"The Adventures of Arcega Minn"

by Neo Machine

Rating: everyone
Tags: Drama, Mystery, Horror, Adventure, Tragedy, Dark
Length: 58811

Twilight finds a rather unusual book at the old castle library, a children's book of sorts. It tells of a tale of a young mare setting out on a quest to save her kingdom. But between the lines, there may be a dark side to this book.

One day, while searching the library of the Castle of Two Sisters, Twilight finds a rather unusual book in the reserved section. It is a children's book of sorts, looking as if it were misplaced. It tells of a tale of a young mare, Arcega Shutts Minn, setting out on a quest to save her kingdom alongside her four friends. Twilight becomes obsessed with it, not stopping until she reaches the end, almost concerning her friends. Could this book perhaps contain something sinister, or is it all in the mind?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-12-12 12:11:36 UTC

Chapter 2: The Hero

It was a bright and beautiful day in the land of Centura. The sky was at its bluest, the earth was at its greenest, and the citizens were at their liveliest. Coming soon was the coronation of Princess Vipera, and each of the four towns were to give her presents honour.

Northern Hold made a cake. Southern Town built a statue. Eastern City assembled a parade. Western Village however, did not have a present at the moment. It was the poorest of the four towns, and was closest to the rival kingdom of Damascariot.

Yet, its ponies were not deterred, they were confident that they would find a present on time. One of its ponies, a mare by the name of Arcega Minn, was searching through the marketplace of her village, searching for materials for her gift.

While examining a storefront collection of diamonds, a mare in a dark cloak approached her from behind. It was Ebony Diamond, a bat-pony and Arcega’s best friend for 8 years. The ponies of the village and kingdom were terrified of bat-ponies, so Ebony wore a cloak in public.

“Ace! Ace! I gotta show you something!” Ebony hollered into her friend’s ear. Ace was Arcega’s nickname, and was commonly referred to as such.

Ace simply turned around to see what Ebony was going on about. Ebony removed the cloak from her head and presented her with a circlet made of silver on her head.

“Isn’t it adorable?” Ebony asked.

“Please tell me you didn’t steal that.” Ace replied. She knew that Ebony had a nasty habit of stealing stuff.

“What? What gives you the impression that I stole it?” Ebony asked, in a blatantly guilty tone.

“Ebony!” Ace barked.

“I’m just kidding! Hehehe… I just wanted to get a kick out of you, that’s all. I bought it.”

Ace was initially upset with the joke, but quickly found herself giggling along.

“Alright,” Ace admitted. “You got me.”

“Hooray!” Ebony cheered.

“Actually, where’d you get the money?”

“…”

“Urg…” Ace rubbed her face in annoyance.

“It was from a thief, I swear!”

“…”

“Well, more of a merchant, but his prices were incredibly high, not much difference to be honest.”

“Look, as much as we are best friends, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. I want to be a knight, a pony of the law, and I can’t be that when you’re stealing stuff and sleeping under my roof.”

“Alright, I know,” Ebony said, crestfallen with her ears pinned to the back of her head. “I’m sorry.”

Ace simply rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the store.

“So, what’cha doing?” Ebony then asked, not wanting their talk to end of such a negative note.

“I’m looking for something for my secret project.” Ace answered in confidence.

“You mean your gift to the princess.”

“How did you-”

“Hellooo,” Ebony interrupted, waving her hoof in front of her slit eyes. “I’m a bat-pony. Not only am I nocturnal, but I can see and hear fantastically at night.”

“Fantastically?” Twilight asked herself, confused at the odd word.

“Oh, right.” Ace giggled.

“So what makes you think that a cheaply-made sword, made by you alone, is going to be as good as a present to the princess as a parade, a monument, and a cake?” Ebony asked.

“I have to represent my village somehow. Everypony else is either too injured from the last war with Damascariot or too busy to contribute.”

“Wasn’t there some sort of opera being prepared at Town Hall?”

“Oh great,” Ace rolled her eyes. “Our village is going to represented by tons of ponies sitting and talking really slowly.”

“You never really were a fan of sitting.” Ebony remarked. “But it is more princess-like than a sword.”

“Yeah…” Ace nodded.

Defeated, Ace sat down in the grass and thought to herself, playing with her silver earing whilst doing so. Ebony tucked her cloak back over her head and sat down next to her. The two then sat there for a while, with Ace contemplating her situation and Ebony just keeping her company. Ace eventually becomes fidgety with the grass and flowers around her, which Ebony took as a sign of boredom.

Ebony leaned over to Ace’s ear, careful not to have her nose poked by Ace’s horn, and whispers, “Wanna go on an adventure?”

Ace’s old childhood catchphrase.

Despite her age drawing close to 18 years, Ace still fondly remembered the times when she and Ebony were mere foals. The two would go out on adventures throughout the town and village, either for what they considered treasure and justice, and they all started when Ace asked the question.

It had been four years since their last ‘adventure’ as a duo, but was never fully concluded.

Ace turned to Ebony with a smile on her face.

“What’s in it for me?” She joked.

“Whatever’s going to make your sword complete,” Ebony answered.

Without a second thought, the two rose from the grass and set off to the forest, giggling the whole way through.

“Twilight!” A familiar voice shrieked in the darkness.

Twilight instantly jolted to life, awaking from her sleep. The book slid off of her forehead and landed between her hind legs.

Although her vision was blurred from exhaustion, she could make out Spike at the foot of her bed, jumping in place.

“What is it Spike?” She muttered drowsily with a hint of annoyance.

“Applejack’s party in half an hour!” Spike exclaimed.

“…What?”

“Her birthday party, remember?”

“Birthday… Applejack… Par-ty-oh-right! I gotta go!”

Twilight instantly leapt from her bed and rushed out into the hall to get ready. Spike approached the bed to investigate what made Twilight slept in so late, instantly noticing the book. He picked it up and saw it was opened on the second chapter. The right page showed an illustration of a bird’s eye view of two mares walking through a forest.

Despite its rather straightforward appearance, something in Spike’s mind ticked as he examined the picture.

“Something about where those trees are placed,” Spike spoke to himself. “It doesn’t look right...”

Twilight then barged back into the bedroom and galloped up to Spike.

“Need this,” Twilight rapidly declared, picking up the book with her magic before running back out. “Thank you.”

“You’re… welcome. That was odd.”

Spike caught up to Twilight and the two set off to Applejack's home, Sweet Apple Acres.

While they were walking however, something began to boil inside Twilight’s soul. It was a yearning, a yearning feeling almost forced onto her, but all the more accepted. Twilight examined the objects she had floating above her carefully, Applejack’s present and her new book.

That book… Twilight thought to herself, feeling the temptation to read it growing inside her, making her nearly forget what she was doing I have to read it. I mean, I know it’s just a standard fairy tale and I should focus on getting to AJ’s on time. But, the book… there’s something more to it that… I just gotta read! I’ll just read a little more on the way.

Without another thought, the purple alicorn levitated the book to eye level and opened it to the second chapter and resumed reading. Within seconds, the mare had all of her focus locked on the words and pictures of the story. Spike didn’t pay much mind to this, he was used to seeing the mare’s face stuffed in a book.

But as the two passed Town Hall, Spike noticed something off with Twilight as she read. Her pace has slowed down some, and she seemed more and more oblivious to her surroundings, even more so than when she started to read. At one point, Twilight nearly walked straight into a tree, but Spike pulled her away just in time, causing her to snap out her reading.

“Spike?!” Twilight gasped, surprised. “What is it?”

“You were about to walk into a tree.” Spike answered.

Twilight looked to her side and saw the tree, confirming Spike’s statement.

“Oh…” She responded, her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

“Are you sure you should be reading now?”

“Yes!-I mean, why not? What’s the worst that can happen?”

“You could bump into a tree-”

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted. Her eyes had returned to the book. “Ace just bumped into a tree and a jewel fell from it! Ebony’s checking it out and… and… it’s a whole stash of treasure!”

“Twilight!”

“What?” Twilight snapped.

“The party?”

“Oh, right. Carry on.”

Eventually, Twilight and Spike made it to Sweet Apple Acres. There, in front of the barn, were their friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and even Discord, talking to each other and enjoying the party. As the duo walked up to the main table, the others were almost surprised by their sudden presence.

“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped. “Hi Twilight.”

“Hi… Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, confused at her tone.

Pinkie Pie jumped onto Twilight’s back in surprise and cheered, “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Made it?” Twilight asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Well duh, you’re late.” Dash remarked.

Twilight gasped before exclaiming, “Late?!”

“Yeah, about an hour late.”

“Regardless,” Rarity retorted from behind Dash. “She and Spike made it and brought their present.”

Rarity approached Twilight and Spike and gave each a formal kiss on the cheek.

“Welcome to the party. Place your gift next to the others.” She declared, motioning to the stack of presents on the table, next to the cake.

Twilight placed the present in its place and joined her friends. The book was still open and floating just within Twilight’s line of sight, something that Spike noted.

Carefully, he approached Twilight and tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

“Yes, Spike?” She asked.

Spike didn’t want to sound cruel, but needed to get his point across. Twilight was obsessed with the book and needed it gone for her to focus on her friends.

“Well,” Spike replied, thinking of the best way to phrase his words. “You might get tired from holding that book. Allow me to hold it for you.”

“Oh…” Twilight pronounced, sounding almost hesitant in her voice. “Sure…”

With a flick of her horn, Twilight slowly dropped the book into Spike’s hands, which he carried away with him to Applejack and Discord.

Odd… Twilight noted. Spike seemed eager to take that book. Then again, he has been acting almost obsessive about it. Maybe he really wants to read it? I don’t blame him. I was at a really good part, but it can wai-

“Twilight? You there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight’s gaze snapped away from Spike and back at the four mares with her.

“Oh, yeah, I’m here.” Twilight nodded.

“Alright, as I was saying…”

“…and so I said,” Discord said, finishing his joke. “’Your mother!’”

Applejack nervously laughed, not getting the joke at all.

“Yeah, good one…” She remarked.

“Ho, ho! I knew you’d like it.”

“Yeah…”

“Excuse me,” Spike said, making his presence known to the two.

Discord and Applejack turned to see Spike, much to their joy.

“Howdy Spike.” Applejack replied with a smile.

Spike then apologized, “Sorry we were late.”

“Shucks, it were nothing.”

Discord noticed the book Spike was holding and instantly became curious. Turning his tail into a hand, Discord plucked the book out of Spike’s grasp and examined its cover. Spike reasonably grew upset at Discord, but cooled off.

“Hm… What an interesting piece of literature.” Discord remarked.

“We found it at the old castle yesterday.” Spike explained. “Twilight really likes it. Heck, I had to pull it away from her.”

“Isn’t she more of a… mature audience?” Discord questioned, flipping through the pages and seeing its contents.

The minimal wording and pictures almost made the draconequus giggle. He could barely understand how Twilight would need Spike to pull this away from her. Perhaps it was its childishly hilarious nature that drew her to it.

Suddenly, something in Discord triggered. It stung like a nerve that had never felt any sensation in decades, but carried a sense of something long-known, dreaded even.

“hooph…” Discord shuttered.

“Is something wrong?” Applejack asked.

“Must be the cold wind or something...”

As Discord continued to examine the book, the more the feeling grew, the more it became clear. He didn’t understand it, but knew something was off, something about the bo-

“Spike!” Twilight barked, walking up to Spike and the others.

She quickly snatched the book from Discord’s hands with her magic and pressed it against her chest.

“Why did you let Discord take it?” She continued. “He could’ve ruined it.”

Discord snapped back, in his usual joking manner, “Well, somepony’s got a stick where it doesn’t belong.”

“At least let me finish it, then you can do whatever you want with it.” Twilight negotiated.

Spike and Discord simply shrugged in agreement. To them, it wasn’t like they would do anything else about it. Now back in her bitter mood, Twilight escaped to the inside of the barn, away from her friends.

“That was weird.” Applejack remarked.

“Yeah…” Discord discourteously nodded, distracted with something else.

The sense of dread Discord felt was now gone, much to both his relief and concern. He wasn’t sure if something was up or just his chaotic self, but he knew an investigation was needed.

“I can’t believe him…” Twilight angrily muttered to herself.

The barn was dark and very quiet, making Twilight comfortable as she let off steam.

“I trusted him to take care of my book, not let it be messed with by somepony whose name literally means ‘chaos’! Today just hasn’t been a good day for me at all, no ma’am. It’s cold, it’s windy, it’s loud, and everypony just, bah…”

Twilight stopped her rant and took a breath. The cold air brought chills through her body.

“…Alright. I just need an outlet. I just need to quickly cool off and hop right back in.”

At that moment, Twilight felt the book, still pinned to her chest by her own magic. She held to her face and examined it. As she did so, warmth pulsated through her body and her stress lessened.

Slowly, Twilight settled into a bale of hay and continued to read her book.

Ace and Ebony giggled all the way back to Ace’s home, where the two said their goodbyes.

“So, you’re going to spy on me?” Ace asked.

“Nah, I’m going to sleep.” Ebony yawned. “You kept me up all day.”

“It was your idea.”

Ebony paused for a second before replaying, “…Touché. Well, good night.”

“You too,”

Within a second, Ebony vanished from Ace’s sight, probably had scurried off to under Ace’s bed, her usual resting place.

Ace knew her aunt and uncle were asleep, so Ebony wouldn’t have trouble sneaking in. With their gem stash in her magic grasp, Ace walked around to the back and entered the shed which was her workstation.

Ace loved to build and enhance weapons, shields, and other tools in her shed. Her friends, and especially Ebony, would joke that she could last thirty days without food, water, or sleep, as long as she was in her shed. Tonight was just like any other, with her working on her newest project, while being sidetracked by tinkering with other stuff.

One by one, she placed the gemstones on her gift to the soon-to-be queen, a golden sabre. Made from gold created through alchemy, this sword had been the prime focus of the unicorn for over a year, both in time and money.

She worked as a miner, and had a very low income. Her aunt and uncle supported her from time to time, but Ace wanted to support herself, and this sword would be the first creation she accomplished by herself, with some assistance from Ebony.

As she worked, she thought about her recent adventure with Ebony. Nothing grand or perilous happened, but it was just like old times. She reflected about their past, and why they never went on adventures in so long.

Ebony didn’t and couldn’t really get a real job. Before she and Ace became friends and Ace started supporting her, Ebony often stole and manipulated others to get what she wanted. She still did it, as she found it amusing, but it had drastically lessened with Ace’s arrival.

One day, four years ago, Ace woke up and checked under her bed for Ebony, who usually slept there when Ace woke up. She wasn’t there however, Ebony just left. Ace searched high and low for her, throughout the four towns, the capital, and the forests everywhere throughout Centura, but could not find her.

Ace was devastated, having lost her best friend, and more so concerned for her safety. Eventually however, Ace grew used to not seeing Ebony under her bed, in the forest, or running from an angry shop owner. As much as she despised it, she came to terms with it.

Two years later though, Ebony returned. She claimed to have gotten lost after a late day of drinking a stash of mead, but Ace could see it in her eyes that Ebony suffered through something a lot worse, something she didn’t want to talk about. Ebony from then on continued to live under Ace’s roof and given food by her every day.

The thought of adventuring never really came to mind to either of the two, perhaps it was a cruel reminder of the innocence they once had before Ebony’s disappearance. However, now after this recent adventure, it would appear that such innocence was probably never lost-

“Twilight?” Applejack’s voice echoed throughout the barn. “What are you doing?”

Chapter 4: The Search

Twilight’s mind was completely engrossed in the book, and the real world was only a distant memory to her. However, a mental voice whispered to her. It was Spike’s, the last thing he said to her before he left an hour ago.

“Remember to stay healthy, and have a good day.” His advice echoed through her mind.

Despite her mental resistance, her body pulled her glance off of the book, and towards the nightstand. A whole sandwich and full glass of water was there, waiting to be consumed.

It can wait, Twilight thought to herself, and continued reading.

“…and that’s when my friend here had the brilliant idea to drink our own pe-”

Twilight’s stomach gurgled. Her eyes snapped back to the sandwich, still in one piece.

After a short mental debate, Twilight decided that she needed to eat. Moving the book an inch back, Twilight grabbed the sandwich and took a bite.

It was Dandelion Daydream, her favourite.

Twilight continued to eat while reading.

“Hmm… That’s quite a story.” Silver Chord declared, finishing the tuning of his guitar.

“Yeah,” Ace agreed. “Any advice?”

“Not really, sorry. You mares seem to be in a bit of a rut. Here though, take this.”

A pair of apples were thrown from his saddlebag and landed in the waiting hooves of Ace and Ebony.

“Thank you.” Ebony said.

Silver replied. “You’re welcome. I’d best be off this land before this invasion hits Centura. Good luck on that quest of yours though.”

Silver then got up from his seat and walked away from the mares, playing his guitar and singing his songs. Ebony immediately began to eat her apple while Ace held onto hers for later.

The bard sung until his voice could no longer be heard. “There once was a stallion, whose name be forgotten, that became a hero in a night. When his village was in peril, by a demon of great power, its ponies were lost and confused. The demon had powers, beyond comprehension, and no weakness except for one. The hero set off, along with four friends, to find it and save his land…”

Ebony asked her friend, “Well, what no-”

“Wait, wait,” Ace interrupted, having actually paid attention to Silver’s song.

“What?”

“Follow him.”

The two mares crept behind Silver Chord silently, listening to the faint echoes of his singing.

“And there they found it, a blade buried in black sand, forged by the gods themselves. They took the blade home, and the hero slayed the demon, and the land was safe evermore. The hero and his friends, forever became legend, and-”

“Excuse me!” Ace exclaimed.

“Yes?” He asked.

“What was that song you just sung?”

“Uh…”

Silver took a moment to think. He had difficulty remembering the songs he practiced when not in his immediate singing vibe, and was mostly only able to recall them when he played.

He eventually remembered though, and told Ace, “That one was titled, ‘Amplecti Mortem’, a very popular one in the Far East.”

“Not really, not sure anypony does. It’s just a song that’s been passed around a lot.”

“Is it true?”

“…Rumours say yes, but…”

“What?”

“Well, I can’t really recommend that you and your friend try to search for it.”

“Oh.” Ace responded, defeated.

Silver then clarified, “Without a little help that is.”

“Really?!” Ebony exclaimed.

“Sure.” He nodded. “This seemed pretty fun. Besides, you two would probably be dead without me.”

“Hooray! Thanks Silver!” Ace cheered.

Without any warning, Ebony instantly froze in place.

“Ebony?”

Ace waved her hoof over her friend’s frozen eyes, only to be given no response. A sense of dread and panic quickly hit.

Silver noticed Ebony’s ears, twitching whilst aiming directly at the road ahead. He flew up to see something approaching in the distance, a dark unicorn with a banner and sword on his back. The black banner had a red eye in its center, a clear indication of the pony’s alliance.

“It’s one of Lord Thanatus’s! A scout!” He exclaimed as she flew down to Ace and Ebony.

Ace almost froze in place as well, but snapped out of it when she realized this was her chance to become the knight she dreamed of.

“Get your friend off the road!” Silver shouted at Ace.

She nodded and quickly carried her still frozen friend to the side of the road. Silver pulled out his bow and arrow and aimed it at the charging pony. He’s had firsthoof experience with Thanatus’s stallions, they were mindless killers that listened to their leader and no pony else. Clearly, this one was seeking blood.

Still, he attempted to persuade the stallion from attacking.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” He declared.

“For Thanatus!” The soldier roared in return, not stopping.

Silver took the shot, right in the chest. The soldier didn’t stop however, and continued to charge. Silver shot again, and again, and again, each one less fruitful than the last.

“Why won’t he stop?” Silver shouted.

The soldier sprang up from the road and high into the air, going in for a slam attack.

“Get back!” Ace yelled out.

She ran from Ebony and dived into Silver, pushing him away before the stallion smashed into the ground. The following shockwave caused the entire forest to shake. Ebony tripped over and finally snapped from her fear paralysis.

“Ebony!” Ace called out.

“What happened?!” Ebony asked.

Ebony’s eyes were shut as she rubbed her head, not yet noticing the massive soldier stallion. The stallion pulled out his large broadsword and swung it at her. Ebony heard the blade slicing through the air and dodged just in time, joining alongside Ace and Silver. The sword smashed into the ground at full force, causing another quake.

“Looks like it’s going to take a lot more to take out this pony.” Ace declared.

She then pulled out her sword and shield.

“A bad guy huh? About time,” Ebony remarked.

She then clicked her shoes together, causing their blades to pop out.

“I knew that they were durable, but this is not normal.” Silver noted.

He then pulled out his bow and set in another arrow.

The three ponies charged forward at the soldier, and attacked.

The sound of snapping wood ruptured throughout the quiet forest. Spike examined the twig he just took and played with it as he walked to his destination. He wrote in wide letters along the dirt path.

It was a fairly stormy day, but the land was still bright from the sunlight seeping through the clouds. A small raindrop pecked Spike’s nose, a warning of the upcoming monsoon. He looked back at what he had written before it washed away.

He was not impressed with his rather crude vocabulary.

Thunder then came to the baby dragon’s ear from afar. Not wanting to get wet, he hurried along to his destination. He simply had to get to Fluttershy and Discord to deliver something.

He wasn’t told where it was specifically, just how to get there. It was deep within the forest, far away from any well-paved roads.  Luckily, Spike found Fluttershy and Discord.

They were at a thin creek, at top of a very short cliff where the water dropped down from. A few woodland creatures were with them as well, probably enjoying the peace.

“Fluttershy, Discord,” Spike called out from below.

“Hi Spike.” Fluttershy responded.

Discord then asked, “Did you bring it?”

“Yep.” Spike nodded.

Spike reached into the bag he brought with him, feeling around until he found it.

It was a small white box, barely bigger than Spike’s hand. What did Discord want with such a tiny thing? Spike had no idea.

With a strong toss, he threw it up to the two.

“Oh Spike,” Discord tsked at him. “Why so shy?”

He then snapped his claws, and Spike was teleported right next to Fluttershy and Discord at the top.

“The monsoon is going to hit soon.” Spike explained. “I gotta go home before-”

Discord pressed a claw against Spike’s lips, shushing him. He grabbed the white box and snapped it in two. In an instant, Spike, Fluttershy, and Discord were in a small, whitewood gazebo, seated at a small table with chairs.

“At least stay until the first downpour ends.” Discord gestured.

He then proceeded to materialize a teacup from the thin air and drank the cup, leaving the actual tea floating in the air.

“Wait,” Spike realized. “If you can just create stuff out of thin air, why did I have to bring you the box?”

“You really think I can control my powers that easily? Look at this. This tea looks great, but I can’t seem to get a good grasp of it. Controlling certain aspects of chaos is, well, chaotic. Ho-ho-ho!”

“Moral of the story, always have a gazebo-box for when the time comes. That’s an episode right there.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy remarked.

Discord quickly replied, “Forget that.”

In a minute’s time, the rainfall escalated to a full downpour. The creek doubled in size and the autumn trees rustled wildly, but the animals, pony, dragon, and draconequus inside the gazebo were unfazed.

As Fluttershy stared out into the rain, entranced by the sight, Discord turned to Spike with an almost stern, yet still mischievous look on his face.

“You know Spike,” Discord whispered. “There is a reason I had you come here outside that box.”

“To see this place?” Spike guessed.

“No, but I will admit, Fluttershy has a nice taste in locals… Hmm…”

“Discord-”

“Right, right. The other reason is that I want to talk to you about something. It has to do with Twilight-”

“Can we not talk about her? I already know where this is going. Just leave her to her book, she learned from her mistake.”

“A ‘mistake’ she called it? Hm…”

“What?”

“Did she, seem okay with this mistake?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me put this another way… Did she go nuts when she said it was a mistake?”

Spike took a moment to recall. “…No. But then again, she was mad at me for being so rude to her.”

“Rude?” Discord raised an eyebrow.

“Twilight just wanted to read her book in peace, and I was being too nosy about it. I disrespected her boundaries.”

“Perhaps you weren’t being nosy enough.”

“Is this some sick joke to you? Are you trying to annoy her?”

“Sheesh, the apple doesn’t fall from the tree, does it?”

“…”

“Look, that book she has something up with it. I can sense it.”

Spike slowly placed his face into his open palms.

“I’m serious.” Discord quietly barked. “When I examined it, I felt something off about it. I don’t know how to describe it, but it didn’t feel right to me, so you know it’s a big something.”

“…”

“Spike?”

“What do you want from me in all of this?”

“Just give me the book so I can more thoroughly examine it.”

“…Twilight is very confident in what she’s saying, and will hold onto it. I don’t want to cause any more trouble or escalated beyond what it already is. I will just keep an eye on her, keep her safe in case something happens.”

“Very well then. If that’s how it is, that’s how it is. Just remember, my offer’s always available.”

“I’ll keep note of it.” Spike nodded.

“What are you two talking about?” Fluttershy asked, having recently rejoined the group.

“Oh, nothing that urgent it seems.” Discord casually replied.

“Look out!” Ace exclaimed.

The three ponies darted in the bush as the shockwave of the sword reaped across the dirt path. Dust blanketed the area as the three fled.

“For Thanatus!” The mad stallion’s voice roared through the area.

“We can’t beat him!” Ebony whimpered.

“Yes we can!” Ace immediately interjected, clutching her side with her hoof.

Silver gently set his wing on Ace’s shoulder, and told her, “We have to go. There’s a town nearby where we can flee to.”

“Heroes never fle-” Ace retorted before being cut off by her own body.

Ace’s insides began to shut down and her vision began to blur. As hard as she tried to shake them off, her body continued to ache and tire.

“We’re going.” Silver declared.

“How?” Ebony asked. “That scout is just going to follow us.”

“We need to lure it away then.”

“With what?”

“Gah…” Silver thought for a moment.

With Ace’s collapsing body on one side, a panicked bat-pony on the other, and a bloodthirst soldier at the behind, he could barely think straight. But there was one sure-fire way he could get his thoughts in check.

“There once was a stallion, named Biggles of Worth, he survived the Wrath of Chaos by sailing away…”

“Are you singing?!” Ebony hollered.

“I’m thinking!” Silver barked before returning to his singing. “It is all a big scheme, a tree of many stories, all connected and destined to reach a finale…”

Silver cycled through the millions songs in his head, looking at his surroundings.

“She bore a circlet of abnormal power, which blessed her of trickery, and silver finesse…”

“A circlet?” Ebony asked to herself, looking up at her headpiece.

Silver continued to rapidly sing in panic, “No unicorn, nor pegasus, nor pony of Earth, could use the power that she had once earned… No-no-no-no! Think, Silver!”

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, with only the idea needed to come to her mind, a shadowy figure appeared right next to Ebony. It looked just like her, but drenched in complete darkness. The figure then veered off to the right and fled from her and the others before disappearing on the spot.

“What was that?!” Silver asked.

“Our ticket out!” Ebony exclaimed.

She jumped into the air and hovered just above Silver and Ace. She then closed her eyes and channeled all of her thought into her circlet. She thought hard about herself and her friends, and imagined a mirror next to the running three, casting its illusion.

Three more shadows appeared next to them in a puff of smoke, with two of them side by side and one in the air. Silver was stunned at the sight, while Ebony was still locked in thought. The three shadows then fled to the right, and continued deep into the forest beyond.

The sound of grinding hooves and metal shorty follow behind, alongside the war cries of the seemingly mindless body. Eventually, all turns silent in the forest once more.

Ace, Silver, and Ebony were safe, for now at least.

“Phew!” Twilight sighed in relief. She was only halfway through the fourth chapter, and she was already at the edge of her bed. She pulled the book away from her face and examined her surroundings while continuing to read on the side.

On her chest was a sandwich was a single bite in it and a full glass of water was on the nightstand. Her bedroom window had been open since this morning, and a small pool of water had accumulated on the floor.

“Shoot…” She moaned.

With a flick of her horn, Twilight motioned for the window to close. However, much to her surprise, nothing happened. The shutters remained open, and rain continued to pour in.

Twilight tried again, only to meet the same result.

Her attention turned to the book again, which was hovering in a thick magic aura. She gently set it down on the bed and tried again.

The shutters promptly closed, and the storm was sealed outside.

“Hmm. Must have dedicated a bit too much magic to holding this. Oh well.”

The tiny pattering of hoofsteps echoed into her room.

Spike. Twilight thought to herself. Probably checking to see if I’m possessed or something…

Slowly, Twilight slipped out of bed, grabbed her book, and approached the source of the patter, ready to confront the dragon. As she walked however, something quivered inside her. Was it hunger? Was it thirst? Was it a demon from the book?

No. Twilight realized what it was.

Her pace slowed down and her head dropped down, ashamed. I don’t want to shout at him again. That was so stupid of me. When I meet him at the end of this hall, I’m going to apologize. Heck, I could invite him to a reading session-

“Hi Twilight!” A voice at the end of the hall cheered.

Much to Twilight’s surprise, it wasn’t Spike, but Rainbow Dash, dripping wet with rain.

Twilight asked her, “What are you doing here?”

“Just dropping by,” Dash replied. “Waiting it out for the storm to clear,”

“Oh. Well make yourself at home. Just please clean yourself.”

“Gotcha. Hey, have you finished that new book of yours yet?”

“No. It’s a surprisingly long book.”

“Well, when you finish, be sure that you read the new Daring Do book as soon as possible, it’s amazing. Daring Do and Wolf are joining forces to fight against Ahuizotl Reborn!”

“Spoilers!”

“Sorry!”

With a flick of her wings, Dash darted away before she accidently revealed anymore spoilers. Twilight tried desperately to forget what she just said, but it was ingrained into her memory in seconds.

Wolf and Daring Do? Together?! Amazing! Twilight practically squeed at the thought. But first, I need to finish this book.

Quickly, Twilight ran back to her bed and tucked in. She raised the book to her face once more, grabbing the sandwich with her hooves before fully engaging in her reading once more.

It was surprising how much she could read even when her focus was on something else.

“Here we are!” Silver declared.

In front of the three heroes, at the center of the small mining town of Southeros, was a small tavern. It looked abandoned and decrepit from the outside, but sounded lively from the inside, with roars and shattering glass echoing from the windows.

Ace asked, “So, this is the place?”

“Yep. If you need to find a pony who knows a thing or two about ancient artifacts and weapons, look no further than Crooks’ Canopy. And besides, the alcohol in this place will help disinfect Ace’s wounds.”

“This doesn’t seem all that secure...” Ebony remarked.

“Oh please,” Silver rolled his eyes. “You should see Thieves’ Hold. It’s out in the middle of the ocean and just screams trouble. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

As Silver Chord approached the door, it suddenly swung open and a small, green pegasus stallion in a blue sailor’s cap suddenly burst out from inside and collapsed onto the dirt.

“And stay out!” A mare’s voice screamed out from inside, leaving the heroes outside speechless for a moment.

“We’ll be perfectly fine.”

Upon entering the tavern, the sounds of the bar erupted into their full volume. At each of the twelve round tables spread out across the interior, there were at least three stallions. They came in all shapes, races, and sizes, but even more notable was what they were carrying. Swords, maces, chains, treasures, armour pieces, and other massive items poked out from their clothing, creating a net that spanned across the entire area.

At the far end of the tavern was the bar counter, which was barren save for a few stallions sitting there. One of the stallions looked especially notable. He was massive compared to the others, dressed completely in black armour, with the only part of his body visible was his long, black mane. On his back sat a massive Zweihander, with a blade was roughly a third of a metre thick.

“He looks good.” Silver remarked before approaching him.

Ebony and Ace followed and each take a seat at the counter.

“Three high-orbs for me and the mares,” Silver addressed the barmaid at the other side.

She nodded and went into the back, leaving the four ponies alone.

The massive Earth pony stallion grunted as he set his mug down on the table. His cold, grey face turned to the tiny pegasus beside him.

“Hey! Huntsmen!” Silver laughed. “How’s it going?”

“Not good, thanks to you.” The stallion known as Huntsmen grumbled.

“She said she was 18!”

Huntsmen simply rolled his eyes and returned to his drink.

“Alright, I’ll cut to the chase. We need your vast knowledge of weaponry to help us locate an ancient blade-”

“Here we go again…”

“-to slay Lord Thanatus.”

At that moment the entire bar turned silent. Everypony turned their attention to Silver.

Huntsmen quietly turned his whole body, looked at Silver in the eyes, and simply said one word.

“No.”

An awkward moment of silence ensued before the other patrons returned to their own business, including Huntsmen. However, Silver would not take no for an answer.

“Come on.”

“No.”

“At least give us a lead or something.”

“…” Huntsmen stayed quiet.

Silver saw this as an opportunity and explained, “We know a thing or two about this sword. One, it’s said to be made by the gods. Two, it was to slay a... what was it…”

“A demon,” Ace answered.

“That.” Silver noted.

Huntsmen quietly stared at the wall for a moment. He reached a gloved hoof up to his head and brushed the white highlight in his mane.

“Eh? Anything come to mind?” Silver asked.

The large stallion waited a moment before answering, “The only blade that would fit that description is the Glacadh An Bháis, otherwise known as the Olc Sword.”

“Great! Where can we find it?”

“You can’t. If it were so easy as for me to tell you where to find it, I would have already found it and sold it off. The only evidence that it even exists lies in a vastly unknown folktale known as 'The Four Knights Tale'.”

“Well, how does it go?” Ace asked.

Huntsmen cleared his throat, took another swig of his drink, and cleared his throat once more.

“Oh, here we go.” Silver groaned.

