had once been a library. Tomorrow was their weekly pet play date. She'd find some excuse to talk to Rainbow alone, and uncover the truth. Surely there was some perfectly logical explanation for all this.

The pit in her stomach disagreed.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4
“Looking back, it probably wasn't the best decision I'd ever made. Although, in my defense, she'd assured me there wasn't any risk.” -Secret Seeker

He sat in the chamber, letting the charging power of the sun run the rune sphere for the machine. This gave him the energy to add new programming to his nanobots, and modify their capabilities. With the ink sacs installed, he'd be able to have them form runes on his body as he needed them, meaning anypony trying to collect data on him would think he had none, until they attacked.

When the task was complete, and the bots knew all the runes and their respective locations, he extricated himself from the machine and went over to the table where his breakfast lay. He had meant to eat it long before the picnic, but it was looking like he'd only just make it in time as it was. With a grin, he put the daffodil sandwich and daisy salad away, and began exiting the labyrinthine structure.

As he made his way towards the location near Ponyville, his mind wandered to the two demons. He'd been able to see the murdered pony's memories, so he knew what they looked like, assuming they didn't change their appearances. Unfortunately, information about them was sparse, having been around long before Equestria was the country it is today.

Celestia had been willing to shed some light on the subject, detailing her chase of the two monsters, and how she'd managed to separate them with Discord's help. But even to her, they were largely a mystery. Their motives were not so simple as acting out the part imposed upon them by their titles. Carryion didn't just go around killing for no reason. There was some sort of purpose, some plan behind the victims he chose, she was sure of it, though she'd never been able to guess just what that plan was.

With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. There had been some sort of fire in Ponyville. Good old Couches and Quills had suffered some minor damage, but nopony had been hurt, thanks in no small part to the efforts of a certain sky blue pegasus. And Fluttershy had apparently reported to the Princesses that the creatures of the Everfree Forest were continuing to propagate, returning the fauna to its proper abundance.

Soon Ponyville came into sight. Today was going to be a good day.

The six friends lay sprawled around the picnic area, nibbling at various sandwiches and salads, and a delightful carrot casserole Fluttershy had brought. They'd been talking and laughing, watching the antics as their pets rolled and played, and everypony seemed to be having a good time.

Rescuing those two ponies apparently had done wonders for Rainbow Dash's mood, Fluttershy noted, and she was back to her old self, more or less. With a sigh of relief, the yellow pegasus relaxed for the first time in a week.

Twilight watched and waited, until the right moment presented itself. Rarity had just engaged Fluttershy in a discussion about her newest dress design, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie were... well they weren't quite arguing... hammering out the details behind the virtue of a good day's hard work, and the necessity of parties. This was her chance!

Slyly, she made her way over to Dash, who had put her shades on and was sprawled out in the sun.

“Hey Rainbow,” she said, her voice low.

“Hey Twi! What's up?” Twilight was struck by a sense of deja vu, as she recalled the other night.

“Umm, I wanted to talk to you about something...” she trailed off meaningfully, hoping Dash would get the hint. The pegasus raised her sunglasses to look at her friend,

“Yeah sure. What's on your mind?” she said, just as loudly. Twilight had to resist the urge to smack her forehead with her hoof. Leaning down, she put her face only inches away from Rainbow's, causing the other mare to push her own head away in suspicion.

“About what happened at Couches and Quills.” Twilight tried to keep the venom from her voice, but she just couldn't shake the image from her dream last night. To her credit, the pegasus remained remarkably cool.

“Oh sure,” she said, as she scooted away from her purple friend, “what'd you want to know?” Fed up with the games, Twilight magicked the mold, dental records, and box of matches out of her pack and set them before Rainbow Dash.

“Tell me you have a good explanation for this...” she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Dash went deathly pale.

“Wh-where did you get that, those?” she asked, beads of sweat forming on her brow. Her reaction sent a chill through Twilight's spine. She couldn't stand up anymore. Her legs had started shaking, and she had to sink to the grass.

“Rainbow, please... Tell me this isn't what it looks like.” Dash's eyes darted around, tears welling up in the bottoms,

“Can we...” her voice cracked slightly, “can we talk about this someplace else?” She indicated the other ponies, who still hadn't taken notice of the exchange, caught up in their own conversations. Twilight nodded, and the two broke away in a slow trot to a copse of trees. Once they were alone, Twilight advanced again. Her eyes were dry now, and she moved with a sinister calm.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion. Dash looked around, panicked. Her legs were wobbly, and her wings kept twitching, like she wanted to fly away. With a fwoof they spread... and were instantly crushed back to her side by a purple cloud.

“Tell me what happened, Rainbow, or I'm going to the police!” Her voice was deadly calm, but inside, she was tearing apart. It hurt so much to grill her friend like this, to put her in this situation, but if she was going to claim to be Rainbow's friend, she had to know.

Finally, the fight went out of the pegasus, and tears ran free as she sank to the ground.

“I had to do something...” she said, struggling past the sobs, “I never wanted to hurt anypony, I just needed somepony to save.” When she looked up, Twilight took a step back, struck by the depth of suffering in her eyes.

“I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't stop seeing Secret Seeker every time I closed my eyes.” Like a dam bursting, once started, the words poured out of her. She told of the nightmares, the shakes, the pins and needles. How nothing had helped. How she'd started twitching and shaking, and, at the end, how she'd just been watching herself do things. She'd bought the matches from Matchboxes and Megaphones, then looked for a place to burn. Couches and Quills made sense because it had multiple windows on both floors, and the roof would catch quickly.

Plus, having been in there before with Twilight on several occasions, she knew the layout, and would be able to get to the ponies within easily. By the time she finished, Dash had her head held under her hooves, weeping. She knew Twilight would never forgive her. Hay, she'd never forgive herself! I'm a monster!

“Just... just take me to Brass Badge,” she choked out through the tears, “I'll come quietly.” Fwoosh! She looked up. Twilight stood over a small fire which was consuming the mold, dental records, and box of matches.

“Twi...” Dash said, unable to believe what her friend was doing. When the purple mare turned to her, Rainbow could see the other pony understood.

Twilight rushed over, wrapping her hooves around the pegasus' neck, crushing her in a fierce hug.

“Stupid,” she whispered, tears leaking into the rainbow mane, “why didn't you ask for help? Don't you remember what happened to me?” She pulled away, looking into Dash's eyes, a smile on her face. The sky blue mare thought for a moment, then shook her head, forming a smile of her own. Twilight laughed,

“Remember when I thought I was going to be late with my friendship report to the Princess?”

“Ooooh yeah.” Dash did remember. Suddenly, the scenes flooded back to her. The twitching, the ear flopping, the erratic movements. Twi had the same problems.

“That's why there are six Elements,” Twilight went on, “so that we can help each other.” The pegasus' ears went down as she ducked her head, embarrassed.

“I know,” she mumbled, “I was just ashamed. I'm the Element of Loyalty, I'm supposed to be there for you.” She was staring at her hooves, a blush on her cheeks.

“Oh Dash...” Twilight admonished, “you know that's not how it works. Besides, it's not just the Elements. You're my friend. It's just as much my job to be there for you as it is for you to be there for me.” Rainbow smiled sheepishly, shrugging,

“Yeah... I know.” She looked up at the unicorn, “So now what?” Twilight gave her a wink and a roguish grin,

“Can you keep a secret?” The two laughed,

“Cross my heart and hope to fly,” they sang in unison, “stick a cupcake in my eye.” Their mirth died when they heard Rarity's scream. Twilight took off, but Dash was faster, soaring through the air, where she saw the white unicorn shaking in Applejack's forelegs, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy tried to rouse a seemingly unconscious colt.

Deep within her, the feeling stirred again. She went into autopilot, swooping down and landing by the inert unicorn. He had a rich, light brown mane and tail, and a strange cutie mark.

“Dashie!” Pinkie said, using her pet name for the pegasus, “He snuck up on Rarity and when he said 'Hi!' she panicked and kicked him and now he won't mmf gmmff...” Rainbow had stuffed a forehoof into the excitable pony's mouth to stop the streaming explanation. It didn't matter right now. She leaned over the still form, and gently shook him with a hoof.

“Secret Seeker?” she whispered, the feeling in her chest having grown into a deep buzz. The stallion's eyelids snapped open,

“Anyone catch the license plate on that truck?” he said, eyes rolling in his head. Dash gently shook him again, causing his gaze to focus on her. A warm smile spread across his features.

“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash,” he said, “how's life treating ya?” With a very unDash-like squeal, the pegasus grabbed the unicorn up in a bone-crushing embrace.

“You're alive! You're alive! I can't believe it!” she was jumping up and down, causing his head to flop around, making his eyes roll again. The feeling had evaporated the moment he'd spoken. Like a ten ton brick being lifted off her chest. She could breathe again! She could fly! With a jump, she took off, still squeezing the poor pony.

After a moment, she realized she was still holding him, and released him with a squeak. It wasn't until he started getting smaller that she realized what she'd done.

“Oh horseapples...” she muttered, diving down to catch the falling unicorn, who was looking up at her with an amused smirk. He's not even afraid, she thought, a twinge of respect thrumming through her as she reached him and scooped him up in her forelegs again. Setting him down on the ground, she apologized profusely for her behavior.

“Quite alright my dear,” he said, rising to his hooves and dusting himself off. With a shake of his mane, the last vestiges of his ordeal were erased, and he shined another smile at the gathered mares. Pinkie and Dash stood, mouths agape. Applejack was still trying to calm Rarity down, insisting that the colt she'd kicked was just fine, he had not been trying to “accost” her, if she'd just look over there. Twilight was beaming a knowing grin at him.

Intrigued, he arched an eyebrow at her.

“You don't seem too terribly surprised to see me,” he said, pretending to be hurt by the revelation.

“Hmph,” she snorted, “I'm not stupid. Anypony... anyone who could learn everything you did in two weeks would never be defeated so easily. I knew you had to have some kind of back up plan in store.” It was faint, but he thought he detected a hint of resentment in her voice, though it was hard to tell through the joy bubbling underneath.

Pinkie poked him in the ribs, eliciting a reflexive “oof” as she craned her neck to examine him.

“So is this a real body or another one of those golem things?” she said, checking him over.

“Well, technically speaking,” he was twisting his head around, trying to maintain eye contact with her, “a golem is a real body, it's just not created the same way, and is a little more resilient.” Pinkie was nodding her head,

“Uh huh, uh huh, but can it change shape?” His eyebrow went up again,

“Uh, well, probably, but that's not because it's a golem, that's just shapeshifting magic-” The pink earth pony sucked in a huge gasp.

“Omigoddess! We're going to have to have an even bigger, even huger party now!” She was positively vibrating with energy. Before things could get too far out of hoof, he placed a calming forehoof on her shoulder.

“Well, actually, I'd prefer a smaller get together. Maybe just all of you and the Princesses.” Pinkie's face dropped as her mood deflated, “There's something very important we need to discuss, but,” he added with a wink at the earth pony, “I bet we could still have a hay of a good party at my underground castle!” That got her mood up again.

“Ooooh! I've never thrown a party underground! This will be so exciting! You've got to show me where it is so I can start planning! Oh I'm going to need...” she went on for a while. Meanwhile, Rarity had finally calmed from her hysterics, and she and Applejack were staring at Secret Seeker. The earth pony spoke first,

“So what is this important thing we need 'ta talk about?” Seeker sighed, his gaze on the ground. Finally, he raised his head, and fixed them with a level stare,

“Carryion, the Lord of Death, and Mephistopheles, the Lord of Deceit, have escaped from Tartarus.” The gathered ponies gasped, except Pinkie Pie, who was still planning for the party, Where did she get her party cannon from?! Twilight, however, was the only one who truly understood the implication.

“Celestia preserve us,” she whispered, knowing that even her beloved mentor lacked the power to deal with the two evils.

Chapter 6

Luna was the first to leave the party. She had to raise the moon, and there were duties to attend to. She'd begun to take on some of the responsibilities of Canterlot, to help the populace become acquainted with her presence. As their energy dwindled, the other ponies began to migrate towards the exit, and Seeker, sensing their hesitance to be the first to go, bid them adieu. With the pressure off, they began to disperse.

Pinkie Pie was the last to leave, remaining behind and helping Seeker clean up. It was a side of her he'd never before witnessed. While still definitely cheery, it was a much more subdued Pinkie, diligent in her tasks. Her system was impeccable, and he quickly fell into step, following her directions as she guided him to each task at hoof. In short order, the room was back to normal.

“Thanks Pinkie,” he said, giving her a warm smile.

“Oh no problem. Nopony would want to party with me if I left a big mess behind, so it was super important to learn how to clean everything up.” They were standing only a few feet apart, and the blue of her eyes was simply striking. He felt a blush creeping onto his face, as he regarded the party pony's visage. The silence between them lingered, looming awkwardly as he was devoured by her cornflower gaze.

She cleared her throat.

“Well, I should probably get going, Mister and Missus Cake are going to need my help with the shop tomorrow. See ya later!” Without waiting for his response, she turned and trotted out of the room. He continued staring long after the cotton candy tail had disappeared beyond the door frame. Finally, he turned back to the room, as worries began to nag at him.

He'd managed to diffuse the situation, but it was clear he'd shaken their trust in him. His thoughts drifted to Luna, smiling as he recalled how she'd defended him. He hadn't been able to put his head in order, but she'd managed to say what needed to be said, despite how terrifying it must have been to face Celestia's wrath, having only recently returned from her banishment.

“I'll have to come up with some way to thank her...” he muttered aloud, as he shut down the consoles in the room. He hadn't yet figured out how to layer the devices in such a way that he could just make a super terminal to control all his machinations, so, for now, he had to make due with a separate device for each purpose. As he was about to turn off the lights, he heard hoofsteps approaching. Spinning to face the door, he activated a defensive rune mechanism, completely ensnaring the intruder.

“Aah!” the feminine voice yelped, before being silenced by the spell. Seeker quickly dashed out of the room, and came face to face with a midnight blue alicorn.

“Luna!” he said, shocked. Immediately he deactivated the spell, releasing her, but the paralysis was designed to function like a toxin, and it would take some time for it to fully get pushed out of her system. Thus, she collapsed. His quick reflexes led to him catching her before she hit the ground, her head lolling around his own, coming to rest on the back of his neck.

His ear had become squished against her chest, and he listened to the strong rhythm of her heart. It wasn't until she cleared her throat that he realized just how long he'd been holding her. Blushing furiously, he carefully released her, watching her rise to her hooves, a pink glow on her own cheeks.

“Well, that was certainly... friendly.” she said, raising an eyebrow to punctuate the last word. Somehow, Secret Seeker's flush deepened. Fortunately, it was then that he noticed the barrel strapped to the Princess' back.

“Is that the wine you were talking about?” he asked, desperate to change the subject. Luna's eyes lit up, along with her horn, as the barrel was magically removed.

“Yes! I tested it before coming back, it's quite excellent.” They made their way back into the room, and Seeker brought out two of the glasses he and Pinkie had cleaned. Luna pulled two chairs over, and plunked the barrel down between them, seating herself comfortably before magically removing the cork in the top.

“It's a blend of my own devising,” she said, pride evident in her tone, “using some very rare fruits that grow in hostile regions. Sulphur springs, Froggy Bottom Bog, and a volcano located beyond the mild west.” She gave him a wink, “That last one gives it a bit of a kick.” With a grin, he plopped down in the other chair, and magically filled both glasses, floating one to her. They clinked them together,

“To friendship.” she said.

“And harmony,” he added. With a nod, they sipped their drinks. As they drank, he asked Luna about her work with the cosmos, and she described the methods she used to design different clusters of stars. It was largely intuitive, the way she moved them, the bodies reacting more to her will than any code or stricture.

He spoke a bit about how it worked in his world, but thinking back to that time always unnerved him, like it would come looking for him if he spoke of it. Only time would tell if the spell he'd devised had worked to anchor his soul. Luna watched him carefully, noting his discomfort.