Huntsmen began, "A long time ago, in a faraway land beyond Centura, there were four knights. They were brave, strong, and loyal to their kingdom and king. They defended their land from all whom invaded and that wished ill will to its ponies. One fateful day however, in the cover of night, Death himself snuck into the kingdom, invaded the castle, and robbed it of the life of the king's daughter. Devastated, the king sent out the four knights to retrieve the lost soul of his daughter.

At the break of the next dawn, the four knights immediately set out and searched high and low, across mountains, valleys, and dangerous lands, looking for Death and the princess. It took six days and six nights, but they eventually found Death in the form of a massive magic dragon in a cloak, hiding in a cave with the soul of the princess at his side. They battled Death, never giving up despite what injuries they've sustained. Death himself was shocked of their willingness to continue fighting on with, it almost frightened him.

Finally, after a long and furious battle that lasted for more than a day, the four knights defeated Death upon twilight, and cornered him in the cave. However, Death was crafty, and new how to deal with those that tried to fight him. Pretending to congratulate the four, not only did Death offer them the princess's soul without resistance, but also one wish from each in which he will grant with his powerful magic.

The first knight, the youngest of the four, therefore being the most foalish, wished for riches beyond measure as well as to marry the princess. Death granted that wish and in the blink of an eye, a wagon filled with gold appeared before the first knight. The first knight was content and left with the princess's soul in tow.

The second knight, the strongest of the four, wanting to humiliate Death even further beyond just strength, wished for the power to bring back loved ones. Death granted that wish as he offered a small black diamond that he held beneath his cloak. Death offered this crystal to the knight, claiming it will bring back one life that he has taken. The second knight was content and left.

The third knight, the only mare of the four, knew that Death was cunning, and tried to be smart with her wish. She wished for a creature that would protect her from Death. Death granted that wish as he promised her that the beast she desires shall come in a fortnight, drawing a knife and crossing it over his black heart for good measure. The third knight was content and left.

The fourth knight, the wisest of the four, was the final one to remain in the cave with Death. Death knew of the final knight's intellect, and knew that the knight knew that Death has tricked his three allies. He confronted the lone stallion, asking him why he didn't warn his friends. The fourth knight stated that they deserved the fates Death has given them.

This surprised Death. However, what surprised him even more was the final knight's wish to serve as his apprentice, and kill all who deserved an abrupt end. Under Death's command, the fourth knight would become a living harbinger of death and destruction, to be hated and feared by most, and the knight very well knew that. Hesitantly, Death granted that wish. The fourth knight was content and stayed.

With the princess's soul returned to her body, the three returning knights became heroes across the kingdom. A great ceremony was held, and all seemed right with the world. However, Death had planned for this to happen, and what came after.

The first knight married the princess, and with his vast amounts of gold and fame, he overshadowed his friends and any others that he didn't like in his impulsive mind. His gold rapidly depleted within the month, and so the knight became desperate and robbed from even the king. Everyone turned against the first knight that they once loved. He was cast out of the kingdom and died in the burning fires of the barren wastelands. And so Death took the first knight for his own, outsmarting him in the end.

The second knight traveled to a cemetery and looked upon the grave of his love who died before he had the chance to propose to her. He spun the black diamond thrice in hoof and summoned her, where she appeared to him as if she had never died. However, she turned mad as she no longer belonged, nor desired to stay in the mortal world. As hard as the knight tried to keep her happy and sane, his love killed herself out of insanity. Driven mad as well, he soon followed in her wake and killed himself to join her in death. And so Death took the second knight for his own, outsmarting him in the end.

The third knight waited for days and nights for her wish to be granted. However, during her time in waiting, she saw her friends die, and began to question her choice in making a deal with Death. She came to the conclusion that she has made a terrible mistake, and set out to sea to avoid the beast or hurting any of the innocent lives she cared for in the kingdom. When the end of the fortnight came though, she was greeted by the monster of her wish, a massive beast of the sea that transformed her into an immortal being with the power of the beast.

However, for the cost of this protection from Death, she had to bring Death to others under the beast's orders and bare the appearance of a hideous hag. In fear of creating a grimmer deal if to come across Death again, the now hag followed the beast's command and brought death to many both innocent and guilty. But in time, there will be no more souls to rid of the living world, and she will eventually die, unable to keep her promise with the beast. And so Death took the third knight for his own, outsmarting her in the end.

As of the fourth knight, he became the most powerful force of Death's army and the world, and even befriended his master. In return for his loyalty and friendship, Death gave the knight many gifts, ranging from some of his own great powers, including agelessness, to weapons he fashioned from his indestructible cloak, including five blades, each able to down an entire army without dulling.

Death and the fourth knight worked together for many, many years, bringing death to millions across the world. However, Death eventually realized his mistake in giving these gifts. Now the fourth knight being practically Death's equal, the only way to kill him was to destroy every part of his body, all the way down to his soul, which would then become unobtainable to Death. Infuriated, Death broke four of the five blades, but could never bring himself to destroy the fifth, which had been named, Glacadh An Bháis.

And so Death never truly took the fourth knight for his own, nor will he ever in the future, and the knight outsmarted him in the end."

“Wow…” Ace, Ebony, and Silver remarked.

“As you can tell, it’s impossible to know where it is now, let alone if it’s real or not.” Huntsmen explained.

Silently, Huntsmen climbed off of his stool and proceeded to walk out. The remaining three were left to think. The barmaid eventually returned with their drinks.

“Put it on my tab.” Silver said to her.

She quickly replied, “Your tab is maxed.”

“Whoops… Eh-heh, you see, I don’t really have much on me now and-”

“You do know what we do to bottom-brokes now? Don’t you?”

“Oh come on, we’re all buddies right? Right? I really don’t want to hurt you guys and gals…”

The sound of hooves pounding into the ground roared throughout the bar, in an almost rhythmic pattern. It was the drums of war for the tavern, as several of the larger patrons got up from their seats and approached Silver. Silver took a gulp of air on the spot, knowing what’s going to happen next. He closed his eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Silver opened his eyes in confusion, seeing three coins spinning on the counter in front of him. He looked above to see the face of Huntsmen looking over him.

“Hunter?” Silver asked.

The large grey stallion answered, “You’re lucky you’re niceness is contagious.”

“Oh. Phew. Thanks for having my back, Hunter.”

“Don’t push it.”

“Gulp.”

“And besides, somepony has to keep you and your ladies safe on this journey to the Olc Sword.”

“You mean, you’re coming with us?”

“Yep.”

Chapter 5: The Stranger

“So, let me get this straight,” Huntsmen spoke. “You, Arcega,”

“You can call me Ace if you want to.” Ace replied.

“Okay. You, Ace, are a young mare from Southern Town, who decided to go on an adventure to beat Lord Thanatus, bringing only a bat-pony and a home-made sword with you.”

“It’s a beautiful, custom thick-steel longsword with a magic lock embedded in the pommel.”

“Alright… And you, Ebony, are said bat-pony, who has recently discovered that that circlet on your head has the ability to cast illusionary spells.”

“Yeah…” Ebony nodded, feeling a bit guilty.

Huntsmen simply put a hoof to his face and muttered, “And I thought Silver was ridiculous...”

“Well, look where it has gotten us so far.” Ace remarked.

“Yeah, a nice gash right in the barrel. Hold still.” Huntsmen commanded as he lifted the foaming mug to Ace’s side.

Ace dug her hooves into the grass as the drink was poured. As the liquid lapped onto her wound, she squeaked in pain, but kept still. She could hear the foaming drink pour down her side and drip onto the grass and dirt below.

As much as the treatment stung, it was nothing compared to the humiliation. She, Ebony, and their new friend were at the back of the tavern, performing a primitive medical operation with beer while Silver is paying off his tab by performing songs. She could only imagine what ponies would be thinking if they were ever to pass upon this.

“Remind me why we have to do this?” Ace yelped.

Huntsmen simply answered, “Well, there’s no hospital here, the sunlight is a good light source, and if this here wound wasn’t treated, you’d die in about… sixty nine hours.”

“Six to nine hours?!” Ace exclaimed.

“No. Six-ty nine hours.”

“Oh… Eep!”

“Alright, Ebony.” Huntsmen declared. “Next cu-”

A loud belch interrupted him. He slowly turned to face Ebony, only to see her spread across her back down with an empty mug on her chest.

“Bah…” He grunted. He reached behind him and pulled out a bandage roll and begun to dress Ace’s wound.

Ace apologized, “Sorry for my friend. She means well, just doesn’t really, do well. We’re both really thankful for you joining us. Silver’s probably the most thankful, he-he.”

“Bah, he knows I’ll always have his back.”

“Are you two close friends?”

“…Something like that. Tell me, you bunch had a scuffle with one of Thanatus’s soldiers right?”

“A scout, to be exact,”

“Yeah, if I was there, I would’ve easily beaten him. I’ve gotten pretty familiar with the little buggers… Wait.”

“What?”

“Did you guys see only one scout?”

“…Yes?”

“Scouts are never alone.”

A massive cannonball suddenly crashed into the nearby building, disintegrating it. Harsh hoofsteps could be heard in the distance.

“Get ready.” Huntsmen declared.

“Born ready.” Ace replied.

The two unveiled their weapons on held them at the ready as the distant stomping grew closer. Finally, crashing through another building, the second scout revealed himself. He was equally as massive as the first, but wielded a large cannon on his shoulder instead of a sword. On his back was a black banner with red eye at the center, the symbol of Thanatus’s army.

The scout roared and lunged forward. Huntsmen charged forward as well. The two collided at the center of the road, holding each other on the spot. Ace then teleported above the two and swung her sword down upon the scout. The scout back away from the sword and Huntsmen shoved him into the building ruins. He backed up to Ace’s side as the scout reclaimed his hoofing.

A wide smile was on Huntsmen’s face as he saw the dark soldier ready for another attack.

“Let’s do this…” he chuckled, gripping his weapon tight.

“Charge!” Ace screamed.

“Charge!” Rainbow Dash read outloud. “Within that moment, chaos erupted throughout the entire temple as Daring Do and Wolf fought their way past The Thousand Jackals of the Eclipse.”

“Who.” An odd sound echoed throughout the library.

Dash quickly turned quiet in surprise. She looked around who said that, but with no pony in sight.

“Who,” The voice spoke once more.

“Who’s there?” Dash asked. Her cyan coat-hairs stood at end.

“Who,”

“Hey! I’m asking you!”

“Whooo.”

Rainbow Dash’s head darted around once more, finally seeing the source of the voice. It was Twilight’s pet owl, Owlowiscious, perched on the bookcase Dash was leaning against.

“Oh, yeah…” Dash remarked, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.

The owl simply turned his head towards the book rested in Dash’s lap.

“Oh, this thing?” Dash asked the owl. “This is ‘Daring Do and the Philosopher’s Legend’, sequel to ‘Daring Do and the Lost Kingdoms of Trihearth' and possibly the best one! Of course, Twilight must have told you all it already…”

“…” No response was given from Owlowiscious.

“Well, I guess she would, if she wasn’t so focused on that other book.”

“Who,”

“I don’t know, I think it’s called ’The Adventures of Ace Ventura’ or something.”

“Whooo,”

The owl flew away into another part of the library. Dash simply shrugged and continued reading. However, the owl returned and hooted once more.

“What do you want?” Dash asked.

Owlowiscious grabbed Dash’s book and flew away, prompting Dash to follow.

“Hey! Give that back!”

It wasn’t a long chase, as Owlowiscious landed on a study table near the center of the room. Rainbow Dash was still annoyed, and snatched the book from him as soon as she arrived.

“Next time, ask.” She barked.

“Who,” Owlowiscious hooted.

His wing pointed at a series of books spread out across the table. Dash examined the books, curious of what he was trying to tell her.

“’Alchemy for Morons’, ’Interdimensionalism; The In-Between’, ’The Princess in Yellow’… I don’t get it. Why would Twilight have these three books on her table? She would’ve placed them back on the shelf when not using them.”

Owlowiscious placed a wing to his face and pointed at himself.

“You did this?” Dash asked.

“Who,” the owl nodded.

“Why?”

“Who,”

The owl then flew off towards Twilight’s bedroom and Dash followed, growing evermore confused. Upon entering, Dash saw Owlowiscious perched at the head of Twilight’s bed. He was looking over what she was reading.

“That book?” Rainbow Dash whispered. “What about it?”

Suddenly, Twilight squealed out amidst reading, “Ka-boom!”

Dash nearly jumped in shock, but soon realized that her friend was merely reading aloud.

“The scout’s cannon roared and its projectile launched at Ebony. But upon hitting, Ebony disappeared into a veil of smoke. It was an illusion, as Ebony then appeared right behind his head and attacked with her blades.”

“Sounds pretty intense,” Dash remarked.

Owlowiscious pointed at the book, prompting Rainbow Dash to look. Dash did so, quietly sneaking to Twilight’s side and looking into the book.

“Huntsmen then charged and held the scout in place. Despite the cannonballs being fired into his face, Huntsmen felt more alive than ever before over the last year. Ace quickly followed and casted a magical glyph above and below the two massive stallions.

‘Get out!’ She yelled out.

Hunstmen quickly did so and a powerful beam of light discharged between the two glyphs, encompassing the scout in blue light.”

Dash noticed that on the next page, it showed an illustration of said event. It was an overhead view of Ace’s attack. The glyphs were circular, and were decorated with various shapes and ruins.

Wait, those look familiar… Dash thought to herself. She only had to jog her memory for a moment before realizing what it was. It’s a transmutation circle! Ainm Sampla used one of those to create the Eternal Soul Key in ‘Daring Do and the 76 Soldiers’. Alchemy… Owlowiscious books… I wonder if Twilight knows what he’s on about.

As the soldier of Thanatus lay still on the ground, Huntsmen approached him, huffing in delight.

“Well, that was fun.” Huntsmen spoke, congratulating his rival.

Silver Chord hopped out of the fresh hole in the tavern and was shocked at the sight.

He asked, “What happened?”

“The result of you not checking for followers,” Huntsmen answered solemnly.

“Oh…”

“At least we got him.” Ebony cheered.

A sudden noise denied that however. The four heroes turned back to the fallen soldier, now back on his four hooves. Despite the damage done to his body, the fire in the soldier’s eyes still burnt brightly. His breathing lengthened to a normal pace, and his cannon automatically reloaded.

“Aw come on!” Ebony moaned.

“Impossible!” Ace exclaimed. “I used the most powerful spell I got! He should be dead!”

“Disturbing intentions aside, it seems your spell is whack.” Silver replied.

“No,” Huntsmen retorted. “Her spell isn’t the problem. It’s these soldiers of Thanatus.”

“Are you saying we can’t beat them?” Ebony asked.

“…” Huntsmen stayed quiet, and prepared his weapon.

The risen soldier roared at the ponies before him. He raised himself onto his hind legs.

“For Thanatus!” He yelled.

Just as he was about to strike though, a green aura surrounded his body. It crackled in purple sparks and blasted the soldier in its grasp. The scout screamed violently, and dropped to the ground once more. As the green aura faded, and the electrical sparks subsided, the soldier of Thanatus turned limp and lifeless.

Huntsmen, Silver, Ace, and Ebony were all speechless.

“Looks like you ponies needed the assistance.” A mare’s voice spoke from behind them.

The four slowly turned around to the source, and were surprised at what they saw.

A massive blue blob then immediately washed over them, consumed the entire town, and everything was gone.

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed.

She reared back from the book and Rainbow Dash’s hoof waving in front of her face.

“Twilight!” Dash shouted once more, having asked for her name several times before.

Twilight took a moment to recollect herself and turned to Rainbow Dash, growing more furious by the second.

“Yes?” Twilight asked, gritting her teeth.

“Sorry to interrupt your reading,” Dash said. “But Owlowiscious wants to point out something to me, about your book.”

“And?”

“Well, on one of the previous pages, it showed a transmutation circle, alchemy.”

“…”

“Now, in your library, Owlowiscious set up a line-up of books that-”

“Let me just stop you right there.” Twilight interrupted.

She didn’t want to yell at Dash. Twilight hated the idea just as much as shouting at Spike. So she took a moment to breathe before talking.

“Look,” She calmly explained. “That’s his job to line up books for me to study. He is an assistant, just like Spike. There’s nothing paranormal going on. It’s simply just a coincidence.”

“…I didn’t say anything paranormal was happening.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Twilight’s mood quickly lightened. She was almost relieved that there was a pony out there that wasn’t obsessed with this book conspiracy.

“So, what’s with Owlowiscious?” Dash asked.

“He may just be a bit jittery from the storm.” Twilight answered. She reached a hoof above her and petted the owl.

“I see. Hey, speak of a demon, the storm’s gone!”

Twilight immediately glanced towards the window and saw a beam of light entering the bedroom.

“I’m going out. Thanks for letting me crash.” Dash thanked her friend.

“Anytime,” Twilight nodded.

“See ya!”

Without giving time for response, Rainbow Dash bolted out of the castle, leaving Twilight and Owlowiscious to their own business.

“Wanna go outside?” Twilight asked her companion.

“Whooo,” Owlowiscious gave a long hoot in response.

He jumped down onto Twilight’s shoulder and snuggled into her neck.

“Alright then,” Twilight returned with the snuggles.

Twilight no longer felt the tension that had accumulated over the past couple of days. For once, she felt like things were going right.

Owlowiscious broke away from the cuddling and began to peck at Twilight’s sandwich, which only had a single bite in it.

Hm… the gears in Twilight’s head turned. I swore I took at least a second bite from it. Perhaps I do need a break from this bed, and go outside. My mane is a bit matted, and my body is a bit dry... I know! I’ll go to the spa, that’ll be nice. I’ll bring Rarity along as well. What about the book? …I’ll just finish this chapter.

Bringing the book along, Twilight bolted outside her castle and headed to Rarity’s Boutique. The ground was almost covered in puddles of water, so Twilight flew.

She opened the book to where she left off and continued as she flew through the damp air.

“Looks like you ponies needed the assistance.” A mare’s voice spoke from behind them.

The four slowly turned around to the source, and were surprised at what they saw.

Sitting at the top of a tree was a mare. Not a sorceress or anything like that in appearance, just a small, unicorn mare. Her thin coat was as black as the night, and her long mane and tail were as red as rich, darkened silk. Purple streaks of royal hues were imbedded in her hair as well, which juxtaposed greatly against her jade green eyes.

Wrapped around her was a dark grey cloak, with something shifting around within it. Around her neck was a red star-shaped necklace, glowing as bright as her horn.

“Who are you?” Silver asked the mysterious mare.

“Name’s Eclipse,” She quietly answered.

“Well, Eclipse, thank you for helping us out.”

“No problem.”

“Wait!” Ace hollered. “How did you do that? You just took down that soldier without a problem!”

“I am also curious.” Huntsmen added.

“It’s not as easy as you say it is,” she answered.

She teleported from her tree to right in front of the group before continuing, “Those soldiers are not alive.”

“Not anymore.” Ebony bragged.

“They are not dead either.” Eclipse added.

“Excuse me?”

She further explained, “These soldiers that you see are simply the bodies of fallen ponies, manipulated by whoever their master is.”

“Lord Thanatus…” Ace answered.

“Indeed. You ponies wore down the body and exposed the strings which I cut with my magic.”

“Where did you learn it?” Ace asked.

“Don’t bother her with so many questions,” Silver tugged at Ace’s tunic.

“I have some friends on the other side.” Eclipse vaguely answered.

Creepy… Huntsmen thought to himself.

“As we have said,” Silver concluded. “Thank you. We’ll just be on our way and not disturb this town anymore with these ‘not-dead’ fellows you speak of.”

“Wait!” Ace exclaimed.

“Hmm?” Eclipse turned her head in curiosity.

“Would you like to join our team?” Ace offered. “We could need your assistance on our quest.”

“A quest?” Eclipse’s ears perked.

“Yes, to find the legendary…”

“Glacadh An Bháis-” Huntsmen spoke.

“That, a sword able to stop Thanatus and save this land from his tyrannical oppression,”

“…” Eclipse thought for a moment.

Meanwhile, Silver grabbed Ace and pulled her over behind Hunstmen.

“Are you insane?” He quietly barked.

Ace hesitated before answering, “…Somewhat?”

“You are recruiting a mare, who we know jack-diddily-squat about, who has the ability to kill us on the spot, to join us on an adventure we are barely equipped to take on? I don’t like the looks of her.”

“To Silver’s credit,” Ebony added. “We don’t even really know where to go. We just assembled this team on the spot.”

Ace hesitated to think. She glanced at Eclipse, looking back at her with a deadpan look on her face.

“I have faith in her.” She replied, shocking Ebony and Silver.

“You… trust in her? On the spot?” Silver questioned.

“Yeah, that’s basically how I met Ebony.”

“…”

Ebony knew Ace was right. When they met for the first time, Ebony was running away from the law for stealing a loaf of bread. She was taking a rest when Ace, midway through a solo adventure, came across her. Ebony could still remember the glowing smile her friend had on her face as she held out her hoof and introduced herself. Was it obliviousness, or seeing whatever good was inside her at that moment? Either way, it resulted in a friendship that stayed true to this day.

“I support you.” Ebony proclaimed.

“Et tu?” Silver muttered below his voice.

Ace walked out from behind Huntsmen and approached Eclipse. Her bright, blue eyes met her sharp, green eyes as Ace held out her hoof.

“So? What do you think? You in?”

“…Sounds fun, I’ll tag along.” Eclipse responded, taking the hoof and shaking it.

“I’m Arcega, or just ‘Ace’ if you like.”

A low grumble could be heard from Huntsmen and Silver Chord.

“Relax.” Eclipse said to the stallions. “I think I can help with your navigation problems.”

Thunk!

Twilight reared back from the tree and rubbed the new bruise imprinted on her head.

“Ow…” She groaned.

Twilight had been so engrossed in her book, that she didn’t even notice the tree in front of her. In her mind, she defended herself, noting upon the tree’s oddly skinny structure. What she also never noticed was Pinkie Pie right below her.

“Are you alright?” Pinkie called out.

“Yeah…” Twilight grumbled. “Wait! How long have you been following me?”

“Since you flew past Town Hall. You looked really distracted, so I followed in case you got yourself stuck in a tree. Luckily, you only rammed into one.”

“…”

“So? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to pick up Rarity. Since the rain’s gone for now, I thought it would be a good idea to spend the rest of the day at the spa.”

“Sounds great!” Pinkie cheered. “Can I come along?”

“Sure.”

“Yippee! Do you need a rope?”

“A what?”

“A rope so you can keep on track. We’re currently in Sweet Apple Acres.”

Twilight took a quick look at her surroundings. Pinkie was right, Twilight was way off her mark.

Twilight hesitated a moment before nodding, “…Sure.”

Without any warning, Pinkie slung a rope end over Twilight. It made its way over her torso before dropping back down to Pinkie. Grabbing both ends of the rope with her mouth, Pinkie walked away from Twilight and to town. The rope slowly pushed on the back of her neck, prompting Twilight to fly forwards.

With Pinkie now directing Twilight, Twilight could return to her reading with full confidence and enclose. She was a bit dizzy, but eventually found her spot and continued reading.

“So, let me get this straight,” Silver asked Eclipse. “You’re saying that my song and Hunter’s tale are the same thing?”

“Not exactly,” she corrected. “They are two halves that, when put together, create the whole, the yin and yang, the lock and key, the sextant and stars,”

“Huh?”

“When you solve the puzzle that is shared between the two of them, directions to Glacadh An Bháis are revealed.” Eclipse clarified.

“Oh.”

“Silver, mind to repeat your song, in whole?”

“Not a problem.” Silver smirked.

He pulled out his guitar, plucked at its strings for a moment, and begun to sing, “There once was a stallion, whose name be forgotten, that became a hero in a night. When his village was in peril, by a demon of great power, its ponies were lost and confused. The demon had powers, beyond comprehension, and no weakness except for one. The hero set off, along with four friends, to find it and save his land.”

“Four friends, that being the four knights in the tale.”

“You know it too?” Huntsmen asked.

“No, I just listened in when you told it.”

“Oh…”

“Continue Silver.”

Silver continued, “They searched far and wide, for the weakness few told. They walked across fiery deserts and snowy mountains, but not a tear shed from their eye. They fought many battles along the way, never letting their sights off their duty.”

“In the tale, it says that the knights set off at dawn in search of the princess. It would be blinding for them if they were to set off to the East and too dark to go to the West.”

“That would only leave the North and South right?” Ebony asked.

“Not exactly. In the song, it says that the knights never shed any tears, as if rejecting them.”

“The Cape of Tears!” Ace exclaimed.

Eclipse nodded, “Correct. And in both accounts, no bodies of water are told about, just mountains, and deserts.”

“So that means…” Ace thought for a moment. “That wherever the knights were heading, it was south of the Cape of Tears. And having to traveled for six days… They would’ve had to go through Heliopolis at some point...”

“The dangerous lands where battles were fought!” Ebony squealed.

“They were seen as intruders.” Eclipse added. “Silver, continue.”

“And there they found it, a blade buried in black sand, forged by the gods themselves. They took the blade home, and the hero slayed the demon, and the land was safe evermore. The hero and his friends, forever became legend, and were met with a deserved fate. Thank you, thank you.”

“And finally, the resting place of the sword-” Eclipse begun to explain, but was quickly cut off by Ebony.

“I think I got it! Let me do it!” Ebony spoke.

“…Sure.” Eclipse nodded.

“Alright,” Ebony begun. “The knights fought a dragon in a cave.”

“…” The other four silently listened.

“And what do dragon’s breath?”

“Fire?” Ace, Silver, and Huntsmen answered, unsure where this was going.

“That’s right! And what ‘cave’ produces fire?”

“A volcano,”

“Yes! This would also explain the black sand,”

“Ash,” Ace remarked.

“Yeah!”

“Also,” Eclipse added. “Black sand is often a symbol for Death, a god of sorts.”

Ebony concluded, “Therefore, where the Olc Sword is, most likely, inside a volcano on the southern tip of Wisteria.”

“The only volcano down there is Mt. Gné.” Silver remarked.

“Then it’s settled!” Ace declared. “Off to Mt. Gné, and save Centura!”

“Onward!” Ebony and Silver cheered.

“Hey Silver!” The bar maiden yelled out from the tavern. “You better lend a hoof in fixing this!”

“Oh… I will!” Silver yelled back. “Hunter, help me, please.”

“…” Huntsmen hesitated.

“Please!” Silver pleaded.

“Only if you sing Jack Diddily Dongers.”

“No! I hate that song!”

“Well, suit yourself.”

“…Bah, let’s get this over with.”

As the two stallions made their way to the destroyed tavern, Ace and Ebony thanked Eclipse.

“I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Ace told Eclipse.

Eclipse nodded and replied, “You’re welcome. Thank you for offering me the chance to join in on this adventure. You girls have food on you right?”

“…Huntsmen is currently holding it for us. We just got tired from carrying our loads.” Ebony lied, seeing as it’s only him that’s holding any decent food, water, or money.

“I see.”

The mares continued to talk with each other and waited for the stallions to fix the wall. Unknown to them however, is a set of eyes in the forest, watching them in the distance.

Chapter 6: The Adventure

And so the heroes set off to Mt. Gné, where they hoped to find the Olc Sword and save Centura. With the southern wind at their backs, they journeyed across the continent of Wisteria. They marched through thick forests, trudged through barren deserts, and scaled towering mountains.

Each member of the team supported each other to the best of their ability.

Eclipse led the group, knowing how to get to the volcano from years of travel.

Huntsmen gathered and supplied resources for the group whenever hungry or thirsty.

Ebony Diamond used her illusion magic to ward off any thieves and any of Thanatus’s stallions that may be following.

Silver performed songs to entertain and boost team morale.

And Ace motivated the group by telling them the stories that her aunt and uncle told her.

For a while, it seemed that the five were unstoppable in their quest. However, that all changed when they reached Voltayd Pass. It was a rigorous, unforgiving path through the Talon Mountains. Always accompanied by a raging blizzard, this path only had a few ponies go in, and even fewer return.

“Welp, this isn’t going to work.” Silver announced after reading the wooden sign in front of him.

“It’s the fastest way to the south.” Ace rebutted. “We have to go through it.”

The cold wind hissed across the five as they stood at the gateway to the pass. The sounds of falling boulders echoed across the cliffs before them.

“…We can handle this.” Huntsmen declared.

“Are you sure?” Ebony asked.

“He is correct.” Eclipse reassured her. “Together, we can get through the pass alive.”

“Indeed.” Huntsmen nodded. “Let’s move out.”

While the others followed Huntsmen into the pass, Silver stayed at the sign, refusing to go forward.

“Including you Silver.” He added.

Silver stayed for a moment and debated against himself for a moment. Eventually, he found himself walking right alongside Huntsmen as the venture across the treacherous path.

“We’re here!” Pinkie proclaimed.

Twilight’s eyes glanced above the book and saw the saw right in front of her, with Pinkie and Rarity waiting at the front door. She finished the sentence she was on and placed a bookmark in the book before closing it.

As the three mares walked in, they were greeted with billows of steam in their faces. Two of the spa workers approached them shortly after, as if expecting their arrival.

“Welcome to the Ponyville Day Spa.” The first one said in a welcoming voice.

“Will it be the usual, Ms. Rarity?” The second one asked.

“Yes please.” Rarity nodded.

“We have been awfully busy due to the storm,” the first one explained. “But you will be fully pampered in no-time-flat.”

“Don’t worry, we can wait.” Rarity waved off the apology.

Rarity and the others proceeded to sit at the nearby couch and waited until the spa ponies were ready for them. Twilight stared at the cover of her book for a while, reflecting on it. She opened it to the dedications page and read it once more.

In remembrance of Sanctus.

Sanctus… Twilight’s mind turned at the mere thought the name. It sounds so familiar, but who? Didn’t Celestia talk about a pony by that name? Was it a tribe name, or perhaps even a-

“Excuse me, miss.” The second spa pony had returned.

“Hm?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“A steam room is available. Allow us to hold your book until you return.”

Twilight looked down at the spa pony’s waiting hoof. She was hesitant about giving it to her. She had always given damageable belongings to them to hold while she was being steamed and whatnot, but this felt different. It felt wrong for some reason.

She shook off the feeling though, and gave the book to her. She watched as the spa pony went into the locker zone and placed it into one of the open cabinets. The second the lock clicked was the second her nerves began to settle.

“Right this way,” the mare motioned to the hallway.

In Remembrance of Sanctus.

The fresh steam brushed across Spike’s scales as he entered the Ponyville Day Spa. The lobby was empty upon his entry, a sign that the staff were busy. Spike didn’t mind however, and simply sat on one of the couches and waited.

Ahead of him was the counter, a beige table built in the hollow of the pink wall. On the desk was a small pile of papers, a stamp, and a pen. Behind the counter were the lockers, but they were barricaded by a wall of fog.

He played Roshambo against himself as he waited, and waited. It was an intense match, seventeen ties before the left hand cramped and forfeited. Spike silently cheered for the right hand, before suddenly realizing how stupid that all was.

Taking a quick glance below, Spike saw a pile of magazines on the coffee table. None of them interested him, and he returned to staring at the counter table. He stared at the dozen or so papers, the date stamp, the ballpoint pen, and also a small dent beside the pen.

His eyes then trailed to the walls of the building. There were faint purple designs painted into the pink, subtle, yet intriguing. He recognized that a Prance Curve was used in drawing the curves. Spike could even see the indent the template made in the wall right beside him.

After mentally circling the room, he returned to the beige counter, and the fourteen eggshell papers, the date stamp with red ink dripping from it, the black ivory ballpoint pen, and the dent made from a paperweight that was dropped some time ago.

The steam had faded away from the locker area by the time Spike noticed. With now something new to stare at, Spike’s attention turned to the lockers. He counted how many there were, what shade of puse were they, which ones were jiggling and which ones weren’t.

“Wai-What the?” Spike said to himself in surprise.

One of the lockers was vibrating violently, as if some pony was trapped inside it. Spike looked around to see if anypony was there, only to find the steam present. Cautiously, he sneaked around back to the locker area and approached the vibrating one.

Peeking inside, Spike was met with a yellow and red eye, staring him back. Spike jumped and fell to the floor. The locker leaked out a multicoloured liquid at Spike’s feet, which formed into Discord.

“Hello Spike,” Discord greeted. “Here for a claw trimming?”

With a snap of his claws, a maid’s outfit appeared on Discord and a filer formed between the claws.

“Does this make me look fat?” He then asked.

Spike shook his head, slightly stunned from the sight, and questioned back, “What are you doing here?”

“What? Can’t a mystical being who can conjure practically and impractically anything enjoy a little steam?”

Spike crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, you got me. I was looking for something.”

“What? Can I help?”

“Actually, you can…” Discord said with a smirk.

“What is it?” Spike curiously asked.

“See that locker I was messing around with?”

“Yes.”

“You see, my magic’s been a bit on the fritz, and I need you to use your dragon-breath-thingy to pull something out of it.”

“What is it?” Spike asked, now suspicious of Discord.

“Nothing to concern yourself with,” Discord rebutted, patting the little dragon on the head.

“What is it?”

“’What’s this? What’s that?’ What is this? Twenty Questions?” Discord crudely barked. “I swear there’s been about ten or eleven ‘what’-s up to this point.”

“Just tell me what’s in the locker that you want so badly.”

“…” A light puff of steam spewed from Discord’s nostrils. Eventually, he confessed to Spike, “It’s Twilight book-”

“Nope.” Spike quickly retorted.

Calmly, Spike returned to his seat.

“Oh please!” Discord begged. “The locker’s too small for me to open it inside.”

“Nope.”

“It’ll just be a quickie.”

“Then do it yourself.”

“I can’t!”

Spike stopped.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“I-I don’t know.” Discord explained. “For whatever reason, my magic isn’t working. It’s like the book is distorting my magic, my chaos magic, away from it.”

“…” Spike silently thought.

“Please, this is for the good of Twilight.”

I get you, I get you, Spike’s mind answered. But should I trust you? You have caused trouble just to mess with us, and you were a villain once. Maybe I should tell Twilight about this. Then again, Discord wouldn’t go through so much trouble to seek help if he could do it himself. And, he has moved on from those days. It’s not like he’s out to destroy our friendship.

With a sigh, Spike turned around and approached the locker. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Discord squealing in glee like a mare student seeing a cute stallion walk past her. He looked through the locker bars once more, seeing the book.

He breathed his green fire into the locker, absorbing the book. It disappeared from the locker floor and appeared in front of Discord. The draconequus immediately snatched it and begin flickering through the pages. The prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and finally Chapter 6. The disturbing sensation festered inside him as he scanned the pages, however, was unable to find a definitive source of this unease.

Perhaps it is my excited angst, no, Discord thought. No! It has to be this thing.

He stopped at the point where Twilight had. On the right hoof page, there was an illustration of the pass the heroes were walking through. At the end of the path, between two mountains, was a bright light. Spike and Discord stared at the image for a while.

“Huh, Twilight has gone through a lot.” Discord noted. “I might actually have to go back and actually read. I didn’t see anything really, wrong.”

“Hold on,” Spike said, pointing a claw at the light. “What is that?”

“The sun?”

“But it isn’t.”

Discord gave a confused look at Spike. Spike saw this and further explained himself.

He continued, pointing at the five ponies at the foreground of the picture, “Look closely at them.”

“…” Discord silently stared at them.

Spike’s claw slowly slid down to their shadows, which were heading towards the light.

“There was either a mistake in drawing,” Spike concluded, “or the sun is actually behind them.”

“I see… but what is that light if that’s the case?”

“I have no idea. Perhaps we should read.”

“Perhaps.”

Quickly, the two made it back to the sofa Spike was on and read.

After following the pass for some time, the five heroes eventually reached a massive ravine that cut across the path. There was a wooden bridge from one end to the other, weak and covered in ice. Ebony and Silver flew across the ravine, Ace and Eclipse teleported across with their magic, leaving Huntsmen to cross the bridge.

However, midway across, the bridge broke. Huntsmen began to plummet into the raging ice water below. But Silver came flew in after, and carried him to a nearby alcove. Huntsmen was grateful of Silver’s bravery, and once the two made it back to the others, the heroes continued.

“Quit glossing it over so quickly. We might miss something.”

“Hey, we don’t have all day, Spike.”

As night drew close, the search for a safe place to spend the night became top priority. The heroes split up and searched around the area. With her bat senses, Ebony found a large cave, a safe haven for the night. When looking for the others to tell of her findings, she found Eclipse, sitting on a rock and fiddling with something in her cloak.

Ebony had noticed the squirming object when they first met, but only assumed it was her hoof.

Curious, she asked the sitting mare, “What is that you’re playing with?”

Eclipse was hesitant, but eventually revealed the hidden object. It was a grey cat doll, with button eyes and a wide grin on its face.

“His name is Nightbeam,” She quietly answered.

“A doll?”

“Yes, I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.”

Ebony stared at the cat, and it stared back with the same dopey expression it always had.

“It’s cute.” Ebony remarked.

“Thank you.”

“Bah, this is getting boring!” Discord snapped as he swiped the book from Spike’s grasp.

“Aw,” Spike moaned. “I was actually beginning to enjoy it.”

“Enjoy it when we’re not stealin-borrowing it from Twilight.” Discord replied, scanning through the passages. “We have to find out what the light is and what’s up with this book.”

“Fine.”

“Now, let’s see… Lighting the fire, nope… Telling personal stories, nada… Ebony getting touchy-feely with Ace, nein…”

As Discord examined the chapter, Spike was checking their surroundings, looking out for any sign of Twilight or one of the workers. It took a fair while before Discord found a passage, and when he did, Spike’s eyes had become dry from the lack of blinking.

Running his eagle claw across the words, Discord read out loud.

With the death of the night at their backs, the five heroes looked to the end of the path, now within their sights. A bright light shown between two mountains, magnificent as the sun, but calming as the moon. It was their beacon, their hope to keep pressing forward, and to reach the light at the end of their treacherous path.

Not once did they ever stop. They trudged through the howling wind. They marched across the glaciers of pure snow. They resisted against the element of despair, of torture. Finally, after a long and furious battle, they made to the end of the pass. For their reward, the sun greeted them from high above, and followed them as they continued to Mt. Gné.

“Is that it?” Spike asked.

Discord scanned the following pages for a moment before replying, “Yes.”

“It seems to be just the sun. Maybe it was an error.”

“It can’t be!” Discord instantly barked, but quickly collected himself. With a tug at his neck, he continued, “Perhaps there is some subtext or something to it. You’re into reading things too deeply, you figure it out.”

Without warning, Discord dropped the book onto Spike’s head, causing a loud bump upon impact. Dazed, Spike pulled the book from his scalp and examined the passage.

“’A bright light shown between two mountains, magnificent as the sun, but calming as the moon.’ Hm… It doesn’t say that it is the sun directly, but only relates it to the sun, as well as the moon.”

Spike then flipped back to the illustration. He could barely see the outline of the main body that the light is coming from. It was greatly larger than the moon, but wasn’t as bright as the sun.

He returned to the passage and read, “’For their reward, the sun greeted them from high above, and followed them as they continued to Mt. Gné.’ …In an earlier part, it said that the ‘death of the night’ was behind them. That must be the sun. So that means the sun could’ve never been at the other end of the mountains until the heroes got there.”

“So it couldn’t be the sun. Goodie. Then what is it?”

“I don’t know.”

Spike returned to the illustration, and examined the light once more. A new wave of steam rolled into the barren lobby, obscuring his vision of the book. Frustrated, Spike lifted the book and pressed the page to the window. The light from the emerging sun illuminated the page from the backside, so much so that most of it became transparent.

Spike tried to peel the page back a little, but is stopped by Discord, reaching out his paw. Discord noticed some parts of the page remained opaque, including some of the mysterious light. Closer examining it, he saw that it wasn’t just a circle, but rather a circular glyph, composed of several shapes, runes, and a presence discouraging for even the most stoic of ponies.

“Alchemy, looks advanced too,” Spike noted.

“That’s what it is?” Discord asked, unfamiliar with the topic.

“Yeah, you draw a special circle, offer something of value, and you can perform a spell of equal value. Like, transforming a lot of lead into a slightly smaller amount of gold.”

“I see. What would this circle do then? Why is it glowing in between two mountains?”

“I don’t know.”

“Could perhaps…” Discord then asked. “Could perhaps one make a circle that can counter magic?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen, anti-magic can be made with physical elements usable in alchemy. But I don’t know why that would be at the end of a mountain pass.”

“What if it’s only in this book?”

Waves of steam brushed across Twilight’s fur as she, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie enjoyed the spa. She could feel her pores clear and her mind enlighten as tranquility surrounds her. At this point, only the whooshing of warm air and the plucking of a koto came to her ears.

Her mind wandered the great white pastures of her imagination. Its crops yield fresh new ideas from the monsoon that has recently passed over. Its water had come from the far lands of Wisteria, and it shows in the crop. Theories of what’s to come in the future, interactions between herself and the characters of fiction, and the everlasting desire to feast upon the tales of the fictional world.

As she walked through these fields, her mind’s eye saw Ace and her friends in the midst of the crops, playing with the green leaves atop the vegetables. They looked back and saw Twilight as well, and invited her to play with them.

Without a second though, Twilight nodded and galloped to them. However, a mysterious force tugged at her tail. Twilight looked back, and saw a monstrous, set of claws, as black as pure darkness, holding onto her tail. She attempted to flee, only to be crushed by a second hand.

Twilight’s eyes bulged open, and she found herself back in the spa with Pinkie and Rarity. The strums of the koto return to her hearing, and she found herself becoming relaxed once more. A stinging sensation lingered at the back of her mind though. She began to feel as if she forgot something, or that there is a disturbance to her balance.

However, she summoned enough self-confidence to return to a relaxed minset.

“Nothing to worry about.” Twilight said to herself, convincing herself to ease. “I’m probably just paranoid, like I’m going crazy or something.” She chuckled.

“Tell me about it.” Eclipse replied.

Chapter 7: The Villain

Twilight glanced over to Eclipse, sitting right next to her in the steam room, looking fairly content in her position.

“Oh, hey Eclipse.” Twilight whispered, not wanting to disturb Rarity and Pinkie.

The dark unicorn nodded, “Hello.”

“So, how are things with the others?”

“Silver is trying to put the moves on us while Huntsmen is searching for wood. It’s not really effective, to me at least.”

“Hm,” Twilight snickered.

“Yeah, it’s pretty silly, similar to how your friends are acting now…”

“Huh?”

“Don’t play coy, you know that your friends are acting ridiculous over the book.”

“Yeah,”

“It’s just a simple piece of recreation, yet your friends act like it’s the end of the world if you lay a hoof on it.

“Like you can even call them ‘friends’,” Silver commented.

Twilight waved a dismissing hoof at Silver at the end of the bench.

“Don’t be silly Silver,” she replied with a smile. “They just care for my wellbeing.”

Silver simply rolled his eyes and prepared for the final wave of steam to polish his white fur.

“Uh, darling, who are you talking to?” Rarity then asked.

Twilight turned to face Rarity, and was met with a face of confusion. Her eyes darted back to the other side of the room, seeing a blank bench lightly coated in dew.

Realizing her mistake, she returned to Rarity and calmly answered, “Nothing.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but soon accepted Twilight’s explanation and returned to her aura of relaxation. Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep and didn’t feel the final wave of steam wash over her and the others.

Twilight glanced back to the other side and was greeted by Eclipse again.

“Looks like you have good faith in your friends.” Eclipse noted.

Yeah, Twilight thought. It’s been fun talking to you, my imaginary friend…

Just as Twilight returned to Rarity and Pinkie, Eclipse then replied, “Yeah, let’s see that ‘faith’ after what happens to the book...”

“Wait what?” Twilight quickly looked back, only to be met with a thick steam cloud.

“It’s time to go.” Rarity repeated herself, tugging on Twilight’s shoulder.

Pinkie Pie broke from her nap and joined alongside Rarity as the two left the steam room. Dizzily, Twilight followed behind and met up at the hallway. There, they are greeted by one of the spa ponies they met before.

“Enjoyed your bath?” She asked.

“We most certainly did.” Rarity nodded.

As the two engaged in some fancy banter, Twilight suddenly became distracted by something. Something was gnawing at the back of her neck, but it wasn’t anything physical.

It was mental. Something that Twilight imaged Eclipse saying struck a chord, and it’s now driving her ballistic. The book instantly came to her mind, and Twilight began to wonder if it’s still secure in that locker.

No, no! Twilight barked at her own self in her mind. No more reading. No book! I have to break the drive. I have to unwind. No more books for the day… or at least till the end of this spa visit. Maybe I can read a magazine of something in the mud bath. Hopefully it ends soon…

“Right this way please.” The spa worker announced, motioning to the room down the hall.

As the girls walked down the hall, the other spa pony trotted past them, looking to be in a hurry. She turned the corner to the lobby, probably to greet a long-waiting customer. Twilight recalled when she entered the lobby, when her book was taken and placed in the locker area right next to the waiting room.

Being in the back of the group, it wouldn’t be too hard just to teleport to the corner, peak into the lobby, and teleport back.

Just as Twilight was about cast the spell, a little voice whispered in her mind.

Be sure not to forget your basic needs, it said. Food, water, and social time with your friends…

Twilight sighed and dimmed her horn. Spike made those instructions very clear, and they sure weren’t going to be broken by a mere tingle of doubt. Twilight continued to follow the others into the next phase of their spa treatment, despite the red eyes that watched her from the corner, staring into the back of her neck.

The once battlegrounds between Damascariot and Centura were greeted with a red morning sky. The army of Lord Thanatus was marched across the crater riddled plains, heading straight for Centura. The stomps of its Earth ponies caused rampant earthquakes, the wings of its pegasi created ghastly storms, and the chants of its unicorns frightened the bodiless souls than wandered the battlegrounds.

At the center of the massive army was a towering carriage, being slowly pulled by three Earth pony soldiers. Its golden structure, turned black with the ashes of fallen foes, brightly shone in the red sun, illuminating the land ahead with a haunting light. Inside it was the King of Nightmares himself, the commander of the Undying Armies, Lord Thanatus.

Few have ever gazed upon the stallion’s face, fewer have returned alive to tell the others, and only some came back as they once were. They say he has the face of a dragon, and that his body is only a disguise. However, others say that his face is something beyond describable, and that gazing upon it promises a violent death. They say he is a horror beyond horrors, that the mind can only interpret Thanatus in the form of what vaguely resembles a pony.

Yet, the real horror is said to be one thing, one thing that no pony has ever seen, or at least, not without dying on the spot.

His eyes.

What may appear to be burning embers from an offhoof glance through his war helmet and grand crown, is only the gateway to whatever Thanatus lays within. It is said, that with once strong glance, his eyes can bring an entire army to its knees, and open themselves to the slaughter that awaits them.

As the army marched forward to the entrance Veiled Forest, the scout with a blade emerged from the trees. His body was heavily damaged, but he retained nearly full motion of his body. He lifted a hoof to the air and gave a loud grunt. The army halted.

Quickly, the scout ran to the carriage where Lord Thanatus was seated. He kneeled before the stallions pulling his mobile chambers.

“My lord,” the scout growled with his gravelly voice. “I have brought news that you must heed.”

The cloth flaps of the front of the carriage slowly pulled back, unveiling Lord Thanatus. Dressed head to tail in solid steel armour and sitting upon a throne made of smoldering riches and bone, the King of Nightmares listened.

“There are a group of five ponies that seek to end your reign, my liege. My partnering scout has been slain by them.”

Lord Thanatus slowly lowered his head and raised it back up.

The scout explained further, “There is a pegasus stallion, equipped a bow and a bewildering sense of bravery. There is an Earth pony stallion as well, armed with a deadly bloodlust and power beyond measure. There is a bat-pony mare also, with a magically-imbued headdress and a heart that beats strong. There is a mysterious unicorn mare with them too, wielding powerful magic and an unknowable range of wisdom. And leading them all is a young unicorn mare, determined to see this through.”

“…” Thanatus remained deadly silent, so much so, that not even his armour clung.

“They seek Glacadh An Bháis, the blade that usurped your pedagogue’s ways. At this point, they may be only a day and a night’s journey away from its resting place.” The scout concluded before bowing once more.

Like a statue coming to life, Lord Thanatus rose from his chair. His rising presence parted the clouds above, and each step he took towards his soldier withered the ground below to sand.

With the voice of one hundred moaning souls, Lord Thanatus spoke, “Fear not, my loyal slave, for they shall be sought out with the shadows, and be destroyed… Yes, I sense each of the five bodies you speak of. Yet, I hear eight voices, with three wielding vast amounts of knowledge.”

“You mean to say that the mysterious mare-”

“Is a vessel in which four wise souls possess. Indeed. That vessel… Eclipse… shall be the armament of their end, the unit that shall destroy them from the inside. I shall see to it myself and my personal guard that the deed is done. The rest of my stallions shall camp in the Veiled Forest and prepare to strike Centura upon my return.” Lord Thanatus declared.

The scout bowed once more, muttering, “Yes, my liege.”

“But,” the lord spoke, examining the body of the bowing scout. “Your body has become weak, the vessel which binds you has torn. You as a soldier, have worn out your usefulness. Let Margáil Le Bás aid you…”

A blood red light beamed across the scout. Lord Thanatus drew a blade from behind, and swung.

Spike stretched his back against the bench at the back wall of the spa building. He was enjoying this book too much to simply put it back in the locker and gather dust.

I finally see why Twilight enjoys it so much! Spike declared to himself. The characters, the action, the drama, they’re all so interesting-

The voice of Discord interrupted Spike’s thought, “Do you mind if I sit here? My dogs are barking.”

Spike peaked up from his book and saw the draconequus, with his lower limbs being replaced by two small dogs, yipping fanatically.

“Go ahead.” Spike replied.

The dogs disappeared and Discord flopped onto the bench, right next to Spike. He silently watched as Spike returned to reading, bored out of his semi-existent mind. Ever since Spike had that book between his claws, he has been endlessly reading it. He no longer payed attention to Discord, nor anything outside of that book…

Discord suddenly entered a brief state of panic and snatched the book from Spike.

“Hey!” Spike immediately barked.

“Snap out of it, you little idiot!” Discord snapped back, clutching the book to his chest. “Don’t you see? It’s got you too!”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine. Just let me finish that chapter and I-” Spike quickly snapped his mouth shut and locked it in place with his hands.

“You were saying?” Discord asked with a literal ear-to-ear grin.

Spike didn’t want to be wrong, and he really wanted to read that book. Thinking as carefully as he can, he explained himself.

“Well… From what I’ve read, there’s nothing really wrong with it. I just really like it. It is not driving me to suicide, I just want to read it in peace. There is no subtext to it, it’s just a simple fairy tale.”

“Hm…” Discord nodded, sitting upon his armchair looking over the papers on his clipboard.

Spike looked over the top of the clipboard, and saw a black blob of paint on the top paper.

“Tell me,” Discord asked in a sophisticated tone. “Isn’t that the same language Twilight told you regarding the safety of the book?”

Twilight’s voice echoed in Spike’s mind, and repeated those exact words he had said. He attempted to see himself in his mind, but only saw Twilight, the Twilight now that is reading the book. Spike realized the truth. The book had gotten control of him, even if it only were for only a minute. The desire to read, his sudden intolerance of others, and the stinging in his limbs when the book was out of grasp, all were an exact replica of what Twilight is experiencing.

“Ten minutes,” Discord explained. “Ten minutes, you were sucked into that book. If I hadn’t been around, you’d probably be in Twilight’s horseshoes.”

Spike slumped back in the bench, dazed at this realization.

Words finally came to his mouth, “You were right. I’m sorry, Discord, I just-”

“No need for a pity party,” Discord nonchalantly interrupted, examining the book in his claws. “At least we now know that this thing really is more disturbing than appearances.”

Spike agreed, “That’s right! Now we can tell Twilight for sure that the book is… that the book is… Oh.”

The two boys looked at the book, the book no longer in the locker, the book no longer where Twilight left it.

“We have to put it back!” Spike exclaimed. “Before she finds out-”

“Finds out what?” A bitter voice stabbed Discord and Spike in their sides.

Their eyes darted over to the end of the bench, and saw the purple alicorn there. With a damp mane and her hooves crossed across her chest, it was evident that she knew something was up. Her eyes locked onto the book held by Discord, but her voice spoke towards Spike.

“Spike,” she coldly asked. “Why does Discord have my book?”

Spike answered in the least incriminating manner he could, “We just wanted to check it out, see how you like it, look into the backstory, you know?”

Her ears lowered and pointed back. A low snort escaped her snout. She wasn’t taking that as an answer.

“Give it back.” She sternly snapped at Discord.

“Can’t let you do that Twilight.” Discord teased, raising the book above his head like a hoofball.

“I said give it back!” Twilight howled. Her horn instantly lit up to a brightness only associated with dangerous, if not lethal, magic.

Spike dove in front of her and blocked her view of Discord, but not the book.

“Twilight! Listen to me!” He demanded.

“Are you in cahoots with him on this?!”

“Twilight! That book is evil, I know it! I read it myself.”

“You not only stole the book from me, but you also read it, ruining my perfect bookmark placements?!”

“It’s the book that made me do it! I swear!”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight replied in a mocking tone. She pranced around Spike and Discord as she continued, yet her horn never dimmed. “Blame the book for this, blame the book for that. ‘It’s evil, runaway, let me have it so I can read it!’ You can’t take responsibility for your own actions, huh? You just can’t bother to respect me once in a while, and only want to soil my book with your grubby little claws and read it.”

“Like what you’ve been doing to your friends, and even your own body?” Spike calmly asked.

Twilight prepared her retort, but suddenly stopped. Discord and Spike watched in caution as the still mare’s wheels turned in her mind.

What is she going to do? They wondered. If it took words from a friend to break somepony out of the book’s entrancement, could it also work on Twilight?

Twilight’s eyes only slowly moved up to see Discord and Spike staring at her, judging her.

Look at them, her mind thought. They can’t wait for me to say they’re right. But they aren’t right! They can’t be! I am not hallucinating, I am perfectly sound in mind! Just give me the book and- …quit staring at me. Quit looking for faults in my face! Quit judging me! They think that I’m unstable! Stop it!

“Please, Twilight,” Spike slowly walked towards Twilight, reaching his hand out towards her. “Calm down-”

“I am not unstable!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Pinkie emerged from around the corner, frightened by the sudden screaming of her friend.

“Twilight!” she called out to Twilight. “Are you okay?!”

Pinkie was instantly met with a snarling face by Twilight. Her eyes had shrunk into pinpoints, and her horn was on the verge of firing a deadly spell by mistake. Pinkie quietly shrieked and backed away. She whimpered as Twilight’s predatory face followed.

Twilight saw the fear in her friend’s eyes, and suddenly realized what she was doing. Her face unlocked and her pupils regained normal size. They grew alongside Pinkie’s, and her horn finally dimmed down to a mere twinkle.

Slowly, Twilight approached her friend.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Twilight gasped.

Pinkie stayed distant, and back up as Twilight made a step forward. It had become quite evident. There was nothing Twilight could do now.

However, that didn’t stop her from trying. As Twilight approached, she attempted to comfort her shaken friend.

“Come on Pinkie,” Twilight said in a casual, but very shaky tone. “It’s me, your friend, Twilight.”

Pinkie remained hesitant.

“That thing earlier, pfff, that was just a bit of banter. Harmless really, so… are we okay?”

Pinkie stared into Twilight’s eyes and examined her face. Although tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and her mouth was quivering as she spoke the words, there was still an essence emanating from her.

Something was, dishonest about it.

Perhaps it was in her eyes, as they kept darting back and forth between her and the book in Discord’s claws. A small flicker of cold fire reflected from her eyes each time they swapped. Ever since Twilight got that book, more and more abnormal occurrences have happened, occurrences far outside her character.

“Spike, Discord,” Pinkie asked the boys behind Twilight. “Why did you um, borrow her book?”

Twilight quickly snapped her head back at them, waiting for their response.

Are they going to betray me? She wondered. Just tell Pinkie the truth, there is nothing wrong with it. Stop making me look like the madpony… Spike.

Spike seized for a moment as a cold chill ran down his spine. He stared at Twilight as he thought of a response. He has already destroyed her trust by stealing her book. He has already hurt her by insulting her own self-awareness. Although it was out of love, what he has done has hurt her a lot. He didn’t want to hurt her anymore. It felt sick inside him, worse than anything nature or magic could throw at him.

Taking a gulp of air, and taking one last moment to think it through, Spike told Pinkie, “We… we have reason to believe that there are some… abnormal properties to the book that we didn’t notice at first glance.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Tell her. My words mean nothing to them compared to yours. They trust you more than me.” Discord’s voice hummed in Spike’s head.

“I can’t.” Spike replied to Discord before replying to Pinkie, “It’s very addictive… like it was written by a higher being.”

Twilight’s steel gaze softened. She was relieved that her friend was still loyal, and trusted her. With a flick of her horn, Twilight swiped the book from Discord’s paws and clutched the book to her chest.

Twilight returned to Pinkie and agreed, “Exactly, Spike. See, Pinkie, everything is just peachy.”

She did ease up, but still remained suspicious of Twilight. She nodded her head and began to make her way back to the spa.

“Well,” she said as she left. “I might as well finish my treatment with Rarity. You wanna come back, Twilight?”

Twilight answered with a whistle to her tune, “Nah, I got some business to take care of.”

“Okay…”

Pinkie disappeared from the corner of the building, and Twilight instantly took a huge sigh of relief. With her book in tow, Twilight pranced to the castle. Discord looked at Spike and shook his head in shame.

“I… I couldn’t.” Spike silently confessed.

“Couldn’t what?” Discord hissed back. “Couldn’t warn our friend that some demonic entity is controlling Twilight through that blasted book?”

Spike barked, “Twilight’s already on edge because of what’s been happening, Discord! I can’t push her anymore just because of a hunch.”

“A hunch? A moment ago, you said you knew something was wrong and something had to be done.”

“I thought so. And perhaps it was just what I said, somepony special wrote it and that’s why it’s so addicting. Outside of that, we can’t say that it’s evil.”

“…” Discord rolled his eyes.

“I, I just don’t want to hurt her by telling her closest friends she’s going crazy.”

“And what about me? No pony’s going to trust me. I’m the Spirit of Chaos, a known trickster with no pony on my side to tell fact from fiction.”

“Spike!” Twilight called out to her partner.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

She answered, “Come with me, I want to talk to you.”

As Spike began to walk up to her, Discord said one last thing, “It only takes a single glare to change your mind it seems. Are you going to keep bending to her will, even when you know something’s wrong?”

His, for once, solemn tone resonated in Spike’s head as he continued to walk to Twilight’s side as they headed to the castle.

The sky turned orange as the two approached the door. Twilight had one eye on the open book and the other on Spike.

She spoke, “Spike, what has Discord been saying to you recently?”

Spike replied, “What do you mean?”

Twilight only had to be quiet for a moment for Spike’s attempt at acting coy to stop.

“He’s been telling me how your book is, strange.” He answered, honestly.

“And do you believe that?”

“Yes, no, somewhat, gah-”

Twilight snapped a glance at him with both of her eyes and told him, “Discord is a mischief maker. He’s probably saying that stuff to get a rise out of you and all of us. It’s not like he actually cares about whether or not a book is evil. Do us both a favour, and don’t listen to him.”

The doors swung open, and Twilight and Spike walked into the castle. A pair of red eyes stared at them from outside, and Twilight had an idea who they belonged to.

Chapter 8: The Romance

“So, let me get this straight,” Ace replied. “You hear voices from your doll?”

Silver and Huntsmen glanced at each other, reading the concerned look on each other’s faced.

“Yes.” Eclipse nodded. “When Nightbeam speaks, they speak, and I listen. They are very wise, and I use that to aid me in my life. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“What are these, voices, like?” Silver asked.

“Darklight loves to cause trouble, Starglow enjoys teasing others to her will, and Shadow is the voice of reason. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don’t.”

Ebony then asked, “What are they saying about us?”

Eclipse stayed silent as she listened to the cat doll. The crackle of the fire in front of them kept out the silence as they waited. Through the smoke, Ace could see Mt. Gné, only a dozen kilometres ahead. After a long trip, they have finally done it, and now, they celebrate by spending the night enjoying a final supper and drink.

They had been telling stories of their lives and told personal secrets in their tipsy state. Silver had confessed to knowing the age of that mare, Huntsmen boasted how he crushed a whole nest of sparrow eggs between his thighs, Ebony admitted she always found Ace cute, and Eclipse had just recently revealed her abnormal mental state.

All that was left was Ace to tell a story. She had hundreds of adventures to choose from, but not one of them was really that notable. As Ace stared at the mountaintop, she recalled each and every adventure she went one ever since she was a foal. She found that, the best ones, were all the ones that she had Ebony with.

In her heart, there was a special place for the bat-pony. They had been friends for ages, and the two shared moments that many friends would die to share with their partners in crime. Ace glanced over to Ebony, and began thinking, thinking about their relationship, and how it could advance.

Eclipse finally spoke, “Darklight likes Ebony the most.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Ebony chimed, forgetting that it’s a disembodied voice that said that.

“Starglow thinks Silver is cute,”

Silver Chord blushed. A doll... Thinks I'm cute... Well, things just got a WHOLE lot more complicated. He thought.

Eclipse then continued. “…and Huntsmen is the strongest, and the most dashing.”

Silver’s face quickly turned to an irked scowl and looked towards Huntsmen, posing himself on the log and puffing his massive chest out. He rolled his eyes and returned to Eclipse, but not before giving a light punch to Huntsmen’s shoulder.

“And finally,” Eclipse concluded, looking towards Ace. “Shadow thinks you, Ace, are a great leader.”

“I am?!” Ace exclaimed.

“Although you have terrible sense of navigation and an annoying tendency to jump into things without a plan-”

“Hey!”

“-You bring great morale to the team, know how to defend yourself and your kin, and have a strong heart in justice.”

“Okay.” Ace simply nodded. It wasn’t the most ideal of judgements, but Ace still took the compliment.

Ace prepared herself as everypony’s attention turned to her. It was her turn to reveal something about herself, and she had just the thing in mind to tell, as her last words before they slept and headed to the volcano.

However, before Ace could speak, Huntsmen quickly asked Eclipse, “Do the voices tell you stories?”

“Actually, they do,” Eclipse answered.

At that moment, everypony returned to Eclipse.

“Can they tell us one?” Ebony begged.

Silver and Huntsmen tagged along and rapidly nodded their heads like excited puppies. Ace held back from intervening, for she too was curious of what stories these voices hold. Seeing as she didn’t really have any excuses, Eclipse agreed.

The four others surrounded Eclipse as she looked down to Nightbeam. She could feel the voices rush to the controls of her mind and take over. Stanzas and paragraphs were written from the abyss the voices reign from and presented by her tongue. She illustrated her story with magic, using the red of the fire, the black of the smoke, and the white of the stars to draw shapes and colours. As the night reached its peak, she told her story, The Tale of the Weaver Brothers.

“A long time ago, long before the islands took their shape, long before the world knew of the colour of fire, there were two brothers. The brothers were gifted by the gods with incredible magic, able to produce enchanted strings from only their hooves and mind. The first brother, The Weaver of Creation, made strings made from the strongest materials. His strings were indestructible, unmalleable, permanent. The other brother, The Weaver of Destruction, made strings made from the sharpest materials. And his strings were razor-sharp, honed, unyielding.

Together, the brothers brought great honour to their pony brethren with their gifts. The Weaver of Creation would raise buildings from the earth below, and The Weaver of Destruction would ward off the beasts that lingered. The Weaver of Creation would make clothing of the most elegant design, and The Weaver of Destruction would clear forests to make roads from. The Weaver of Creation would uphold peace, love, and spirituality, and The Weaver of Destruction would uphold justice, power, and mentality.

They would guide the souls of those who’ve had not yet departed, whose lives remained unfinished and without peace. The brothers would give those souls purpose and love, and aided them to the spirit realm. The world became silent and peaceful as the souls of those who have passed no longer mourned.

As they learned more about themselves, the greater they became. They weaved muscles into their flesh and bone, making them stronger than the strongest Earth pony. They laced wings to their bodies, and they could fly greater than any pegasi. They placed horns upon their heads, and could perform magic unknown to even the wisest unicorn. The brothers were seen as gods among mortal ponies, and for the early years of their life, they wandered the land, seeking out those who needed their help.

However, as the brothers got older, and their magic more firmly grasped, their bond slowly withered. The Weaver of Destruction no longer saw his brother as strong as he was. Even when faced with a force of evil, his brother refused to kill, and only sought peace with the monster. The appeal of aiding others fell from The Weaver of Destruction’s interests as well, seeing as they had become blind to the dangers of the world.

The Weaver of Creation kept to his ideals however. As he saw it, as long as he and his brother stayed to guide their pony brethren, there was no fear to be feared, no monsters to sacrifice lives to, and no struggle to endure. The two brothers began to argue with one another. Which was of greater value, independence or trust, fear or love, justice or mercy?

Eventually, The Weaver of Destruction rebelled against his brother. For it was only he that could break his brother’s strings, The Weaver of Destruction destroyed the buildings his brother created. He made an example of the danger that awaited outside his aging brother’s wall, and struck fear into the ponies.

With that fear, the ponies became strong, and warded off the beasts with as much ease as the other brother. Technology began to advance, and the land became more bountiful to its ponies. However, this came at a price. As weapons became common amongst the ponies, they became fearful of one another, and violence within soon followed. The Weaver of Creation looked over what his brother had brought, and was disgusted.

One night, as the Great Eclip set to its slumber in the horizon, The Weaver of Creation confronted his brother upon a mountain. On one side was the land The Weaver of Creation created, untouched. On the other side was the land that The Weaver of Destruction had usurped from his brother.

The Weaver of Creation instructed his brother, ‘Look upon your land. It has been inflected by the weeds of war and fear. Now tell me, is this right?’

The Weaver of Destruction coldly replied, ‘It has become a great and powerful society, Brother. Despite its faults, it is more suitable for these times approaching.’

His brother shook his head in disappointment. How could his brother have gone astray? What makes him think that tampering with a perfect land is correct?

His brother then motioned to the mountains beyond the walls of their land and said, ‘What are across those hills are monsters beyond what we faced as young. They can fly over your walls, they can travel under the earth, and they can kill without laying a claw onto their prey. Our ponies must be strong against the monsters when they come.’

The Weaver of Creation then asked, ‘And what happens after those monsters? Will your ponies be at peace, or shall they fight once more, not content with no matter how much blood you feed them? Blood has no value once removed from the heart that loves.’