“I feel the same way sometimes, you know,” she said, after a lull in their conversation. Seeker met her gaze, lowering one eyebrow and arching the other. She waved a hoof dismissively,

“The way you feel when you talk about your dimension. I feel that way sometimes when I talk about the moon.” He could see it now, the slight hint of fear as she remembered.

“When I think back to my banishment,” tears welled in her aquamarine eyes, “or the fight with my sister...” a sob escaped her, and she brought a hoof to her mouth.

“I'm sorry,” she said, wiping the tears away with her forehoof. Seeker placed a hoof on hers,

“Tell me about it,” he said. For a long moment she stared at him, debating.

“Please?” Finally, she opened up. A trickle at first, as she described how it all began, but soon the words poured out in a rush. Tears flowed freely as she depicted her sense of hurt and betrayal, feeling like she was always living in Celestia's shadow as ponies glorified the day and slept through her night.

When she described the fight between her and Celestia, she broke down in sobs, and Seeker wrapped his forehooves around her as she wept into his mane. As she calmed, she continued talking, her voice vibrating against his neck. She spoke of the pain, both physical and emotional, of the elements tearing her from the world, and imprisoning her in the moon.

“Many seem to think I waited and wept,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, “but in reality I spent most of my time training. I was still consumed by the Nightmare, and I hungered for vengeance. But,” another sob shook through her,

“there were times where I would regain control. Where the reality of what I'd done, and all that I'd lost came through to me. In those moments, I did cry. I even tried, once, to... end it.” Seeker's own tears trailed down his face. He'd been doing well so far, but this...

“The pain was excruciating, and the Nightmare took over with such fury and vengeance that I was unable to regain control for a century. I never tried that again.” Her speech drifted off, and they sat like that for a long while, listening to each other's breathing.

“I'm glad it didn't work.” he whispered after a time. Luna leaned her head back, looking into his eyes. For a moment, they shared the joy of having somepony who understood their pain. Luna placed her head back on his shoulder, nuzzling against his neck.

“So am I...” she breathed.

It was almost three in the afternoon when Luna awoke, lying on the reclined chair beside Secret Seeker. She rose and stretched, working out the kinks from sleeping on the awkward furniture. With a smile, she leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on the unicorn's cheek, careful not to wake him.

“Thank you,” she whispered, “I needed that.” Seeker slept on until the early evening, a smile on his face.

Chapter 7

“If a portion of a soul is destroyed, the consciousness of the being will fan out, reconnecting to the other pieces. If one could find a way to interact with the consciousness, then complete annihilation could be achieved from only a tiny fragment of soul.” -the Necroequicon

In the Forsaken Forest north of Canterlot, two griffins held council with a unicorn stallion, and an earth pony mare. They looked dubious about the unicorn's claims.

“You say you can raise an army, but all I see are two ponies plotting a coup against two of the most powerful beings in the known world.” The brown-coated colt grinned,

“We have ways of dealing with them, but we will need air support to maintain control as the public becomes acclimated to the change in leadership.” The older griffin snorted,

“You ask much,” he said in a gravelly voice, “and offer little more than words. If we support you, and you fail, we will be lucky if all we earn is a swift death. More likely, our whole land will be conquered.” The unicorn smiled,

“Very well. You're looking for proof? Follow me.” He and the mare turned and trotted away, causing the griffins to hurry to catch up. They traveled for a few minutes in silence, before emerging into a massive clearing.

A space the size of a small town, covered in gravestones and mausoleums. The griffins cast doubtful glances at each other, and prepared to take off. The brown unicorn's horn glowed with a frightening black nimbus, and a hoofful of gravestones glowed in tandem. It faded, and all four watched, waiting.

After a moment, the ground above the four graves split, as skeletal hooves burst forth. Within seconds, the risen dead gathered before the horrified griffins. The pink mare spoke, a strange language unlike any the two avian creatures had ever heard before. The syllables were almost painful to hear, vibrating in their ears, seeming to thrum through their very souls.

Flesh sprouted, like weeds covering a neglected garden, until four very lively looking ponies stood before them.

“There are thousands of them buried here,” the mare said, her voice both seductive and terrifying, like the gentle call of the grave. The two griffins took one last look at the atrocities before them, and spread their wings, eager to be away from these monsters.

“Too slow.” The words were spoken straight into the older griffin's ear from where the pony sat astride his back. The mare pointed a forehoof at the younger griffin, and spoke in that dire language again. He stood perfectly still, seemingly paralyzed.

“Plahckt,” his mouth fell open, as buckets of blood poured forth. The older griffin realized his companion had been dead the moment the pink pony had spoken, but he didn't get this far by not being prepared. With a thought, the necklace he wore activated, consuming the flawless diamond within to warp him back to Gryphus, his home capitol. He appeared in his private chambers with a small pop, and moved to exit the room.

He heard the word echo in his mind, as the air before him distorted, swirling like water down a drain.

“Rip.” His talon landed, not on the plush carpet of his bedchamber, but the lush grass of the Graveyard of the Forgotten. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and what must have happened.

“Funny thing about teleporting,” the brown unicorn said, as the pink pony was busily inscribing runes into the flesh of the fallen griffin.

“Your soul arrives first, but for a moment, as your body breaks apart, you maintain tiny tendrils back to where you were.” A black lightning blade slammed into the ambassador's chest, tearing the flesh asunder.

“And those tendrils can be used like a bungee cord, to pull you back.” Blackness was swirling around his vision as he sank to his knees, unable to stop the thoughts of his wife and daughter, whom he knew would be dragged into this mad creature's schemes.

“So that, when your body arrives, your soul has already moved again, and the magic is tricked into activating a second time, sending you right back where you started.” The voice was drifting farther away, as his vision tunneled. He saw the corpse of his friend, his faithful assistant, rise to its talons. Sacrilege, he thought, wishing for some way to warn the Princesses of Equestria. He felt a fool now, for having ever agreed to meet the two deceitful beasts. An old, dead fool.

“It's an interesting sort of magic,” the unicorn went on, as he felt tendrils of magic wrap themselves around him, his vision becoming clearer.

“Because we don't fully understand where the power for the second teleportation comes from.” The point of light at the end of the tunnel came rushing towards him, as his spirit was forced back into his body. The unicorn's lightning blade reappeared, and he began etching runes into the griffin's flesh.

“Nonetheless, it remains one of the most effective counters to combat teleportation.” As the runes were burned into him, he felt the wounds from the fatal blow close, his chest becoming whole once more.

“Who are you?” he asked, knowing that they would answer truthfully. He may not know much about magic, but somehow he could feel the chains ensnaring his soul, and knew that his control of his body was tenuous at best. It could be wrested away from him at any moment. The unicorn paused his etching, and stepped back, looking into the griffin's eyes.

With a faint, black glow, he began changing shape. His body elongated, and his spine erupted through his tail, becoming covered in thick muscle and black scales, ending in a wicked spear point. His forelegs became arms, terminating in five massive black claws, his back legs extending into longer, more muscular versions. His head grew flatter and broader, as thick black horns grew from either side, curling upwards like a bull's.

“I am Mephistopheles,” the thing said, it's voice like a furnace, as the glowing yellow eyes burned into the griffin's own, “Lord of Deceit.” A black crown formed on his head, seeming to grow out of his skull. Five black spires, the tallest in the center, jutted up in front. Great leathery wings unfolded from his back, stretching wide, illuminated by the red light that peeked out from beneath some of his scales, as if they were floating on a bed of lava. He reached forward, his claws coated in black glow, and grabbed the griffin's soul. Ambassador Taulus screamed as black veins of power spread through his spirit, corrupting it.

He would aid them. It was the only sensible thing to do, after all the lies the Princesses had told his kingdom. They had been such fools to believe the ponies, mindlessly accepting their lot in life while the unicorns of Canterlot grew fat off their imbalanced trade. It was time to strike back, and he knew just how to do it.

“Come Alion,” he said to his assistant, “we have work to do.” With a fwoof, their wings spread, and the two took off, intent on getting their fellow griffins prepared for war.

“That one was a good choice,” Mephistopheles said to his close-mouthed companion, “took to the corruption with a gusto.” His form returned to that of the brown unicorn, as Carryion trotted out into the graveyard.

“A shame though,” he said, as he followed the pink pony towards the crypt across the field, “now we have to wait for the gears of bureaucracy to turn their country to war.”

“Oh well,” a black glow enveloped his horn as he probed the memories of the risen ponies, “guess I'll just have to find some way to pass the time.”

In the royal bedchamber of Princess Celestia, the alicorn tossed and turned in her bed. She stood in a field as rain poured down. Spears, swords and other weaponry lay scattered amongst the dead. She stood alone, in the midst of the Great Pony Wars.

“We fought your war with all our hearts...” She jumped, spinning around, but only the dead lay behind her.

“You sent us back in body parts...” the voice was closer now, beside her, but when she turned to see the source, nopony was there.

“You took our wills with the truth you stole...” Turning again, she saw the black rain pooling on the ground. Thick as tar, it hit her like stinging stones, clinging to her pristine coat, tugging her hair.

“We offer prayers for your long lost soul...” From the murk, figures began to rise. Ponies. Tears burned in her eyes as she struggled to breath past the lump in her throat, and the weight on her chest. As the forms coalesced, they became more defined. Wicked wounds scored their flesh, leaving gaping sores and exposed bones.

“Your remainder is an unjustifiable,” she took a step backwards from the advancing ponies, jumping again when she bumped into something warm and wet.

“Egotistical,” turning, she looked down into the eyes of her loyal commander, Iron Heart. In them, she saw burning hatred, as a vicious scowl stole across his features.

“Power struggle,” she was panicking, turning in all directions, seeking a way out. But the dead kept rising, crowding around her.

“Please,” she whispered, choking down her sobs, “you know I never meant for any of this-”

“At the expense of the Equestrian Dream,” the voice was screaming now, and the horde rushed forward.

“Of the Equestrian Dream,” her wings snapped out, but the dead were too fast. They mobbed her, dragging her into the muck as they bit and kicked.

“Of the Equestrian-” Her vision swam as the ponies stood over her, stomping their hooves. She felt the blows, but there was no pain. No physical pain. But she knew these ponies. Her loyal subjects, who had given their lives in a war they'd wanted nothing to do with. Her body was jerking back and forth,

“WAKE UP!” a new voice screamed, terror making it crack. She knew that voice...

“PLEASE SISTER! YOU MUST WAKE UP!”

“Luna?” she whispered, as the battlefield faded, the horde still viciously battering her. With a jolt, she was back in her bedroom, drenched in sweat. Her throat felt raw, the faint taste of iron lingering. Luna was shaking her vigorously, eyes wide with fear, and red with tears. When she saw that Celestia had awoken, she pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace, sobbing into her multicolored mane. Celestia sat there, stunned. She hadn't dreamed of the pony wars in millenia... Slowly, hooves still shaking, she wrapped her forelegs around her hysterical sister.

“I'm okay Luna. It was just a nightm... a bad dream.” In response, Luna's grip tightened, though her sobs seemed to reduce in frequency. After a minute, Luna whispered,

“It wasn't just a bad dream. You woke nearly the entire palace.” Celestia cringed, Was I screaming that loud?

“It took me almost a full minute to wake you. And the look in your eyes...” Luna shuddered, leaning back to see her sister's face, “What could possibly haunt you so?” For a time, Celestia debated. She had made peace with her role in the wars. Had avenged the dead by trapping the demon that had inspired them. Now, it seemed, with him free again, their spirits were coming forth from their rest.

“It is nothing, dear sister, merely the restless dead, letting me know that their enemy walks the earth once more.” Luna was not convinced, but knew it would be useless to try to pressure the alicorn into speaking. With a sigh, she lay down beside Celestia, wriggling under the covers. Celestia arched an eyebrow. Without looking at her, Luna spoke,

“Well then, should they return, they will have to face us both.” Fresh tears bloomed in the sun goddess' eyes, as she smiled at the mare. Laying down, back to back, Celestia listened to the gentle breathing of her little sister, feeling the push of each breath. She knew Luna was disrupting her own sleep schedule to keep her company, and it warmed her heart to know the other cared for her so deeply.

Soon, she was fast asleep, and, this time, she dreamed of much more pleasant things.

In his cavern, Seeker shuddered as the feeling washed through him. Grabbing onto it, he was struck with an impression of the sun princess. Behind that lay an inky blackness of despair. Again he shuddered. The malevolence in the sending was palpable. Even the Necroequicon hadn't hoarded such loathing.

It took some time, not really understanding what it was he was doing, for him to find his way down the tendrils of magic. The wispy threads of blackness seemed to squirm out of his ethereal grasp, and he struggled constantly to retain his hold. Eventually, he found his way to the core of the spell. Inside three rune circles sat the images of a group of ponies. They were clearly dead.

As he studied the runes, trying to discern their purpose, waves of interference began washing over the area.

“Luna...” he muttered, a smile on his lips. Each wave pressed on the runes, weakening their hold, until one finally flared out and went white, fading away. With the circle broken, the spell collapsed, the strain ripping the other two apart. As the spell failed, the area drained in three directions. Most moved away from the source of the interference, while a little bit returned along that path. Like a water slide, the flowing ebb of magic dragged him back from whence he'd come.

Stretching his neck forward, he strained to send his sight along the lines most of the spell had retreated. Surprisingly, it worked, and he felt himself careening against the flow, then with it. Soon he saw the destination, and immediately regretted his decision.

A swirling inferno of fire and rock loomed before him. The vortex crackled with black lightning, and through the fire and flames he could see the shadow of the demon at its center.

“Mephistopheles,” he muttered, the name coming unbidden to his lips. Suddenly, he had the distinct impression of the thing being aware of him. Time to go. He felt himself being pulled back along the path he'd come, but something was slowing his progress. Tendrils of lightning stretched forth from the inferno, and he saw that the shadow within had raised its arm towards him.

Panicking, he threw his force behind his attempt to retreat, but to no avail. Whatever was preventing him held fast, and the tendrils writhed closer. I bucked up this time... They struck like snakes, biting into his soul. Then something strange happened. The black strip, which had been fading as it assimilated, moved across his spirit, intercepting the bolt.

Instinctively, he grabbed the lightning, and began twisting it through his fingers, weaving it into the thread that was already a part of him. An otherworldly howl came from the inferno, reeking of anger and pain, as he spun the tendril into his soul. He felt a tug, like someone pulling at stitches, and squeezed the thread harder, working feverishly to keep feeding the blackness into himself.

SNAP!

He looked up in time to see the other end of the bolt blasting towards him. Before he could react, the lightning smashed into his face, rocketing him back along the power lines, back into his own body. The transition was jarring, and the unassimilated portion raked across his soul, burning and shocking him.

Jumping back within himself, Seeker battled to bring the flailing flagellum under control as it whipped around. With some considerable effort, he managed to weave the rest of it, what little hadn't been expended in the struggle, into the thread that now formed a large swirl in the center of his back. Finally, he returned to his body, thoroughly exhausted, and collapsed to the ground.

Sleeping seemed like a really good idea.

Chapter 8

“While much can be said about the power of a unicorn's intuition, there just is no substitute for the careful procurement of magical knowledge. A more learned unicorn will almost always be more successful where a lesser educated magician has failed.” -Starswirl the Bearded, Great Advice from Great Ponies

Canterlot in the daytime was breathtaking. Ponies crowded the streets, preening and showing off, entering and exiting the numerous stores and museums. Adorned as he was in nothing, Secret Seeker felt decidedly out of place amongst the carefully done up populace. Still, those moments were few and far between, as he tried to take in all the sights, smells and sounds of the bustling city.

His original plan had been to head straight for the archives, hoping to research deeper into the history of the demons. He would've loved to have had Twilight assist him, but his conversations with her always seemed to go... awry.

“I'm kind of busy right now, but I can spare a minute.”

“Oh great! I was hoping you'd be able to help me out a bit with Perfect Method's Stricture of Congruent Interference...” He trailed off at the vacant expression on the unicorn's face, as if the question didn't even warrant a response.