The Weaver of Destruction didn’t reply. He flew away into the night, and returned to his half of the mountainside. He had disowned his brother, and proclaimed his land as separate to The Weaver of Creation’s. They had never looked into each other’s eyes before, and they vowed never to in the future.

Eventually, the monsters did come and invaded. While The Weaver of Creation’s wall stood firm, the beasts infiltrated his land through the other means his brother warned him about. Without adequate weapons, the ponies relied on their leader, The Weaver of Creation, to save them. However, he did not have such power without his brother. Instead, The Weaver of Creation made friends with some of the monsters, and they sacrifice themselves to ward off the other monsters from their friend and his land.

Without a sturdy wall, the monsters easily flooded into The Weaver of Destruction’s land. However, with military training rich in their blood, and weapons greatly more powerful than that of their brothering state, the ponies fought off the monsters. In a fortnight, most were defeated, few had retreated, and only one remained. The Weaver of Destruction brought it upon himself to slay the beast and done so. As a trophy of their victory, The Weaver of Destruction tore off its head and wore it as a helmet.

After the invasion had ceased, the brothers looked over their land once more. On The Weaver of Creation’s side, many more lived were taken, with some having the homes they were inside swallowed whole. However, its citizens remained peaceful, knowing that the damage can be repaired. On The Weaver of Destruction’s side, barely any lives were taken, and the land celebrated over their victory. However, in only a night’s time, a faction declared war onto another, and blood had been shed once more.

The brothers met on the mountain once more. They argued how their side handled the monsters better than the other. The Weaver of Creation called his brother a failure, for not ending the bloodshed on his land even after the vanquishing of the bloodthirsty monsters, and The Weaver of Destruction called his brother a coward, for allying with the monsters that killed and brought great suffering that still remained. Over the next set of generations, the two sides of the mountain quarreled more and more with each other, separating families and friends. This had caused them more pain than any of the monsters.

They’re arguing turned to rage, and their rage turned to violence. Wanting to expand their land, the ponies of The Weaver of Destruction waged battle against their neighboring territory. With their mastery in technology, they snuck behind The Weaver of Creation’s wall and attacked. For it was only he who could dull his brother’s strings, The Weaver of Creation put a stop to the invaders’ advances, weakening his brother’s weapons and strengthening defenses, but not before the lives of many were taken away.

That night, The Weaver of Creation confronted his brother in his palace, furious of what his brother’s followers have brought.

The first brother asked him, ‘Why? Why do you allow this? Your ponies have invaded my land, and have taken the lives of many families, defenseless against them.’

The other brother had no idea such an invasion took place, and to have it told to him now by his sworn enemy in his own palace shocked him.

Concerned, The Weaver of Destruction said, ‘I had no idea that such an incident had occurred. I am greatly sorry for your loss.’

‘If you were sorry,’ the first brother told him. ‘You would destroy the weapons that have brought this needless bloodshed. Ever since you left me, Brother, it seems there is more suffering in this world than ever before.’

In that instant, The Weaver of Destruction’s words turned from concern to anger.

He yelled, ‘Do not call me ‘Brother’. How dishonorable must you be, to blame your incompetence upon my ponies, upon these sacred grounds? My ponies are now strong, independent, free from the walls that you use to imprison your blind followers.’

The Weaver of Creation replied in an equally sharp tone, ‘I do so to protect them! How incompetent must you be to not know when innocent blood has been spilt by the hooves of your own?’

‘Be gone,’ said The Weaver of Destruction, ‘For what reason should I have to respect you anymore? I do not fear you.’

With that said, The Weaver of Destruction exited his throne, and walked to his personal chambers. Disgraced, The Weaver of Creation flew back to his land. The flames of fury swept through his castle as he went to sleep. The seeds of wrath were sown, and would soon blossom the weeds of death and loss the next morning.

As the Great Eclip rose and brought light to the land again, The Weaver of Creation looked out from his castle, and saw the towering buildings of metal and stone on the other side of the mountain. Soon, he predicted, soon those towers will devour the simple homes he had built, using their untied remains as foundation.

The Weaver of Destruction looked out from his palace as well, and saw the pure white walls of silk string on the other side of the mountain, not stained with a single drop of blood. Soon, he predicted, soon his ponies would turn against one another, fighting to be the first to break down that perfect wall, and destroy themselves and his entire land.

Desperate, they summoned a soothsayer to each of their homes and asked of them to tell them their future.

The foreseers told the brothers, ‘Look into your brother’s eyes, and see what he sees. Come to understand one another, and bring honour back to your land. If not, then you shall die at the hooves of your brother, and death and sadness shall reign over the land. The souls that die will never move on to the afterlife, and those that survive will never walk the same way they used to.’

The Weaver of Creation was stunned. If we were to protect his ponies, and keep peace across the land, he would have to break his vows. However, he knew it was for the better, and prepared to meet his brother one more time. He put on his finest robes, prepared a gift of good fortune, and flew to the mountaintop.

The Weaver of Destruction became furious. He made a vow, and wouldn’t soil his honour and the glory of his ponies by breaking it. If he was to be slain by his brother, then he will no longer have a brother to slay him. He put on his strongest armour, armed himself with his most powerful blade, and flew to the mountaintop.

The two brothers met at the top, and confronted each other one last time. The Weaver of Creation pleaded for mercy from his brother, trying to look into his eyes, but was obscured by the beast’s head. The Weaver of Destruction threatened to kill his brother, avoiding eye contact with him and focusing on his sword in hoof.

The Weaver of Creation pleaded one last time, ‘O’ Brother, please, there is no need for this fear, this violence. Accept my gift, and may us find balance and unity once more.’

The Weaver of Destructed simply responded, ‘O’ what a great fool you have become, for fear and violence is why I am so great. Die quickly, or I shall make the skies rain with your blood.’

Fear had overtaken The Weaver of Creation, just as it has for his brother, and with the misstep of a hoof, the battle begun. The two brothers fought with their godly powers for days and nights, their violent struggles crushed the earth beneath and silenced the winds above. Their fight became so brutal, that the sky and the Great Eclip shattered above, and were reformed into the constellations, the Sun, and the Moon. The entire world shook and reformed from each time one of the brothers had smashed the other into the mountain.

Until finally, after countless days and nights of fighting, The Weaver of Creation struck down his brother with his own strings. The Weaver of Creation was triumphant, but as time passed, the fear faded from his eyes and he saw what had come from his actions. The battle had destroyed the land on both sides of the mountain, and the mountain itself was now a volcano. Hundreds of lives were lost in the conflict as their homes were destroyed by loose strings and fragments of the sky.

Without his brother, The Weaver of Creation had become lonely, and lost touch with his once great powers. Without his brother’s strings, there was no means of removing the excess strings he alone had created. The sea shrunk as the strings littered the water, the land became unfertile as the strings choked the ground, and the sky became crowded with the constellations and quarreling daughters of the Great Eclip.

Although peace had returned, it was only in the silence of the dead. Although there was no longer fear, it was only for a few innocent moments before the ravenous monsters returned to consume the fearless, the unaware. Without his brother, The Weaver of Creation no longer found purpose to his life, not in his followers, nor in his wife, nor his daughter.

A year after his victory over his brother, The Weaver of Creation walked up to the grave of his brother, and saw a scroll sitting atop of the burial mound. It was one of the few things his brother created. Its fabric was razor sharp, and its contents stuck anypony who read it with fear, but also great power. No pony was able to read it to the end though, as anypony who tried were driven mad and had died from the cuts inflicted from the scroll.

After examining the scroll for some time, The Weaver of Creation decided to join alongside his fallen brother. He destroyed his body, and reweaved it into a scroll, one that gave whoever gazed upon it would become powerless, but also peace of mind. No pony would be able to read it to the end though, as anypony who tried simply gave up in humbleness and couldn’t find the strength to fully unravel the scroll’s heavy cloth.

Over time, the two scrolls, the last of the remnants of the Weaver Brothers, had become lost. No pony knew where they went, but some say that they’re still together, side by side. Over time, the Weaver Brothers were mostly forgotten by the world. The ponies moved on to form their own ideals and kingdoms. Over time, the land that was once the utopia the brothers created had formed into part of a larger nation, one of many that held both the ideals of The Weaver of Creation and The Weaver of Destruction.

Many years after the disappearance of The Weaver of Creation, his daughter, who was now a strong, beautiful mare, sought after conclusion to her father and uncle’s story. She found the two soothsayers, now old and dying, and asked of them what will now be of the two brothers.

In their dying words, they told her, ‘In one thousand, one hundred, and eleven years, the Weaver Brothers shall return to this world. They will look over what has become of their land, and finally see eye to eye. The land will be united once more, and as for the two brothers, they will walk side by side once more.’ The End.”

Eclipse suddenly snapped her head back and shook it. The voices left her mind and returned to Nightbeam, satisfied in their work. With her eyes restored, she saw her friends were asleep. Her story could only hold on to their dying stamina for so long.

Regardless, Eclipse was content, and went to sleep alongside them.

Twilight slowly eased the book onto her stomach, but kept an angle for her to still see the words. A sense of tiredness overwhelmed her, but she wanted to keep reading.

As the moon climbed higher and higher in the cloudy night sky, the words on the pages became less legible and more muddled. Soon, Twilight could only interpret single words before temporarily blacking out and returning to the same paragraph. Her eyes grew heavy, and her body ceased.

However, a voice then spoke into her ear, “Twilight.”

Twilight turned her head, and saw Ace, laid next to her in bed.

“Hi, Arcega,” Twilight greeted her friend.

“Oh please, Ace is fine,” Ace giggled.

“Okay, Ace.”

“Aren’t you excited? We’ve reached Mt. Gné!”

“I am!”

“Yeah!”

“But wait,” Twilight then asked. “What about Ebony? What were you going to say?”

“I… I don’t know. Perhaps, ‘Ebony, I know we’ve been best friends for a long time. So close, that I want to take it to the next step. Ebony, will you be my special somepony?’.”

Twilight thought more a moment before giving her opinion.

“I think it should be a bit longer,” she said. “Add some poetic statements in. Show her how you feel it should be taken to the next level.”

“Are you sure?” Ace asked.

Silver, appearing from the other side of Twilight, responded, “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Thanks, Silver.” Twilight replied.

Huntsmen squirmed from below Twilight, making room for him to breathe. He gave a nodding huff in response to the conversation above before going back to sleep.

“Yeah, Hunter has the right idea,” Silver proclaimed. “We should get to sleep.”

As Silver snuggled in however, a might jolt punched him in the side. It was Huntsmen, getting back at him.

Twilight and Ace giggled at the stallions before returning to one another. Ebony hung from the canopy, still resting while the two mares talked.

Their talk was nothing notable to an outside observer. They shared inside jokes, gossiped about current events, and told of the adventures they have experienced.

“Whoa! You beat a whole crew of pirates?!” Ace exclaimed midway through the chat.

“Yeah,” Twilight further explained. “The captain was the worst, which is a shame, from what I’ve heard from Rarity, he wasn’t that bad of a stallion.”

“Still, you brought justice to the sea, and saved the world.”

“I guess I did, alongside a few other times.”

“Like when?”

“Oh, you know, stopping the Spirit of Chaos and reforming him, reversing a Changeling invasion twice, preventing the return of an evil smoke king, sending a power-thirsty centaur back to Thanatus, saving the universe from an interdimensional conqueror, saving a distant kingdom from a grand-scale coup, stopping a bloodthirsty warrior from assassinating Princess Celestia, the usual.”

“…You know, with that first one, did you actually reform him?” Ace asked.

Twilight winced, feeling a piercing gaze from behind. It latched onto the back of her head, and gazed into her mind.

Twilight shook off the feeling and replied, solemnly, “Well, maybe ‘reformed’ isn’t the ideal word.”

“He’s the Spirit of Chaos, so wouldn’t conforming be contradictory to his being?”

“Yeah bu-”

“And wouldn’t it be more in his nature to steal that book?”

“Yeah bu-”

“Twilight, we need you to keep reading the book until the end. Without you, our story won’t advance. Centura will fall to Lord Thanatus, everypony I ever knew and love will be gone. My aunt, my uncle, the princess, that homeless stallion that hangs out at the tavern, everypony, will be gone if you stop reading.”

“…” Twilight was in utter dismay, for how could she even find herself thinking about closing that book.

“Everything depends on you finishing that book, both here and in your world,” Ace heeded. “Please Twilight, don’t fail us.”

With a wave of determination rushing through her body, Twilight jerked up out of bed. She lifted the book with her magic and found her spot. She looked around in the empty room and saw no pony was going to disturb her, and so, she read.

Eclipse slept alongside the others around the dying fire, cuddling Nightbeam and snuggling into Huntsmen’s warm underbelly. However, unlike the others, who dreamed in the night, she joined alongside her partners in Nightbeam, and the four spent the night there.

It was a dark, endless chamber, with Eclipse standing in the center of it. Ahead of her was a sharp, orange shade of empty light, with a shadow inside resembling a pony. To her sides were similar beings, one emitting a just, light blue glow, and the other a solemn, dark blue shine.

“Hello,” Eclipse greeted the beings.

“So, we’re finally done with this quest?” the blue being, Shadow, asked.

The orange light, Starglow, replied, “There is still the obstacle of obtaining the sword.”

“Yeah, and killing Lord Thanatus,” the red one, Darklight, added. “What do you say that sword will sell for?”

“Legally or in the black market?” Shadow asked.

Darklight pondered before answering, “Hmm… might be more fun to drop it in the black market, see what happens to it.”

“Who knows,” Starglow countered, “Such a powerful blade would be quite effective in our work.”

“That would imply that we can’t take on anything.” Darklight replied in a cocky tone.

Shadow then added, “She does have a point. Remember our fight against Thunderbolt Sentinel in the East Lands?”

“Not this again…” Darklight groaned.

As the two stallion beings began to argue with each other, Eclipse turned to face Starglow. But as she turned around, she was only met with darkness. Starglow had disappeared.

“Starglow?” Eclipse called out into the void.

It wasn’t the first time one of the voices disappeared. Starglow was probably peeking into the dreams of Huntsmen. After calling for her names a few times, Eclipse gave up and returned her attention to the barking voices.

“And furthermore,” Shadow proclaimed to his rival. “If we weren’t lucky, we would be spending at least twenty years behind bars!”

Eclipse and Shadow turned to face Darklight in order to see what he had to say, but he was gone as well.

“Pfff, typical,” Shadow huffed.

Eclipse called out, “Darklight! Where’d you go?”

As Eclipse examined the void around her, Shadow explained his theory, “He probably couldn’t face the fact that I’m right. Bah, whatever, at least we’re getting something from this quest. Hey where’s Starglo-”

Shadow’s voice was suddenly snuffed out. Eclipse turned around to see what stopped his rambling, only to see nothing. She was all alone in the now pitch black darkness of her mind.

“Starglow? Darklight? Shadow?” Eclipse yelled out.

One voice disappearing was common, two was odd, yet nothing alarming, but all three vanishing had never happened. There was nowhere all three could’ve gone to without Eclipse’s knowledge, and yet, it has happened.

Eclipse wandered the darkness, not scared, but very concerned for her voices. At the end of her vision, a red dot appeared. It was a fourth light, a fourth voice in her mind. She didn’t recognize it one bit, but knew for certain it wasn’t as friendly as the others.

As she and the red being drew closer and closer, the void begun to change. A floor of hardened tar rose from the depths and stopped at Eclipse’s hooves. The emptiness above was now polluted with black clouds and smog. Spires sprung from the black pool and twisted and curved together. Upon reaching the source of the red light, Eclipse saw the shadow of a massive dragon, perched upon a throne made of smoldering riches and bones.

“Greetings,” the alien voice spoke.

“Lord Thanatus?” Eclipse asked.

“Clever mare, you appear to really fulfill the role of the wise.”

“What did you do to the others?”

“What else do you do to a light? You snuff it out. They are dead.”

Eclipse gave a huff in prideful disagreement. “I highly doubt that.”

“I figured you would. Regardless of whether or not you believe, I will be the only one here to haunt your mind. You will become my slave, and will do as I say.”

“In your dreams,”

“Dreams? I rather prefer nightmares.”

Without a second for her to react, the dragon shot his claws out to her. The black digits of his claws stretched out from the light and wrapped around Eclipse. She was then pulled to the being’s face, and crushed by the constricting power of his shadows.

“Nightmares give a pony reason to become strong. They show what monsters are out there, and how to vanquish them. My pedagogue taught me that, and now I shall teach you, by destroying your friends and the land you hold so dear.”

Eclipse, feeling as if her bones were about to snap, resisted his presence with all of her might. But without Starglow, Darklight, and Shadow, she was virtually powerless in the mental realm. As she looked up at the monster before her, she saw a bright, red eye, piercing into her soul.

“Their inferior defensives shall fall, and a new age of power will come, my power.”

As Spike lay in his bed, Twilight’s voice echoed through the castle. Out loud she read the words and made her own comments during parts of the story.

“Starglow?” Twilight would ask alongside Eclipse.

“Eclipse, no!” Twilight would scream as her eyes watched in horror.

“Lord Thanatus, you bast-” She would holler before hopping back into the words.

Spike couldn’t fall asleep for the night. Twilight’s reading was too loud, but more notably, and the reason he didn’t go in her room to stop her, was that he was enjoying it. He was enjoying it despite his body crying at him to go to sleep, with only his ears and mind to refute such please.

He enjoyed that book, and he hated that he did.

Chapter 9: The Fall

The sun drew at its highest as the heroes reached the top of the volcano. At the edge of the crater rim, they saw a vast pool of molten rock awaiting them. Bubbles and small bursts of lava fling upwards at them, but only reached a quarter of the way up.

Huntsmen kicked a pebble into the crater, and they watched it take the long fall into the fiery abyss.

“Looks like half-kilometre drop.” Eclipse said in observation.

“Ebony, Silver Chord, survey the area for where the Olc Sword may be.” Ace commanded.

The two winged ponies nodded and flew into the volcano. They circled the walls of the crater several times, glancing over the various alcoves and subtle details in the rock. While they were doing that, Ace and Eclipse talked with each other while Huntsmen observed silently.

“What do you think the Olc Sword looks like?” Ace asked.

Eclipse answered, “Like a sword Death would wield.”

“…Okay, that’s a bit vague.”

“Black, happy?” Eclipse responded in a snarky manner.

“Oh, I guess so.” Ace agreed. “Perhaps the blade has spikes protruding from its side. Or maybe it has wings for the cross guard, and a skull for the pommel.”

Eclipse rolled her eyes.

“Oh! Oh!” Ace continued. “Maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s a scythe, and it’s just a sword in title. Yeah, and the blade itself is like a dragon’s claw and-”

“Enough,” Eclipse quietly snapped.

Ace backed away and sat on a nearby rock, stung from Eclipse’s sharp tone. Perhaps it was an uncomfortable sleep last night that was giving her this bitter mood.

But before Ace could test that theory, Ebony’s voice chimed from below, “We found something!”

Ace joined the other two as they looked at Ebony and Silver, fluttering next to a cavern opening. It was only a few metres above the lava, but it seemed safe once inside the cave.

“There it is,” Eclipse declared to Ace and Huntsmen at her sides. “Let’s go.”

With a flick of her horn, Eclipse disappeared from the rim and reappeared at the cave entrance. Huntsmen galloped around the rim to right above the cave entrance. He pulled out his sword, and jumped over the edge. He then dug his massive sword into the wall and grinded down the cavern face till he reached Eclipse and the others. The four then looked up to Ace, waiting for her.

Ace took a few steps back from the edge, tightening her cloak around her thin skin. She ran, and took a running leap off the edge. The rush instantly set in as Ace plummeted right towards the center of the pit. The heat rising from the molten rock filled her cloak, causing it to inflate at her back. Her cloak turned into a parachute of sorts and Ac’s decent came to a grinding stop. Like the winged ponies, Ace soared across the crater. The whizzing warm wind in her face after a night of cold silence filled her with glee and adrenaline.

“Whoo-hoo!” Ace cheered as she soared.

Ebony joined alongside Ace, and the two flew around the crater. Joy filled the two as they chased and danced across the glowing stage. Ebony flew under Ace and the two met eye-to-eye. A face of awe dawned onto Ace. Ebony was beautiful in her eyes, just as much as the beauty Ebony saw in Ace. The two drew in closer and closer. Their bodies meet hoof to hoof, belly to belly.

But just before Ace does what she always dreamed of doing, Silver swooped in above them and yelled, “Hey! Get out of the lava!”

Ace and Ebony looked below, and suddenly realized they were only a false wing flap above the lava floor. Silver and Ebony immediately grabbed Ace and escorted her to Eclipse and Huntsmen, impatiently waiting for them at the cave entrance.

As Ace landed on her hooves, she was met with a glare of disapproval from Eclipse.

“Enough wasting my time,” she warned. “Let’s get the sword and get out.”

The five ponies made their way into the cave, and began the final stretch of their quest. However, unknown to them, they were being followed.

Spike’s eyes opened slowly and his sight was greeted by the light of the rising sun, peaking through storm clouds. He didn’t catch of wink of sleep that night. He was so concentrated on listening to Twilight read, every instinct called for him to sleep became void.

It was at this point in the story where Twilight would host a conversation with Ace and the others in her room. It was the sixth time this night and morning, and Spike knew the drill. At that point, Spike’s instincts would kick in and drive the small dragon to drop all bodily functions and try to sleep. However, the shutdown would halt the second Twilight resumed her story, and Spike would be back to intently listening to it.

As his body was shutting down this time, Spike reminisced the two or so times he would summon the leftover strength in him to check on Twilight while she had these talks. He would poke his head into her room, only to be met by Twilight, giggling and chatting to the emptiness surrounding her bed, save for Owlowiscious one time.

This time, he was on the teetering point of falling asleep, to escape into the land of dreams. But the first word of the next paragraph was spoken, and it was back to square one.

The first challenge that halted the heroes progress came in the form of a stone gate. The gate had no door, but the cracks along the outside edge showed that it was. On the gate were a series of twenty five stone pads, each engraved with a specific symbol.

Ace, Ebony, Silver, and Huntsmen, all looked over the massive tablet with disgusted expressions on their faces.

Eclipse however, stepped forth and took a quick scan and quickly got to work. Using her magic, she pressed the pads in a rapid sequence, too fast for the others to render.

She chanted as she worked, “Cross, Flower, Moon, Hourglass, Fire, Sunset, Fire, Fire, Skull, Sun, Elder, Moon, Pitchfork, Lightning, Cross, Flower, Moon.”

A loud series of cracking sounds echoed throughout the cave. The stone gate rumbled and shuttered before turning to dust on the spot. The next chamber of the cavern was open.

Spike awoke in a cold sweat on his bed. His body was dripping in his own fluids and a putrid stench filled the air. He was sticky, stiff, cold, hot, hungry, thirsty, and overall just a mess.

He quickly sprung from his bed and went to the bathroom as fast as possible, where he instantly made work to clean himself. The aftermath of a poorly-prepared nap following a night filled with insomnia is never fun. Yet, as he cleaned himself, disgusted with the current state of his body, he realized something, something odd.

Twilight couldn’t be heard.

Quickly, he rushed to Twilight’s bedroom and peaked in.

She was gone.

No longer had the words of the book reverberate throughout the castle, only the crackling of thunder and first drops of rain.

“Twilight?” His voice echoed through the empty bedroom and out into the hall.

Curious of what could’ve prompted her to leave, Spike examined the room for any clues. There were no signs of a struggle, nor anything urgent it seemed. Owlowiscious then swooped into the room and perched on top of Spike’s head as he was checking out the closet.

Spike looked up and asked the owl, “Do you know where Twilight went?”

“Who,” it simply responded.

Spike looked back into the closet, and noticed a particular duo of outfits missing.

“What would Twilight need with her raincoat and regal robes? Where would she need them?” Spike asked to the owl.

Suddenly, Owlowiscious went into a flurry as a series of rapid hoots and kneading at Spike’s scalp erupted from him.

“Hey!” Spike barked, waving his hoof above his head. “What’s going on?!”

Owlowiscious leaped from Spike and flew away into the hall. Hooting echoed from the halls, like he wanted Spike to follow.

It would only be a matter of minutes before the heroes were met by another stone gate. This one looked much stronger than the previous one. It had no stone pads or any designs painted onto it, just a silver crack painted to the center.

“What’s with this one?” Ace asked.

“Nothing I can do.” Ebony replied.

Ebony and Silver simply shook their heads.

Huntsmen however, had a slowly growing grin on his face. One by one, the four others turn to see his blossoming expression.

“Hunter?” Silver asked.

“…” The grin on Huntsmen’s face grew even more.

“Hunter, this better not be-it is, it stinking is.”

“What?” Ace tried to ask, only to be cut off by Silver shooing her and the other mares to the side of the cavern wall.

Silver casually answered, “Oh, Hunter is doing something stupid.”

“Should we stop him?” Ebony asked.

“I said it was stupid, I didn’t say it wasn’t effective.”

With a stomp on the stone floor and a snarling war cry, Huntsmen bolted for the wall. He pulled out his sword, and as his skull collided with the wall, his great sword smashed into the silver crack. The entire volcano shook for a second as the unstoppable force met the immovable object. Dust polluted the air, obscuring the other’s vision and breathing. They coughed and gagged until the dust settled.

When they looked back to Huntsmen, they saw the stone gate had been split in two halves, plus millions of pieces of rubble. Huntsmen was on the other side of the wall, smiling at them with a mouth missing a tooth.

“C’mon Hunter,” Silver moaned. “You know the nearest dentist is a couple weeks away.”

Huntsmen rolled his eyes and proceeded to go deeper in the cave. The others slowly followed, careful not to cut themselves with rock sharks.

“Hey, wait a second, if you could do that, why didn’t you just break down the previous wall?”

Spike followed Owlowiscious into the library. The place hadn’t been touched by Twilight for so long, Spike had forgot the last time he was set to reorganize books after a binge reading session.

At the study table in the center of the room, a series of books were spread out, opened. Loose pieces of twine lay on top of the stack, connecting the pages. Spike slowly looked up and Owlowiscious, but quickly purged the mental questioning of the analytical capabilities of owls.

Careful not to mess with the twain, Spike lifted each book to examine the covers.

“’Alchemy for Morons’, ’Interdimensionalism; The In-Between’, ’The Princess in Yellow’, ‘Tales of Wisteria’,‘Theoretical Super-Magic; Part 69’, hold on,” Spike told himself.

He picked himself up from the floor and examined the open page from the last book he saw the title of. At the top of the page, it showed a rough sketch of a transmutation circle. Spike read the passage below.

Henri Ponycaré’s Chaos Ring: While not confirmed to actually work, Jewels Henri Ponycaré has developed the most theoretically stable algorithm of attaching a ring and runes to a standard transmutation circle that allows for the manipulation of chaos magic. Using Chaos Ice created from the reign of Discord, Henri was able to find nano-atomic patterns that seemed to be present in all forms of chaos magic.

He then translated these patterns to other forms of magic, placed them onto a transmutation circle, and translated them back to their chaotic language, now inscribed onto a transmutation. Experiments were performed, but were quickly brought to a halt following Accident Isabelle. As of now, there are no signs of the experiments being brought back into action.

“For the time being,” said Mr. Ponycaré. “We are currently unable to confirm whether or not this ‘ring’ of sorts works. When even in a dormant state within range of a foal, it has shown to impart chaotic effect on the foal’s growth, mentality, and magical capabilities. However, perhaps in the future, we can finally harness the power of Discord. If this ring works, any spell involving the use of a transmutation circle will be able to affect chaotic beings and have properties similar to chaos magic. These include levitation, form altercation, and a favourite of mine, anti-magic.”

Spike’s eyes wandered back up to the picture. He noticed that the outermost ring of the circle was an almost exact replica as the one he and Discord found at the spa.

As the five reached the deeper reaches of the cavern, the area begins to grow dark. Each step they take removes a hoofstep of vision ahead of them. Finally, it reaches a point where they can only see the light behind them, and nothing ahead of them.

A loud slap echoed as Ace slammed her face in the wall in front of her.

“Ow!” She cried.

“Just use your magic.” Ebony replied.

“You don’t think I’m trying?”

Ebony got as close as she could to Ace and watched as her horn illuminated. However, only a tiny twinkle of blue light could be seen, as the ravenous darkness consumed the rest.

It was only a few moments before the chaos began to set in. Huntsmen, Eclipse, Silver, Ebony, and Ace cried and snapped at each other.

“Hey! Who’s touching me?”

“Is this a pony?”

“Is it too late to say I’m afraid of the dark?”

“Not in the no no zone!”

“Help!”

“Where are the torches?”

“It’s no use!”

“I think this is Ace, no, Hunter?”

“What is that supposed to imply?!”

“Hey! That better be a rock!”

A loud whistle suddenly piped over the arguing ponies. Ace, Huntsmen, Silver, and Eclipse search around to find the source, not knowing it’s Ebony right next to them.

“I’m a bat-pony,” she explained. “I can lead us to the next gate. Now, whoever is touching my rear, stop it.”

“Sorry.” Ace whispered.

Ebony separated herself from the team. She turned to the darkness, and with the power of her vocals, she emits a powerful squeak that ricochets across the walls. The others cringe at the volume, but Ebony uses it to detect the path they should be heading.

“Follow me,” Ebony said before emitting another squeak.

“O-ow-K,” Ace agreed.

Carefully, the five made their way down the cave. With Ebony as their beacon, the heroes follow the ear-piercing noises throughout the darkness. At one point, they reach a tight portion of the cave, and one-by-one, they squeeze through. Unknown to them, it was the third gate.

A light appeared in the dark distance. Its radiance immediately attracted the ponies, as they all charged towards the light.

“Finally!” Silver cheered. “No more screeching!”

They galloped to the fiery glow, before coming to a grinding halt. They stop just before reaching the source of light, right at the edge of a drop. The light they saw was a steam of magma, violently thrashing and crashing across the bottom of the underground ravine they have just reached.

“Well, poop.”

“We were lost in the Everfree Forest. For days, weeks maybe, we had been without food or water in hoof, and had to rely on the Everfree Forest to provide for us. We were at wit’s end, we were about to admit defeat.

However, we saw it. The legends were true! There, in the middle of the forest, was a clearing with a group of standing stones at its center! We had found the long-fabled Ruins of The Distant Traveler! In ancient pony culture, it is said that this area was the place where the gods would descend down from the heavens upon, and grant the wishes of their ponies. Own wishes were most certainly granted.

Because, unknown to the ponies of the past, recent studies from past explorers had shown that this place is one of the few Inanis Zones, locations with greatly heavier interdimensional gravity than most other places. If used right, they theorized that they can be used to teleport anywhere in the universe.

And by Jove, we proved that theory right. With the aid of our strongest unicorn, Boris Sparkle, we were able to open a portal to the Castle of the Two Sisters. We hopped in, and we were back to where we started.”

Spike put the journal back onto the table and took a breath. Reading out loud was habit he both loved and hated to have.

He place the string of twine back on the open journal and looked over Owlowiscious’s web of books and strings once more. Clearly, Owlowiscious understands there’s something more to the book.

The only question: What is this “more” to the book?

Spike continued to look over his owl friend’s work. He sifted through several books and found a small scroll, squished beneath several large books.

He unfurled the scroll and read the title, “’Prince Doúlos Thanatus and the Mad Book of Power’,”

Ace, Ebony, Huntsmen, and Eclipse sat at the caves wall, looking over the magma ravine next to them, trying to figure out what to do next.

Silver soon returned from his expedition of the area, and the four turned to listen.

“Alright,” he explained. “The next one of those stone walls at the end of the ravine. However, its opening is where the lava’s going, and in order to reach it, you have to go through this tight pass with a really low ceiling. It’s impossible to fly through the pass without burning up.”

“So what do we do?” Ebony asked.

Silver took a while to answer, “I... I’m not sure.”

His eyes then glanced to the side and see a series of stalagmites on the walls of the area, right next to them.

“I have an idea though,” He said with a smirk.

With a flick of his wings, Silver leapt to on top of one of the stalagmites. He steadied himself as the others watched in confusion. Silver Chord then pulled out his bow and placed in an arrow, prompting Huntsmen to place a hoof to his face.

“What is he doing?” Ace asked.

Huntsmen quietly responded, “Something stupid.”

Silver fired an arrow into the rock. A crack forms halfway around the stalagmite. Silver pulls out another arrow and aims.

Ebony quickly asked, “Shouldn’t we stop him?”

“I said it was stupid,” Huntsmen replied. “I didn’t say it’s not going to work.”

“Not this again…” Eclipse moaned.

The arrow slid into the growing crack with great power and ease. The stalagmite snapped, and was then only hanging by a fragment of stone. Ace and Ebony gasped and grabbed onto each other.

Silver prepared the last arrow.

“Hey, Huntsmen,” Silver called out, using his friend’s actual name.

“What?” Huntsmen asked.

“If I don’t survive this, tell that mare from the tavern… Tell her she’s a twit.”

“…” Huntsmen silently nodded.

“And you, Ebony.”

“What?” Ebony asked.

“…Keep an eye on Hunter for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Ace,”

“Yes?” Ace asked.

“Remember when we first met? At that tree by the road?”

“Yes.”

“Under that tree, you’ll find around 20 kilos of questionable substances I’d rather not describe. It’s not illegal or anything, but I’d rather not have it be sticking around. Burn it.”

“…” Ace gulped before giving a nod in agreement.

“And finally, Eclipse.”

“What do you want from me?” Eclipse coldly asked.

Silver thought for a moment before answering, “…Just, get yourself a stallion or something.”

The final arrow was fired, and Silver plummeted to the bottom of the ravine. A large splash erupted from the stalagmite hitting the lava. The four looked away from potentially seeing Silver’s charred corpse.

However, instead of screams and sizzling echoing from below, whoops and cheers of joy echoed to the four. They instantly looked back, and saw Silver riding the stalagmite down the river. All but Eclipse’s jaws dropped.

“Whoo! Come on, the wate-lava’s great!” Silver hollered.

The four looked over to the stalagmites, and quickly regretted what came to their minds.

Twilight hopped up and down in glee and excitement as she read how Ace and her friends surf down the lava ravine. The action, the comedy, the sheer fun of it, it was all nearly distracting her from what was a hoofstep right in front of her.

Luckily though, the streets of Ponyville were mostly clear from any bystanders. The second wave of the monsoon was coming, and no pony wanted to get soaking wet. Twilight was prepared however, as her yellow raincoat was firmly wrapped around her fur, and her umbrella protecting her face and her book.

The rains did come. In a matter of moments, the moderately dry buildings of Ponyville turned to rock faces with water pouring down from their rooftops. The sky had darkened to a firm grey and the ground looked similar to that of the floor of the Everfree Forest, almost impossible to see.

As Twilight entered the Everfree Forest, she could hear the strumming of a guitar in the distance. Laid beneath one of the larger trees was Silver, practicing as usual. As Twilight walked past, Silver packed up his guitar, picked up his bow, and joined alongside her.

After a while of the two silently walking, a large tree falls in front of them. A large sword emerges from behind it and chops the tree in two. It was Huntsmen, and he joined Silver and Twilight on their quest.

The three walked a fair distance before the fluttering of wings could be heard overhead. They look up to see Ebony, as she descends onto the group. She landed and perched herself on Huntsmen’s back, and the four make their way to their destination.

A blue light flashed behind the group as they walked further. They stop a moment and look back, and see that it’s Arcega Shutts Minn, come to help. Ace joined the team, and together, the press on to find the best place to finish this book once and for all.

As the rainfall and thunder grew harsher and harsher, the words in the book became louder and more striking character per character. However, despite this emersion, a question flickered in Twilight’s mind.

Where is Eclipse?

It had been a while since the five had passed a gate, and were curious to when they’d come across the next gate, and more importantly, where the Olc Sword is.

Ace looked back at her friends, all still energized from the lava run. She smiled and looked back ahead.

“You know something,” Huntsmen pointed out. “Even if this quest was all for nothing, I have to say, it was pretty fun.”

Silver agreed, “Yeah, I have to agree with you Hunter. We should do this more often. Also, Ace, forget what I said about the 20 kilos.”

“This was a great deal of fun!” Ebony cheered. “However, I wouldn’t say it could be all for nothing, isn’t that right, Ace?”

Ace glanced back and saw Ebony, making a suggestive face in her direction. Ace blushed.

She shook off the glance however, and with pride in her voice, she announced to her team, “Thank you. Thank you all. Without your strength, bravery, spirit, and wisdom, the kingdom of Centura, mine and Ebony’s home, would be gone. With the aid of the Olc Sword, and our friendship, we will vanquish Lord Thanatus!”

A gasp escaped Eclipse’s throat. Within seconds, she was kneeling at the ground, struggling whatever invisible entities were clawing at her mind. Eclipse’s horn glowed a vicious red, and begun flicking various darkening shades of velvet.

“Eclipse, are you okay?!” Ace worriedly asked, slowing approaching her.

“I’m… sor-ry, Arcega…” Eclipse sputtered in her spasm.

As Ace attempted to reach her hoof out to her, a thick black spike fired from the ground, glowing as red as Eclipse’s horn. It sliced into Ace’s shoulder and dug into the ceiling.

Ace screamed and backed away from Eclipse. The others gathered around her and aimed their weapons at her.

Eclipse spoke once more, this time, with a voice of one hundred moaning souls, “I’m sorry Arcega, I can’t let you do that.”

Behind Eclipse, at the end of the visible cavern, appeared Lord Thanatus himself and an army of his finest soldiers.

Behind Eclipse, at the edge of the Everfree Forest, stood Discord himself as well as Pinkie, Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack.

Chapter 11: The Revelation

Three rolls of thunder echoed from the outside storm as Spike looked over the scroll that Owlowiscious gave to him. It took a while to translate the text in his mind, but Spike eventually got himself reading “Prince Doúlos Thanatus and the Mad Book of Power” with decent fluency.

            A long time ago,

In a land greatly west of the Far East,

But far east from the Great West,

Stood a kingdom known as Wisteria.

It was a grand kingdom,

At its greatest in fame and prosperity,

But that all changed in a fortnight,

When the monsters known as Centmasters came.

In a fortnight,

The skies turned to scrapes. In a fortnight,

The seas turned to tar. In a fortnight,

The land of Wisteria became a nightmare.

But from the shadows of Death,

Emerged a hero to end the nightmare,

And save his land. Heir of Wisteria’s throne,

Known only as Prince Doúlos Thanatus.

With an army at his reign,

He set off beyond the walls of Wisteria,

For he had heard of a mystical book,

One that may save his land.

The Mad Book of Power.

Said to grant whomever read it godliness,

With great strength, magic, and immortality,

But would turn he who read it mad.

With no regard to consequence,

The prince searched the land for the book,

And in six days’ time, he done so,

Within an old chapel, the book was found.

At one’s first glance,

The book was a mere almanac,

But the book wielded several tricks,

For the pages within held great power.

The prince read,

Upon reaching the eleventh page of the book,

He could lift a mountain with a single hoof,

Yet, he wanted more power.

Stop!

Spoke his loving friends and advisers,

Heed our pleas and warnings,

You are growing mad.

But the prince didn’t,

He read on, and by the halfway mark,

He could create a tidal wave with a single yawn,

And kill without a second thought.

He soon grew alone,

The more his friends warned him,

The more the prince despised them,

Distrust blossomed from the book’s seed.

Finally, it came,

When his friends decided one night,

To take matters into their own hooves,

And take the prince’s book.

They snuck into his tent,

And stole the book from his hooves,

They ran as far away as they could,

But couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

One by one,

The prince, now lost to the book,

Slain each of his friends and advisers,

All with great ease with his vast power.

One remained,

It was the prince’s wife, his closest,

She fled into the woods from his wrath,

But she could never hide from the watching shadows.

In only a night,

The prince found his wife and the book,

His wife pleaded for mercy and love,

She died halfway through her pleas.

With the book back,

The prince continued reading the almanac,

Convinced that what he’s done is right,

Despite the blood in which he shed.

He was nearly done,

Upon reaching the final page though,

His hooves began to wither and shake,

He couldn’t find himself reading the final words.

His mind was gone,

It was shattered to where he couldn’t read,

It had molded to a bloodthirsty animal,

But was guided by the force of power itself.

The book talked,

It told the prince what to do and where to go,

It guided his every action from then on,

It used the prince as his student, his proxy.

With the book as guide,

The prince slain his entire army and revived it,

Into monsters of the darkness and shadows,

They became the slaves of him and the book.

There was no longer the prince,

Only a demon’s servant known as a lord,

Whom wanders the land with his armies,

Fulfilling his master’s dark and evil wishes.

From good intentions,

To aligning with the nightmares themselves,

Prince Doúlos made a great, selfish error,

And became the deathly Lord Thanatus.

What came of the book?

It changed shape once more,

Beware a simple story known as,

“The Adventures of Arcega Minn”.

For if one reads,

Till the very last word and letter,

The demon of the book shall come,

And the Nightmare shall be once more.

“Twilight!”

Lord Thanatus stabbed his sword into the ground and took a knee.

He spoke, “I was a lot like you. I myself sought the fruits of justice. My homeland was under attack by great beasts, and only I could stop it. I set out in search of the blade that rests by my side. After many days and nights, I found it, but when I touched it… I realized something. All that I fought for, the souls of who I once cared about, who I loved, would all go away.

It was inevitable. All the battles, the bad days, the brutalities, it would all be for nothing. The way things were going for me, it would only bring peace for half a second before everything was gone. Touching that sword, a becoming filled with the truth it had forged inside, it changed everything.

Do you realize what a vile world we live in, how lonely it is to wade through all the wretch and filth the past has brought, only to join it in the future? Even in a crowd of other loved ones and strangers, you're so insignificant that you can kick, claw, yell, kill, do whatever you want, and in time, no pony cares. It's like you don't even exist! I felt, sometimes I felt like I'm trapped on this eternal path leading nowhere, into just emptiness before I’d eventually die…”

The sword lost its grip on the cracked earth and rested against Thanatus’s shoulder.

He continued, “Then I touched the sword, Margáil Le Bás. I touched the sword, and I immediately felt adrift, floating, anew with the power it gave me, and I was plucked from the river into something new. It was the sweet release of death practically, and it was all very exciting really. Looking in the reflection of my sword, it was like meeting somepony new, entirely different from the old, weak me, which believe me, dear, I've never felt before.

You understand don’t you? The rush you felt when reaching this room, makes you almost forget the loss of your friends. Even the ponies you swore to protect seem to fade away from your mind as you feel the power emanating from the sword that you have found!”

“…” Ace was deathly silent.

“Arcega, join me, and my ageless army, and together, we can escape the inevitability of being worthless, you and me, teacher and student.”

Ace silently stared at Lord Thanatus through the golden hair in her eyes. Thanatus stared back with the fiery tint of his eyes, but not making eye contact. The cavern turned silent once more, with the only sound being the dripping of Ebony’s blood from the black blade.

Slowly, Ace rose up and approached Lord Thanatus. The metal armour rose back up, towering over the mare as she approached. It stretched out a steel-clad hoof to her, and Ace reached out hers. They two hooves drew closer, and closer, and closer.

However, Ace’s hoof stopped before contact. Lord Thanatus paused. His sword began to emit a red aura.

“You want to know something?” Ace asked the King of Nightmares.

“…” The helmet and crown shifted downwards.

“After telling me all that, your origins, your philosophy, what that blade means to you, I have just one question... Well, more of a response.”

“…” The helmet and crown crept to Ace’s head.

Immediately, Ace pulled out something behind her and smashed it against the helmet, screaming, “That does not excuse you killing everypony!”

She swung the object again to the other cheek. Before Lord Thanatus could even react, the object smashed into the other side of his helmet, sending him tumbling a few hoofsteps to his side.

“Justice shall be brought upon you!” Ace declared. “For my friends, my kingdom, and the world!”

As she pulled the black object behind her head, preparing for an overhead chop, Lord Thanatus drew his blade. It extended out over his head just as Ace swung. As the two weapons clashed together, a snapping ring echoed.

The top half of Lord Thanatus’s blade dropped to the floor, cut clean off from the rest.

Lord Thanatus took a step back, and finally saw what Ace was wielding.

“Glacadh An Bháis… How did you-”

“I picked it up when you threw me across the room.” Ace answered. “I learned that little trick from Ebony.”

A wave of steam ruptured from Lord Thanatus’s helmet. His sword extended to its previous length, but lacked the razor tip now on the floor. Ace and Thanatus charged at each other, their blades primed to strike. The two black swords collided in the middle and grinded into a lock.

Sparks showered Ace and Thanatus as their heads violently pressed against each other below the scissoring blades.

Lord Thanatus growled with a bloodthirsty hiss, “Even with that sword, you don’t know the true power it wields. You’ll be cut to pieces before you put a scratch in me.”

“We’ll see about that when I strike you down!”

Twilight set the book down onto the podium before the altar, furiously reading through the last words of the eleventh chapter.

“One more…” Twilight muttered to herself as she stripped off her raincoat, revealing the robes once worn by royals underneath. “One more chapter after this, and all of Centura will be saved!”

“Twilight!” The distant cries of Pinkie Pie echo throughout the ruins.

“Blast!”

“They really are a pain, aren’t they?” A ghastly voice spoke behind her.

“Yeah…” Twilight agreed.

“Can’t they just leave you be?” the voice asked. “No, it seems, they only seem try harder, despite the fact that, once you’re done, there will be no more worry of the book ‘possessing you’.”

“As long as I am anywhere near it, they’ll hunt me down and try to take it.”

“They’re still your friends right?” The voice questioned.

“Barely,” Twilight hissed.

“But, they trust you more than their ringleader.”

“You have a point.” Twilight nodded.

“Then why don’t we use that, convince our little idiot gallery.”

“…”

“Twilight!” Pinkie shrieked again.

Twilight looked over one of the ruined stone buildings. With a crack of lighting, she saw the shadows of Pinkie and Discord against the wall. The pair of red eyes stabbed her in the back as she stared at Discord’s snaking figure. It felt just like the first time they met when Discord was still a villain.

Pinkie’s and Discord’s heads poked from around a corner and saw Twilight.

“Twilight!” Pinkie cheered. “Thank goodness you’re safe!”

Applejack and Rarity followed shortly behind.

“What in tarnation got to you, running off into a storm in… that?” Applejack impatiently asked.

But before Twilight could even have a chance to reply, Rainbow Dash chimed in from above, “And what was going through your head when you dropped a tree on my and Fluttershy?”

“The squirrels want an apology for their tree!” Fluttershy added alongside Dash.

Twilight took a moment to compose herself. Putting on a calm, neutral face, she slowly approached the gathering army.

With a throat-clearing cough and a click of her tongue, Twilight said, “It’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m just finding a nice place to read.”

“Why here?” Rarity asked.

“It fits the climatic mood.”

“Why in that?” Applejack asked.

“It’s, comfy, to read in this.”

“Why in the rain?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s just a little rain.”

“And you nearly killed us because…?” Dash asked.

“…I thought you were Timberwolves.”

“How do you confuse ponies with-” Fluttershy asked, but was cut off by Discord.

“-Oh please, cut the charade already, Twilight. We all know why you’re doing this.” Discord berated Twilight.

“You do?” Twilight asked.

“It’s because the book is telling you to…” Discord replied, slowly realizing what he just said.

“The book?”

“…Well it makes sense in context. That book you love so much is possessing you, and making you do these things…”

“Doing these things because…?”

“…Well… What other sensible reason would you be here, in the middle of suspicious ruins, in the midst of a storm, wearing robes like you’re clergy or something, attacking your friends, and reading that book aloud?” Discord questioned with a smirk.

“And you call this, a mere fantasy novel, a collection of pages between two cloth panels, somehow possessing me into doing this otherwise random stuff, sensible?”

“I’ve never heard you use such blatant terms to describe your boo-”

“Listen girls,” Twilight interrupted. “Whatever lies Discord has been telling you, are simply that. Lies. He probably just making this giant scene out of a mere activity of mine just to get him kicks.”

“…” The five mares silently thought to themselves.

When Discord gathered them all up and told them that Twilight was being possessed, they didn’t even have much of a second thought before joining him to save Twilight. Now, in hindsight, what Discord said did seem to be far-fetched, even after the odd occurrences that followed the book. Perhaps it was their own underlying suspicious that ushered in such a hasty acceptance.

“He’s the Spirit of Chaos, some thing that embodies it. He loves it. He loves to start it, he loves to watch it, he loves to see everything in shambles.”

“I’ve changed!” Discord retorted.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Twilight waved off the comment. “Let me ask you something. Why should we believe you? How do we know it isn’t a trick? Is there anything that’ll solidly confirm your theory that this here book is evil?”

“Yes there is!” Spike’s voice echoed throughout the ruins.

Chapter 12: The Showdown

Twilight's eyes rapidly darted to every corner of the stone buildings, searching for the dragon. When she looked back to her friends, she saw Spike standing with them, holding a scroll.

“Ahem, Spike,” Twilight calmly called to him. “You aren’t helping me.”

“No, I’m not.” Spike firmly replied.

“…Why?”

“Because that book is evil,” Spike declared. “And here, is your proof.”

With a flick of the parchment, it unraveled and revealed its writing to the mares and Discord behind. Despite the rain’s best attempts to eat the paper, the mares could quickly scan over the book and noticed several keywords.

“’The Adventures of Arcega Minn’?” Applejack asked aloud.

Fluttershy inquired, “Isn’t that the name of your book, Twilight?”

Twilight instantly became flustered. She teleported to right over Spike’s shoulder and analyzed the document then and there.

“Lord Thanatus is in this too?!” Discord exclaimed.

“That’s right,” Spike explained.

“No…” Twilight gasped.

She teleported back to the podium, still glaring at the scroll in disbelief.

“It’s not possible!” She whimpered.

Spike explained to her, “That book was not always ‘The Adventures of Arcega Minn’, it was an almanac when a prince came across it. He read it, he gained incredible power, but became possessed by it. He went nuts and became, the one and only, Lord Thanatus.”

“Bu-Bu-Bu-”

“-And if you read to the end of that thing, that monster that’s controlling Thanatus will come to our world.”

“I-I-I…” Twilight stuttered. “I refuse to believe it!”

In a blind fit of fury, Twilight horn flashed with light. A loud crash rumbled through the earth. The others winced and Twilight even lost her hoofing. The quake died down, and the eight came to. Twilight looked forward and saw the others, standing with their jaws dropped, looking at something, behind her.

She turned around, her jaw dropped.

What was once a stone tower was now a wall of rubble, sandwiched between two slabs of solid dirt. The dirt walls were torn straight from the ground, like shillings torn from the rooftop.

This was something beyond what Twilight was able to usually do, let alone doing it blind.

Was it… Twilight thought to herself.

Her eyes shifted to the book, and saw the two-page illustration at the beginning of the final chapter being dowsed in the rain. It was of Arcega and Lord Thanatus, battling against each other with their respective black swords. The look on Ace’s face, full of determination, full of fury, full of anger, full of, surpassingly, desperation.

“Twilight!” A faint voice called out to her.

“Ace?” Twilight responded.

“Help!” The voice called out to her.

Twilight slowly approached the book. A faint glow emitted from the center, where Glacadh An Bháis and Margáil Le Bás met. Sparks leapt from the pages and twinkled in front of Twilight. Ace’s eyes glanced over to Twilight, but quickly returning to the red flare of her foe. Thanatus’s blade crept forward, forcing pressure on Ace’s sword. The sparks died down as Ace pulled out and backed away. Margáil Le Bás struck into the ground at such a great force, the podium shivered.

A grey hoof reached out and grabbed the book. Twilight caught it and looked to her left, seeing Eclipse with an arrow through her chest.

“Snap out of it.” Eclipse hissed.

“…No,” Twilight growled as she shoved back Eclipse.

She turned to the next page and read, determined to finish the book.

Lord Thanatus’s blade stabbed into the cave wall right next to Ace. Stalactites rained from above as the sword burrowed through the rock. Ace charged forward and prepared to strike. But Thanatus’s blade returned, and knocked Ace’s sword out of her magic grip. It fell into the pile of ash at the center of the chamber.

Upon his blade returning to normal length, Thanatus chuckled and tucked away his sword. He approached the ash hill and reached a hoof out for the sword.

As he picked it up though, Twilight’s voice screamed from behind, “No!”

Giving him only a fraction of a second, Twilight flung herself onto the steel armour and grabbed tight. Thanatus bucked around and slammed into the stone walls. But it was no use, as Twilight crawled up to his head and smothered her hooves across his view.

Ace held on with all of her might, never releasing from Discord’s mane as she reached the book. The pounding rain torn her bandages away, revealing them to the elements. Despite the sheer pain, she didn’t give up.

Ace held on with all of her might, never releasing from Discord’s mane as she reached the book. The pounding rain torn her bandages away, revealing them to the elements. Despite the sheer pain, she didn’t give up.

“Centura will not fall!” Ace declared.

“Centura’s no longer exists!” Eclipse retorted, riding upon the back of Rainbow Dash as she hovered around Discord.

“It’s just a book!” Applejack called out, scared for her friend’s sake.

Ace paid no heed. This was not just a book. This was the key to save the land, to becoming the greatest knight ever, to avenge her friends. Its last few pages flicked in the steel grip of Lord Thanatus.

“Give it back!” Ace hollered.

“Get her off of me!” Thanatus groaned.

Running out of options, she readied herself at his exposed neck she chipped away earlier. With a bite as strong as Ebony’s, she chomped down on the exposed flesh.

Lord Thanatus roared in pain as Twilight’s jaw locked into place. He could feel his internal fluids pulsating into Twilight’s mouth. Twilight snorted and bit harder, forcing him to vanish into a cloud of black mist. The Olc Sword dropped to the ground with a ringing chink. Quickly, Twilight grabbed it before Discord reformed atop the pile of ash.

He pulled out his original sword and fired it forward. Its flat tip soared so quickly, a small typhoon formed around the blade. It hissed with the sound of a thousand wings and pierced the white light of the room to a hundred colours.

Thinking fast, Twilight stabbed the sword into the ground and used it as a lever. She launched herself forward and planted a kick right in the center of the blunt head of Margáil Le Bás.

Rainbow Dash crashed into a stone pillar, shattering half of the base into pebbles. Her head slumped down as she writhed in pain. Eventually though, she found enough strength to look up with a single eye, and see Twilight in front of her.

Discord hissed, now defenseless as Ace approached him with Glacadh An Bháis. He attempted to shrink into a liquid, but was stopped by the sword slashing at him towards the chest. He backed away and called for aid from his friends. Applejack arrived, and slammed her hooves into the ground in front of Ace.

The earth below trembled and Twilight lost her balance. The power of Thanatus’s soldier was greater than expected. The soldier prepared another earthquake slam, but Twilight came to her hoofing in time and jumped just above the quake. She landed on the side of the chamber and raced around Thanatus and the soldier. Another soldier, winged, ran around the wall the other way, preparing to collide with Twilight.

“You leave Lord Thanatus alone!” The soldier yelled, revealing that it once was a mare before turning to evil.

Twilight snapped back, “In your dreams!”

She then left off from the wall and landed right behind lord Thanatus. She raised her sword, ready to strike. Unknown to her though, a cannon wielding soldier was beside her.

The party cannon blasted into the side of Ace’s face, launching her body headfirst into the grass. The book flew from her grasp and landed atop of one of the stone pillars over the cavern ruins. Ace leapt towards the book, but was locked in place by a freezing spell placed on her by Rarity, one of Thanatus’s soldiers.

Ace struggled and kicked, but this was one of her own spells that Rarity learned from her. It was fruitless to try and escape, and Ace found herself losing strength. Her wings eased into their frozen form, her chest grew flat and stopped pumping, and her eyes grew heavy.

Before she fell into the darkness, her eyes caught a glance of a pair of dragon feet, circling around to the front of her frozen body.

Eclipse taunted the unicorn before her, “It’s over. Give up now, or things will get ugly.”

Twilight gasped, “Never.”

“Your perception of reality has become an absolute wreck! You think this story is real, it’s only the demon messing with you. What you think is real is fake and what you think is fake is real.”

“…” Ace remained silent.

Her odds were greatly stacked against her. One against six, her friends now gone, her hopes atop of a pillar in the midst of a hurricane, and she was frozen by Lord Thanatus and his minions. However, not one thought of giving up crossed her mind.

As if telling her final words, Ace said, “Well, if there’s anything I know that is real, is that that book needs me. It needs me to complete it…”

“…no matter the costs!” Twilight howled. With the last bit of magic, Twilight shattered Rarity’s freezing spell and blitzed towards the sword. She ran as fast as she could across the chamber. Over the ash pile, over the fallen torches of the cavern chamber, over the blood she had shed, Twilight let no obstacle deter her.

She was within hooves’ reach of the sword, and she-

GONG!

Twilight awoke to the sounds of the rain. Her nose twitched and a sneeze of cold air and mist escape from it. Her body felt like iron, but soon regained its natural properties. Her vision was blurry, but could make out six shapes, surrounding her from above.

“Wha-” Twilight asked before a sharp pain pierced in her forehead. “What happened?”

“Good question.” Applejack replied. “We were wondering that as well.”

Fluttershy angrily barked, “Those squirrels still want an apology!”

“Wha-” Twilight was dumbfounded.

Looking at her friends above, her mind has a million questions. Why are they all upset? What is this place? Is that a hurricane going on up there? Why do I remember fighting a giant alicorn with a externally extending sword? And… Why is Spike holding the… the… The book!

As Twilight leapt to her hooves, the others quickly took a step back. Confusion arose in Twilight’s mind.

“Relax girls,” Twilight comforted them.

“Relax?!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You just went ballistic! You turned a tower into a rocky sandwich, which does sound rather tasty, but that’s not the point!”

“You ran away from us despite our pleas to stop.” Rarity huffed.

“You clocked me in the nose.” Rainbow Dash in a nasally snarl.

“You chanted some gobbily-goob at Discord and cast some weird spell on him.” Applejack added.

“And let’s not forget the bite on my neck.” Discord hissed from behind the five mares.

“What’s gotten in you?” They all asked at once.

Twilight stammered, “I-I-”

Then the memories came back.

The kick into Rainbow Dash’s skull, her biting Discord’s neck, her desperation to read that book, it all came back. Twilight was lost for words, she knew what she had done.

The storm and rain no longer came to her attention. It was just them, standing at the center of the ruins. Her head tilted down in shame, and saw the white glow of the glyph below her hooves, etched into the circular altar. It had been glowing brighter and brighter the closer she reached the end of the book. There were only three pages left for her to read, three pages left to finish her quest.

Twilight silently thought for a minute, thinking of what to say to her friends for her actions. She struck dead ends left and right, there was no way she could apologize in a way that all ends okay. She looked back at the book, closed and in Spike’s claws.

It was a hardcover book like most others, made of a leather fabric dyed purple. It looked incredibly old, but was in suspiciously good condition. On the cover was a silhouette of a mare and a golden title that read, “The Adventures of Arcega Minn”. It was roughly the size of a small novel, and had a completely blank backside.

As she stared at the cover of the book, she recalled when she and Spike first found it. As she stared, she noticed the shadow behind the silhouette of Arcega Shutts Minn, Ace. The shadow stared back at her, and slowly crept from the cover to her.

It slithered to her ear, and whispered to her, “Twilight…”

Shut up. Twilight winced at the invisible creature.

“You nearly finished the book. It was all going to be over in a matter of seconds. Centura would be saved, and Ace would be the greatest knight of all. Come on, in remembrance of Sanctus.”

I don’t care. She isn’t real.

“Of course she is. She’s more of a real friend than those others ever were. Look at them, judging you, preparing to punish you. You can almost see them planning for every response you make.”

I can.

“And for what are they punishing you for? You did nothing wrong.”

I did! I-I ran away, I insulted them, I fought them!

“Were you not justified?”

I-I-I-

“You were simply reading.”

But bad things hap-

“You were having the time of your life! But your friends made it seem like you were making a deal with the demons. Didn’t they? They became paranoid, they questioned your intellect, they were begging for you to fight them!”

…

“So, how about we finish the book, and prove them wrong. Show these ‘friends’ that you are capable of handling it.”

This is like a nightmare I once faced. From one bad day, I turned on my friends and became something… terrible. My view on what was right and wrong was destroyed, and I saw the mares, the mares that had been at my side for years, become monsters. I tried to fight it off, but the idea of the nightmare being possible... It…

“Nightmares give a pony reason to become strong. They show what monsters are out there, and how to vanquish them. I have taught many-a-pony about those morals. But of course, not many listened. So I became the Nightmare.”

Who are you?

“…Your only escape.”

Twilight’s attention returned to her friends, waiting for her answer. An inner rage churned in her stomach, and her lips quivered, ready for action.

“Give me the book, let me finish.” Twilight coldly declared.

Her iron glare stabbed Spike in the chest, and the little dragon begun to shake in his place.

Discord stepped out in front of Spike and shook his head at Twilight.

“No.” He firmly stated.

Twilight’s horn began to glow.

“No.” Discord stated once again. “You want that book then you’re going to have to go through me.”

“You would like that wouldn’t you?” Twilight growled.

“What?”

“To play martyr for your team of traitors,”

“Traitors?” Fluttershy asked.

“Traitors!” Twilight repeated herself. “You turn your backs on me for him? You’re all paranoid of me, you all don’t believe that anything I say has merit, you go so far as to put the Spirit of Chaos above me! You aren’t my friends!”

Twilight’s horn reached its peak, and energy crackled at the end of it, aimed right for Discord’s head. Twilight’s eyes lock onto Discord, and stare down his soul as she pulled the mental trigger.

“We are your friends!” A voice suddenly hollered.

Frozen in place, Twilight’s eyes darted back down to Discord’s legs, seeing Spike standing there. The book held to his side with one claw, while the other reached out to her in a halting gesture.

Spike continued, “We are your friends. We love you, Twilight! We love you so much, that this is why we’re so scared, it’s because we care of your safety.”

“You just don’t think I’m capable enough to handle myself!” Twilight hissed.

“I do.” He sharply replied.

Twilight cut off her spell from surprise of such an answer.

“-What?” She then asked.

“I do think you can’t handle yourself. Nopony can. With things like this demon book around, we need our friends to break from temptation. I’ve read that book, and I loved it when you read it, but Discord helped me realize that it wasn’t right. I didn’t like it, but he was right.”

“Then why, why didn’t you stop me earlier?”

“…I was scared of hurting you, Twilight. I saw how much you loved that book, and if I were to intervene and say that it was wrong, then… You’d be so heartbroken. I thought perhaps you’d come to realize it on your own, or at least be bored of it, lose it, or something, but I was wrong. Things only got worse, and more ponies were hurt, including you. Twilight, I’m sorry things had come to this.”

Spike sniffled as he continued. His eyes turned bloodshot and teary.

“I’m sorry Twilight.” He whimpered whilst approaching her. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

Reaching his arms out, he gave his friend a hug on the chest. His digits ran through her fur, and the book dropped to the altar floor.

Eventually, Twilight found herself tearing up as well.

“Oh Spike,” Twilight muttered to Spike, but before she could continue, she saw the open book.

It was on the third to last page, the apex of the climax and on the verge of the resolution. Thanatus had Ace pinned to the wall with his hoof pressed against her belly and his sword to her neck. The Olc Sword was in Ace’s grip, but without its full power unleashed, it was useless against Thanatus.

About halfway down the page, the words begun to leap from the page and into Twilight’s eyes.

“Twilight?” Spike asked the sidetracked mare.

Twilight didn’t even hear him speak. The only thing she heard was Ace grunting and Lord Thanatus’s maniacal laughter.

“Ace…” Twilight whispered.

“Excuse me?”

“Give it up, Arcega!” Thanatus cackled. “Without the activation spell, your little knife will never kill me!”

“Twilight! No!”

“Ace!”

Ace chocked her retort, “You know, that would be a shame…”

A thin white slip of paper poked out from her quivering lips.

“Luckily, I take notes!”

“Stop her!”

“Do it, Ace!”

“No!” Thanatus hollered.

Desperate, Lord Thanatus lunged her blade forward, only for it to be stopped by Glacadh An Bháis. Its runes glowed brightly as Ace looked at the paper and scanned its words into her mind.

Thanatus pounded his hoof into Ace’s stomach, causing her to spit out the paper. With one swing, he shredded the paper to thin bits.

“Stop, Twilight! The altar is literally surging with lightning!”

“I will never stop reading!”

Ace landed on the floor and held the black blade to her chest. With the wisdom of Ebony, the song of Silver, the tale of Huntsmen, the motivation of Ebony, and her own intellect, Ace put together the activation spell, the spell that will unlock the true power of Glacadh An Bháis.

Her horn shone with light, and the sword before her came to life with energy.

Ace opened her mouth, and screamed,

“No!” Spike bawled.

It didn’t stop Twilight. Not him, not the other five, not even Discord. She turned to the final two pages, the end of the book. The two-page illustration was a black and red collage of mad scribbles, with words of white scratched into the wall, the activation spell.

Twilight opened her mouth, and screamed,

"Veni ad nos iterum! De tenebras inter saecula! De regno nonreality! Fac tui notum olim! Egredere, tanti praenuntia mortis metum et potestatem! Devolvat in Sanctus! Surge, Sanctus Nightmare!"

A beam of darkness shattered the skies and consumed the altar, grinding it into dust. Gales of smog and shadow tear apart the ruins, and send Spike, Discord, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy into the air. Twilight remained glued to the podium as her robes were torn to shreds by the swirling rock and debris.

Moans and screams hissed from the beam, followed by a maniacal cackle, worse than anything Twilight could imagine Lord Thanatus could conjure. Twilight watched and listened in horror as she took witness to this, and realize what she had just done.

A pitch black figure formed in the center of the black beam. It looked like a pony, but certainly wasn’t one. It had a massive frame, and even larger, leathery wings to boot. Its horn was gnarled and twisted, but razor sharp throughout, like it was made that way.

Finally came the eyes. Like spotlights, they pierced through the void with their glow. They were completely red, with the irises an opulent saturation, all except for the pupils, which were absent of all life.

As the creature walked out from the beam, Twilight backed against one of the remaining stone walls. Tears filled her eyes, both of guilt and fear, as she stared at the beast. Its body was as black as every upon exiting. Its long, purple mane and tail didn’t even react with the howling gales, a simply waved side to side in junction to the body’s slow movements.

The creature turned its head back and saw as the beam of darkness die down, yet the storm and gales continued to tear through the forest. It chuckled to itself as it continued to turn all the way around to Twilight. Sickly sounds of snapping and slapping cracked from the neck as it did so.

A wide grin formed on the being’s face, full of rows of jagged teeth. They were pure white, but had a dripping red tint at the end of each tooth.