“You'll want to read these,” four thick texts levitated onto the table, were stamped in rapid succession, and slid towards him. He stood staring for a moment.

“Anything else?” she asked icily. Unsure of how to respond, he collected the books in his packs and made his way out of the library.

“I just don't know what went wrong...” he muttered, trying to puzzle out the source of her ire. With a shake of his head, he moved on to more pleasant thoughts. Earlier that week he'd been invited to watch Dash train, a spectacle the likes of which he'd never witnessed. He'd imagined many times what such a session might entail, but nothing had come close to seeing it first-hoof.

From the start his heart had been racing, watching the pegasus defy death with last-second direction changes, pulling up just before hitting the ground. On several occasions he lost track of her when she burst her speed and darted from one cloud to another, setting them spinning like tops. Then, like a pinball she bounced back between them, kicking each cloud apart without slowing down to move to the next one.

It had been quite a feat to behold, and he'd cheered enthusiastically when she landed, breathing heavily. His praise had brought a hefty blush to the mare's cheeks as she'd waved off his compliments, claiming “It was nothing.” Still, she'd seemed pretty pleased with herself when they'd said their farewells, and he hoped she'd taken some of it to heart.

He emerged from the crowds as he approached the palace, fewer ponies having royal business than everyday business, and was able to relax a little more, no longer feeling like he was being stared at. The journey had taken a bit longer than he had anticipated, as he had wandered the streets of the city, enraptured by it's splendor. Now, he finally reached his destination.

After a time of walking, he found his way into the section he desired, a place where many history texts were kept. It took some searching, but he managed to get his hooves on a few books that looked to be promising. Something had been nagging at him since his encounter with Mephistopheles' soul, and, somehow, he knew this would be the place to sate his curiosity.

“Woah Twi, that was kind of mean.” Spike said, a bit of admonishment in his voice, as he watched the door close behind Seeker.

“Oh what would you know!?” she snapped, immediately regretting it. Spike just stared at her silently. The purple unicorn heaved a sigh,

“I'm sorry Spike. I just don't know what comes over me. Whenever I'm around him I just get... irritable.” She shrugged helplessly, “He just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I don't understand it.” Spike was surprised to hear the admission.

“Maybe you still blame him for what happened to Princess Celestia, even though it wasn't his doing.” Twilight stared at her hooves on the table.

“Maybe...” It was as good a reason as any, but, somehow, she knew that wasn't it. With another sigh, she returned to her work, a sense of guilt and shame burrowing its way into her gut as she tried not to think about how she'd just behaved. If the Princess could see me now... she thought darkly, chagrined. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to figure this out.

Spike resumed cleaning, concerned for his best friend. It was very unlike her to let a conundrum like this eat at her without pursuing a solution. Something, he thought, is making her afraid of the answer.

Seeker pored over the book, looking for anything explaining the two demons, but to no avail. Frustrated, he tossed it aside, next to a dozen others similarly discarded. I don't get it. I know there's something, yet everything I find tells me there's not. The texts he'd found thus far that mentioned the two evils only mentioned them. So why was he convinced there were more? With a sigh, he opened the next tome.

Clop clop clop. Somepony else had entered the library. Looking up, he saw Twilight walking towards his table. Surprised, and unwilling to risk ruining this fortuitous act of happenstance, he merely nodded to her, and resumed reading when she returned the gesture. His heart was pounding as she sat on the other side, and pulled the stack of discarded books to her.

In the few minutes it took her to scan through the different books and glean the purpose of his search, he failed to read even one paragraph, focused as he was on keeping his gaze on the page. When she'd finished with the last of them, she cleared her throat, causing him to nearly jump out of his seat. She stifled a giggle with her forehoof, causing Seeker to blush furiously at the cuteness of the display.

At the sight of his blush, her mirth vanished, and he swore he could almost feel the air turn colder. He had paled completely before she spoke.

“If you're looking for information about Mephistopheles and Carryion, you probably want to be looking further back in the histories.” He looked at her, intrigued.

“I thought they emerged in the last few thousand years,” he said. A spasm crossed her face, some internal conflict quickly resolved, and she forced a smile.

“This time. Let me show you what I mean.” She rose, and trotted off, effortlessly locating the books she sought. Returning with the two ancient texts in her nimbus, she sat back down and deposited them gently on the table. Daring not to touch the yellowed pages with her hooves, she instead used her magic to turn them, carefully flipping through the book until she found the section she wanted.

“Here, read this,” she said, rotating the book so it faced him.

In nature, all things stem from balance. Light and shadow. Good and evil. Life and death. So it is too in the realm of magic. It is believed that the ancient magic, now known as the Elements of Harmony, have always existed in some form or another. Each time they appear, they take a new shape befitting the task before them in order to maintain the balance.

It is believed, therefore, that there must be a counter to this magic. At this time, the nature of the counter is unknown, but hopefully, in time, we will be able to understand it, and effectively recognize it when it begins to manifest.

When he looked up, she floated the other book over the first, having opened it when he was reading.

We found that there was some sort of massive disruption in the strata beyond that point. As can be seen in figure 19.2, the soil layers have stable growth over the years, and we encounter the expected changes in fossilization. But, as shown in figure 19.3, in the strata belonging to the period of time some 11,000 years ago, we see a nearly 9000% jump in the fossil density.

This vast difference can only be accounted for if there were some global, nearly extinction-level event that took place. At this time, we simply don't have the means to analyze the layer for clues as to just what was responsible. We can only hope that, as technology improves, future generations will seek out the answers we cannot.

“Unfortunately,” Twilight explained, “the chasm they were using to study all this is located in what is now the Scorched Lands, far to the south. That place hasn't been safe for thousands of years, so the research was never resumed.”

“An extinction-level event...” Seeker mused aloud, “like a large meteor hitting the earth?” Twilight considered the idea, but shook her head.

“A meteor would've displaced a large amount of dust or water when it hit. There would've been some sign other than widespread, cataclysmic-scale death.” Seeker nodded in agreement, and the two sat in silence for a time, mulling over the information.

“The Lord of Death, and the Lord of Deceit...” he muttered, “if they're supposed to be the balance to harmony, then there would have to be more of them. Those two alone don't counter all the Elements.”

“Perhaps that's why we tend to have more harmony than not,” Twilight said, “because they can't effectively counter them.” He pondered that for a moment, but something in her expression gave him pause.

“But you don't believe that, do you?” For the first time since he'd met her, Twilight favored him with a genuine smile,

“No, I think there are others as well. It doesn't say so here, but I theorize that there was some kind of global war, which would be a logical counter to the peace and prosperity offered by the Elements.” Seeker nodded in contemplation, fear settling in his gut as his understanding of his opponents' power grew.

For an hour they sat, discussing possibilities, and where they ought to look for more information. Finally, Twilight rose, and said she needed to get going and take care of the research she had actually come here to do. Bidding him farewell, she left the room as he began returning the books to their resting places.

A humming sensation was vibrating in his chest, and he couldn't help but smile as he thought, This is the start of something good.

Ambassador Taulus was reclining in his room. Things were going well. Splendidly, actually. While he hadn't managed to dissuade the council from sending a party to Equestria to discuss trading policy changes, he had been able to pull some strings and be elected head of the party. It would be a simple thing, with his pony friends' assistance, to sabotage the peace negotiations, and force Equestria to cede to his demands.

Alion had been growing increasingly aloof and despondent, but he continued to carry out his duties diligently, so Taulus couldn't complain. If anything, it made his job easier, since he didn't have to deal with anyone disputing his orders. Which was precisely what infuriated the griffin. That sort of meek, careless acceptance was exactly what had led to the Griffin Kingdoms being in the state they were in!

He couldn't sit still anymore, now that thoughts of his apathetic assistant had stirred up his wrath. Heading down to the training ground, he took out his anger on the dummies. It wasn't very satisfying, but it would have to do for now. As he struck the griffiquins, he pretended they were ponies, imagining his claws tearing the little, sniveling wretches apart.

Alion looked down from his perch above the training grounds, watching Taulus vent with disinterest. With a yawn, he repositioned himself, and resumed his nap. As of late, the world just didn't hold much interest for the young griffin. Nothing really seemed to matter.

Chapter 9

“Lie, fight, or do nothing, so long as you cause death. Bring about desolation, cessation of breath. Eternally the struggle, the darkness in the light. An apocalypse is coming, the end of all in sight.” -unknown

“It is an outrage!” Taulus shouted, the other griffins in the group murmuring their ascent. Celestia struggled not to take a step back from the enraged creature. She had known Taulus for many years. He had never been this disagreeable.

She had been worried when she saw the griffins approaching, having received no correspondence indicating a visit of any kind. Now cold fears were beginning to creep into her gut. “They will isolate you. They will turn your friends, your allies, and your subjects against you.” She couldn't help but worry that her preparations had failed.

Celestia and Luna had been working tirelessly to reforge the bonds of their alliances. Strengthening their ties with all their neighbors to minimize the risk of precisely the predicament she found herself in now. She had hoped she could diffuse the situation, to reach some kind of compromise with the irate ambassador. Her hopes were being dashed on the rocks of his stubbornness.

She cast a pleading glance towards Alion, knowing the level-headed griffin always stepped in when his superior was getting out of control. What she saw shook her to her bones. His face was one of utter unconcern. With a bored, lazy motion his gaze roamed the hall, taking in nothing. She briefly wondered if, had it not been nearly automated, the creature would even bother to continue breathing. Something was very, very wrong, and she was quickly running out of time to figure out what it was, and how to fix it.

“Our children waste away in homes hewn of crude stone, while you prance about in halls of marble and gold!”

“Taulus, you must know that we had no knowledge of your home's plight. If your conditions are so grave-” The old beast's face turned red at the insinuation,

“You would dare,” he bellowed, puffing out his chest to look as imposing as possible, “try to say that the Griffin Kingdoms require your charity?!” Celestia's lips had formed a thin line when he'd interrupted her, and her mood was growing wroth at his continued disregard for proper court etiquette.

“If you would kindly let me finish speaking,” she said, her voice strained, “I was not about to imply anything of the sort. I merely meant that if the trading agreements we established were no longer working to your satisfaction, we would gladly have met with you to discuss them.” The griffin snorted haughtily,

“Of course you would! You'd love to see us with our wings pinned wouldn't you?” The assembled ponies gasped at the impropriety of the analogy, and even Celestia blanched at the vulgar phrase. Taulus charged on, heedless,

“Come clopping on over,” there were many in the congregation with murder in their eyes, scowling down at the griffins. Several seemed to be struggling to contain their power, their horns emitting small sparks. Celestia's gaze moved through the crowd, terror building within her. What is happening to you, my little ponies? she wondered, shocked by the savagery on display.

“claiming peace and fair trade, and then wham! Next thing we know, the Griffin Kingdoms are an Equestrian principality. Well it ain't gonna happen on my watch, Princess.” Taulus' talon was pointing at Celestia, and she felt an unfamiliar anger welling up within her. This miserable little upstart is going to stand there and lecture me about what's fair!? Maybe a few minutes on the surface of the sun would show him...

Her eyes widened when she saw that her horn had already begun glowing. The room was silent, the tension so thick nopony dared to breath. Taulus had a look of wicked glee on his face, daring her to make a move against him. He doesn't want a conversation, she realized, his whole purpose in coming here was to start a war. Even though she knew it was what he wanted, the desire to attack him burned within her. The unicorns in the galley were ready, braced to unleash Tartarus on the griffins the moment she made a move. If she struck now, the whole embassy would be annihilated before they realized what had happened. All she had to do was unleash the spell in her horn, and her ponies would do the rest...

The glow receded.

“It is clear we are all a little too passionate right now to conduct any sort of conference. I move that we adjourn for a period of no less than one day, to give us all ample time to cool our heads.” The finality of her tone left no room for debate. It was, after all, her palace, and her country.

Taulus was livid. Without a word, he turned and stalked from the hall, the other griffins lazily following, barely seeming to pay attention to where they were going. When the doors shut behind them, the entire assemblage exhaled as one. Curious looks were cast, and faces burned with shame. Had I really been thinking of doing that? What would my parents think? Slowly, the ponies began to file out of the room, some lingering behind to take deep, calming breaths.

Celestia's own anger still raged within her, but somehow it felt alien. The fury she had felt at Seeker's admission to practicing black magic had been strong and righteous, at least in her mind. This, on the other hoof, was something altogether different. There is some vile sorcery at work here, making us hunger for a fight.

Turning, she left the room to gather the ponies who might be able to help her puzzle out this riddle. In short order, she had Luna, Twilight, and Secret Seeker all together in her private quarters. She had carefully checked the entire room, fearing some treachery, but all seemed safe.

“How can we be of assistance Princess?” Twilight asked, honored at having been chosen to attend.

“As you may know, I was met by Ambassador Taulus and his entourage earlier today.” The gathered ponies nodded, having been briefed by Luna when she came to get them.

“Something was very strange about him and his assistant. They were not themselves.” She explained the differences in their attitudes, and the pervading sense of agitation in the hall, that had mysteriously vanished when Taulus had left. She also explained the deeply unsettling apathy of the other griffins, especially Alion, whom she knew to be an outgoing, upbeat individual.

“I cannot help but conclude that this is some devising of Mephistopheles'. That he has somehow tricked or cajoled them into abandoning who they were in favor of these new identities.” Twilight and Secret Seeker exchanged worried glances. Celestia took note, and prompted them to explain.

“We've been researching the two demons calling themselves Mephistopheles and Carryion. It seems that they may be part of something larger. A force diametrically opposed to the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight shifted nervously. Lecturing to the Princess was something she didn't think she'd ever be comfortable doing.

“There isn't much to go on, so a fair bit of this is our speculation,” here she gestured a forehoof at Seeker, “but what you're describing sounds an awful lot like what we suspect to be the MO of two of the other Lords. Despondence and Dispute.

“According to what we've found, it seems that, like the Elements, there is a final Lord that will only appear when the others are together, and a certain condition is met. The Elements have their 'spark', and the Lords have a 'flame'.” She paused, letting the information sink in before finishing.

“We only found one mention of it, but in Ancient Balance Consistently Denied, Eager Findings referred to them as the Cardinal Evils, seemingly indicating that there are only four of them, with the fifth being the one revealed.” Celestia was staring off into space, considering the lavender mare's words. For a time, nopony spoke. Finally, her gaze met Twilight's.

“Was there anything else you found?” The unicorn hesitated. She hated resorting to guesswork, especially about something as important as this. Fortunately, Seeker took the helm.

“Yes. There was a geological study, in what is now the Scorched Lands, of a chasm, where they found evidence to suggest some kind of extinction-level catastrophe had occurred nearly eleven thousand years ago.” Celestia's eyes widened, not liking where this was heading.

“It stands out because there is no further disturbance. No soil strata interruption. No washing away of layers. Nothing to indicate the actual cause of death, only a 9000% increase in fossilized remains.” Celestia was growing more concerned.

“You'll remember the month before last, during which I was absent?” The gathered ponies nodded.

“I went north, to the Forbidden City, northwest of Prance.” They gasped!

“Are you insane?!” Twilight said, “You could've been killed!” Luna, who had lain down, seemingly exhausted, was staring at him, aghast.

“Perhaps, it was a risk I felt was warranted, and, indeed, it paid off. I was able to sneak within, and locate some rather interesting etchings.” Twilight was watching him with a mixture of jealousy and respect, a combination he found rather to his liking.

“The depictions were... horrifying. They described a madness that gripped the land. No creature was safe from it. Deceit led many to experience a world other than the one in which they lived. They'd walk off cliffs, or dive into lava, seeing solid ground or crystal clear water. They'd gaze upon their brethren, and see monsters, fighting to the death. Dispute caused unrest and war. Wherever creatures gathered, death found them, locked in bitter combat against any and all.

“And those that broke away fared no better. Despondence consumed them, and in their apathy they would lay and wait for the course of nature to end their lives. Desolation covered the world, wide swaths of sparsely inhabited, or abandoned land. In time, the Lord's power seemed to fade, and abundance returned. They theorized that it functioned like a pendulum, Harmony on one side, Desolation on the other. They hoped, however, that it might be possible to avert Apocalypse.