Twilight gasped, and words came to her dribbling mouth.

“What are you?” She uttered under her cold, frightened breath.

With the voice of a hundred thousand tortured souls, the black mass replied, “Your only escape from this world, Sanctus Nightmare.”

Chapter 13: The Nightmare

Twilight was frozen in fear of the being she had brought forth. The black mass’s grin grew wider, as if he was enjoying it. His jaws opened and a horrific cackle escaped from his barrel.

The grey skies above pulsated hues of black and red, like a twisted heart pumping sickness into the air. The earth below twisted and chocked the nearby trees into massive twigs. The ruins and surrounding forests kneeled in pain and fear in the aura of the creature.

Ending his chortles, Sanctus taunted the quivering mare, “What’s wrong? Is it something with my face?”

Instantly, his face molded into a nightmare. His eyes split into five each and his gaping jaws split in four. The colossal face shrieked into Twilight’s, causing her to seal her eyes and ears and curl into a sobbing ball. Sanctus returned to his normal form and laughed at her misery.

“But in all do respects, my prey,” he gleefully hissed. “I am grateful for your efforts in freeing me from that ghastly Void. That Thanatus stallion was such a disappointment, but, as you can see, I put good use in him.”

“...Y-You…” Twilight muttered below her breath.

“Indeed. I was Lord Thanatus’s teacher, his leader, his master. That book, the Mad Book of Power, it gave me the connection to his very soul. Even though he didn’t finish, it was too late for any redemption. He was mine, and I made a pretty decent story with him, didn’t I?”

“You…” Twilight repeated, but an air of anger was present in her voice.

“And you want to know the ending to your little tale? They all died, their souls now all belong to me. Ebony Diamond, Silver Chord, Huntsmen, they’re all dead. After Arcega defeated Lord Thanatus, she turned the blade on herself and fell under the pressure! Eclipse went on and destroyed Centura under my control two months later, before she finally died from blood loss.”

“It, it isn’t true!”

“Oh, it’s a real story. Just read the scroll your once-assistant wields again.”

Twilight peeked from her covering and looked towards Spike, trembling beside a stone wall with the scroll tightly in his grip. She looked back at Sanctus. Her blood boiled in rage.

“You seem confused,” Sanctus teased Twilight. “How could such a ‘capable’ mare fall to my control with a mere book? That’s no book that you read. It’s Margáil Le Bás, a shapeshifting sword, a remnant of my being that connects this world to the void that imprisoned me for eons.

I’ve scattered a few remnants around the world before being sucked in between the worlds, but none as effective as that sword. As you can see, it can transform into a book, The Mad Book of Power specifically. Then it became Thanatus’s sword, which you know the rest I assume. Finally, it turned into ‘The Adventures of Arcega Minn’.

When you opened that ‘book’, the remnant was activated and it opened a portal, and I sent a portion of my spirit to this world and straight into your mind. The rest of me came once you opened that portal a little wider here.”

“Are you done telling me exposition?” Twilight growled, attempting to climb to her hooves.

Sanctus retorted, “You think putting on a tough façade will work?”

Sanctus’s body stretched and molded into a massive dragon and lunged out at Twilight. She screamed as the beast’s mouth opened. She tried to back away, but tripped and the dragon snapped its jaws into her chest. A sharp pain ripped into her body, and Twilight screamed in pain.

But, instead of killing her, the dragon’s body faded away into black dust and reformed into Sanctus’s pony form, standing above the wailing mare on the ground.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Makes you wish you were dead.”

Twilight’s tear-filled eye opened and saw the massive grin of Sanctus, whose teeth were coated with a fresh layer of red. She couldn’t even nod from the amount of pain coursing through her body.

“But where would the fun be in that?” Sanctus asked. “You aren’t bleeding or anything that would actually kill you. It’s just my special way of making sure every vein and fiber of your being is rich in pain and fear. Oh, it gives me such euphoria to see you like this!”

“Leave her alone!” A voice yelled from behind.

With no regards to how necks work, Sanctus turned his head around to see Discord, standing at the center of the altar. His red eyes lit up as he recognized the draconequus.

“Ah, if it isn’t the arch-brother of Harmony herself. Oh, of course you don’t recognize me, it’s been centuries. Enjoyed my work though?”

“I said,” Discord declared once more. “Leave her alone.”

“Or what?” Sanctus barked in carefree pride. “I know more than enough magic to counter your chaos. I can survive over a thousand years in a void between worlds. I am the most powerful being ever to walk this planet. I am the God of Nightmares!”

Discord’s fists clutched tightly.

Sanctus sneered at Discord’s gesture, “This is a losing battle. Twilight Sparkle’s already in my clutches and I’m at my fullest potential. This is my world now, and you want to take me on here?”

“Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is,” Discord replied.

With a snap of his claws, Discord materialized a large anvil above Sanctus’s head. Sanctus quickly transformed into a dragon.  The dragon swallowed the anvil whole and spat out an iron ball. Its tail launched the ball at Discord. Discord evaded it by splitting his body in two. But as the ball rolled past, it exploded and hundreds of spikes flung towards Discord.

While Discord’s halves avoided the spikes, Sanctus reformed. His mouth open and his long body folded into the back of it. A burst of black ooze spurted from the collapsing dragon’s throat and out climbed an equally huge, three-eyed scorpion. Each of his eyes had ten jagged pupils, and all were locked onto Discord. As Discord reformed to one being, Sanctus charged at him.

Sanctus Nightmare raised his claws into the air. Discord looked up and saw them. He had to act fast, but he couldn’t escape the massive pincers. The claws smashed down and shattered the ground below. Technocoloured blobs splattered around the ruins. Sanctus cackled in ecstasy, but soon realized something. The blobs of Discord begun to shift and move around. Sanctus turned his massive body and around and found Discord reforming.

Discord taunted at the scorpion, “You’re going to have to try harder than that!”

Quickly, Discord zipped below Sanctus before he could attack and made his way to the tail. Sanctus’s legs flailed wildly, trying to stomp the draconequus. As one drew close, Discord materialized a tack and jabbed the tip of the leg. Sanctus’s roars echoed throughout as Discord chuckled.

The leg Discord poked suddenly split and formed into a zygodactyl claw and grabbed him. Discord tried to squeeze out or use his magic, but it was useless. Sanctus had him in his grips, and wasn’t going to let him go.

Slowly, Sanctus Nightmare carried Discord to his face, where his thirty pupils pierced into his soul.

Sanctus examined the squirming body, speaking to himself as well as taunting Discord, “Seeing a little pony cower before me is quite refreshing and all, but imagine the sheer frenzy I will feel when the Spire of Chaos experiences my power!”

Twilight remained curled in her ball as she heard the roars of the scorpion and the groans of Discord.

I’ve done this! Twilight’s mind repeated. I’ve done this! I’ve done this! I’m guilty! I should’ve listened to Spike! Celestia, what have I done? What have I done? I’m… I’m… I’m a monster!

“Oh, you are,” the scorpion nightmare chittered. “You’re the Eclipse of this story, my dear, the instrument of your world’s undoing.”

Twilight wept, for it was the only thing she could do. She wept there for hours on end, crying out for any light of hope, only for it to be overshadowed by the dark face of Sanctus Nightmare.

The scorpion melted into a sea of black sand and swallowed the entire forest. It spiraled into a sinkhole with Twilight at the center. She tried desperately to escape, but the wet sand formed from her tears grappled her hooves and pulled her deeper. The mountains at the horizon turned to darkness as Twilight was pulled to the pulsating, red eye in the center of the sinkhole.

The eye split into a mouth and spoke as Twilight struggled, “Now, what’s your worst nightmare? I’d like to warm up before plunging the entire world into my destructive grasp. Hmm… Spiders? Drowning? Torture devices? Been a while since I’ve done that… Past rivals, perhaps? Oh, yes, the one you told me about…”

Twilight screamed as she fell off the steep cliffside of sand and fell into the gaping mouth. Its teeth clamped shut and Twilight found herself in total darkness. Twilight looked around for any source of light or anything but distinguishable, only to be met with the void.

A mare’s maniacal cackle echoed throughout the dark chamber, one that Twilight recognized as hers. The sounds of mechanical clinking and roaring followed the voice as its source travel around the darkness.

“One bad day,” the voice echoed. “And I became this. On the day you opened that book,”

Crimson light shone above, and the figure of another Twilight stood before her. She was dressed in dark armour, and had two metal limbs in place of wings, creaking and twitching in time of her eye. Her face was deeply scarred, and her eyes shone a bright red, flicking with the icy fire of Sanctus’s power.

“And you became me!” Twilight’s duplicate hollered.

Twilight was in absolute horror.

“No,” Twilight gasped in protest. “No! No! No! I’m not you!”

“Really? What’s the difference?” The unsatisfactory image of Twilight sneered.

“Plenty! I am not evil!” Twilight instantly retorted.

Twilight’s copy snickered, “Now you’re just lying to yourself.”

The mechanical claws of the Twilight copy reached out towards Twilight. Twilight tried to back away, but tripped over a branch the sinkhole swallowed. Twilight fell onto her back with a mighty crunch, and the duplicate’s metal limbs grabbed onto her. They raised her into the air before pulling Twilight to her face.

Twilight wiggled and squirmed. She attempted magic, but it only made her copy’s metal grip stronger.

“Tell me,” the cyborg duplicate whispered to Twilight. “What is your name?”

“Twi-Twilight Sp-Sparkle.” Twilight croaked, feeling the metal digits press on her throat and lungs.

“What is your name?” She asked again, her sadistic smile kept on her face.

“Twi-wi-wil-ight!”

“What is your name?”

“Twi-AIEP-light.”

“What is your name?”

“I’ve said i-”

“What is your name?”

“Sh-shut up!”

“What is your name?”

“It’s Twi-”

“What is your name?”

“It’s Mid-Twilight!”

“…”

“I meant Twilight!”

“…hehehe,” Twilight’s copy laughed.

The claws smashed Twilight into the invisible ground as the duplicate rolled over in a laughing fit. Foam spewed from your mouth as she laughed and taunted.

“You’re me, obviously,” She proclaimed. “The only thing ‘separating’ you and me is nothing! What have you done that I wouldn’t have done? You’re a fresh-cut villain, a new proxy for the Nightmare. You are Empress Midnight!”

“No!”

“It’s too late! All is lost! You are Empress Midnight! It’s too late! All is lost! You are Empress Midnight! It’s too late! All is lost! You are Empress Midnight!” The copy known as Empress Midnight continued to choke and laugh.

Until finally, after minutes of gagging, the cyborg fell limp. Her body quickly decomposed and reformed into Sanctus Nightmare, filled with pride from the work he had done. Before him was the broken body of Twilight. Her eyes were empty, her flesh grew grey, and not a beat of magic remained in her horn.

Sanctus said to her, “You feel that? That fresh cut of emptiness within you? You’re scared of it, aren’t you? You’re scared it’ll be filled with the Nightmare, the monsters, the Empress, the infamy your name will be forever known with by my side, and there’s no hope or anything positive to be found to fill the hole. That’s what I intend to do with every pony in the universe, to have them cover in fear and cry in pain forever. And you…”

“…” Twilight’s lips were limp, open, but not moving or showing any life to them.

“…hahaha… You will be there to aid me. You’ll be my proxy, my slave! What do you say to that?!”

“…”

“Seem awfully quiet. Better than cheers of joy, but we can do better. Perhaps a few lightning bolts to the horn will do the trick.”

Sanctus’s horn lit up and crackled in red sparks of electricity. His eternal, jagged grin grew wider as he aimed at his new toy. The void stepped back and watched as lightning jolted from his horn in every direction, waiting to be fired.

Just as he was about to fire though, an earthquake ruptured throughout the land. His horn misfired, and a solid beam of electricity just grazed Twilight, disappearing into the void.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Sanctus remarked, still grinning.

He readied himself again, but another tremor interrupted him.

Another one quickly came, this time, cracking the ground above Twilight and Sanctus.

“Wait, this isn’t right…”

The sinkhole’s mouth opened, but not of its own accord. A pair of massive, purple claws dug in between the sinkhole’s teeth and pried the sandy jaws opened. A golden light shone from above and bathed Twilight.

“Twilight!” A familiar voice called out to her from the heavens.

“Spike?!” Twilight exclaimed.

Instantly, she could feel hope burst through her and her magic return. Spike was still there, he still had hope for her, as well as her friends. Twilight could feel their presence even in this dire situation.

She looked towards Sanctus. His mouth wasn’t there anymore, and so followed his grin. A cheeky grin appeared on her face though, and she slowly walked to below the sinkhole opening.

“You were wrong.” She declared at him. “I am, and will never be your slave! As long as they, my friends, have hope in me, there’s no reason I would ever turn to your side!”

A loud whistle emitted from Sanctus’s body, shattering all sound. Twilight winced from the painful noise, but held her ground. Sanctus's body began to reform into a dragon again. Spike’s huge arms broke through the sinkhole and grabbed into Twilight. Holding on with all of her might, she was carried out from the pit and into the skies.

“You think you can get away from me?!” Sanctus roared, following quickly behind. “This is my world!”

“Twilight!” Spike’s voice called down from the heavens beyond the black sky. “It’s only an illusion. The demon has you in some sort of death stare. You need to break out!”

As Spike’s hand continued to pull, Sanctus continued to grow mass and gain speed. He fired a volley of fireballs towards Twilight, but she deflected them with her newly found magic. Around her, Twilight could notice cracks in the air around her, growing more and more the higher she went.

Finally, upon breaking the storm’s top, Twilight saw what Spike was talking about. In place of the sun were two red, piercing eyes, staring at her. Aside of them was a golden crack in the sky, where Spike’s arm lead to. Feeling her wings return, Twilight took off from Spike’s arm and flew up to the exit as fast as she could.

The black dragon burst from the clouds below and bit Spike’s hand. A painful roar caused the sky to vibrate and the illusionary cracks opening more so. Twilight was almost there. The illusion was breaking. But Sanctus was drawing close, too close to be sure of escape. Twilight flew as fast as she could, she could feel his teeth grinding against her hind hooves and tail.

Everything went to black. A thunderous shattering sound could be heard, and the world felt as if it were tumbling upside down.

“Twilight!” Spike’s voice echoed in the distance.

A rush of blood surged through her brain as Twilight came to her senses. Her eyes opened, and Twilight found herself laid on the wet dirt floor, in front of Sanctus Nightmare, back in his pony form. The sky had returned to the grey storm it once was, and the forest and ruins were as they once were.

Sanctus’s illusion was shattered.

As Twilight was soon joined alongside her worried friends, she grinned at Sanctus, wobbling around in a mild daze.

“Like I said,” Twilight repeated. “My friends will be there for me, even in my darkest moments.”

“Twilight is back!” Pinkie cheered.

“Well I’ll be darned.” Applejack replied.

“It’s about ti-” Rarity added before being cut off by Discord.

“Ahem.” He called out to the mares and Spike, motioning at Sanctus. “Don’t we have something to take care of?”

“Right!” The seven quickly agreed.

As they surrounded Sanctus, the black mass regained control and his smile returned.

“You think breaking an illusion’s going to beat me?” He asked them tauntingly. “I’m still a god!”

Smashing his hoof against the ground, Sanctus summoned a shockwave, launching everypony away from him. Discord however, phased through the blast and approached him. Sanctus turned to Discord with a loud snap in his neck, eager to attack.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you!” Sanctus hollered.

His eyes gleamed as they locked onto Discord. A wave of black smoke instantly burst from his mane and covered the two. The mares ran as fast as they could, but were too late. The black smog had hardened into a dome shield, sealing Sanctus and Discord inside.

“Not this again!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“What is it?!” Twilight asked.

Dash quickly answered, “It’s the same thing that nightmare thing did to you.”

“The illusion!” Twilight exclaimed concernedly. “Don’t worry Discord! We’ll get you out! Girls, we have to get him out! The horrors! The-”

The black shield suddenly shattered, and Discord was launched out into a stone wall. The others ran to him while Sanctus was recovering from the illusion shattering. Discord was dazed, but seemed to be undisturbed.

“Discord, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked.

Discord gave a weak thumbs up and muttered, “Giving yourself the kick out of a nightmare’s not easy. I’m afraid I’m out of commission for now.”

“But what about Sanctus? How do we beat him?” Twilight asked.

“We got you,” Discord answered with a smile. “That should be enough. I’ll be back.”

Discord melted into ooze and slithered under the wall. The mares and Spike turned back to face Sanctus, now fully recovered.

Sanctus chuckled at the team and taunted, “Six ponies and a baby dragon, against me? The God of Nightmares? Well now I know you’re all asking for my nightmares, including Twilight. You just can’t get enough of my show, can’t you?”

“That’s enough!” Twilight declared. “For your injustices against me, my friends, and all of Equestria, I, the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, joined alongside my friends shall bring justice to your door!”

“Unleash the hounds of war!”

Chapter 14: The Climax

Lightning riddled the sky and illuminated the ruins below. The rain showered the mares, Spike, and Sanctus Nightmare as they bolted towards each other. Two vortexes of shadow formed around Sanctus’s front hooves. A flash burst from within and dissipated the vortexes, revealing Sanctus is now armed with a sickle-sword in each hoof, similar in likeness to the Olc Sword.

Sanctus leapt into the air and the raging winds collected in his huge wings. He flew over the mares and swung down. They ducked just in time and Sanctus flew over them. He circled back around for another dive.

“Spread out!” Twilight declared.

As the others did so, Twilight turned around and aimed her sights on Sanctus. Their eyes locked, and magic began to shine from their horns. Power surged through Twilight as she readied her strongest beam.

She waited for the right moment. She only had one shot, and had to wait for Sanctus to get close.

Sanctus continued to build speed, unfazed by the crackling aura around Twilight. He laughed at her, and raised his sickles at the ready.

Twilight waited, and held her ground.

200 metres away…

100 metres away…

50 metres away…

10 metres away, this was the moment.

Twilight was sure of her shot, and declared, “I got you in my sights!”

Her eyes raged with fire, aimed directly into Sanctus’s gleaming eyes.

Twilight pulled the mental trigger, and fired.

Nothing.

Only a sparkly poof of magic spurted from her horn. Twilight was in utter disbelief. Darkness suddenly enraptured the two foes, and the wailing cackles of Sanctus echoed around her.

“You fool!” Sanctus Nightmare howled in delight, his body already reforming into his dragon form.

Upon completing his transformation, Sanctus charged towards Twilight.

“Least I know that this is only a dream!” Twilight barked back.

Sanctus’s jaws opened wide and engulfed Twilight. But Twilight fought back, and gave her strongest kick at the roof of his upper jaw. The force parted the rain with a mighty shockwave. Sanctus’s jaws froze for a moment, only to snap down and pierce into Twilight.

Twilight screamed in pain as she felt her body tear into shreds, despite knowing that it wasn’t real. The pain felt so real.

Sanctus chomped down onto the frail body several more times before spitting Twilight up into the air, deep into the raging storm clouds.

“You can't hurt me. This is my world! And you can't ever leave!” He laughed as he gave chase to the airborne target.

His jaws widened again, and another pair of toothy jaws emerged from the throat. They reached out and chomped, but an unknown blur dashed in and plucked Twilight from the air.

“Are you sure about that?” A voice then hollered behind.

Sanctus turned to see Rainbow Dash, carrying Twilight on her back.

“Impossible!” Sanctus snarled. “The only way that can be possible is… you…!”

His body collapsed in on itself and changed once more. In a burst of darkness, a thousand wasps swamped the skies and chased after Dash.

“You think a few gnats are going to stop me?” Dash boasted.

With quick work of her wings, Rainbow Dash accelerated to the speed of sound and evaded the waves of Sanctus’s split bodies. She used corkscrews, loops, and other aerial tricks to keep Sanctus off of her and Twilight.

“Dash, how did you get here?” Twilight asked in astonishment.

“I broke into that black blob thing that creep and you were in.” Dash explained. “I tried to pull you out, but suddenly I found myself… wherever this is.”

“This is a nightmare world. You must’ve looked into Sanctus’s eyes.”

“Speaking of eyes…” Dash motioned above her.

Twilight looked up and saw one massive eye looking down at her through the red skies and black storms.

“Wait, where’s his left eye?” Twilight realized.

“Don’t you mean his right?” Dash asked, looking in the same direction.

“Look out!” A continent sized flipper suddenly breached through the clouds and swung down at Dash and Twilight. The two split up and dodged the fin. An equally massive, black whale body emerged from the storm and flew after the two mares.

As Twilight examined Sanctus’s new form, she noticed that only one eye was able to observe her due its limited vision.

“So what does that mean for us?”

“We need an escape and join up with the others.”

“Decent plan,” Sanctus’s voice chortled. “Too bad there is no escape!”

Sanctus lunged forward at the two mares and opened his gaping mouth. As hard as the duo tried, their efforts failed, and the two were sucked into Sanctus’s mouth.

“Let them out!” Pinkie Pie hollered.

“Twilight? Dash?” Applejack called for their names.

“Reveal yourself, you coward!” Rarity hissed at the cocoon.

“Oh, Spike,” Fluttershy panicked. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Spike replied, digging his claws into the shield.

“How did Dash pull it off?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know. The only pony who was able to open the thing and let us in was Discord. And he’s out now.” Spike explained.

Pinkie exclaimed, “Hurry up and think of something! Twilight and Dash must be in grave danger in there.”

Fluttershy, overrun with emotions, hurdled herself against the cocoon, and rubbed against its side.

She cried out to the two mares inside, “Dash, Twilight. Please, please stay strong. We’re coming to help you. We’ll get you ou-OH!”

The parts of the shield that Fluttershy touched illuminated in a heavenly light. Fluttershy could feel herself slipping into the light. However, she pulled herself out before falling in, and the shield reformed back to solid black.

Spike’s mind quickly came up with a theory, one so crazy, it might just work.

“Twilight!” Dash yelled out into the darkness.

The cold, slimy floor of Sanctus’s stomach rumbled and shook as it delighted in tossing around the pegasus’s body. No matter where she flew, she was knocked back down by one of the tentacles lingering on the walls and roof of the whale’s insides. It had been like this for what felt like hours, and Dash was losing hope.

“Rainbow Dash,” a voice called out to her from the darkness.

“You,” she hissed.

“You always wanted a permanent rush in your life, didn’t you?”

“This is not what I had in mi-” the cyan mare was interrupted via a slap on the rear by one of the internal feelers.

“Whoopsie, looks like spitting focus makes the little details of my work more… self-governed. My, they are quite adventurous, too.”

“Sanctus, or whatever your name it, you will not get away with thi-”

TWAP!

“Ouch!” Dash piped.

“Hahaha,” Sanctus chucked, his white and red grin appearing on the fleshy ceiling. “The look on your face is quite exhilarating to see. But, we can make it better. Hmm, now, let’s see…”

“Try and search my brain all you want, I got nothing to be afraid of-”

TWAP!

Sanctus retorted, “On the contrary. Looks like I found your biggest fear, your greatest undoing.”

“What? Try me?”

A long, spindly drill emerged from the floor and aimed at Dash’s forehead. Tentacles restrained her as the drill wound up and focused between her eyes.

“Losing your courage…”

As Sanctus said those words, the drill immediately plugged into her mind. Dash hollered in pain and woe as she felt as if her soul was being sapped from her body. Fear, hopelessness, loss, disappointment, and her will were washed from her body and sucked into the drill. Upon pulling out, Sanctus was left with a whimpering, lost, terrified foal.

He continued, “You can survive being weak, you can survive being frightened, you can survive even Death. That courage of yours is your strongest asset. Imagine what would happen if your friends saw you in this state. Their last, and strongest, beacon of courage, drowned in a pool of tears. Oh, would it break their hearts, and you know it, you fear it.”

“P-P-Please,” Rainbow sobbed. “Don’t h-hurt-t m-me.”

Sanctus falsely pondered for a moment, “…nah, I’m just going to keep this up till this really scars you in the real world.”

The drill emerged once more, and aimed at Dash’s head. She had lost her will to even struggle, and remained in place as the device started once more.

Sanctus entered a fit of maniacal laughter as he heard the disheartened cries of Rainbow Dash.

He screamed, “Goodbye, Rainbow Dash!”

But as the drill moved in, a blinding light shot pierced through the darkness. The light was so powerful, it had cut the drill in half. Her will and courage flowed back into Rainbow Dash as she saw what awaited her at the end of the open mouth.

It was Pinkie Pie’s warm smile, dwarfing the size of Sanctus’s.

“You’re back!” Spike’s voice rung through Twilight’s ears.

Twilight’s eyes opened once more to the sight of her friends at the ruins. However, Sanctus’s nightmare shield is still up with Rainbow Dash inside.

“Dash!” Twilight yelled out, leaping to her hooves.

“Don’t worry,” Applejack nonchalantly replied, leaning against the cocoon. “Being honest, I lied when I said I didn’t find you suspicious reading that book.”

Applejack suddenly became enveloped in light, and phased into the shield.

Twilight’s jaw dropped, “How-”

“We figured out how to get through his shield!” Spike cheered. “When you girls tap into your element of harmony, you are somehow able to get in.”

“That sounds-”

“Ridiculous, I know. But then again, a story book had just possessed you and caused you to summon a nightmare demon.”

“…Touché.”

Sanctus Nightmare launched from the cocoon and onto his back, shattering it. From the dissipating remains of it emerge Applejack, Pinkie, and Dash, with proud smirks on their faces.

“That oughta teach ‘im,” Applejack remarked.

“You okay, Dashie?” Pinkie asked.

Dash answered, “I’m a bit stung, but I’ll be okay.”

The hissing noises of Sanctus called their attention. As the seven turned to face him, he was back in the air, wielding now a double ended scythe. His grin had shrunk a bit, but remained as blinding as ever.

“We figured out your weakness Sanctus,” Twilight declared.

“Oh? You have?” Sanctus asked.

Not giving Twilight time to respond, Sanctus instantly bolted forward. He swung his scythe straight at her throat. Twilight summoned a shield and caught the blade. Their eye locked for a moment, and the Nightmare’s eyes gleamed immediately.

As the two entered the nightmare realm, Sanctus grew into a giant and stomped towards Twilight. Twilight stood there unfazed, not a glint of fear in her eyes. Sanctus raised his hoof and dropped it. However, Applejack’s equally massive hoof caught it, and a giant Rainbow Dash lunged into Sanctus. The two massive ponies collapsed to the floor, which ripped to reveal the real world.

Sanctus Nightmare kicked Dash off of him and locked eyes with her.

The transition to the nightmare world wasn’t even complete when Rarity and Fluttershy busted in and pulled the two out. Sanctus was then met with a party-cannon to the face and hurled onto the altar. His back snapped as it made impact with the shattered stone.

The mares and Spike joined together and approached Sanctus. Booming with confidence.

Twilight proclaimed, “Your nightmares may be terrifying, but that’s all they are, nightmares. They aren’t real, and as long as my friends are with me to show me the good and hope in the world, I will never accept whatever you throw in my way as reality. You’re powerless, like a nightmare.”

Only the winds made a sound as the black mass remained silent. It seemed that he finally shut up.

However, that hope was crushed almost immediately, as Sanctus’s body began to shift once more. The sound of crackling and realigning bones resonated throughout the ruins, and the malicious laughter soon came after. As his spine rejoined, Sanctus arched his body back up and onto his hooves.

He blissfully retorted, “So, just a nightmare? I have only one goal, to plunge the entire universe in eternal pain, fear, and suffering, to get as many ponies as I can to only dread me their entire lives. I can and will fulfill that goal with the powers I have in the real world, and am both capable and willing to kill a few ponies from my torture if they get in my way. Tell me, can a simple nightmare do that?”

His tail extended to several metres in length, and swung it around the altar. It swiped across the legs of the ponies and Spike, tripping them onto the dirt. He then pulled out his scythe and threw it at Twilight. Twilight barely avoided it, as it struck where her head would’ve been a split-second earlier.

“I am a god!” Sanctus Nightmare roared.

Lightning struck the ground as Sanctus charged at the seven. He leapt into the air and dived towards them, pulling out his sickles. The mares and Spike rolled away just in time and regrouped a fair distance away.

“Okay, what’s the plan now?” Applejack asked.

“Win!” Dash declared, and instantly flew at Sanctus.

“That’s more of a goal than a plan!”

Sanctus whipped his tail around again. Twilight and the others ducked while Dash got slapped across the side, sending her into a pillar. Sanctus then took to the air and disappeared in the clouds.

“Keep close,” Twilight instructed her team members.

Suddenly, a fireball fell from the storm and smashed down in front of them, exploding and sending them back several metres.

“Never mind, keep your distance.” Twilight coughed.

A long, black blade then pierced the heavens and stabbed into the pillar above Rainbow Dash, causing it to shatter. Sanctus Nightmare then landed back onto the ground, wielding Margáil Le Bás, Thanatus’s eternally extending sword.

Sanctus aimed the sword towards Twilight, with its tip a metre away from her face. A red light engulfed the blade as it reformed into a small box. When the light faded, it was revealed to be the book, “The Adventures of Arcega Minn”.

“Remember, Twilight Sparkle!” Sanctus declared. “This is your doing!”

“Remember, Twilight Sparkle!” Sanctus declared. “This is your doing!”

The book transformed back into the sword and Sanctus lunged forward. Twilight barely dodged the blade. She then ran away as the nightmare demon charged towards her, swinging his growing sword back and forth. Twilight hid behind a pillar just as the blade was about to reach her. It jammed into the stone pillar, giving the others an opening.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack leapt in front of Sanctus and barraged him with a flurry or hooves. Sanctus retaliated by countering the onslaught with his own hooves, cancelling and deflecting their combination attacks. Pinkie wheeled in her party cannon behind Sanctus and fired. Sanctus rolled away from the shot, letting it smack Dash and Applejack back towards the altar.

Sanctus ‘s eyes gleamed as he turned to Pinkie, immediately forming his nightmare shield. However, Rarity leapt in before the shield was complete and delivered a magically buffed uppercut into Sanctus. He was sent flying into the air, only to be sent back down by a diving stomp delivered by Fluttershy.

Twilight watched in the distance as Sanctus fell into the earth. While the dust clouds rolled in after, Twilight took the opportunity to obtain Margáil Le Bás. Grabbing the hilt, she pulled with all of her strength, but it only shifted a small bit.

A burst of powerful magic erupted from behind as Twilight pulled. She had to hurry, or she’ll be wide open to attack. The yells of her friends and their fighting echoed throughout the ruins. The sword moved a small bit again, and again.

She almost had it.

The thunderous stomps of Sanctus drew to her as she pulled. She could feel the cold emanating from his new sword only several metres behind her. Suddenly, Margáil Le Bás was free, and Twilight could instantly feel its power surge through her. She turned around and swung.

Upon her sword and Sanctus’s sword colliding, a shockwave ripped through the air.

“I must say,” Sanctus remarked upon the scene before him. “I’m impressed.”

Between him and Twilight were the shattered remains of his sickles on the floor, and the extending blade now aimed between his eyes. The sword was emitting a red glow, and Sanctus could notice the tip subtly moving closer and away from his face.

“Any last words, Sanctus,” Twilight declared, glaring into his eyes, fully confident in her victory.

Sanctus paused before giddily telling Twilight, “…You’ve tapped into Margáil Le Bás’s true power, you can alter its length. Very few have ever done so, and those few, have bargained a lot away to achieve such power. Usually, it’s their own, good souls.”

Twilight’s eyes bulged in shock and Sanctus’s eyes gleamed. In a second, the two were sealed within another nightmare.

“Twilight!” The others exclaimed.

Quickly, the mares approached the cocoon and tapped into their element of harmony. Spike watched in horror, counting every second Twilight was in there. The mares then leapt into the shield and attacked Sanctus, pummeling him with hooves, magic, and aerial-based attacks. Spike reached into the breached shield and pulled out Twilight, still dazed from Sanctus.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Spike asked.

“I’m-I’m-I-I-am-am-I-am-I…” Twilight rambled, collecting herself.

“Relax, you’re still a good pony.” Spike reassured her.

He rested a hand on Twilight’s back and gave a comforting pat. Twilight turned to Spike with a glowing smile. It was the first time in a while since Twilight felt such warmth.

With a smile, Twilight replied, “As long as you are there for me, I know I am good.”

“Enough!” Sanctus roared out behind them.

The other mares were flung away from him as Sanctus regained his stance. His skin was literally boiling in anger. He instantly locked eyes with one of the mares, Fluttershy, and sealed the both of them in a nightmare shield.

Dash leapt in right between them instantly, and Fluttershy was broken free. Sanctus took a step back and sealed Dash then. However, Applejack hopped in, freeing Dash.

Then Rarity leapt in.

Then Pinkie leapt in.

Then Twilight leapt in.

Then Spike leapt in.

Then Fluttershy rejoined.

Rainbow Dash,

Applejack,

Rarity,

Pinkie,

Twilight,

Spike,

Fluttershy,

Rainbow Dash,

Applejack,

Rarity,

Pinkie,

Twilight,

Spike-

“Arg!” Sanctus Nightmare hollered, overwhelmed by the rapid changing of targets.

By his own accord, Sanctus broke the spell and back away to regain proper vision. The seven heroes lined up side by side and watched as Sanctus rubbed his eyes.

“Humph,” Twilight perkily scoffed. “Puny god,”

Dropping Margáil Le Bás to her side, Twilight approached Sanctus Nightmare, eventually followed by everypony else. Sanctus turned his back to the heroes as he continued to shuffle around with his hooves. Dark magic flowed from his horn to whatever he was doing out of their sight.

Eventually, the mares and Spike stopped and waited to see what he was planning.

Twilight scolded him for this, “Don’t you get it? It’s over. Whatever you say, show, or do, it’s useless against all us. Just give up now.”

“…” Sanctus remained silent and continued to work.

He slowly turned his head to the right side and grinned towards the seven. He winked before turning the other way around and revealing his left eye.

The mares and Spike gasped in horror.

Sanctus’s left eye had been covered with a gemstone monocle, tucked deep into his eye socket. His red eye was split across the seven faces of the crystal and each moved independent of each other. Each of the glass eye’s sevenths locked onto each of the seven and sent the entire group into a nightmare.

The world was plunged into darkness as the seven together entered Sanctus’s nightmare world. Streaks of red painted the bloodthirsty storm that completely surrounded the seven as they fell through the darkness. Pillars of burgundy lightning leaped across the storm and occasionally electrocuting the mares and Spike.

A wicked cackle rang throughout the groundless void. It was so powerful, that it deformed the blackness composing the nightmare world. Large blobs of goop tore from the void and formed into various beasts. A three-eyed scorpion, a dragon, a whale, and a massive version of Sanctus, were formed and circled the heroes.

“How do we get out of here?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You don’t!” The four monsters simultaneously answered. “You shall remain within my world for eternity.”

“We’ll stay here if it means that you have to as well!” Twilight retorted.

“Right!” The others nodded.

Sanctus’s four bodies roared with laughter and countered, “Oh, I don’t have to. Once I regain enough power, I can put you all in a permanent nightmare whilst I send the rest of your world trembling to its core.”

“No!” The mares and Spike gasped.

“Discord will get us out!” Fluttershy shouted.

“I’d like to see him try, I have an extra eye for him.” Sanctus taunted. “For now, let’s see how much hopelessness I can instill into you all.”

“We got to think of a way out!” Rarity declared.

“Anypony got any ideas?” Applejack asked.

“You got something, Twilight?” Dash called out to her friend.

“Yes!” Sanctus interrupted. “Surely the mare that has doom the entire world into an eternal nightmare can think of a way out. Hahahahaha!”

“Oh, put a cork in it!” Spike shouted to the massive Sanctus before turning to Twilight. “Come on, we believe in you, Twilight.”

“…” Twilight turned silent and entered deep concentration.

She thought to herself, the gravity of this nightmare world makes it impossible to fly up and any magic that isn’t Sanctus’s is surely nullified. The four monsters circling us are indestructible, except from outside interference. Anything done to me and my friends is only pain, at least for now.

Wait, what creates these nightmares in the first place? The eyes at the top of the world, that’s it. Back when Dash and I were part of the same nightmare, Sanctus had to split its focus across its two eyes. I felt as if I had a bit more power in the nightmare than when both eyes were locked on me. So if only one eye is split is between all seven of us, that means…

“I got an idea!” Twilight declared.

But before she could explain her theory, the dragon swooped in and trapped Twilight in its mouth. It carried her off a hundred kilometres away from the others before spitting her out. A grin formed in the black void and chucked at her.

“I’m not going to just let you tell them to distract me.” He chortled. “This is my world. I can see what you’re thinking before you even complete the thought.”

“Watch me!” Twilight hissed.

As Twilight opened her mouth to yell out, the dragon chomped onto her neck. Twilight shrieked in pain, feeling the tendons of her neck snap and drop limp.

But she knew this was only pain.

With all of her mental might, she yelled, “Girls! Spike! Di-”

The dragon bit down again, but held its jaws close, almost completely cutting her head off. Twilight hissed and choked, but she wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

“Friends!” She gargled from her distorted body at the top of her ripped lungs, “Distract the four!”

“You think they can hear you from so far away?” The mouth in the sky taunted.

“What do you mean?” She gladly retorted. “They’re right next to me.”

The mouth suddenly stopped smiling and vanished. The dragon chomped into Twilight and whipped her around.

Inside his black cocoon, Sanctus Nightmare’s right eye came alive and looked forward at the seven in front of them. They were all frozen in place, except for Twilight. Her eyes were subtly shifting and her teeth grinded in her mouth. A weak groan escaped her throat from the pain induced in the nightmare world.

Twilight’s consciousness was returning to the real world.

“Go…” Sanctus could see her mumble. “It’s just a nightmare.”

Sanctus’s grinning teeth clamped tightly and the corners of his lips begun to point downwards.

“Go!” Twilight screamed before the dragon snapped into her gut in the nightmare world.

As the other mares and Spike continued to fall into nothingness with the slowly approaching monsters, a strong wind had cut through the anomalous storm. It loudly hissed as it passed over the huddled group. It grew so loud, that it dulled out the roars of the beast and the worried cries of the mares.

Eventually, Spike noticed something in the wind that his ears could pick up. Soon, the others could hear it as well.

It was Twilight’s voice from the outside.

The wind whistled, “Friends… Distract the four… Go… It’s just a nightmare… Go…”

The mares and Spike glanced over each of the three monsters, then at one another. They all had the same idea. With a quick nod, they broke off and approached each of the monsters of Sanctus.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew towards the whale, who charged back at them. As it opened its mouth, Dash and Fluttershy split away from each other. They flew as hard as they can as a vortex formed around the mouth. The wind from the whale’s inhale was ferocious, tearing into their flesh. But the two pegasi pressed on, and escaped to the whale’s side.

They then flew up to each of his eyes and prepared to attack.

“Let’s see how you like the pain!” Dash hollered.

“Sorry for doing this to an animal!” Fluttershy whimpered.

Dash and Fluttershy kicked into the beast’s eyes. The whale roared in pain and flew forward. However, it was no match for the pegasi’s speed, and the duo gave another powerful set of kicks.

Sanctus’s eye twitched, but kept its gaze.

Applejack and Rarity glided towards the scorpion, somehow standing on nothing, yet still going down at the same rate as they are. The scorpion lunged its tail out at them. Applejack swooped in front of Rarity and took the jab. She winced in pain, but kept a determined face.

“Rarity, get in there!” Applejack groaned.

As she is pulled to the monster’s end, Rarity dove to the top of its face. Upon landing, she aimed her horn to the eye right in front of her.

She shouted, “Take this, you abomination!”

An awkward moment of silence soon took place. Rarity looked up and noticed her horn wasn’t glowing.

“…Oh, right, this is your domain or something.”

Rarity felt a piercing pain behind her as one of the scorpion’s legs stabbed her. It pulled her below and smacked her body into another one of its legs.

As it raised Rarity to smack her in the leg again, she saw an opportunity.

The leg swung down and towards the other. But before making contact, Rarity pulled the leg. The leg and her body turned so that her face was the first thing to make contact. She opened her mouth and bit into the leg. The force of the leg and her collapsing body further powered the bite.

Sanctus’s eye began rolling up, but with his remaining might, he pulled the twitching eyeball back down. He left eye could see a grin growing on Twilight’s face.

Sanctus silently stared as Pinkie Pie and Spike floated towards him. His wings flapped with such force that the duo’s ears popped with each burst of wind. Eventually though, the two made it, and hovered before the giant’s gaping grin.

“So,” The humongous alicorn spoke. “Twilight seems to think she has the victory.”

“She does.” Pinkie cheered.

Sanctus rebutted, “But does she? She was the one who caused all of this.”

“Because you possessed her!” Spike retorted.

“Possessed? It’s not like I took over her body, I didn’t have such power in the Void. The only thing I could offer was words and suggestions. It was her who decided to keep reading. She decided to ignore you, to make you all her enemies.”

“…”

“Looks like her moral compass is a bit jagged, don’t you think? And what do you think is going to happen after this? Is Twilight Sparkle going to get off with no punishment? Are you all just going to try and ignore it? Face it, all of this is pointless. In the end, there will always be nightmares, there will always be suffering, there will always be evil! You cannot escape from that!”

“And there will always be a silver lining,” Pinkie calmly replied. “We all have a jagged moral compass. Even I do, I do messed up things a lot that I regret all the time. And that’s the thing, we learn. We learn from our mistakes and become better in the end. Twilight clearly has, did you see the look in her face when you first showed up?”

“She was terrified!” He roared in delight.

“She was,” Pinkie agreed. “She was also regretful for what she did. Like you said yourself, she made those mistakes herself. And after this, she’ll most likely try to avoid making those mistakes again.”

“And you can learn too.” Spike added, reaching a hoof out to Sanctus.

“What is this?” He curiously asked.

“It’s my hoof.” Spike answered. “I want you to take it. Please, things don’t have to be this way. Come with us, and we can be friends.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Friendship is-”

A massive, solid, red beam of magic plowed in Pinkie Pie’s face and sent her tumbling off into the vast distance.

“Don’t you say that word again!” Sanctus boomed, raising his horn back up.

“Hey!” Spike barked.

“You think a peace speech is going to ‘redeem’ me? I am Sanctus Nightmare! I am the bad guy! And I. Will. Destory. Everything!”

“Then I’m sorry, but we don’t let nightmares last for long.”

As Sanctus lowered his head and his horn charged another beam, Spike prepared himself. He took a big breathe and held it, building fire in his belly. Sanctus and Spike fired and the magic beam and fireball produced collided between the two. A bright flash of light engulfed the entire nightmare world. Sanctus’s eyes boiled from the fiery light, and he winced in pain.

Sanctus Nightmare roared in displeasure and he took a step back and rubbed his eye. Upon partially breaking eye contact, Twilight could feel her body regain power. Sanctus quickly noticed that and locked eyesight with her again.

But she didn’t lock in place, and eventually, neither did the others. Each one of the mares and Spike began to shutter and shift. Twilight was the most mobile, and had something on her mind that Sanctus couldn’t get a full grasp of.

Whatever it was, it was driving Sanctus to the edge.

The dragon flailed viciously with Twilight tight in its toothy grip. She felt as if she was going to pass out from the pain. This was Sanctus’s greatest efforts in keeping Twilight and the others trapped inside his nightmare. However, Twilight knew it was only pain, and escape was literally in hoof’s reach.

Her body felt as if her soul was being ripped from it. Each time it was pulled away, Twilight could feel cold air and a dense humidity. She reached for it, she reached despite the massive tooth cleaving her front hoof in two halves.

The ground. She felt the ground.

Twilight’s hoof patted the ground until she found Margáil Le Bás slightly behind her. She felt along the edge of the sword until she found the hilt. She then pulled, and suddenly felt a great weight in her mind.

Twilight looked to her side, and saw what was suddenly weighing her down. It was Margáil Le Bás, now in her hoof. Using her newfound strength, she pried open the dragon’s teeth and freed her hoof. She then tapped into the sword’s power, mimicking what Sanctus did and transformed the sword into the book that started all of this.

“Hey Sanctus, you’re a sucker for pain right?!” Twilight yelled out to the dragon. “How about a papercut?!”

Twilight swung the book into the monster’s teeth. The end of the pages sliced the end of a tooth clean off and the dragon cried in agony. It released Twilight, but immediately regained itself and charged forward. Twilight transformed the book back into a sword and swung at the dragon. The blade sliced through the corners of the dragon’s mouth. It screamed and flew just above Twilight.

However, it then looped back and went in for another dive. Twilight prepared herself and extended the blade to as far as she could. As the dragon opened once more, Twilight swung. The sword cut the entire monster into two halves, which immediately turned to the black goop that made it.

Twilight celebrated to herself for a second before the roars of the other monsters were heard. Looking behind her, she saw the three other giants, charging towards her.

“You’re not getting out of here!” They all bellowed.

Quickly, Twilight aimed the sword up. She searched the blackness above for the source. The monster’s beating wings, legs, and flippers drew close. Everything was black, and Twilight couldn’t find the eye.

Finally, there it was. The blackest part of the sky, the center of Sanctus’s pupil was there. As the three beasts reached her, Twilight fired the blade forward. The black tip snaked forward throughout the lightning-riddled tempest.

Up.

Twilight could feel the stinger pierce her back.

Up.

She could feel the whale’s tentacles slap her front.

Up.

She could feel the blazing heat of Sanctus’s giant beam in her face.

Up.

Suddenly, everything turned to white, as the sound of shattering glass filled the air.

Chapter 15: The Resolution

The morning sun shone bright through the fading clouds and illuminated the ruins. Twilight’s eyes fluttered opened as she found herself lying on the wet grass. Slowly, she climbed to her hooves and looked around her, seeing the other mares and Spike asleep.

She then looked back to the ruins. Everything was destroyed, including the altar, pillars, and footpath. Shattered remains of weapons and debris littered the area. The only thing that wasn’t destroyed, surprisingly, was the podium before the altar.

“Ow…” Pinkie Pie moaned upon awakening. “What happened?”

“I feel like there’s a hole in my spine,” Applejack groaned as she stretched her body.

A small pop was heard from her back, soon followed by a sigh of relief.

Eventually, the other mares woke up, all unaware of what happened.

Spike then shot up from her resting place and quickly asked, “Did we beat him?!”

Twilight slowly trotted to him and comforted the shaken dragon beneath her wing. The memories soon returned to her, and Twilight recounted their battle with Sanctus Nightmare. Glancing around her, she didn’t see any sign of him. Everything was peaceful once more, and a new sense of relief was rife in her mind.

“Yes,” Twilight answered with confidence. “We got Sanctus.”

“Girls!” A worried voice called out to them.

The mares and Spike snapped their heads to the forest edge. Without any warning, a large, armoured chariot charged towards them. It was being pulled by two robotic Discords quickly across the clearing.

The seven took a step back as the chariot swerved to a stop, and Discord, dressed in a military doctor’s uniform, jumped from the vehicle. He then pulled out a pop gun and aimed it in front of him, cocking the wooden device.

“Where is he?!” He demanded.

Fluttershy quickly flew to Discord’s head and patted it gently.

“Don’t worry, he’s been taken care of.” She explained.

Discord breathed a sigh of relief and rested the popgun across his shoulders.

He breathed, “Phew, good. At least you’re alright, Fluttershy… and friends. …Wait a minute, how did you beat him?”

“We…” Fluttershy begun, but soon turned to Twilight and asked, “How did we do it?”

“Well,” Twilight begun, but soon realized that her hooves were empty.

Rapidly, Twilight searched the ground for Margáil Le Bás, only to find the dirt and plants at her hooves.

“Well…?” Discord probed.

“Well,” Twilight resumed. “I grabbed one of Sanctus’s swords, and stabbed that eye thing in the sky, the projecting source of those nightmare worlds he put us in. Now, where is it…?”

“Hey Twilight, you might want to look at this.” Applejack called out, staring at something in the dirt.

Twilight galloped to her side and looked down. At her hooves was a thin groove cut into the dirt. It snaked out of the ruins, through the clearing, towards the Everfree Forest.

Heavy panting escaped his chest as Sanctus Nightmare crawled through the forest. With Margáil Le Bás in one hoof, and another over his left eye, he had only two hooves to push him forward. The dark alicorn’s large, black body silently drove across the terrain. His mangled, purple mane and tail quietly collected up loose branches and leaves as he moved.

A snap echoed behind him.

Sanctus looked back, and was met with Twilight and the others, all will a rather unhappy look on their faces.

Lightheartedly, Sanctus asked them, “You want to go back? I still have this eye.”

Twilight marched right in front of his face and stared into his one eye.

“Try me.” She dared him.

Sanctus gave a light chuckle in response and turned his back to them.

“After eons in the Void, and I come back to lose the one thing that can’t regenerate.” Sanctus said. “Sounds like a sick joke I would tell.”

“…Sanctus-”

“An eye full of broken shards, sounds excruciating, doesn’t it? Of course, that’s what you did to me, you monster.”

“Enough of that, Sanctus, the battle’s over. Your threats and insults do nothing to me now.”

“So what then? Are you going to try and get me to join your little band of ‘traitors’?”

Sanctus cackled to himself, which grew louder as he saw Twilight’s face tighten.

“Look,” he continued. “I’ve been needing to do something that was due centuries ago, an agenda of sorts. You and your group rest now, because this is only the beginning. I will be back, and I will complete my mission. As long as there’s a shadow in this world, bet all of your money that I’ll be there.”

“Why though?” Pinkie asked him.

“What?” The dark alicorn looked back.

“Why do you want everypony to be unhappy?”

“He-he. If not me, then who? Perhaps Twilight. And besides, it gives me a grand old time, torturing everypony!”

Sanctus’s sword began to shiver and dissolve. In a few seconds, Margáil Le Bás faded into dust and merged into the wind flowing through the forest. Soon, Sanctus’s body also began to dissolve. His flesh rippled as it broke apart and fragmented into black and purple wisps of the wind.

“Oh, and one more thing,” His disembodied head added. “Remember, nightmares may not be that real, but they can leave a nice impression on your soul…”

With that said, Sanctus burst into a cloud of ash and faded from sight, with the last speck of his body to be seen was a single, red dot. A faint maniacal laugh echoed before fading out like the rest of the nightmare.

Silence returned to the area as the sunlight parted the clouds and bathed the area.

“Do you think he’ll be back?” Fluttershy asked.

“If he does,” Twilight firmly answered. “We’ll be ready.”

The eight stared into the forest, each silently thinking about the events that have taken place.

“Hey, Pinkie,” Twilight said.

“What?” Pinkie asked.

“Remember what you said to Sanctus in the nightmare world?”

“Yeah,”

Twilight turned to face Pinkie and smiled.

“I heard from the outside. Thanks for having my back.”

Twilight then turned to everypony else.

“To all of you as well,” She declared. “Thanks for being with me, even when I was… insane. I’m so sorry for treating you all like dirt. You especially, Discord.”

“Quite,” Discord huffed.

“Oh, don’t beat yourself up about it,” Applejack replied. “It was that demon using the book to possess you.”

Twilight responded, “But I wasn’t possessed, I-”

“Hey,” Dash interrupted. “What happened to ‘Sanctus not getting to you’?”

Twilight snickered and continued with her speech, “Next time, when any my friends says there’s something wrong, or that something fishy is going down that I might not be aware of. I’m going to listen. Even if it hurts, I know that above the pain, it’s our friendship and love.”

“Looks like it’s time to write a letter to Princess Celestia and tell her what you learned this week.” Spike replied.

“No!” Twilight softly barked. “No more writing, no more reading, I just need a break from words for the day.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So… what did I miss?”

Rainbow Dash quickly answered, “I finished the newest Daring Do book and-oh, right. No books… Oops.”

The eight suddenly burst in laughter. Twilight rested a hoof on Dash as the two chuckled the most. Eventually, the group began to make their way back to Ponyville through the forest.

Spike cleared his throat, pulled himself together, and told Twilight. “Well, we got that event at the Universe Museum in Canterlot to go to in two months. Remember? They’re opening the new wing about our adventures and how we and other heroes saved Equestria and the world multiple times.”

“Oh, right.” Twilight nodded.

“That reminds me, I need to begin pack.” Rarity added.

“Sounds a bit soon, Rarity,” Applejack remarked.

“Wait, how long will we be in Canterlot?” Fluttershy asked.

“We’ll be staying in a hotel a week prior and after the ceremony.” Spike answered.

“I can’t wait to be there,” Dash exclaimed. “I heard that there’s an interactive exhibit where your fight a bunch of Morks! Remember those guys?!”

“I’ve overhead some rumours that they’re building a life-size replica of The Perfection.” Rarity said.

“Captain Korsan’s giant pirate ship?” Applejack asked.

Rarity nodded. “Correct.”

Pinkie added, “Oh! And don’t forget about the theatre being made! Every week, there’ll be a live performance of ‘The Tragedy of Queen Chrysalis’. I’ve heard the food’s great!”

“Will there be an exhibit on me?” Discord asked.

“Fancy, I might add.” Rarity furthered.

“Will there be an exhibit on me?” Discord asked.

Fluttershy hesitantly replied, “You mean…”

“When I saved Equestria from a second Changeling evasion!” He proclaimed. “Why else would I be there?”

“…”

“See Twilight,” Spike told Twilight. “All these times, you’ve put your life on the line to save others. Doesn’t that say more about you than some stallion that has spent who-knows-how-long in some white space between worlds?”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “You have a point.”

A light billow of dust rushed through the library as Spike placed Owlowiscious’s massive book collection onto the sorting table. Some of the dust entered his nose, and he instantly sneezed.

“Achoo!” He yelped.

Owlowiscious hooted in surprise from his perch atop one of the bookshelves. Spike looked up towards him and gave a warm smile.

“Hey, buddy,” Spike told the owl. “Thanks for your work here. Who knows what would’ve gone down two days ago if you weren’t around?”

“Who?” The owl spoke in a questioning tone.

“Oh, she is totally still asleep. Ever since she got home, Twilight has been sleeping all throughout the night and day. The sun’s probably setting now.”

“Who,”

“Her friends have forgiven her, but she is going to need to do a few solids for them. I’m drafting the list right now. That battle with Sanctus Nightmare was an absolute… well, nightmare.”

“Who…”

“No, nothing yet. Princess Celestia has sent search squadrons patrolling everywhere in and around the Everfree Forest. The only thing that could be found of him was a blood sample in the ruins. Well, if you can call it blood, they said it was more like some product of a science experiment gone horribly wrong.”

“Who,”

“Don’t worry Owlowiscious. I’ve learned my lesson. When Twilight begins acting weird, I’ll be there to snap her out of it, no matter how much it hurts-”

“It’s only a ‘nightmare’, you can say,” A scraggly voice snuck up behind him.

Spike jumped in fright and turned to see the origin of the voice. It was Twilight, having just recently woken up. Much like her voice, Twilight fur and mane were in absolute disarray. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, but were still vibrant in life.

“What’s up Spike?” Twilight weakly joked. “You look like you just saw a zombie.”

“Are you sure I’m not looking at one right now?” He cracked.

Twilight gave a weak chuckle, her throat incredibly dry from all of that sleeping.

“What time is it?” She asked.

“Bedtime,”

“Bu-bu-bu,” she tiredly stammered. “I, I wanna do it now. Yeah, I wanna now.”

“Do what?”

“The letter, I wanna do the letter.”

Spike hesitated before agreeing and pulled up a quill and fresh paper.

“Ready?”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Alright…” Twilight took a second and cleared her groggy throat. “Alright…”

“…You-”

“I’m ready!”

“Okay.”

“Dear Princess Luna,”

“Celestia,”

“Celestia, yeah, that’s what I said…”

Spike rolled his eyes as he wrote down the letter. He kept a sentence behind what Twilight was saying in case she begun going off track in her tired state. Owlowiscious watched from above as the two went back and forth in how this letter was to be written.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Two days ago, I learned an important lesson. Sometimes in life, even when things seem to be going alright, it’s good to have friends to give a second opinion. Even though I thought I was doing the right thing, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sanctus Nightmare’s influence, rather, my unhealthy addictions, nearly lead me to ultimate destruction.

However, with the help from my friends, I remain strong. Even when I pushed away, they stayed loyal. They loved me so much, that they would hurt me to save me. Thanks to them, Sanctus Nightmare is gone, at least we hope so.

Speaking of which, has any sign of Sanctus been found? He seemed pretty confident in his return before fading into dust. Just remember, don’t make direct eye contact with him at all costs.

Princess, one more thing to add. Recently, I’ve been thinking about something. Like, am I really worthy of, this? After what happened recently, and the pain my friends went through to help me, it’s like, I don’t know. Ace and her friends are gone. I couldn’t do anything. My head hurts. Did one of my friends hit me on the head? Did you go through anything similar-(Ignore this paragraph, Twilight’s tired and isn’t thinking straight.)

In the end, Twilight-I-mean-I have learned a very valuable lesson, and can’t wait to come up to Canterlot to go the museum reopening.

Your loyal student,

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, Twilight. If only you knew-”

"Princess Celestia,"

“Captain Palad, what is it?”

“We’ve received sightings of the vigilante, the Black Paladin, nearby the Crystal Empire.”

“Can’t that wait? This Sanctus pony has not yet been confirmed dead or alive, and the press is getting closer and closer to finding out what had happened those two days ago. If they spread word of this, nightmare being possibly running around, everypony will go into a panic.”

“Well, fortunately, I think-”

“-Fortunately?”

“We may have found a correlation between the Black Paladin and Sanctus Nightmare.”

“What?”

“Yes, Princess. Yesterday morning, several citizens of the empire complained of a black and purple haze throughout the area. At first, we as well as they simply brushed this aside as some sort of magical rupture below ground. Then however, there came an increase of paranormal activity in the area.”

“Like?”

“Ponies suddenly getting bad daydreams, foals randomly crying collectively, and an immediate sense of dread were some of the bigger cases.”

“Hmm…”

“Then, this morning, the Black Paladin came passing through. He appeared to be going to the mountains at the north, the last area where the paranormal activity was reported.”

“So, he’s following it?”

“It seems so. If it weren’t for the sightings of him passing through the Crystal Empire, we would have never gotten a closer look at the paranormal activity and connected it to Sanctus.”

“You clever stallion, you lead us to him…”

“What’s the plan now, Princess Celestia?”

“Rex, set up a border patrol at the mountains. Keep an eye out for both him and Sanctus Nightmare. Detain on sight.”

“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”

“Increase security for the reopening ceremony at the museum in two months.”

“Sure…? Mind if I ask why?”

“I just have a feeling.”

“The Black Paladin left you a hint?”

“Come on Rex, we’re alone, you could use his real name.”

“Yeah, I could, Tia.”

“Oh, you. Get moving, why don’t you.”

“As you please.”

“…I’m ready for you.”

The warm glow of a lit candle illuminated the library as Twilight and Spike sat at the work table side by side. Amidst the cold of the night, the two were fully awake, and wanted to do something. Before Spike was a blank book, quickly being filled with the ink of a freshly inked pen. Twilight watched at his side, giving out pointers of what to write.

At one point, Spike lifted the quill and kept it lifted. He was contemplating something.

He turned to Twilight and asked, “What’s the title going to be?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin and thought. Her eyes looked up to the dark ceiling, examining the individual stones while thinking of ideas.

Spike began listing suggestions, “Perhaps… ‘The Five Heroes’? ‘Tales of Wisteria: Hope’? ‘The Friendship After the Nightmare’? Hmm… how about, ‘Quest for the Blade’?”

An idea immediately came to Twilight.

Turning to Spike, she said, “How about, just, ‘The Adventures of Arcega Minn Remastered’?”

“Nice.”

“I might not be able to change the past, but I can avenge them, and finally give them a happy ending.”

“So, Brother, looks like you left behind a few trinkets of your own to counter mine. The Elements of Harmony were sort of a dead ringer. I mean, who else knows of the inner workings of my nightmare magic and how to exploit them other than you of course? Only you do, wherever you are now. And I have to give it to you, reforming Sanctus Chaos to join their alliance is impressive. But, ho, ho, ho, I’ve returned to the world and I’m coming back stronger than ever. With my new army, I am going to destroy it all, Brother. Everything you have done will have been worthless by the time I’m finished.

You will come back, won’t you? I’m hoping on it.”

Bonus: The Swords

Five of the many remnants of Sanctus Nightmare, left behind before he was banished to the Void, are his Five Swords of Death, five legendary blades with infinitely powerful properties. Inside each blade is a hidden power to them that maximizes their abilities. However, how to tap into this power is unknown, and each sword seems to require a different method to do so.

Alongside the many other remnants, these swords have changed the entirety of history for the worst. They have been the origins of war, famine, disease, and death. To any who seek these weapons out, be warned, for even a slight taint in one's mind, body, or soul could spell disaster on an infinite scale.

Glacadh An Bháis

Otherwise known as the Olc Sword, this sword was the first one that Sanctus Nightmare designed. It is indestructible, unable to rust, dull, or be altered in any fashion. Tapping into it's power give the sword infinite density, allowing it to shatter through any other blade with sheer durability. It was left behind in a volcano to preserve it for centuries. In terms of endurance, this blade is inevitable to succeed.

Margáil Le Bás

While not as strong as the others, this sword makes up with it with its shapeshifting capabilities. Tapping into the sword's power, the user can extend the length of the blade to an infinite length and alter its form. The blade will still retain its sharpness upon changing forms.

It was left behind in a cult church in an altered, disguised state by Sanctus Nightmare and later found by Prince Doúlos Thanatus.

Fearg Ó Bhás

Crafted from Sanctus Nightmare's passion and fury, this sword's power is maddening. It can cut through most anything, and tapping into its true power gives it infinite cutting power. It can cut through anything with no effort, but it is unknown if it can damage Glacadh An Bháis.

It was thrown into a powerful storm, said to never die out beyond the lands of the known world, by one of Sanctus Nightmare's followers.

A Sprioc Amháin

Sanctus Nightmare's claimed favourite blade, this sword has an infinite capacity of applying pain and suffering.

While it doesn't cut as deep or bear much weight or length to it, upon making contact with blade, the victim is instantly struct with an immeasurable amount of everlasting pain. Tapping into its power prevents the pain, which dwarfs the travel into the Scorpionfloor Temple at the center of the Jungle of Agony to obtain it.

Ag Séanadh Marbh

The final sword that Sanctus Nightmare created, this sword defies order and logic of the physical world to an a infinite degree. It can stab a target behind the user with a forward stab, it can chop in two directions whilst being still, it is unpredictable and dangerous to all in whatever distance the sword seems to want. Only Sanctus Nightmare himself and a few select others have been known to use it effectively.

Where it rests is... unknown. Even in plain sight, the sword can disappear. By tapping into its true power can the user properly control it.

Bonus: The Moment

As Twilight was reaching the end of Chapter 5, a sudden welt of exhaustion struct her. She yawned for a moment before snapping back into her reading mood and continued.

"Ace!" Silver called out from the tavern. "We could use some help here."

Ace and the other mares turned to the giant hole in the wall to see the stallions struggling to lift a beam back to the rafters. Ace rolled her eyes in pity for the duo and went inside, leaving behind Ebony and Eclipse. The two remaining mares waited outside as the day soon grew to a halt. Without Ace around, Ebony had no pony to chat with, except for Eclipse, who seemed to not be the talkative type.

However, that didn't stop her from trying.

“Hey Eclipse, you wanna do something fun?" Ebony asked. "I’m getting bored!”

She then dramatically flopped down onto her side, tongue lolling out and her eyes rolling upwards as if she was dying.

“Depends on what you call ‘fun’," Eclipse replied, looking at her being over dramatic for no reason.

She tucked whatever it was under her cloak closer, prompting more dramatics from Ebony. Eclipse rolled her eyes and sat down next to Ebony.

The way she acts, she needs to loosen up, and I know just the way. Ebony thought to herself. With a smile, she jumped up with a beat of her wings quickly and without warning. She then grabbed Eclipse's hoof, dragging the young mare to the dance hall in the tavern. Luckilly, it was free from any debris.

Ace, Silver, and Huntsmen didn't notice the duo as they continued to work in the attic.

“What are you doing? Do you mind letting me go?” Eclipse asked.

The sudden way Ebony picked her up surprised her, and Eclipse hoped they weren’t going to do what she think we would.

"She wants us to dance," A voice rung in Eclipse's head.

Just great, She replid.

Ebony cheered, “We are gonna have us some fun, trust me, Clipsy. Oh, I like that nickname, Clipsy.”

"Well prepare to lose it, because I'm going to be called-"

Ebony ignored her, and dragged her to her favourite spot of the hall, center stage. With an eager smile, she set "Clipsy" down onto her hooves before landing next to her.

“You know how to dance, right?”

“Of course I can't dance, would be a waste of time learning how to.” Eclipse told her, starting to get annoyed by Ebony.

"Come on Eclipse, could be fun." Another voice in her head suggested.

"You stay out of this..." Eclipse silently hissed, looking at Ebony. "Bah, I might as well get it over with."

Ebony's ears flattened a little after what Eclipse told her about dancing. However, another idea popped into her head, emphasized with a swish of her tail.

“Well, what do you like doing for fun?” She asked.

“Well, for starte-" Eclipse was about to begin,  but then saw how Ebony looked when she told her that she didn’t like dancing. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I like to do for fun.” Eclipse then told her, looking at her solemnly.

Ebony's jaw dropped.

Her mind raced, She… she doesn’t- but she’s so young, how could she not know? That is it, my newest mission, get Clipsy to have fun.

“Okay Clipsy, what do you think fun is?” Ebony then asked.

“Well, fun is a waste of time as it doesn’t help you survive. Fun is something most ponies can do when they want something to do.” Eclipse explained.

“Well, you're wrong, Clipsy. Dead, seriously wrong, like jalapenos in peanut butter wrong.”

"Wha-"

Ebony then grabbed Eclipse by the hoof again before taking in an overly dramatic breath. She was getting ready to burst into song.

“I hope your not going to sing.” Eclipse told her, sighing.

With a nod, Ebony smiled happily before immediately beginning, her flank swaying in rhythm as she pulled Eclipse close to her.

“C’mon Clipsy, loosen up your body.” She sung.

Ebony gave her a shake in an attempt to get her to loosen.

“Oh, feeling crazy, The moon is up, The night is hazy. Let's get lost in the shadows, Somewhere we can go, And no one else can find!”

While holding the dour unicorn close, Ebony took her on a fast paced tour through the town.

“Please don’t do this Ebony.” Eclipse begged.

“Why not? You need to know the truth of what fun really is, Clipsy.” Ebony pull her into what looked like a conveniently placed fair, bee-lining for the games with the filly still in her grasp. “Fun is a way ponies relieve stress and build bonds with friends. Fun is all about relaxing and not having a care in the world.”