“Determined to be prepared for the next occurrence, they recorded all they knew. The demons' appearances and methods, the Five Names, and the Five Titles. Carryion, Lord of Death. Mephistopheles, Lord of Deceit. Agitarius, Lord of Dispute. Lotus, Lord of Despondence. And their culmination, Apocalypse, Lord of Desolation.” Celestia shivered at the complete list of Names. For another stretch, nopony spoke as they each pondered the enemies they faced.

“What we need,” Luna said, “is some kind of plan to isolate and eliminate the Lords.” Twilight's head slowly rose, a sinister grin spreading.

“How fortunate,” she whispered, an unsettling cold in her voice causing the others to turn and stare, “remember Ponyville's most recent Winter Wrap-up?” Slowly, the other ponies smiled as well, and, after levitating a table, some quills, ink, and a stack of parchment over to them, the four leaned in, and began plotting in earnest.

Their exuberance was cut short, however, when a royal guard pony burst into the chamber, lathered at the mouth.

“My Princesses!” he gasped, clearly terrified, “The Griffins! An attack! So much blood!” It was then they noticed how pale the poor stallion was, as his eyes rolled into his head and he fainted. Without another word, all but Luna, who began administering to the unconscious colt, fled the room.

Chapter 10

“Five lords in number, each with a five-spired crown. Five titles rendered, to tear the world down. Four demons awaken, consumed by their hate. The fifth beast arises, here to clean the slate.” -excerpt from the Ballad of the Five

The Griffin embassy was chaos. Ponies ran amok, while the griffins, their claws sheathed in voidstone, sliced spells from the air. Two of the envoy lay slain, smoldering holes clearly defining the cause of death. At least a dozen ponies were injured, though none had yet been killed. Taulus was roaring orders to his troop, keeping them in line despite their tendency to wander from the formation to find a place to lay down.

Having learned from her battles with the Lords, Celestia carefully probed the area for any traps before casting her spell, a burst of light negating the effects of ensorcellment. This particular spell lingered, a dampening effect on magic, like trying to push through a thick blanket. As reason returned to the gathering, the ponies' faces turned from anger, to horror. Screams of terror erupted as the stallions and mares fled the scene, unable to come to grips with the violence on display.

The griffins remained in their formation, watching the ponies run, before Taulus turned on Celestia.

“You have made a fatal error this day Princess!” She tried to speak, but he plowed forward, raising his voice to cut her off,

“Today you have sparked a war the likes of which you've never known! Death is coming for you” his voice had continued rising, turning into a birdlike screech, “and all of Equestria shall fall-” His rant was cut short as a white unicorn appeared astride his back, forehooves wrapped around the griffin's neck. Turning his head, he looked into the hazel eyes of Secret Seeker. For a second, the world stood still, as Celestia and Twilight gaped, unsure of their next move.

Pckow! Seeker's right pupil expanded, turning the whole eye black. The air distorted between him and the griffin, and it seemed like reality itself was being sucked into the black hole of his eye. The griffin was pulled within. The Lord, was not.

Seeker was now riding on the shoulders of a massive black demon. Its scales seemed to rest on a bed of fluorescent green, the light shining through from beneath when they shifted just right. Great, leathery wings unfurled from its back, as it reared up on its hind legs. No longer trapped in the pony shell, the thing's aura of Dispute hit like an ocean breaker.

Anger and hate filled the eyes of the few ponies who remained, though the griffins, huddled around Alion, seemed unfazed. With a roar, the demon reached up, attempting to grab the white unicorn from its back. Instead, Seeker dropped, sliding down the thing's back and tail, jumping off to land on the cobblestones.

Celestia struck.

Five lines of solar fire shot from her horn, the middle one heading straight for the demon. The others went past, ricocheting off the empty air behind it, coming in at its back. The fire in the middle fizzled to nothing under the demon's scrutiny, and it fixed Celestia with its Stare, paralyzing her with fear. When the lines reached it, the demon simply wasn't there anymore. Celestia stood frozen, as her own beams of power rushed towards her.

“Sorry Princess,” Twilight said, as her lavender glow enveloped the alicorn, shoving her aside just before the attack struck. The demon had teleported behind the griffins, and Seeker's violet blast streaked for him. With a quick snap, the thing reached down, plucking Alion from the huddled creatures, and held him as a shield before the beam.

It struck, searing a hole through the griffin's heart, killing him instantly. Or it should have. When the griffin went limp, it shed its skin, and the other demon dropped it as it morphed into a duplicate of himself. Though they looked nearly identical, the glow from beneath the scales of Alion's demon was a deep, navy blue.

Before its clawed feet hit the ground, the thing teleported, appearing before the white unicorn.

“I am Lotus,” it said, the voice like air escaping a furnace, “know me, and despair.” The aura coming from the thing was overwhelming. It hit like a kick, and all concerns were wiped from his mind. His HUD was screaming at him, red lights flashing about some danger. Lack of oxygen. Heart rate slowing. Impending brain damage.

It didn't matter.

He sank to the ground, content to just lie there. Whatever it was that was happening around him, couldn't be that important. The beast reared, raising its foot to crush the little pony. Twilight and Celestia moved to intercede, but the other demon suddenly stood before them. Their eyes instantly filled with malice. All that mattered right now was fighting, and this big ugly brute looked like a promising opponent.

“I am Agitarius, Lord of Dispute. Let my blood lust consume-” he was cut off by the violet blast that struck him from behind, as a pair of sky blue hooves bucked Lotus in the chest, knocking him off balance. The Twilight standing beside Celestia wavered and vanished.

Standing in their midst, was Luna, surrounded by Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Twilight stood a little ways off, power still radiating from her horn. Rainbow Dash flew down beside Seeker, and the aura of her loyalty purged him of his apathy. With a gasp, purpose returned to him, and he rose to his hooves, spoiling for a fight. Agitarius had stumbled from the blast, and Celestia, still in the grips of his aura, brought the full fury of her power to bear.

A corona of light bloomed behind her, as her eyes faded to white. The power flared, causing the ponies and griffins to look away, lest they be blinded by its brilliance.

“To me my little ponies!” Luna shrieked, terror in her voice, “The sun is coming!” Instantly, the ponies rushed to her side, and her horn glowed midnight blue. As the radiance behind Celestia reached its apex, they were engulfed in a sphere of blackness. Inside the sphere was silence but for the labored breathing of the Princess, the glow of her horn providing the only light. Without any sight or sound of the outside coming in, it was impossible to know what was happening.

Until Luna gasped, the color draining from her face. Instantly, Rarity's horn flared with power, funneling into the alicorn, strengthening her. Twilight leaned her head in, touching her horn to the beam emanating from Rarity. Seeker's eyes glanced between them, from one to the other, until Twilight spoke through gritted teeth,

“Rarity is the Element of Generosity. Her gifting magic is virtually without loss. This type of assistance is normally pointless, since most of the energy is consumed to power the transfer. But with her here...” Twilight trailed off, focusing on sending her power to the moon Princess. Seeker nodded, but did not move to offer his power. He was concocting a plan, and he would need his strength.

With a sigh, Luna released the spell and sank to the ground. The combined effects of healing the soldier, teleporting to Ponyville and back, and then holding the shield against her sister's might had taken its toll, and she knew she could fight no more. The sight that greeted them was terrifying.

The street of Canterlot was scorched black. Though nopony had been caught in the blast, the walls behind where the griffins had lain had gaps in the burn silhouetting their positions. Any other evidence of their existence was gone. The two demons still stood, though Agitarius' wings were little more than nubs, flaps of skin dangling from exposed bone.

He hardly seemed to notice.

He had bent his head down to his chest, raising his arms in front of it to protect himself. Now that the onslaught was over, his visage snapped up to meet the Princess'. Her eyes widened in shock, as the demon's claws, wreathed in crackling black lightning, descended upon her.

Pckow! Seeker had been moving the moment the shield dropped. The beast had been too fast for him to utilize his plan, but he was close enough for the Sealing Sight to strip the lightning from the strike. The claws smashed against Celestia, her runes flaring to life just before the impact, causing a burst of light to dampen the effect of the blow. She was thrown back, but suffered only minor injury, three red lines forming along her side.

Lotus, spying Luna's weakness, had begun advancing on the exhausted alicorn, but the Element bearers wouldn't have it. Dash flew around the creature, her powerful legs landing painful kicks if he failed to be sufficiently distracted. Due to this, Applejack was able to run right up to it, rearing up on her front legs, and delivering a bone-crushing buck to its ankle. The joint popped the wrong way, as the skin and scales distorted. Lotus roared in anger and pain, as it fell to its knee. There would be no reprieve.

Twilight's eyes had faded to white, and the power of her magic coursed through her like a river.

“Get back girls,” she said, the power giving her the Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice. Dash and Applejack complied, as the spell she wove took shape. Lotus struggled to rise, to escape the confines of the vortex of swirling lavender energy that was forming around him. He struggled in vain.

“Storm of Ages,” Twilight said, as the tornado solidified into being, forced into existence by her will and power. Before Seeker and Celestia could converge on Agitarius, a thunderclap shook the air.

“Udrahk eb tobundus.” The voice, or voices, for it sounded like two beings speaking, seemed to come from the skies themselves, “Unshevline un ao.” The air thrummed with power, rendering the ponies incapable of acting. Only Twilight seemed unhindered, her cutie mark shining brilliantly, as she continued staring intently at the vortex she had made. Agitarius wavered, like a painting that had fallen into water, and faded from reality, his aura of hate and rage vanishing with him.

The oppressing field of the magic lifted, and the ponies, who had sunk to the streets below, rose to their hooves. Seeker appeared beside the vortex, and turned to Twilight.

“I'm ready,” he said, Dash trotting up beside him to combat the creature's aura of Despondence. The glow faded from the purple unicorn's horn, and the swirling magic broke apart, returning to the aether. Lotus had curled into a ball, wrapping his wings around himself for protection. Before he had time to react to the dropping of the spell, Seeker reared up on his hind legs, planting his forehooves on the thing's wings.

Pckow! With an otherworldly scream, Lotus' wings, and a chunk of his flesh and scales were ripped into the unicorn's eye. Eerie green lightning blades formed on Seeker's forehooves, and he reared again, plunging them into the demon's chest. Lotus' claws grabbed him, their black lightning causing the appendages to sink through the pony's skin, straight into his soul.

Secret Seeker flashed a wicked grin. Inside themselves, the two beings struggled for dominance. The black glow of the demon's magic was feeding into the strand of black power the stallion had collected from Mephistopheles. He was fighting to weave the power into himself, while using his own blades to try to disrupt Lotus' focus.

As the fight raged on within, the gathered ponies watched from beyond the black and green dome that had formed around the combatants. Whatever struggle Seeker was facing, he'd have to face it alone.

Swing. Thrust. Weave. Take. Seeker battled lightning bolts that dodged and struck like snakes. Whenever his blade caught one, it would flare out and vanish, a puff of black smoke, and he would feel his opponent weaken. He could also feel the beast growing weaker as he stole its power through its claws, draining into him. His enemy's fight seemed to ebb and flow, sometimes battling viciously, other times striking halfheartedly.

It seemed even the Lord of Despondence was not immune to his own apathy. Seeker was thankful. The beast was robust. Not because it had great stores of power at its command, but because it was built with such density. Like trying to tunnel through rock with a spoon, he thought, as his blade connected once more, causing another snake bolt to vanish.

His green nimbus held the beast's claws trapped within him, while he struggled to focus on both tasks at hoof. Finally, after what felt like hours of nonstop combat, the fight seemed to go out of the demon. Pulling the power through the claws had been like trying to reel in a vigorous fish. Now, the line came easily, and he pulled with all his might, adding a spinning motion to the weave, making it even faster.

He felt its strength, as well as saw the creature itself, fade. Soon, the soul unraveled before his eyes, like a tapestry coming undone. As the last of the thread slid home, becoming a part of him, he finally relaxed, his consciousness returning to the mortal realm. Seeker lay on the cobblestone road, the eerie green sphere, no longer containing any trace of the demon's blackness, faded. The others rushed to him as he tried to rise to his hooves.

It was a useless attempt. His body refused to respond, and he lay there as first Fluttershy, then Luna, who could barely move herself, then Twilight, and finally Celestia took turns administering to him. Each reached the same conclusion, that he was physically and mentally exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. He began to describe what had happened, Dash having asked the moment she'd reached him, but, mid-sentence, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 11

“Seek us out, when shadows rise, murder, war, apathy and lies. Seek our secrets, we will share, knowledge to enhance how you'll fare. We have seen, and record, the methods and weaknesses of the Lords. Here we'll wait, eternally patient, for the ones who'll rise against Desolation.” -plaque outside the archives of the Forbidden City

The anger burned. His soul felt like it was on fire as he wandered through the dream world. The thread of blackness made a swirl on his back, covering from the small to the base of his neck. With a jolt of pain lancing through his spine, he realized the battle wasn't over yet. Somehow, he could see himself, such is the way in dreams, as the blackness of the swirl began to ooze and bleed, expanding to oust his own green glow.

With cold resolve, his features hardened as he imposed his will upon the stain. Reluctantly, it slowed, then receded. He imagined a lacquer of magic, painted over the thread, forcing it to stay put. In his dream world, a blank paint bucket and brush appeared behind him, and spread a layer of ethereal goo on his back. It seemed to sink in, engulfing the tattoo, locking it in place.

Finally, the burning stopped. With a weary sigh, the boundaries of the world collapsed, and he faded to darkness.

“It was an ancient language,” Celestia said, “something nopony has used since the disappearance of the Lynx almost seven thousand years ago.”

Twilight gasped,

“The Lynx!?” Celestia favored her pupil with a genial smile. They were gathered in Luna's chambers, where the moon Princess and the unconscious unicorn had been put to rest in separate beds. Celestia had noted the other ponies' concern for the exhausted alicorn, unsure how they had failed to notice the cause of her weakness. She also worried for Secret Seeker. The taint within his soul, though isolated, contained far more power than the unicorn had possessed.

He should have lost that fight...

“Yes. Though they were gone before my time, and their city is nigh impregnable,” here her gaze flicked to Seeker, curious just how it was he had managed such a feat, “I have been able to learn a few things about them. One such thing being that they used what they called 'Uldrahkton', translated roughly as 'tongue of the Ur-eldritch', or 'first of the Otherworld'.”

“The language of the Creators...” Twilight whispered in awe. Celestia nodded, pride evident in her eyes at her protege's expansive knowledge.

“By spoken word alone they could bend reality to their will. Some believed it made them immortal, and was responsible for their borderline clairvoyance.” Celestia shrugged her shoulders,

“The world may never know. The phrase we heard was of a simple nature. 'Ur-eldritch from beyond time, bring us together again.'” Even though it had been translated to the common tongue, the ponies felt a chill in the air.

“Woah nelly, don't reckon I much care for that,” Applejack said, a shudder passing through her. The others murmured their assent.

“Mmm, but I do,” Seeker purred, as his eyelids slid open. He rose from the bed, and stretched his neck out, releasing a few loud pops. With a relaxed sigh, he stepped down to the carpet, and walked up to the other ponies.

They were staring at him...

“You uh, feeling alright?” Applejack asked, concerned.

“But of course. Never. Been. Better.” His eyes flashed dangerously, the hazel color distinctly more yellow than green, causing the orange earth pony to take a reflexive step back as she forced a smile. As his gaze roamed over the ponies, it slowly dawned on him that something must be amiss.

“What is it?” he asked, his features relaxing from the menacing expression he'd been wearing. Celestia's eyes closed as she smiled.

“I believe you're experiencing a little bit of leakage from the soul you consumed.” When she mentioned Lotus, her mind returned to the question plaguing her. Seeker nodded, apologizing if he had disturbed anypony. Of course, they quickly forgave him, glad to see their friend was up and well. When the general hubbub had died down, Celestia gave voice to her thoughts,

“I am curious, Seeker. How is it you managed to defeat a Lord who should have been able to crush you?” For a split-second, his face flashed indignation, before being replaced by an easy smile.

“Yeah I was wondering that too when I fought him. I think I just lucked out on my first one being Lotus. He seemed to lose his will to fight at times, and I was able to weaken him considerably during those lapses.” Celestia nodded.

“Makes sense,” Twilight said, “he was the Lord of Despondence after all. It's not wholly improbable that his apathy extended even to himself.” The others were nodding, but Celestia noticed Pinky looking askance at Twilight. Intrigued, she arched an eyebrow at the pink mare.

“Is something on your mind, my little pony?” she asked, her voice soft to lull an answer. Pinkie's eyes shifted from Twilight, to her, back to Twilight.

“Well, if that language they used was so ancient and powerful, how come it didn't work?” Celestia's eyes widened at the astute observation.

“Is our little Twi even stronger than the Creator...s?” Twilight blushed and kicked a hoof at the carpet, embarrassed.

“It probably has something to do with my Element.” she muttered, “It seems reasonable since none of us were affected by the demons' auras, though Princess Celestia was.” Celestia nodded in agreement.

“But why would it work on the Uld... thing? I thought the Elements were a balance to the Lords...” Dash said.

“Well yes, but being the Bearer of the Element of Magic doesn't just mean she's good at it,” Rarity said, surprising everypony, “It also confers an innate resistance.” The gathered ponies gave her surprised looks, causing the unicorn to blush.

“I... may have looked into it after I noticed how gorgeous the tiara was...” she mumbled, causing an eruption of giggles.

“So the power of the Element kept the Uldrahkton from breaking my spell, even though it incapacitated the rest of you...” Twilight mused aloud. Her grin widened as the telltale signs of a plan forming crossed her features. At Celestia's prompting, Secret Seeker explained his journey north, and his adventures in the Forbidden City of the Lynx.

He described how he'd been infatuated with the ninja of his home dimension, and how those skills had twice now been instrumental in his success. As he described the various methods of stealth and subterfuge he'd utilized to gain access to the Forbidden City, the gathered ponies were struck by his depth of knowledge on the subject. When his story concluded, Applejack confronted him, suspicious.

“So why is it y'all know so much about sneakin' and thievin'?” The others gasped, shocked that she'd accost their friend in such a fashion.

“I'm not tryin to say that you're a bad colt,” she said, “but y'all've gotta admit that there's a mighty specific set ah skills.” She narrowed her eyes slightly, “It's only really useful for one thing...” For a moment, everypony held their breath, watching the standoff between the two.

Then Seeker smiled.

“It's true, I learned many methods of breaking and entering, and many techniques for theft.” He shrugged, “Knowledge is power. When the opportunity presented itself, I learned. You never know when some seemingly useless tidbit of knowledge will save your life. But I never learned them with the intention of causing any harm, it was just for a situation such as this.” Twilight was nodding in agreement, and the others relaxed somewhat, though Applejack was clearly not totally convinced. Fluttershy spoke up next,

“Umm, what happened to the griffin you, uh, sucked into your eye... thing?”

“Ah, that technique is called Sealing Sight. It creates a tunnel that channels the gravitational pull of a black hole. Anything that crosses the boundary of my eye is instantly placed within the event horizon, and destroyed. Hence why I can use it on objects or spells with impunity, as even light is affected.” He indicated his right eye, “Course, each time I use it, I'm blind in that eye until the spell recharges, which makes combat considerably harder due to the loss of depth perception. The Lynx, according to the book I learned it from, were capable of doing it to a much greater degree, pulling in entire buildings at a time.” A concerned look had crossed Celestia's face, and the others turned to her as they noticed.

“Seeker,” she asked, “the Lynx used the Uldrahkton in their literature, correct?”

“Yes that's right.” She lowered one eyebrow, raising the other,

“How did you read it?” Seeker stared for a second, his eyes shifting nervously about the room. The others tensed, worry etching their features. With a suppressed smirk, laughter began rumbling through him. Celestia shook her head at the prank, smiling in remembrance of some of her own.

“The translator I found in the laboratory in the moon castle. The Necroequicon showed me how to use it to read the books there.” Celestia recalled the small brown journal the Necroequicon had been disguised as. That must be what he's talking about.

“But now we must discuss serious matters,” he said, his voice losing much of its mirth. The other ponies' visages grew stern, as they focused on the task at hoof. Celestia brought back out the table they had been using prior to the attack, and they gathered round, detailing their plans for the impending war with the Griffin Kingdoms.

While Celestia sorely hoped she could mitigate the damage to their alliance, she knew it would be foalish to imagine that Agitarius had not already begun stirring up his brethren with lies about the battle in Canterlot. She had sent contingents of her royal guard into the city to see to it that anypony wounded in the fight received proper care, and to gather any information about how the incident started. Hopefully there would be something to help alert her to future trouble.

While they were definitely a powerful territory, they couldn't hope to win against the combined might of the unicorns of Equestria. With this knowledge so readily apparent, they tried to puzzle out what the Lords were planning to use to turn the tides in their favor. If they could predict and neutralize that threat, before any griffins were hurt or killed, Any more griffins, she thought, chagrined by her loss of control, then they could possibly undue the influence of the Lords, and stop the war in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, they had no idea what that plan might be.

After a time, weariness began to set in, and Celestia teleported them back to Ponyville, except for Applejack and Seeker, whom she sent to Sweet Apple Acres. In the silence of the room, Celestia silently padded to her sleeping sister's side, and rested her ear against Luna's belly. Whump-whump, whump-whump, whump-whump. And beneath that, whump-whump-whump-whump-whump-whump. She looked down with a mixture of concern and joy. Joy at the promise of another alicorn joining their family, and concern that Luna was trying to keep it a secret.

“You were forgotten!” Mephistopheles bellowed, once again a brown-coated unicorn. “They sent you to die, and then dumped your remains here like waste!” The horde of the undead, many still little more than mobile skeletons, clicked and neighed in agreement.

“Feast on them! Feed, and regain your life!” The gathered dead were cheering, stomping their hooves in applause. “This is the chance I give to you! Consume their essence, and be reborn!” Their goal clear, those who had been rebuilt sank back into the earth, awaiting the signal to strike. The rest lingered, waiting for Carryion to reverse the putrefaction that had beset them since their deaths. Mephistopheles retired to the crypt they had made their abode, weary from the exertion.

Burning the memories out of the dead, and twisting them to his will was cumbersome, and it took a little sliver of his strength for each pony corpse he turned. Furthermore, he was loaning much of his innate persuasive power to Agitarius, enabling the Lord to sway even the most ardent opposition in the Griffin Kingdoms.

It would take some time, a few more months, most likely, for the country to prepare for war. Mephistopheles grinned with malice. But they will prepare, he mused, and when they descend upon Equestria, they will fall upon a country already crippled by fear.

Deeper into the catacombs he delved, until he reached the room he'd been seeking. Dropping the barrier on the chamber, he strode within, taking note of the four ponies. Iron Heart, Celestia's chief commanding officer during the wars. Temptation, the gorgeous filly who'd tended the wounded, and had been like a daughter to the Princesses. Asphyxia, the disowned colt who'd been turned into a ruthless assassin, who had turned his coat, quite literally dying it another color, to fight beside the goddesses. Finally, Rattling Breath, a unicorn after Carryion's own heart, who had devised such brutal magical malefactions that her name had been stripped from most records in the world. She existed only as a legend, but those that believed considered her to be the first Nightmare.

They had been hard to turn, but he had finally managed to devise a way to bend them to his will. It was only a matter of time now before he could unleash them, and reap the discord they would sow. Mephistopheles was struck by the irony, remembering the draconequus he'd corrupted, a small laugh escaping him. Turning his mind to the task at hoof, he once again delved into the depths of their psyches, carefully, expertly weaving his tendrils of deceit into their souls.

It had been a boon that the dead had been so restless. Most of the souls remained on earth, unwilling, or unable to cross over, meaning the majority of the corpses could be resurrected. Thanks to their anger, they required little prompting, and the violence of their deaths left them hungering for vengeance.

Mephistopheles had easily been able to twist that vengeance upon a new target, and now Carryion's task was much simpler. Since the dead were craving to live again, their angry souls took to his conjured bodies with a gusto, and would eagerly begin tying themselves to theirs.

As he moved among them, growing new skin, muscle, bone and sinew, Carryion reveled in the black aura of their hate and anguish. They would bring death, and, when their purpose was fulfilled, they too would feel its cold hand upon them once more. With a horrid smile, the magenta filly pranced through the ranks of the dead, horn glowing with a black nimbus, suffused with subtle hints of blue.

Chapter 12

“Remember blood, remember death, the suffering that bought you breath. For far too long, you forgot, those of us who sit and rot. Died for you, in your wars, wars purveyed by your Princess whores. Now we rise, malcontent, to take back the life which you rent.” -Chant of the Forgotten

In the months that followed, Equestria experienced events it had never before witnessed. Ponies crept in and out of the palace unseen, and mass teleportations were planned and executed in total secrecy. Luna became the leader of Nightwish, the group that scoured the land for signs of trouble, and stole into Equestria's neighbors as spies. Seeker helped devise a hoofful of useful inventions, working in tandem with Twilight Sparkle, and some of Celestia's personal retinue, which enabled hitherto unheard of stealth communications and defenses.

Elaborate codes which were nearly impossible to crack without some knowledge of the key, audio and video gemstones capable of transmitting across the globe, utilizing what Seeker called “satellites” in space. There were also visual distortion cloaks, which would bend most of the light that hit them, making the wearer nearly invisible, though powering them was a chore, limiting their usefulness.

Celestia did her best to maintain Equestria's other alliances, though it soon became clear it would be impossible to rely on any of them for aid for the incoming invasion. They simply could not be convinced of such a drastic change in standing between the two nations, and so she contented herself with simply confirming that none of them had been turned against her.

In secret, Seeker created a network of underground landing points. Places he could store enough power to fuel two teleports, a receiving one, and a departing one, for even a large group of individuals. He also stored several golems of himself, locking a small sliver of his soul in each, to guarantee his continued survival, should something go wrong in the coming battle.

Luna virtually disappeared from public affairs, her time spent administering Nightwish, and resting to regain her strength. Celestia was growing increasingly anxious. Her sister refused to discuss her pregnancy, which was cause enough for worry, but the impending war, as well as the midnight alicorn's everyday exertions, compounded her concerns. Furthermore, reports had begun coming in of what were likely the first casualties.

A farmer northeast of Trottingham had been found murdered in his shed.

When he hadn't come to market, his friends grew concerned. After the third day in a row, they made the trek to the earth pony's abode, only to find the mouldering corpse. A murder was disturbing enough, but the body, according to some of Luna's informants, appeared to have reached a state of decay more in line with having been dead for several weeks.

Something had sucked the life force out of the poor pony.

A hoofful of other reports came in; a pegasus was found in Windsoar, having been strapped to a table and dissected, a unicorn was discovered in St. Petershoof, its severed horn still missing. Celestia's night terrors had not returned, which, oddly enough, disconcerted her. She wanted to believe it was because the dead knew she was taking steps to rectify the situation. But she couldn't. There was some more sinister reason they had abandoned her.

One night, when the sun goddess couldn't sleep, she stood on her balcony, overlooking Canterlot. The city still bustled, her and her sister's combined efforts having minimized the spread of the stories about the murders, preventing a panic. Still, it was going to get harder and harder to cover them up, and she was growing frustrated that they couldn't seem to locate the individuals responsible...

Her protection runes flared to life as the bolt glanced harmlessly off her shield.

Spinning around, she stared into the dark room, her eyes finding nothing in the blackness. Something about the magic signature was so familiar, and yet... Another bolt blasted her shield, but this one was not repelled. It splattered on the ward, the infectious taint of the curse oozing into the folds of the ethereal wall, splitting it apart like a wedge.

Celestia's eyes widened in horror. She only knew of three ponies in history that could hope to learn and counter her ward that swiftly; her sister, her protege, and a pony who had been dead for nearly three thousand years.

“Rattling Breath?” She whispered, dreading the answer she knew was to come. The green coated unicorn stepped from the shadows, seeming to materialize from the darkness itself. Her yellow eyes glowed with malevolence, and a mocking grin twisted her features. Heart pounding, Celestia dropped her shield before the taint could seep into her power lines, and teleported to the other side of the room.

Her strike met the blast she knew would come, anticipating the other mare's anticipation of her move. A shock thudded through her, as she felt the spear slam into her side. Turning her head, she looked at the weapon, held in the mouth of her dead chief commander. The dream roared back to her, as she gazed into his hate-filled eyes.

The runes covering the bone spear were flaring with power, holding her wards apart so that the weapon could pass through undeterred. The black runes of Carryion. With a gasp, Celestia fell to her knees, as the spear pulsed with energy, shattering her ward, and wiping the runes from her body, the ink staining the carpet where it splattered.

Rattling Breath had sauntered over to her, and leaned in, licking up some of her blood from the wound. With a shudder, Celestia felt some of her life force be stripped away. As she watched, the green pony changed, transforming into a replica of the Princess. Suddenly, she knew their plan, and cursed herself a foal for not seeing it sooner.

“The Graveyard of Illeyseus...” she muttered, knowing that she no longer had any hope of stopping them. The mockery's hoof crackled with yellow lightning, a netherblade forming as she grinned wickedly. Tears ran down Celestia's face as she chose her path. Forgive me Luna. I wish I could have done more, been smarter. I've failed you all, possibly for the last time. Her head snapped up as a cold fury gripped her. The mockery stared, apparently surprised, though its features betrayed nothing. They never had, even when she'd been alive.

Forgive me my little ponies, but for you, I willingly make this choice. Power coursed through her, more than she had ever channeled in her long life. Please... she prayed, protect them Secret Seeker. I know you have the strength to face these evils and succeed. Her eyes faded to white, as new runes appeared, smoke rising from them as they were burned into her flesh. Do not fall. If you do, all is lost. With a scream, her spell erupted. The mockery had launched itself forward, blade poised to strike, but was now thrown back, slammed into the wall. Iron Heart was crushed against the wall beside the door. Having no room to be thrown, he was squeezed between the force of the blast, and the unyielding stone.

With a splotch, his body gave, becoming nothing more than a black stain on the marble. Released from his bondage, Iron Heart's soul drifted back to the aether. When her vision cleared, the mockery freed herself from the wall where she'd been embedded. Celestia was no more. Guards burst into the room, and gaped at the Princess.

“Sister!” Luna cried, slowly walking into the room, “Are you alright?” The mockery nodded,

“Yes, I am well. An attempt by our enemies to remove me,” her eyes glanced meaningfully at the black splotch on the wall, “They did not succeed.” The guards smiled, saluting their Princess with pride, as they backed out of the room to let the two speak in private. Luna had walked up to her, and nuzzled her neck,

“Thank you for being careful.” she said, warmth radiating from her. The mockery nodded, and stepped away, surprising the other mare.

“I apologize if I seem distant,” she said, as she made her way to the door, “but I fear our enemy's strike was merely a distraction. They've come for the book, and I don't doubt they can get to it. We must move now.” Luna was staring at her, mouth open as she considered the words, then, with a resolute nod, she followed.

Seeker gasped in his chamber as the words rocked through his mind,

“Do not fall. If you do, all is lost.” He fell to his knees, tears immediately burning in his eyes as understanding tore through him. Celestia was gone. He wanted to just lie there, and mourn her loss. To go to sleep and hope that somepony would make everything right again.

“No.” Who said that? he wondered.

“No,” he said again, louder this time. Rising to his hooves, he felt the rage burn within him. Equestria was in danger. Luna was in danger. Rushing to the teleport node in the adjoining room, he activated the rune sphere and vanished, reappearing in a closet down the hall from Celestia's chambers. Donning his distortion cloak, he exited the room, and whipped down the hall towards the archives. There is still time!

Luna and Celestia finished their trek, coming to a rest before the sealed doors.

“Everything looks to be in order, perhaps we beat them here-”

“No,” the mockery cut her off, causing the other to look hurt at the brusque treatment. Its features softened,

“I apologize, these are trying times. Prepare yourself sister, I know not what we will find within.” Their runes flared to life, as the two sisters combined their powers and opened the massive gates of the Chamber. There, the Necroequicon sat on its pedestal, untouched. With a relieved sigh, Luna dropped her wards and turned to...

Her heart turned to ice as she gazed upon the face of malice. Her sister's features were twisted into a lunatic grin, eyes wide with glee as she slammed the lightning blade into Luna's stomach.

“Oof!” she gasped, as the blade was withdrawn, a small mahogany orb impaled on the end. With a sound like rusty wheels grating, the air behind the mockery distorted, and, like a drain functioning in reverse, the griffin and a brown-coated unicorn appeared. Luna could feel the evil emanating from them, recognizing the griffin as Ambassador Taulus, now Agitarius.

She sank to the ground, as the two beings shifted, becoming their true forms. Two great demons loomed over her, Agitarius, denoted by the green glow from beneath his scales, and Mephistopheles, his tell-tale red fluorescence betraying his identity. The Lord of Deceit strolled past her, wresting the book from its pedestal. Turning to face the three creatures, he said,

“Do with her as you please, but be quick about it. Our presence has not gone unnoticed.” With that same distortion in the air, he vanished, leaving them alone. The orb had come to rest in the demon's clawed hand, and it held it before her eyes. As she looked on, helpless, it squeezed, causing the soul to burst into brown fire, and vanish.

Her heart shattered. She had seen the devastation of mothers who had given birth to stillborn foals. Had witnessed, first-hoof the way it tore them apart. At least I won't live long enough to go through that pain... Agitarius' claws were wreathed in black energy as it raised its arm to strike. They whistled through the air as they descended to tear her soul apart.

The mimic of her sister stumbled in the way. With a horrific scream, Rattling Breath's soul was ripped to shreds. The body it had inhabited crumbled to dust as it fell to the ground. Surprised, the demon stood still for a moment. In that moment, Luna saw her salvation.

The distortion cloak fell away to reveal Secret Seeker, his body morphed into an image of his soul form. In his right hand he held a spear made of what appeared to be voidstone, but it seemed to be etched with runes.

That's impossible... she thought. The demon struck, swinging its lightning-coated claws at the human. Seeker casually moved the spear to intercept the blow. When the claws touched the weapon, it sliced through them. But that wasn't the end. A vortex formed at the point of contact, and the severed claws, as well as the arm they had been attached to, started being sucked in. Agitarius roared in pain and anger as it tried to step back from the consuming swirl.

Pckow! Sealing Sight created a second point, pulling the demon's left arm into his eye. The combined force of the two vortexes caused the beast to tear, its skin and scales splitting down the middle as it was ripped nearly in half before they finally ended. Severely wounded, the demon struggled to hold itself together, but there would be no reprieve.

Seeker had seen. He stepped forward, moving the spear horizontally behind him, and thrust his lightning blade into the monster's chest. This struggle was much shorter. Though Agitarius was weakened, he was still a formidable opponent. Or at least he would have been. Apathy rolled off Secret Seeker in waves, thick and suffocating. It was a trial just to care.

As Agitarius struggled to combat the full force of the Lord of Despondence's influence, he felt his essence being stolen. By the time he'd shaken the feeling of unconcern, the majority of his strength had been sapped. It took him only a moment to realize that he couldn't hope to win this confrontation, but the Lord of Dispute wouldn't go down without a fight. If this human wanted his power, he'd have to battle for every scrap of it!

The battle was short, Seeker easily dodging the weakened Lord's strikes, landing absorbing hits of his own. Soon, he made his final move, feinting left, then thrusting forward. The beast fell for it, and was skewered by the blade. With an anguished roar, it was pulled into him, the thread of its being unraveling, and becoming part of his soul.

He turned to Luna, as the guard-pony arrived, his eyes widening in fear when he saw the collapsed Princess. They widened further when he noticed the dual-winged human, recognizing him from the statue.

“Protect her,” Seeker said to him, though he hadn't turned to look. “The others are in danger, I must go to them. It has begun.” When Luna nodded to him, her face devoid of emotion, the distortion of the air swirled between them, and he was sucked inside.

Luna lay her head down, and closed her eyes, as the guard pony rushed over to her, asking what he could do to help. She couldn't do this. Not right now. Sleep came, and she welcomed it.

Chapter 13

Anger pulsed through his mind as he stood where Celestia had fallen. There were no more tears in his yellow eyes, as his own runes flared with power, illuminating the room. Whatever spell she'd cast, his gaze on the black splotch on the wall, had been powerful. As he stood in the center of the blast, he could hear the screams and cries echoing up from Canterlot. Through the doorway to the balcony, he could see the griffins striking from above.

With a step, he was out there, looking down on the burning city. The avian creatures lobbed pitchers of burning oil, starting fires that clung even to stone, and spread when water fed them. Most of the inhabitants couldn't be bothered to worry about that though, as they ran for their lives through the streets.

Wait a minute... he leaned over the balcony, squinting to see closer. Suddenly, his HUD lit up, as his mage's sight caught the tell-tale signs of necromancy. Now he could see the life among the dead. Scores of the risen galloped through the streets, and his hatred burned brighter. Time to take off the kid gloves, he thought, expanding his consciousness to activate the golem stored near Sweet Apple Acres.

After giving it explicit instructions to seek out, gather and protect the six Bearers, he jumped off the balcony, his dual sets of wings snapping open. In his right hand a rifle appeared, forged of lightning, mostly black with traces of green. He pulled up short of the battlefield where the griffins were regrouping after their attacks, a shield in place that would allow them through, but stopped the occasional bolt of magic that struck it.

Within his weapon, he summoned chunks of singularis, the stone he had created, implanting detonating magic charges within. The griffins saw him, and pointed their talons, confused by the bizarre creature. Their hesitation only further ensured their demise.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The rifle fired off three shots, the void-inducing bullets piercing through the shield like tissue paper. When they were inside, their charges detonated, triggered by the nearby life force. The shrapnel ripped through the creatures, bone and sinew and flesh alike were torn asunder. The plates of their armor did nothing to slow the wicked shards of stone, and they fell from the sky in droves, shredded and bleeding. With another distortion, he stood in the streets of Canterlot.

The rifle vanished, and the spear returned, its tip warping and elongating into a vicious scythe, the end in the shape of an alicorn skull, the jaw sharpened to a blade. Ponies that saw him stuttered to a halt, unsure if he, who looked like the hero from that village nearby, was the real deal, or another simulacrum.

“Legion,” he said, activating the rune structure he'd devised several months ago. An overlay appeared on his HUD, and the undead were highlighted, and marked for a return to the eternal sleep. With piercing, psychotic laughter, he warped, in rapid succession, appearing mid-strike, cutting the dead down where they stood. When the weapon connected, it absorbed chunks of flesh and bone, leaving mangled half-corpses behind. With wicked glee he moved through the crowds, as ponies stared in awe and horror. Purple flashes, mimics of Twilight's incredibly cost effective teleportation, heralded his appearance, and a split-second later, the chosen victim lay severed.

The golem awoke, its mission clear as a chunk of its master's power poured into it. With the power, came a helping of his hate. Burning inside, the mimic erupted from the earth, standing beside the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. The undead were numerous, and a hoofful of griffins flew lazily over the orchard, watching the chaos. When he'd burst forth, they'd shrugged it off as the arrival of some new weapon of their masters'.

BOOM! BOOM! Twin shots of singularis exploded beside them, rending their bodies. As he watched the limp forms fall, he saw several of the dead turn and rush towards him. A wicked sword fashioned of the stone appeared in his hand, and he met their charge, cutting them down mercilessly. With grim determination, he moved, bursts of magic powering his steps, launching him across the landscape.

The Apple family stood together, makeshift weapons in their mouths, fending off the abominations. Applebloom screamed as one of the dead burst from the earth behind her, its hooves reaching out to ensnare the little filly. It was met with four and a half feet of solid stone.

“Sheker!” Applejack slurred, the broom in her mouth disrupting her speech.

“Go to the hole in the ground near your barn. The room there is spelled to protect you, you will be safe,” he told the gathered family. Turning to Applejack he said,

“We need to go, the Elements will be instrumental in winning this fight.” With a determined nod, she barked orders to the family, who dutifully headed towards the shelter. With a distortion, the two beings vanished.

In a cavern under Cloudsdale, the golem's eyes opened, awakened by its master's call. Its hand glowed as runes were fashioned, vanishing the moment they appeared. As it wove, the runes came faster, and soon both hands danced in a blur as hundreds of shapes were crafted each second. A tear rolled down the creature's cheek, as its master's fear was confirmed. The sun-harvesting rune sphere was sticking. Celestia was gone.

Fluttershy was curled up in a ball in the upstairs closet of her cottage. The dead pounded on her door, and, with a shudder, she heard the sound of windows being shattered as they forced their way in. Shivering in fear, she struggled to pull herself together and fight, but her body simply wouldn't obey. They came up the stairs, ransacking the room, overturning her bed and knocking her furniture down.

She could feel their gaze on the closet door, as the steps came closer. Swickt! Like the last vestiges of water down a drain, the sound came, and the two creatures stood in the cottage. For a moment, nobody moved. Applejack leapt forward, spinning in midair to land on her forehooves, hind legs bucking the creature, sending it flying into the others. Before they could rise, Seeker appeared, and cut them down.

“Come on out sugarcube, we got work to do,” AJ said to the closet door. After a few seconds, it slowly opened, and Fluttershy's brilliant teal eye peeked around the edge.

“Ok...” she said in a very small voice. With another distortion, the three of them vanished, making for Ponyville. Seeker hoped they would arrive in time, fear gripping his heart as he pictured Twilight and the others fighting a desperate battle against the horde.

Twilight and the others were fighting a desperate battle against the horde. Many of Ponyville's citizens had gathered inside the town hall, and now it was up to the four friends to keep them safe. Pinkie Pie was outfitted in a black mesh suit, the tight weave composed of some material Seeker had called “kevlar”. Within it were hundreds of tiny ceramic discs, etched with runes, which would activate whenever a strike broke them, deflecting the force of the blow, allowing the pony to attack through even the most vicious assaults.

She'd hesitated at first, not wanting to hurt anypony, until Twilight had informed her that their opponents were already dead, and that she'd be doing them a favor by releasing them from their bondage.

“You're welcome!” she shouted, as she gave the stallion's neck a mighty twist, eliciting a series of loud pops. For Rarity, the sight was decidedly unsettling. Still, their combat suits were simply outstanding, as she took a moment to admire her reflection in a puddle on the ground. A pegasus loomed beside her, and she looked up, irritated at the interruption.

“Never bother a lady when she's checking her appearance!” she hissed, a violet burst erupting from her horn, burning a hole through the creature's head. It collapsed at her hooves, and she gingerly took a step back, not wanting to get the thing's blood on her.

Rainbow was a blur, streaking around the town, scooping up beleaguered ponies and dropping them off at the town hall before returning to the fray. The blades affixed to the fronts of her wings made tangling with the pegasus a hazardous affair. Those that tried quickly found themselves in pieces, as they watched her dash away.

A silver coated mare none of the ponies recognized galloped out from between two buildings. She was heading for the town hall, a look of fear on her face. When she got within reach of the light of the torches, it seemed as if the world stood still.

She was gorgeous. The light sparkled across her coat, like glittering diamonds. Her eyes were a brilliant gold, the pattern making it look like the iris was composed of flakes of the precious metal. The ponies stared, momentarily stunned by the creature's elegance and grace as she approached. Her every move screamed temptation. Her cutie mark was a heart made of fire.

“Thank Celestia you're here!” she said in a breathless whisper. Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie blushed at the sound, as if somepony had told an inappropriate joke. Her voice sounded like the satisfied whisper of an exhausted lover. Dash was too far away to hear, and was engaged in another brawl, her deadly wings making short work of the risen ponies.

“Please, get inside-” Twilight started to say, when the bone knife slammed into her side. It slipped between her ribs, cutting her heart, and would have killed her within seconds were it not for the protective runes struggling to preserve her. Gasping as she fell to the ground, her head snapped around to get a look at her assailant.

The pegasus had a red coat, though it looked like his natural hair was blond, judging by the roots of his fur. With her mage sight, she could see the runes that had been etched into his skin. There were twelve different instances of the rune for “unseen” that she could see from this angle, and she knew now how the pony had slipped past unnoticed. Even now, as she lay dying, the runes unable to push the blade out because it too was shielded from their sight, she marveled at the lesson she'd just learned.

Swickt! With a distortion, Secret Seeker appeared, wearing his dual-winged human form, with Applejack and Fluttershy. When the two ponies saw her, they gasped in terror. When Secret Seeker saw her, he became terror. There was a flash of anguish before his gaze moved to the red pegasus, and his visage hardened into one of such malice and contempt that it stole her breath.

He leaned back, arms crooked before him, clutching at the sky, and howled.

The air grew cold.

For a moment, nothing else happened. Then, the sky over Canterlot exploded as a hundred thousand beams of energy came raining down, like a meteor shower, bringing death and destruction. For a second they heard nothing, then the rumble of thousands of explosions reached them, thundering through the earth.

Swickt! The real Secret Seeker appeared, the scythe of singularis held loosely in his right hand. When his gaze fell upon her, it flashed through the air, cleaving the golem in half. The thing's weapon vanished back from whence it came, and the essence bound to it returned to its master.

“You failed,” he said to the destroyed imitation, his voice hollow. For a moment, he continued staring into her eyes, and she felt again the warm glow that had been growing over the past few months. They had been studying together, and working to devise machinations and spells for the upcoming battle. It had taken time, but her disquiet in his presence had faded, and was then replaced. Too late now, she thought, as her vision started to dim, the preserving power of the runes beginning to run out.

His gaze flicked to the assassin.

“Legion,” he said, his voice cold, leaving no puff in the now frigid air. Rather than teleporting around to multiple targets, he repeatedly appeared around the pegasus. Each flash brought another strike, and in seconds, only a cut apart mess remained, most of the body having been absorbed by the blade's vortex.

The last teleport set him beside Temptation, kneeling. When she turned to look, his Sealing Sight fired, and she was pulled within, crushed into oblivion. Rainbow Dash hovered above the town, watching the spectacle unfold, as Seeker calmly walked up to the now unconscious, seemingly dead lavender unicorn.

Kneeling, he withdrew the blade, and placed his hands upon her. As he entered her mind, he became aware of a squealing sound, like a rusty wheel, and of the poison the blade had left within her, slowing her healing process.

Twi, I need you to lend me your power. She was silent.

With the strength of the two Lords I absorbed, and my sun-harvesting rune sphere in place, I should be able to defeat them. With your strength, I will defeat them. For a time she did nothing, as the implications of his rune sphere sank in. With a bitter sorrow in her heart, she consented, letting her strength flow into him. He was struck by the sense of loss, the pain that was swelling within her as she mourned her mentor. At the last moment, she included some of her knowledge, to help him in the coming conflict. He extricated himself from her psyche in the nick of time.

Mephistopheles and Carryion stood in the middle of the street. The undead collapsed, like puppets with their strings cut, as the two Lords collected their strength.

“Unshvsrou,” Mephistopheles said, pointing a claw at Seeker. He felt a dozen tugs at his soul, as all the golems he'd created, and all the fragments he'd split himself into, coalesced together. His eyes widened as he realized what had happened.

There's no fail safe this time. If I lose here, it's all over. He snarled in anger, as his fury burned brighter, Then there will be no failure!

Chapter 14

“Eternally it doth reflect, endlessly we doth protect. Mirror mirror of them all, once possessed, all enemies fall.” -unknown

The battle was joined! Mephistopheles' charge was interrupted by a pair of bladed wings, and a pink party pony with a problem. A sequence of swift bucks from Pinkie caused the creature to stumble, its kick having no effect when it connected with the little creature's ribs. The distraction caused it to take a slash across the eye from Rainbow's wing. Temporarily blinded while its body healed, the thing swiped its arms in front of it, trying to knock the pegasus to the ground.

It was fruitless. Dash danced around the blows like they were holding still, easily dodging the attacks, and landing stinging cuts on the demon's arms. The wounds weren't damaging, as the beast would easily heal, but the distraction was the dangerous part.

Swickt! Seeker sat astride the thing's back, and fired his Sealing Sight. The beast vanished, teleporting away from the attack, but not before a chunk of its head had been pulled into his eye. Carryion reared up behind him, claws wreathed in lightning, only to catch the full brunt of an Applejack buck to the groin. The force of the blow made the demon stumble back a step, causing it to move right into the line of fire of Rarity's violet beam.

The blast knocked the Lord from his feet, sending him sliding on his back across the ground, leaving a shallow furrow in his wake. Mephistopheles had appeared near Rarity when he'd teleported, and advanced on her, only to have the party cannon fire from a trap he triggered by stepping on a rune. The cannon ball slammed into the thing's chin, knocking it clear off the ground. The demon flew through the air, and landed on its back, coming to rest nearly thirty feet from the elegant unicorn.

The ponies cheered! The battle seemed to be going their way! But they knew nothing of war. Seeker appeared over the demon, the singularis spear in his hands. The tip now looked like a pine tree with all of its branches flattened to the trunk. He thrust it down through the demon's chest, eliciting a howl from the beast as it instinctively grabbed for the object. In the ground, the spikes moved, coming away from the shaft of the spear, and he jerked it up, causing the quills to sink into the monster's back and become lodged there.

He leapt into the air, the shaft of the spear growing, bending as he rose, and performed a front flip, swinging the shaft down over his head like a log splitter's axe. At the beginning of the swing, the shaft had become solid once more, and the demon was slung through the air, looping around Secret Seeker, and slamming back into the ground. It was clawing frantically at the spear, but to no avail, each hit only succeeding in causing the weapon to absorb another piece of it.

Seeker flipped again, the arc of the swing becoming a longer ellipse this time, the impact burying the demon in the ground. Carryion had risen to his feet, and began moving towards the combatants, but the ponies blocked his path. Dash struck first, confident in her abilities after facing Mephistopheles.

Her arrogance would nearly be her undoing. She feinted left, then rolled in a U-formation, coming up perpendicular to the creature's left wing, her intention being to zip past, hopefully severing the appendage. Carryion raised its left claws, and sent out a pulse of death. Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat, as her vision blurred for a second.

That was all it took. He swiped, knocking the pegasus to the ground. Her armor protected her from most of the damage, but the blow still dazed her, and she struggled to rise to her hooves. Before the others could react, the beast raised its foot, and stomped on the little pony.

Crack! Her armor broke, the plates at the fissure pinching her skin painfully as they were crushed together.

“DASHIE!!” Pinkie Pie cried, as she rushed towards the monster, tears forming in her eyes. The beast had raised its foot to strike again, but vanished just before the violet jet of Rarity's magic struck it. With cold dread in her heart, Applejack turned towards the white unicorn, knowing already that she'd never make it in time.

The beast's claws slammed Rarity to the ground as it leaned over her and sank its teeth into her neck.

She screamed. A blur of yellow and pink flashed past, and Carryion was thrown up against the door of the town hall. Fluttershy didn't stop. Blow after blow, each strike hitting a weak spot, crushing nerves, forcing scales apart. Her talent let her know many things intuitively about the creatures she encountered. Normally, she'd use this knowledge to release built up tension. Today, she inflicted suffering.

Seeker slammed Mephistopheles into the ground a final time, releasing the spell on the singularis spear, and dropping to land atop the demon. Bringing all his power to bear, he focused his strength on creating a faster, stronger version of the Infinigon, the understanding of the spell having been gifted to him by Twilight.

With a flash, the Lord was encased in a sphere. Then another sphere appeared within that one, razor thin, like the layers of an onion. Then another. Then another.

The creature's eyes widened as it realized what was happening, and it marshaled its strength to break free, but by the time it released its strike, the Infinisphere had created almost sixty layers, and the attack only shattered half. He struck again, and failed. His attacks grew more panicked, and he was soon struggling just to avoid being obliterated by the spell.

“Carryion!” The Lord bellowed, fear in its voice. The other Lord vanished, appearing beside Seeker, but the human had already turned to look in that direction. Pckow! Carryion coalesced already in the swirling vortex of Sealing Sight. With an angry roar, the Lord disappeared again, reappearing on the other side of the Infinisphere, preparing to fire a blast in concert with Mephistopheles.

The thrown singularis spear smashed into him, bursting apart on impact, the last thousand shards of stone winking out of existence as they sapped power from the Lord, removing the energy he had been gathering.

“CARRYION!” Mephistopheles' voice was suffused with panic as the other Lord struggled to bring his power to bear. The shards of the singularis stone had severed his leylines, and, as they reconnected, he was nearly helpless. The Lord of Death gave a shrug, and vanished once more, leaving Deceit to his fate. With an anguished roar, the demon was crushed by the layering spheres, destroying him, weaving the last vestiges of his power into Seeker's soul.

Seeker turned to the ponies, a triumphant grin on his face. Applejack cried out. Carryion stood over Twilight, a lavender image of the unicorn impaled on the end of his blade. Time stopped as her gaze turned to his. She whispered,

“Help me.”

It sounded as though the words were spoken directly into his ear. Power shot through his feet, propelling him forward. A pulse of energy began flowing through the weapon that pierced her. His hand formed a lightning blade, black as the void with only hints of green beneath. The pulse hit the mare's soul. He was so close...

Help me. He was too late. He knew it, yet still he pushed on, willing himself to go faster. He saw the taint spread. Saw it start splitting her soul apart. His blade reached out to sever the demon's arm. It connected, tearing through the thing's soul, as his left hand came up, smashing the monster with a bomb of whirling netherblades.

Carryion flew backwards, howling in pain as the weapons sliced his spirit. Still, even through the agony, he smiled.

Seeker stood over the empty vessel that had once been Twilight Sparkle. The others had been running towards the fight, in a vain attempt to save their friend. Now, they slowly gathered, tears flowing free.

“No no no no no no no...” Pinkie Pie whispered over and over. Rainbow wrapped a wing around the devastated mare, tears of her own leaking into the cotton candy mane. Fluttershy stood, stone-faced, her eyes empty. This was more than death. This was more than she could bear right now. Seeker fell to his knees, and heaved a sigh, as tears fell onto the purple coat.

“Not this. Not like this.” Applejack sobbed.

They heard laughter.

Slowly, all heads turned to regard the rising Lord, who had thrown his own back and was roaring with dark joy. The ponies stared in horror, which turned into rage, but before they could make a move, they felt waves of hate wash over them. The potency of the feeling was staggering. Turning back to Seeker, they saw why.

Black horns had sprouted from his head, and his dual-wings had merged into a single pair of black leathery ones. His skin looked harder, like it was covered in scales, and when his head rose, his yellow eyes burned with anger. Seeker moved, shattering the boundaries of space-time, a teleport with no delay.

Carryion deflected the strike, but another followed. Then another. The Lord was losing ground swiftly, while Seeker's face showed no strain. He landed a hit, swiping a chunk of energy from the demon. Seeker landed another, then another. The ponies looked on in terror, as they watched the metamorphosis taking place.

Which each hit, Seeker's flesh blackened. He grew scales, and his body shifted, changing into a mirror of the Lord he fought. Finally, he landed a swipe on Carryion's chest that knocked the monster to the ground. Raising his claws, he prepared to strike the finishing blow.

Please stop... Carryion was smiling up at him, egging him on. Again he reared his arm, ready to kill.

No Seeker. Do not do this. He reeled from the warmth in the voice, stumbling backwards as he raised a clawed hand to his face. His consciousness collapsed into himself.

Floating in the subspace of his mind, a shimmering image of Twilight stood before him. When he finished coalescing, she smiled, light twinkling in her eyes. He stood as his old self. Human.

“There must be another way...” she said, trailing off thoughtfully. Seeker walked up to her, and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around her in a tender hug. She looked at him, startled. A blush started to spread as the hug continued.

“Uh, Seek, this is kind of a long hug-” She stopped as his shoulders shook with sobs.

“I thought you were gone....” he whispered, his hold tightening affectionately. Her jaw dropped as realization dawned on her. The anger, the pain, all the anguish she had felt through him... it had all been because he'd thought he'd lost her. The warmth in her chest burned, stronger than ever before.

“You didn't remember,” she said, struggling to hold back tears, “that I'd stored a piece of my memories within you?” He shook his head, burying his face in her mane. She could feel the cool wetness of his tears, having now soaked through her coat. Somehow, he knew Carryion was rising, and remembered that the fight was not over.

“How will you defeat him? If you win the battle, his consciousness will transfer, and you'll become Apocalypse.” He smiled at the lavender unicorn, and returned to the mortal realm.

With a snap, Seeker was back to his normal, dual-winged self. He moved again, standing beside Twilight's corpse and the others. Carryion appeared next to him, but, once again, the demon appeared in the vortex of Sealing Sight. He vanished, but reappeared in the same place.

Seeker wasn't fooled. He raised his hand, and cast the Infinigon, ensnaring the Lord. Turning, he knelt beside the body. Black lightning crackled to life around his right hand, and he reached into his chest, grabbing hold of something. As the ponies stared in awe, he withdrew a small, lavender sphere, and gently inserted it back into the unicorn.

With a jolt, she gasped, life returning to her. Before she recovered, he leaned down and planted a kiss at the base of her horn.

“You know I love you, right?” He choked out, tears welling in his eyes as he struggled for control. Twilight tried to speak, but the process of returning from the dead was jarring, and her soul was still reforging its connections to her body. He stood, as the Infinigon burst, and turned to face the demon. Again Twilight tried to cry out, to tell him that there must be another way. Moving once more, he stood before the monster as magical chains erupted from his chest, ensnaring Carryion.

“Colcorion Ospheldi.” Secret Seeker's face turned towards the sky as a giant artifact appeared above him. It looked like a mirror, the frame made of millions of carefully crafted eyes. Pckow! Instead of the vortex funneling into his eye, it formed funneling into the mirror.

Pckowpckowpckowpckow! Each of the eyes surrounding the mirror began firing, turning black as they were expended. A white shield formed, dropping down from the frame, and Seeker released the chains binding Carryion. The Lord screamed in anger,

“You fool! You'll be destroyed!”

“Yeah.” With a snarl, the demon turned and threw all its might against the barrier, to no avail. Seeker walked up to the ward, and looked out at the ponies, who had begun gathering on the other side. Twilight looked into his eyes, and whispered,

“I don't want to lose you.” His heart broke. Falling to his knees, Seeker wept bitter tears, unable to maintain any sort of facade in the face of annihilation.

“I know...” he scarcely more than whispered, his voice raw with anguish. “but if I win, you all lose. This is the only way to ensure the Lord of Desolation doesn't manifest.” Applejack had her hat held over her heart, while the others stood crying. Wisps of his being began drifting upwards as the spell gained power, stripping away his essence. Slowly, he placed his hand on the barrier, and Twilight raised her hoof, setting it on the other side.

“I... I think I love you too...” she managed, fighting to hold back tears of her own. Seeker smiled, despite the pain of the spell ripping him apart. As far as ways to die go, seeing those words on her lips was a pretty good one. With a final pckow! the mirror itself fired, turning black, and the demon and the man, and a good sixty feet of the earth, were pulled into oblivion.

The shield vanished with the mirror, and the last vestiges of the Lords' spell were broken. Across Equestria, the griffins returned to their senses, as the bodies of the risen dead crumbled to dust. Shocked and horrified, it took some time for everyone to calm down enough to begin helping each other.

Remarkably, very few had died. Many had stories of a heavenly voice guiding them to safety, or of blinding light throwing off their pursuers. Celestia returned to the land, her deassimilation spell having succeeded in allowing her to escape her would-be assassins. Luna, with Twilight's assistance, was able to provide a base form for the Princess to return to, enabling her to bring her essence back together.

Within a month, Luna went into labor, giving birth to a healthy alicorn colt. She and Celestia were both amazed by the young thing's vivacity, having feared the worst when Luna recounted the attack in the archives. It seemed, however, that whatever portion had been destroyed, had been replaced as the baby finished forming.

“He is beautiful, sister,” Celestia said when they were alone. Luna lay in her bed, holding the colt, a tender expression on her face.

“Has his name come to you?” Luna nodded softly, her eyes closing in remembrance.

“Singularis.” Celestia nodded, unsurprised. If it hadn't been for Seeker's intervention, the colt would never have made it into the world. A shudder ran through her, and it would have been a far different world even if he had...

“In honor of his father.” Celestia's heart skipped a beat. She turned, slowly, until her magenta eyes met her sister's aquamarine gaze. Luna's face was the picture of mischief, laughter sparkling in her eyes. The white alicorn blanched at the revelation.

“F-f-father?!” she sputtered.

Epilogue

Epilogue
“Still no fridge? You're not very good at this are you? Here, move over, lemme just...” -Pinkie Pie, breaking the fou- Making things way more AWESOME!!!

“You're sure you don't mind?” Luna asked again, hesitant to impose, “He does seem to do best with you watching him...” Twilight laughed as she took the young colt from the Princess.

“I'm sure I don't mind Princess Luna.” Luna nodded nervously,

“Okay then, I shouldn't be more than a few hours. Just make sure-”

“Princess, I know.” Twilight gently chided. Luna and Celestia had been busy rebuilding from the damage caused by the invasion, and the Griffin Kingdoms were working hard to return to normal, while helping Equestria recover, which meant somepony had to look after the young prince while they tended to various tasks. There were, of course, royal sitters who could have handled it, but Twilight enjoyed her time with the little colt. After the Princess left, Twilight let the baby alicorn roam the library as she went about her tasks.

It had been a slow day, and she sat at the desk, idly rolling a pencil with her breath. Finally, she decided to go for a walk, to get a break from the monotony. She just hadn't felt very much like herself since...

Her mind wandered as her hooves took her away from the library, the baby alicorn in a harness on her back. She didn't realize where she was going, until she looked up, and found herself staring at Secret Seeker. Tears welled in her eyes, silently rolling down her cheeks to drip with soft plips on the dirt before the statue.

Twilight turned to the alicorn, which was staring at her with that uncannily astute gaze, like it understood everything that was happening around it.

“I know I've told you this before,” she said, trying not to cry, “but this is Secret Seeker. He-” she choked back a sob, “he saved us. All of us. You were named after him...” Unable to continue, she turned back to the statue, and sank to the ground, silently weeping. She thought back to those times when they'd taken a break from preparing for the war.

“So a horse walks into a bar, and the bartender says, 'Why the long face?'” The others stared at him, the humor of the joke lost on them.

“I guess that kinda makes more sense for humans...” he muttered, looking embarrassed, as he rubbed his mane with a forehoof, which sparked a chorus of laughs.

Unbidden, a chuckle escaped the purple unicorn.

“It's good to hear you laugh again Twi.” Seeker said. She smiled, pretending he was still here. That she had heard his voice. Sometimes, when she was with Singularis, she could almost swear she heard Seeker speak. She felt the little alicorn slip free of his bonds, landing on his hooves on the dirt. The little rascal was always figuring out how to escape his confines; cribs, rooms, harnesses, baby chairs.

“It's good to see you smile again Twi.” Her eyes snapped open. She had definitely heard that. Slowly, her head turned to the alicorn regarding her. His aquamarine gaze, flecked with gold, bored into her own. As she stared, something deep within her stirred. A tiny flame, flickering from the embers of her broken heart.

“S-Seeker?” she whispered, scarcely daring to hope. She knew it was impossible, and yet...

The colt smiled.

“You remembered.” Her heart was pounding in her chest. Raising a forehoof to her mouth, she bit down, wincing in pain. This is no dream...

“But... the Panoptic Mirror... Sealing Sight...” Singularis flushed, looking down as he pawed at the ground with his forehoof.

“Soooo.... you remember how everypony was wondering who the father was?” Twilight's mouth fell open. Luna's pregnancy had become something of a scandal once word had gotten out. That she'd carried the baby to term without anypony noticing was bad enough, but things were not helped by the fact that she remained steadfastly tight-lipped regarding the parentage, saying only that she respected the father's right to privacy.

“You!? But that would mean...” she did some quick mental math, “A week? You were back for a week and you-” She struggled to think of a way phrase what she was thinking, but words failed her. With a huff, she rose to her hooves and stalked away.

“Oh come on, don't be like that,” the alicorn said as he struggled to keep up. He jumped and, with some frantic flailing of his wings, managed to land on her back, quickly securing himself in the harness. When they were away from the other ponies of Ponyville, she asked,

“How? And why did you wait so long?”

“The two are largely related. Since the colt was both mine and Luna's, our life-forces were tied to it. When Rattling Breath destroyed its soul, they sustained it, expanding to fill the void. After I was destroyed by the Panoptic Mirror's reflection of Sealing Sight, my consciousness was able to latch onto that life force.

“It didn't get pulled in by Mephistopheles' spell, I think, because it was so tightly bound with Luna's. It's that same bond that made the imprinting process take so much longer than usual. I think I'm slowly wresting my life force away from Luna's, since there are still many things I don't remember.” Twilight had been listening intently as he described the events that led to his continued existence.

When they were back in the library, he hopped down to the ground.

“Fortunately, once my powers get a bit stronger, maybe in a couple more months, I should be able to accelerate the process of growing up.” He winked at her, causing Twilight to blush awkwardly, before continuing, “In the meantime, there's quite a bit of studying we can do, especially now that we're not preparing for war.”

With eager grins, the two set about collecting some texts, preparing a lesson plan for what they wanted to learn. For the first time since the mirror had vanished, she felt eagerness in her bones, and warmth in her heart.

“He told her,” Luna said, smiling as she opened her eyes, canceling the scrying spell. Celestia turned from the map she was studying and smiled at her sister.

“How did she react,” Celestia asked, her voice mock-curious, “when she learned he'd only been back a week before you got your hooves on him?” Luna flushed scarlet,

“I'd been trapped in the moon for one thousand years, in case you've forgotten!” she said, indignant. Celestia merely smiled. Revenge, she thought, remembering when the alicorn had revealed the identity of the father, seems to taste far more sweet, than bitter.

The End
(Probably for serious this time.)

Chapter 5

“You think this is a game? You've never been in a war before, have you?” -Secret Seeker

The party was going splendidly. Despite the knowledge that they'd need to discuss serious business at some point, Pinkie Pie had, once again, gone haywire. Streamers, signs, games, the party cannon, and other party supplies were everywhere. The mane six were sharing stories with Seeker about their various adventures, with Luna and Celestia chiming in from time to time, explaining what they'd been doing.

It was funny to see the reactions on the pony's faces when they learned how easily several of the problems they'd faced could've been resolved.

“So you were watching us as we struggled up Dragon Mountain to face a huge red dragon?” Celestia was trying not to laugh at her student's incredulous expression, though her face betrayed nothing, and she dared not open her mouth, lest she erupt into hysterics. Fortunately, Luna noticed her predicament, and came to the rescue,

“It's not like we weren't prepared to teleport to you should it look like you required assistance, or were in any serious danger, but it was an excellent learning opportunity that would've been squandered by our involvement.” Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but suddenly remembered some of the ridiculous, often dangerous, things she'd done in her pursuit of knowledge. Slowly, her mouth drifted shut once more.

“I guess that makes sense,” she grumbled, still not completely convinced, as Secret Seeker munched on another cupcake. The unicorn had been steadily packing treats away since the party had started, and even Pinkie Pie was casting surprised glances his way each time he grabbed another.

“Really takin a shine to those cupcakes, eh Seek?” Applejack prodded. He looked up, frosting on his face, as he took in the amused looks his friends were giving him. With a roguish grin, he devoured the rest of the scrumptious snack, finishing with a flourish and a bow.

“I'm running at a hyper-metabolic rate right now in order to power some experiments I'm working on, so I need lots of calories...” he trailed off at the blank stares he was getting from everypony except Twilight.

“Well, suffice to say, they're really delicious,” Pinkie Pie grinned with pride at the compliment, “so I mean, yeah, you can never have too many cupcakes.”

“What kind of experiments?” Twilight probed, prompting the rest of the gathering to go silent. Seeker looked around at the congregation for a moment before heaving a sigh.

“I'm working on some ways to strengthen my base magical ability. I originally thought that I would be able to replenish my soul by living and making new memories, but it seems I was mistaken.” He had made his way over to a console on the far side of the room, and telepathically engaged the device. A hologram of himself appeared, showing the thin green light of his soul within a translucent body.

“Living seems to replenish the strength lost by using magic, in much the same way as a good meal and some rest will replenish the loss from a hard day's work.” The hologram fired off some violet energy beams and started panting with exhaustion. A clock appeared running at fast-forward to signify time passing, then vanished to show the holopony standing tall once again.

The ponies were looking wide-eyed at the display. They'd seen similar things before, concocted with magic, but the effortlessness with which Seeker was manipulating this device struck them, especially the magic users in the group, as unusual. His horn wasn't even glowing...

“But the amount of energy expenditure possible in a single session is set by the capacity of the soul. Ie, if I can only fire five shots before I become exhausted,” here the holopony performed the actions described, “then that is my limit for the rest of my life.” The hologram went through the motions of firing five shots, becoming weary, time passing, and starting over again, a few times in a row.

“Ok, so what's the experiment?” Twilight asked, intrigued. Celestia and Luna were also leaning forward, eager to hear what he had learned. Seeker's mouth twitched into a frown for a second.

“Well...” he delayed, mulling over the hole he'd dug himself into, and how best to escape, “one of them is something like exercising the soul to make it stronger, like a muscle,” he shrugged at the unnecessary analogy.

“But it isn't working out very well.” He was starting to look decidedly uncomfortable, shuffling his hooves and rolling his shoulders.

“Aaaand...?” Twilight prompted, a bit of a grin creeping onto her face at the sight of his unease. Seeker shot her a scowl, then quickly schooled his features. Luna and Celestia cast worried glances at each other. With a resigned sigh, he continued,

“The other is an experiment with soul stealing.” he muttered, struggling to keep his gaze leveled at the gathered ponies. Twilight and Rarity gasped! The others seemed less fazed by the revelation.

“Surely you're joking,” Rarity offered, trying to help him out, “pursuits into that kind of black magic were abandoned millenia ago as impossible.” For a moment, the others looked hopeful that whatever apparently evil thing he was alleging to have done had failed. With another sigh, his horn glowed an eerie green, and the holopony's soul shifted.

It now had several threads of varying colors running through it. Most were small, barely a few inches long. But some stretched a foot or more, and two, one a thick, red line, the other a thin black one, ran almost four. Luna and Celestia were fighting to stay calm, desperately trying to focus and hear his explanation for these blasphemies.

“My first attempts were met with... limited success.” he cringed as he said it, remembering the rabbit whose soul he'd obliterated. Celestia was nearly trembling with rage. Luna had to place a calming hoof on her sister's shoulder to stay her anger. The other ponies had taken a few cautious steps back, as even the non-unicorns could feel the power emanating from the Princess. Seeker continued, either oblivious to, or choosing not to acknowledge, the furious goddess.

“The conversion ratio was low, far too low. Fortunately, I figured out what went wrong.” His right forehoof began to morph, turning into a black, three-clawed appendage.

“It was too imprecise. I was squeezing a thread of useable soul out of the whole, sacrificing the rest. What I needed was a way to slice off just the part I wanted, while leaving the rest intact.” He held up the claws, and, with an eerie green glow on his horn, pulsed energy through them. Immediately the change became apparent, as the stone appendage turned pitch black, seeming to be absorbing all light that struck it.

“Voidstone...” Luna whispered, having just had extensive experience working with the stuff. Seeker looked at her and smiled, still desperately trying to ignore the inferno in Celestia's eyes.

“Yep. Modified onyx. Absorbs and dampens magical energies, and, in this case, acts like a knife, allowing me to harvest, painlessly,” he emphasized the word, hoping to mitigate some of the Princess' ire, “just what I need. I put them to sleep, take a little piece, and they wake up none the wiser.”

He'd known the revelation would not sit well with the others, but he'd vastly underestimated just how much it would affect them. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes, and Pinkie looked like she didn't recognize him anymore. Rarity and Twilight were aghast, mouths hanging open. Celestia, however, was the worst. The betrayal in her eyes cut through him like a knife.

“We trusted you,” it seemed to say, “and this is how you repay us?” Dash seemed unsure of whether or not she should be upset, torn between feeling glad for her friend regaining his strength, and pain at the method he had chosen to do so. Luna, it seemed, was the only one who had calmed back down, and was slowly nodding her head in contemplation.

Suddenly, runes flared to life across Celestia's torso as she lowered her head, horn aimed towards him. He stood his ground, unmoving, unblinking, seemingly unafraid. Seemingly. Terror had locked him still, rendering him incapable of defending himself. The vision he gazed upon was truly a frightening spectacle.

A series of three interlocking rune circles wrapped around the Princess' body, one looping vertically around her chest cavity, the second looping horizontally, like a sash, resting on her flank and coming up her sides and around her front. The third started just below her horn, and looped down her neck, merging with the sash-like circle. Each rune was drawn in a deep, black dye, and flared to white whenever they were activated.

She was going to kill him.

Just before the goddess could strike, a puff of midnight blue skies appeared between them.

“Stop this madness!” Luna bellowed in the Royal Canterlot voice. She tried to stand tall, but it was hard not to cringe from the radiant alicorn.

“He is like them! He will turn on us as they did! We shall have enough trouble facing two demons without Discord's assistance! Would you ask that we try and battle three!?” Celestia's voice burned with power. Each word thrummed through his head, seeming to resonate within his soul. At the comparison, Luna's resolve hardened, and she squared her shoulders, standing upright to face her sister.

“He is not like them...” she whispered, the cold calm in her voice slicing through the anger in the room. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered Celestia's scream during her imprisonment, and the sacrifice that had lead to her rescue.

“Do you not remember, sister, what they were like before the change took them?” The other ponies looked on, terrified and intrigued at the same time, struggling not to run from the room, lest they miss something. Celestia's visage relaxed somewhat, though her eyes remained the blank white of a pony channeling extraordinary power.

“What you say is true... they were indeed malicious creatures from the beginning. But,” here her voice rose in volume, and she gestured with a forehoof at Secret Seeker, “will you stand there, sister, and defend these outrages!?” She punctuated “defend” with a stomp of her hoof. Luna's gaze dropped, and she turned to look at the white unicorn, who was staring off into space, a look of deep contemplation on his face. For a moment, all eyes were on him, as he muttered his thoughts aloud.

“Of course, that explains the fear.” He turned to look at Celestia, “Mephistopheles and Carryion. They were human first, weren't they? That's why you threw the sun at me when you saw me with the book. You knew.” Determination hardened his features. With a scowl, he took a menacing step forward.

“Destroy me then, but tell me this first: when they bring war against you, after all these thousands of years of peace, interrupted by only small scuffles, what will you do?” His voice dropped deeper,

“When they bring an army of the walking dead to your doorstep, and turn each of your allies against you through trickery and lies, what will you do? What, my dear Princess, do you know of war? A few paltry centuries?” Seeker barked a short laugh, and the ponies in the room jumped. Raising his head up high, he stared straight into the goddess' eyes.

“Ten. Thousand. Years. Since the day we delineated from the apes, we have been at war. Sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant, but omnipresent. Our most potent literature is rife with battle tactics and subterfuge. Destroy me, and you lose your greatest asset in this battle. I don't know when these others came to your world, but in the time that elapsed, our methods of combat have evolved.

“They have battled you before, and I can guarantee they have learned from the experience.” Celestia's glow had dampened during his rant, and her eyes returned to their normal splendor. She and Luna shared a glance, remembering how Mephistopheles had corrupted Discord, without whom the plan that had separated the two beings would never have occurred. They had indeed learned.

“They will isolate you. They will turn your friends, your allies, and your subjects against you. They will paint you as a tyrant, and convince the populace that you've been treating them unjustly, preying on their prejudices and fears. And when all is chaos and anarchy, they will come, waving banners of peace and prosperity. Promising a future of balance, free of your transgressions.

“Attempts to rally ponykind against them will only serve to strengthen their cause, making you seem afraid. And you will be afraid, but not for the reasons your ponies will suspect. Once you are gone, and the threat has been removed, they will wreak havoc, and you will gaze on this world as it crumbles into ash and dust, until a new beacon arises in a few thousand years. Assuming ponykind isn't extinct.”

The gathered ponies were weeping. Pinkie's hair had deflated, and she wore a piteous expression, contemplating a world without parties, laughter, or joy. Cold dread settled deep in the chests of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The confidence with which the words were said left no room for doubt. It would be like questioning whether or not the sky was blue! Twilight's gears were running so fast her thought process was nearly audible, as she churned the information in her mind, seeking flaws and solutions.

Her tears didn't inspire much hope.

Celestia and Luna stood, mouths agape. While the information wasn't entirely surprising to either, they had, after all, fought in the Great Pony Wars, the ease with which he brought it to bear was deeply unsettling. An off-the-cuff rant shouldn't have been this sharp and concise. If these were the kinds of tactics that leapt readily to mind, what knowledge dwelled in the deeps of this creature's psyche?

With a sniff, Seeker fought down the tears threatening to escape him,

“I'm not proud of any suffering I may have caused, but I'm not ashamed either. I followed the best course of action I could discern. The threat that comes against you is dangerous, and real. They will strike fast, as you well know,” he raised his eyebrows meaningfully, prompting them to remember the assault from the other day,

“And they will strike hard. I will be the first to admit that I have much to learn about love, tolerance and friendship. But I know war. Would either of them have gone to such lengths to find such a painless, risk-free method of increasing their strength? Would either of them have been forthright with you, knowing their explanation would earn them your ire? I'm trying to save you.” He raised his head once more, matching Celestia's gaze,

“Have you forgotten our conversation in your mind?”

The words returned to her in a rush. The passion with which he'd spoken. “To me, that is perfection.” With a sigh, the runes faded, and her power receded.

“You are right,” she said, sounding uncharacteristically tired. “Forgive an old mare her prejudices.” Everypony in the room visibly relaxed, releasing the breaths they'd been holding.

“I have treated you unfairly, to be sure, jumping to conclusions and laying blame upon you for the actions of others. I do hope I haven't damaged our friendship...” Seeker smiled.

“My Princess,” he said, bowing low, “I should have considered it a grievous affront had you taken everything I'd said and done in stride.” Celestia arched an eyebrow as he continued,

“I know well my kind's reputation, and, though I've done favors for you in the past, you would have struck me as a poor ruler indeed to have not expressed concern over my transgressions. I do dabble in dark magic, and the potential for misuse, even unintentionally, is great.” He straightened, and waved a hoof through the air, as if making a grand proclamation.

“I propose an arrangement! I'll send you weekly reports on my studies and findings. That way, you can remain in the know about my doings, and intercede if you feel I'm overstepping my bounds.” Celestia smiled at this.

“Very well. Just, don't let the deadline concern you overmuch. Wouldn't want you to have a panic attack over not having anything to report.” She finished with a wink, subtly gesturing her horn towards Twilight. Seeker snorted, trying to hold in his laughter, and Luna and Celestia struggled to suppress their smiles.

With the debate seemingly settled, the party cannon went off, showering all present in graffiti and candy.

“Then it's time to PARRR-TAY!” Pinkie shouted, as music began playing from somewhere. With laughter in their eyes, the congregation began dancing and playing, momentarily putting their concerns behind them to revel in the joy of being alive.