“A way to relieve stress, huh? Well, I guess I could try it, not like it will hurt me.”

Eclipse still was rolling her eyes, but played along.

Ebony squealed, “Yay!”

Excitedly, she give her a quick, yet immensely tight hug before pulling her to a booth. A metre behind the booth counter was a wall of balloons.

“I’ll show you how to play.” Ebony explained, picking up one of the darts. “To win you have to use all three of the darts to puncture a balloon. Try to aim for the smaller ones if you can. And no using magic.”

She stuck her tongue out goofily as she gave a few test throws. Once satisfied, she picked up her first dart for an actual throw. The first dart left her hoof at a high speed and with a satisfying pop, one of the balloons exploded, though it is one of the bigger ones.

“No magic? Fine then.”

Eclipse then picked up the dart, mimicking what Ebony did and aimed for one of the balloons. Right away, her aim was so bad that she nearly hit the pony running the stand. She immediately glanced at the quivering stallion, and enjoyed it.

Eclipse said, “Your right Ebony, this is fun. Also, sorry sir.”

Ebony was frozen in horror after the dart narrowly missed the stallion, only letting a soft sigh escape her lips.

“Please be more careful, Clipsy." Ebony advised, "And I am glad to hear you are having fun, but you want to know what the true signs of fun are?”

“I’m sorry Ebony, I will.”

Eclipse tried once more, this time making sure to aim like she would with magic. This time, popping one of  the smaller balloons.

Ebony clapped her hooves together in joy. She then proceeded to pick up two darts in one hoof. She threw them at the same time, with one hitting the wall itself but the other hitting one of the medium-sized balloons.

She's trying to show off huh? Eclipse thought.

She then picked up four darts, one in each of her front hooves, and closed her eyes.  She threw all four darts randomly, and heard at least 1 loud pop. When she opened my eyes, Eclipse saw that two darts hit one balloon, the other two hit each other on the wall.

She turned to Ebony and asked, “I still don’t get it, what are the signs of having fun?”

Ebony's wing fell across her back as she smile at her. “Smiling and laughter are the surest signs of having fun.”

She then threw my last dart over her shoulder and turn around, another popping sound reaching their ears.

Even after their impressive work, they walked away without any prizes as Ebony dragged her over to what looked like a puppet show surrounded by foals.

“Let’s get ourselves a front row seat.” Ebony proclaimed, still dragging the unicorn around.

The two plopped next to a pair of Earth Pony foals, who started to complain. But, they eventually settled down as Ebony allow them to sit on her back, after a bit of roughhousing from them.

“You just let foals, random foals, sit on you?” Eclipse asked her, confused.

At the same time, she grabbed the unseen object out of her cloak and held it close to her side, outside of Ebony's sight.

A puppet show? let’s see what it's about. A voice whispered in Eclipse's head.

Ebony replied, “Why not? They deserve to have a better seat for the show, and there isn’t room for both of us, them, and the other foals to sit in the front."

Her tail swished lazily but happily as they waited for the show to start. She couldn't help but giggle as the pair continued their wrestling match, rolling all along her back, even bumping into her neck and head. At one point, a sharp, stabbing pain pierced her back.

“Okay you two, settle down. The show is going to start.” Ebony called out.

Sure enough, the curtains begun to rise and four puppets on sticks showed up. One was dressed as a king while the other three were knights. Ebony joined the foals in letting out a loud cheer.

Eclipse, meanwhile, just stared in amazement at this fully grown mare acting like a child. The puppets on the stage didn’t seem like anything special. It seemed to be a tale about knights and kings, like from the books her friends had read to her when she was younger, brought back fond memories.

A small smiled grew on her muzzle, and Eclipse thought Ebony noticed this.

Ebony give Eclipse a light nudge and widened her grin before returning to the show. Despite the seriousness of how it started, it quickly turned to a comedy, starting with one of the knights throwing a pie at an enemy, but missing and hitting the ‘king’ instead. Laughter rung throughout the air, which Ebony join in with the chorus of youngsters.

This got less dark rather quickly, which did upset me a bit. Nonetheless, every pony else seemed to be enjoying this comedy, hence all the laughter around me. Eclipse thought.

"Gods, this is so sappy..." A third voice moaned in Eclipse's head.

It is just a bit  sappy. But something about this show made me feel weird. It wasn’t happiness, no I can’t feel that. Maybe just, giving me something I missed all my life. A way to be a normal filly.  Eclipse mentally replied.

Throughout the entire show, Ebony couldn't help but give the small filly next to her a few cursory glances. Once it ended and the two foals climbed off, Ebony got up with a shake, still emitting a couple chuckles.

“Is everything okay, Clipsy?” She asked.

“What? Yea. It’s just, I have never had a normal life. I hear demons in my head, I had to raise myself alone, and I can’t feel emotions. Just doing something, normal, were not sure what to think of it.” Eclipse explained. "We went on for awhile in my head during the show, and having a normal life is, different. Not sure if I hate it or like it."

Ebony's wing grip changed, trying to comfort Eclipse as they make their way to the nearest food stand. Ebony didn’t know if Eclipse was lying about the demon-things or not, but she did seem to need help.

“Here is a trade-secret, Clipsy. Everypony is normal in their own way. There is no universal normal we all have to live by.”

Without warning, Ebony gave Eclipse a quick boop on the nose.

“As for not being able to feel emotions," Ebony continued, "that is hogwash. We all feel emotions, even if we don’t want to.”

“Thanks for that, but you don’t seem to understand. I am mentally unable to feel emotions, I was born that way. That is why I always seem cold. I do thank you for trying to help. This really has been...” Eclipse struggled on the last word. “Fuuun.”

That word was hard for her to say.

“You did help me." Eclipse moved on. "I haven’t told many ponies about my life either, so you're one of the first ponies who isn’t creeped out enough to be near me. Anyway, what’s next?”

“Hmm, that smile I saw earlier would beg to differ, Clipsy, but I am glad to hear you are slowly starting to open up. As for what is next, I’m getting hungry, how about you?”

The two then found themselves in front of rows upon rows of food stands, Ebony's stomach letting out a loud rumble.

“What, me smiling means that I am happy?" Eclipse asked. "Anyway, yes, I am hungry.”

She went ahead and tucked her plush object back into her cloak.

I wish I didn’t say anything about my demons, but it’s too late now. We are in front of the food stands, and now I feel like my usual self once more.

“Yep, smiling is an external sign of happiness in most cases.” Ebony answered Eclipse's question.

After taking a few whiffs and measuring the lines, they make way to the shortest line that was serving Ebony's favorite food, tacos.

“Hmm, what do I want?" The bat-pony asked herself. "Ever had Caballican before?”

Eclipse wasn't picky when it came to food.

“Well, you can say what you want." Eclipse replied. "Anyway, I can’t say that I have tried it before.”

She then looked over to the food stand she had been previously looking at, and saw what she believed was a "taco".

“Well, if you like spicy foods, you’ll love Caballican.”

As they waited, Ebony looked to the hanging menu, studying it as the duo slowly drew to the front of the line.

Ebony added, “And trust me on what I said about smiling and being happy.”

Her attention turned to the unicorn who was standing at the window, awaiting our orders.

“Yes, I’ll have the… potato burrito and… two taco supremes with a large pop. Go ahead and order, Clipsy, my treat.”

“I’ll have a bee-I mean veggie burrito with a to-sta-da please.” Eclipse told the unicorn, leaving off the part about wanting meat.

As they waited, Ebony noticed an older mare who seemed to be frustrated. The reason behind it soon became clear as a pair of colts came up to her, crying. With a sympathetic smile, she approached the foals and with her wings I managed, pull off some very goofy faces. As they begin to lighten up and giggle they both booped her on the nose, to which Ebony instantly got rigid after standing up on her hind hooves.

“Ooh, the cuteness…" Ebony proclaimed with gratuitous drama, "They got me. Run… Cli...psy…”

She pretended to force the words out as if she were dying before toppling onto her back, wings flared out and her head rolled to the side. Eclipse just stared at her and the way she was acting, and something felt, off. She acted like such a child, and it was a big surprise. The older mare came up to Eclipse.

“Thank your friend for me. She saved me.” She said, smiling.

“I will.” Eclipse nodded as she turned over to look at the food stand and saw their food ready.

She went over to grab the food while Ebony was busy with the kids.

“You know, I think i'm starting to understand fun. You act stupid.” Eclipse noted, walking back over to Ebony.

At the sound of Eclipse’s voice and the sight of our food in her magical grasp, it signaled that playtime was over. With a hard push of her wings, Ebony went from laying on her back to standing on all fours, shaking herself off before joining the young mare.

“That could be a part of having fun, is acting silly." Ebony replied. "But it doesn’t work for everypony.”

Eagerly, she then dug into her food as she watched Eclipse.

She continued, “There are many ways a pony can have fun, you just have to find the outlet that works for you.”

“Just like with anything else,” Eclipse said, taking a bite out of her food.

She wasn’t sure what to talk about next, or even what to say at that point. She and Ebony just sat upon a bench, eating, taking a look around. Ponies of all ages were running around, having a good time despite the rather shabby appearance of the town at first sight. They seemed to be happy, and enjoying themselves.

“I wish I could feel joy.” Ebony said quietly under her breathe so Ebony wouldn’t hear.

“Yes, Clipsy, you can feel joy. Just think back at when you were smiling, how did that make you feel?”

Ebony study Eclipse closely, noting how down she seemed.

“Just because you haven’t been able to in the past doesn’t mean you can’t feel it either now or in the future.” She noted.

“Silly bat-pony, forgot. Anyway, I'm not worried or upset about it, it's no big deal.” Eclipse said, looking at how she looked at her. “Besides, I've enjoyed myself, I think.”

Eclipse then stood up with food now gone.

Ebony countered, “Yes, it is a big deal, but at least you think you are enjoying yourself so far. One step at a time though.”

After they threw their trash away, Ebony again wrapped her wing around Eclipse back while giving her a smile.

She asked, “You want to have some more fun, or you wanna get out of here?”

“I think it's fine for us to leave now, I understand what you were trying to say. Unless you had anything else planned?” Eclipse asked her, her body easing as Ebony's wing wrapped around.

"There you two idiots are." Huntsmen's voice boomed across the yard.

The mares looked over and saw Ace, Huntsmen, and Silver walking towards them. They were covered in web and dust.

"It's about time we head off." Silver Chord explained to them. "Huntsmen says that it'll take a good week or two to reach Mt. Gné, so sooner is better than later."

"Go on ahead," Ebony replied. "We'll catch up."

The three looked to each other for a moment before slowly turning around and heading away.

"I really don't trust that mare." Silver whispered to Huntsmen as they left.

Ebony and Eclipse turned to each other once more.

"Perhaps we can continue this after this adventure Clipsy." Ebony suggested.

"Yeah." Eclipse replied. "Also... can you not call me Clipsy anymore. At least, not in public."

"Alright."

With a firm hug, the two mares ended their moment and joined up with the three others, and made their way to the Olc Sword.

Chapter 1: The Prologue

“Achoo!” Twilight sneezed. Her sound echoed throughout the dusty library.

“Gesundheit!” Spike quickly responded, his voice also echoed.

Searching throughout the library within the Castle of the Two Sisters, Twilight and Spike sifted through the thousands of books organized in dozens of bookshelves. Their end goal was nothing too special though, just to find some reading material. However, with the very decrepit state of most of the books, their search proved more difficult than anticipated.

“Can we go back to Ponyville?” Spike asked in impatience. “There’s something I gotta do.”

“Your gem-collecting adventures with Rarity can wait.” Twilight nonchalantly answered. Her attention was too focused on the shelf of books before her.

“C’mon, just face it. We’re not going to find any good books here anymore. We found them all.” Spike pleaded.

Twilight knew that Spike was growing more and more antsy, and could easily go back to Ponyville without her help. However, she needed him to keep the lamp on while her magic was hard at work with the books.

She pulled herself away from the bookshelf and examined the library around her. It was incredibly dark and barren of any sign of maintenance, but she knew the area thanks to her countless explorations.

Her eyes locked onto a corner of the library, a makeshift room with bookshelves as walls. A small table was in the center of the tiny room with four massive books on each of its edges, open and exposed to the elements.

Twilight pointed to the area and asked, “How about the Reserved Section?”

“We’ve already checked there.”

“Well, never hurts to check twice.”

“Try thirteen times...” Spike murmured in a huff.

With Twilight in a skip and Spike in a stomp, the two entered the Reserve Section and examined it. Just as before, their search remained fruitless save for an extra helping of dust.

“Achoo!” Twilight sneezed once more.

“Gesundheit.” Spike said in a deadpan tone, not enjoying the moment at all.

The lamp he had in his right hand began to burn out. Quickly, Spike relit it with his dragon breath. The initial sparks of fire lit up the entire section. Twilight noticed and quickly read across the covers of the books. All of them were the same, Old English dictionaries, outdated almanacs, odd thesauruses, inaccurate encyclopedias…

All except for one book, one that was more brightly coloured than the others.

But before Twilight get a good look at it, the lamp dimmed and returned the books to their murky, unreadable state.

“Spike, bring the light over to me.” Twilight said as she approached the area where she saw the book. Spike, having not noticed the book, rolled his eyes and carried the light over to her. The bright book was illuminated once more, and Twilight quickly plucked it from the shelf with his magic.

Lowering down right in front of the light, Twilight analyzed the book now in her hooves. It was a hardcover book like most others, made of a leather fabric dyed purple. It looked incredibly old, but was in suspiciously good condition. On the cover was a silhouette of a mare and a golden title that read, “The Adventures of Arcega Minn”. It was roughly the size of a small novel, and had a completely blank backside.

“What an odd book,” Twilight remarked. “It doesn’t look like it should be in the Reserved Section.”

She opened it and quickly flipped through the book, skipping across the first and last pages. A lot of them bore illustrations, and not really that many words. What was most surprising was the lack of any essentials that a book would otherwise need. There was no authour page, no acknowledgements, no preface, none of that, all except for what can only be described as an dedications page that simply read,

In remembrance of Sanctus.

“Sanctus?” Spike noted. “That’s an odd name.”

“Well, it must be especially old. It would explain how a children’s storybook got here.”

“So now that we found something…”

Twilight breathed a sigh, “Yes, Spike. Let’s go home.”

“Finally,” Spike sighed in relief. With the book secure at Twilight’s side, the two exited the library and made their way home.

By the time Twilight and Spike got back to Ponyville, the autumn sun had already begun to fall into the horizon. Upon arriving from the main road, Spike immediately left to join Rarity and to finally go out on another excavation venture, leaving Twilight to walk to her castle by herself.

Twilight was a bit upset on her way home, but she didn’t know why. Her mind pondered the possibilities of why she was in this state. Perhaps it was that she and Spike only found one book to take home. Maybe it was the fear that her adventures in the old castle library may come to an end. Or it could have been Spike’s attitude. Regardless, Twilight was in a bad mood from her trip, and she figured a good way to remedy such is to read this new book and to solve its perplexing problems.

Twilight entered her castle home and went to the bedroom. She nestled the book onto the pillows of the bed and relaxed herself onto the covers. With the flames of the nearby fireplace providing both warmth and light, Twilight opened the book and begun her reading.

The first page was the dedications page, which she read once more,

In Remembrance of Sanctus.

Twilight pondered for a moment, trying to remember if she knew anything about such a pony by that name.

Still nothing.

She turned to the next page, which bore a table of contents. There were twelve chapters, including the prologue. Twilight turned the page again. It was the prologue.

Once upon a ti-

Knock!

Knock!

The echoes of the front door to her castle instantly broke her from her reading. Leaving no time to waste, Twilight scurried down and opened it. There standing on the other side were Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Each of them were holding presents and a happy smile on their faces.

“Oh, hi girls.” Twilight cheered, always happy to see them.

“Hi Twilight.” Pinkie quickly replied. “You got your present for Applejack’s birthday tomorrow?”

Twilight nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up and ready.”

“Yay! Remember, twelve-o’-clock sharp.”

“I will.”

“Oh Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash remarked. “No need to worry. Twilight’s always on time.”

Pinkie replied, “I know, just making sure. Oh! Twilight, want to help us set up for the party?”

“I don’t really feel that well.” Twilight lied, not wanting to hurt their feelings, though her bitter mood was still present for some mysterious reason. “I’m just going to go to bed for the night.”

“But it’s only two in the afternoon.” Fluttershy pointed out.

Twilight’s eyes snapped up to the bright, cloudy skies and back to confirm that statement.

“Oh…” Twilight noted, thinking of something to say on the spot. “Well, there it goes again, my, not-wellness.”

“Aw, I feel so sorry for you Twilight.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be gone by tomorrow. See you girls later.”

“Well, hope you feel better Twilight.” Pinkie cheered. “Goodbye!”

With that said, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Dash left Twilight. Rainbow Dash however quickly zipped back to the front door.

“Wait, Twilight.” She yelped, as if having recently remembered something.

“What is it Dash?” Twilight asked.

“Have you read through ‘Daring Do and the Philosopher’s Legend’ yet?”

“Almost, just about to hit Chapter 42.”

“Oh! That far? Please, you have to tell me, does Wolf find Daring Do’s mom, or does she still have the True Philospher’s Legend?”

“Oh no, you have to read that part for yourself, words can’t describe it.”

“Aw… Well, see ya.”

With a flick of her wings, Rainbow Dash was gone, leaving Twilight alone at the door. Twilight quickly got back into her bed and begun to read once more.

Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Cen-

Knock!

Knock!

The knocking rung once more, prompting Twilight to see who it is this time. It was her friends, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon, needing her to sort out a friendship problem of theirs. Despite her earlier irritations, Twilight agreed to help them.

Hours later, Twilight returned to her bedroom, having solved the friendship problem. As she sat down on her bed, she looked out her window, seeing that it’s almost night.

She groaned in exhaustion and frustration and plopped her body across the bed. She bumped her head against the open book.

“Oh yeah,” she grumbled to herself. “This book, I can finally read it.”

Twilight slowly set herself into her reading position and begun to read,

Once upon a time, in a faraway land unknown to most, there stood two kingdoms, Centura and Damascariot. They were strong kingdoms, but with that strength came pride.

The ponies of one kingdom despised the ponies of the other, thinking they were superior. They insulted each other at every given chance, even if they didn’t know anything of the other pony outside of his or her alliance. Insults led to fighting, and fighting led to wars, wars that were frequent between the two kingdoms.

During one of these wars, a couple, a medic and soldier of Centura, produced a child upon the battlegrounds, named Arcega Shutts Minn. Arcega was a very thin, but very beautiful mare. She had a bright tan coat, and had long, flowing, golden hair for both her mane and tail. Her ocean blue eyes were as radiant as the sun.

Her parents loved her with all of their hearts, and wished to be there for her at all times. However, Fate had something else in store for them, for one day, they fell into the clutches of Death, and left their daughter alone. She was taken to her parents’ kingdom and raised there by her aunt and uncle.

Her aunt and uncle loved her as much as her parents did. They told her stories of knights in shining armour that went on epic journeys and saved the land. Arcega loved these stories, and dreamed of one day becoming the greatest knight there ever was.

She went on adventures throughout her village as a filly, play-fighting with the other foals and exploring her home and the forests that surrounded it. One day, while exploring the deep woods, she came across a strange pony. She looked like a normal pony, but had features resembling that of a bat, including eyes, ears, wings, and fangs. Her fur was midnight and her mane and tail were grey. Most would cower in fear at such a sight, but Arcega felt no fear.

She instead befriended the bat-pony, and let her join in her adventures. The two quickly became best friends, with a passion for adventure and fun as their greatest binds. They did not care if it seemed silly, even as they grew up, they enjoyed their childlike, carefree lives.

However, their innocent youths came to a grinding halt one day, as the dreaded news of a villain’s arrival shook the kingdom of Centura to its core.

Chapter 3: The Conflict

Three days had passed since Applejack’s birthday party, but Spike still remembered the events like it was yesterday. Applejack had found Twilight in the barn shortly after the Discord incident, reading that book again. Twilight explained that she just needed a breather from the party, despite only spending two minutes there.

Everypony accepted the explanation and Twilight rejoined shortly after. Everything seemed fine for the most part afterwards, Twilight took part in the games, songs, and the cake, save for her book that always hovered within her sight. The only notably odd thing that happened was when Applejack opened her presents.

She got a statue made of clouds from Rainbow Dash, an encyclopedia from Twilight, a poem written from Spike, a golden hoe in the shape of Discord, from Discord, a bat-shaped dog toy from Fluttershy, an overly stylized hat from Rarity, and a whole song and dance routine from Pinkie Pie.

When each of those presents was revealed, Twilight looked a bit confused, as if something was wrong. When asked about it privately, Twilight told Spike to not mind it and, quite rudely, to mind his own business. It was something extremely outside of Twilight’s character to do that, and Spike wanted to know why.

As the morning sun rose outside the castle windows, Spike entered Twilight’s bedroom to investigate. Spike opened the door ajar a peeked through the crack, not wanting to disturb her. He saw Twilight, sleeping in her bed with the book covering her face. The book gently moved in rhythm with her snoring.

At least she’s alive, Spike joked to himself.

He opened the door all the way and crept up to the side of her bed. With great meticulousness, he gently removed the book, and was shocked at what he saw.

Twilight’s face was dry and thin, her lips were crispy and tough, and her mane was matted to a point where it felt like thick skin. She looked as if she hadn’t had a thing to eat or drink in ages.

Spike’s mind quickly raced. How did Twilight end up like this?! I mean, I know I’ve been busy throughout the last days, outside the castle and all, but I’ve seen her… in her bedroom… just reading, and sleeping. I haven’t really paid much attention to Twilight actually, just let her read.

Spike then lifted the covers from Twilight’s body, jumping back upon seeing it. It was thin to the bones, to the point where the ribs, pelvis, and spinal bones could be seen through the fur.

“Twilight!” Spike screeched.

Twilight instantly jerked up.

Her voice sounded and felt like claws on a chalkboard, “Wha-what is it?!”

“Your body.”

Twilight slowly glanced down at her body. Her eyes bulged at the sight of herself.

“What the-” Twilight exclaimed.

“We need to get you to a hospital! You need help!” Spike yelped as he ran out of the room.

Twilight attempted to get out of bed, only to slide off and land headfirst onto the cold floor. Her legs felt like twigs as she tried to get up. Eventually, she did and slowly headed to the door. Spike quickly returned though, and assisted her to the local hospital.

The doctors there were quick to diagnose her. Twilight had suffered from adequate dehydration and starvation, much to Spike’s expectations. If it weren’t for the cake, her condition could’ve been a lot worse.

Twilight rested in a hospital bed for several hours since then, being occasionally fed small rations of food in order for her system to return to normal. She couldn’t believe how messed up her body gotten, all for a book.

The book…

Twilight saw it in the corner of her eye, resting on a nightstand. She didn’t recall taking it with her to the hospital. Then again, she was extremely tired and sick, so she may have forgotten. Seeing as how she was going to be stuck in the hospital for a while longer, Twilight naturally came to the conclusion to pass the time by reading.

She opened the book to where she last left off, midway through the third chapter, and read.

“The coronation is tomorrow!” Ace squealed with joy. “Are you excited Ebony?”

“Oh yeah, I sure am.” Ebony replied, though not as enthusiastic as her friend.

Ebony could never really get involved with any large-scale celebrations due to her being a bat-pony. She’d usually watch from afar while the other ponies took part in the fun, wishing she was with them. But regardless, Ebony enjoyed them.

Ace and Ebony walked out from the bar and began to make their way home. The rich sun bathed the land as they walked through the town, bringing life into everything it touched.

“If this place looks as beautiful as it does during summer,” Ebony said, noting her surroundings. “Imagine what the capital will look like.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“Never, but I’ve heard much from travelers. They say that the roads are made of quartz, its many stores are ten metres tall, and its stallions are so handsome.”

Ace nodded, “Yeah. Maybe when I become a knight, I’ll live there. I’ll have a mansion, made of the finest materials, with a pond at its center, and even your own room or two.”

“Thanks. It’s certainly better than under your bed.”

A small figured appeared in the distance ahead of the two mares. Upon closer inspection, it was a pegasus stallion, running right towards them. He was yelling something, as if in a panic, but was too far at the moment to be heard.

As he drew close however, his voice became clearer. Ace and Ebony traded banter back and forth, figuring out his words.

“Fantastic yum rings?” Ace suggested.

“Fanatic ummings?” Ebony asked.

“Than Adic’s yearning?”

“Thanat’s invading?”

“What’s that?”

“No idea.”

Finally, they heard him scream out, “Thanatus is coming!”

“…Who?” The two asked each other.

The stallion shouted once more. “Lord Thanatus, the Terrible of Terribles, the Monster of Wisteria, the King of Nightmares he’s coming!”

“Hey!” Ace shouted at the approaching stallion. “Who that?”

The stallion was now only dozens of metres away. At that moment, the two realized something was gravely wrong with the pony. Several thin sticks were points out of his back and his wings.

Arrows, he had been shot.

A thin trail of red colour followed the light blue pony as well. He was seriously wounded.

Jumping to action, Ace and Ebony ran up to the stallion’s side and held him at his sides.

“Are you alright?” Ace yelled at the stallion.

“Lord Thanatus, is coming…” He panted.

Ebony asked, “Who’s he?”

“A madpony… Has immense power… He wants to conquer us… Must warn the king, the queen, the princess… Damascariot has fallen…”

The two mares nearly dropped him on the spot.

“Damascariot, has fallen?!” Ace exclaimed.

“Hasn’t that place been Centura’s biggest enemy for decades?” Ebony asked.

“It was!” Ace replied.

The stallion continued, “Forces marching… In one month, he will arrive… Must stop him…”

Ebony glanced at Ace, whose face had turned from that of dread to determination.

“Wanna go on an adventure?” Ace asked.

Ebony’s face also toughened.

She replied, “Sure.”

“Let’s save a kingdom.”

“…”

“…After taking this stallion to a medic.”

“Right.”

“Princess Sparkle.” A doctor called out to her.

Twilight looked above her book and saw a pair of doctors alongside Spike, standing at the end of her bed.

The same doctor spoke, “You appear to be in healthy enough condition to resume your daily business.”

“Just remember to eat and drink constantly.” The other doctor, a nurse more specifically, declared. “We would also recommend lots of rest and exercise.”

“Alright.” Twilight nodded.

Quietly, the two doctors left, leaving Spike and Twilight to talk and leave at their own accord.

Spike saw the book shoved into Twilight’s face as soon as he walked in. He felt almost disgusted by its presence for some reason, a reason he wanted to find out.

Spike asked in a very stern voice, “Twilight, how did you not eat, drink, or even exercise for three days?”

Twilight felt insulted by the tone of Spike’s voice, like she was being berated by her dad.

“I was distracted.” Twilight answered, trying to keep her cool.

“You mean with that book in front of your face?”

“So? It’s a good book.”

“Really?” Spike railed on. “’It’s a good book?’ Are you sure it’s not an ‘special’ book?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think you need to spend some time away from this book, to make sure if it’s safe for you to read.” Spike replied, this time trying a more caring voice.

Twilight quickly barked back, “Look, I’ve learned from my mistake. It wasn’t the book’s fault or anything supernatural.”

“But just to be safe-”

“Let me get this through to you, this book is not possessed, I just really like it. It is not driving me to suicide, I just want to read it in peace. There is no subtext to it, it’s just a simple fairy tale.”

“But-”

Twilight had to put her hoof down. Although Spike did concern for her safety, this was taking it too far for comfort.

“Enough!” She snapped, stamping her hoof into the bed rail.

A moment of silence broke out between the two. They stared at each other, eye to eye.

Spike knew Twilight wouldn’t break without seriously injuring her feelings, so he decided to simply end it. He broke eye contact and walked out of the hospital. Twilight eventually followed, but kept her distance and held the book close to her.

Of all the ridiculous things Spike could’ve blamed my mere starvation on, it just had to be the book. Twilight thought to herself, conversing. From the breeze, to the cold, to just my laziness, his mind could’ve deduced it was any one of those factors, but no, it’s the book. I mean, look at this thing, does it look evil? No spikes, no engravings, no symbols, just a plain hard-cover book, and that’s all it is. Why is it you that is the only thing that isn’t a pain in my back nowadays?

Ace and Ebony returned home and geared up for their grand adventure.

Ace put on her green cloth tunic, white stockings, and brown leather boots. She grabbed her sword and shield from her shed. Her sword, a thick longsword a custom hilt made by herself, was tucked into a scabbard and strapped around her shoulder. She then attached her home-carved steel-trim wooden shield to the scabbard, leaving the hilt and pommel exposed.

Ebony pulled out a pair of small, metal shoes from under Ace’s bed. Before putting them on, she flicked the shoes, causing a dagger to spring down from each shoe. She giggled before flicking them once more, causing the daggers to spring back into a sheath of the shoes. Ebony put on the shoes, put on her circlet, and tucked in her cloak before zipping outside and meeting with Ace.

Before the two set off however, Ace’s aunt and uncle walk out of the house.

“Oh, hello,” Ace smiled.

“You sounded like you were in a hurry,” her uncle said.

“Oh, just going on an adventure with my friend, Ebony.”

Ebony waved carefully to not to expose herself.

“Looks like you two are ready to go on a camping trip.” Ace’s aunt noted.

“Yeah,” Ace nodded. “We’ll be gone for a while.”

“Well, you two better be safe.” Her aunt replied.

Ace nodded once more, “Alright, Aunt Maroon, I will. Goodbye Uncle Orange.”

“Farewell.” Both her aunt and uncle shouted.

With now everything taken care of, Ace and Ebony set off on their quest, to save the kingdom of Centura, as well as all of Wisteria.

Spike stared up at Twilight’s room through the window of the castle. She was there once more, reading her book. Before leaving earlier, Spike made sure that a sandwich and a glass of water were on the nightstand next to her bed, but could only hope now that she would eat them when she needed them.

It had been a day since Ace and Ebony had seen their town, and were now deep in the forest. They were heading South, straight for Damascariot.

“So…” Ebony asked Ace. “What’s do we do now? What’s the first step?”

“…” Ace hesitated, having never really considered that herself.

“…Ace?”

“I don’t know.”

“…” Ebony’s face quickly turned into a scowl.

“…Ebony?”

“YOU REALLY DIDN’T THINK AHEAD?!”

“I was thinking more about the action…” Ace weakly smiled whilst saying that.

“Actually, now that I think about it, how the hay are we, two mares, going to take down an army that took out Damascariot in a few days or something?”

“Still haven’t figured that out yet.”

“No figure.”

“Hey, you should’ve asked those questions earlier when we were in town.”

Ebony hesitated before replying, “…Touché. So now what do we do?”

“That, is an excellent question.” Ace replied.

The two stopped walking and thought. During which, a low, growling sound could be heard coming from one of them.

“Oh, that was me.” Ebony explained.

“I see.” Ace nodded.

“Can I get some food?”

“Oh, su-” She suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes going wide.

Ebony moaned. “Ugh, don’t tell me…”

“I didn’t bring food.”

“…”

“Or water… Or a map.”

“Worst. Heroes. Ever.”

“The old stories never said anything about packing food and water!” Ace retorted. “They just jumped to the heroes finding the treasure and saving the day!”

“Son of a-fine, fine. I’ve lasted twelve years before I met you, I know how to survive.”

“Good, good, like true knights.”

“We just need to find a wandering merchant.”

“Ebony!”

“To buy food from, not to rob,” Ebony explained herself.

“Oh…”

“Depends on the situation,”

“Why I outta-”

“-Wait!” Ebony interrupted. “Do you hear that?”

The two stopped arguing and held their ears high. Deep within the forest ahead of them was the sound of something, musical. They followed the sound as they travelled, now able to hear words being sung and the instrument being played. They eventually reached a dirt road, where on the other side, under a tree, sat a wandering bard.

He was a pegasus stallion of an age similar to Ebony. He had a white coat of fur and a messy, silver mane and tail. His eyes were a sharp blue, a more energetic shade than Ace’s. On his flank and what he wielded was a guitar. On his head, he wore a pair of flight goggles and on his body was a black cloak, similar to Ebony’s. A bow and a pair of saddlebags lay beside the tree.

As if he had not noticed the two mares on the other side, the stallion continued to strum his guitar and sung, “…oh of what became of Ruber? Well some say to this day, that he is now pressed, upon the buttocks, of an ogre…”

Ebony remarked, “Easy money.”

Chapter 10: The Abyss

Twilight blitzed through the forest as fast as her hooves could carry her. The hard rain, the roaring thunder, the rampant wind, and even the light of the lightning smashed against her face as she ran. She knew what was going on. Discord had been telling lies to her friends, telling them that she was possessed. And they bought it. Now they’re here to take away the book from her.

“No!” Twilight yelled to herself. “I have to finish! Ace and the others are in trouble!”

Frantically, she opened to the next chapter, Chapter Ten, and read on,

“Run!” Ebony hollered as she lifted Ace over onto her back.

Ace, Ebony, Silver, and Huntsmen ran into the deeper regions of the cavern. The roaring stampede of hooves smashing into the cavern floor followed as Lord Thanatus gave pursuit to them.

Silver looked behind and saw the troops approaching at a slower rate than they were fleeing. He turned to Huntsmen at the other wall of the cave and approached.

“Looks like we’re losing them,” he delivered in a pant. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that Eclipse mare.”

“Watch it, numb-nuts,” Huntsmen barked.

“What? ‘Cause Eclipse might be possessed by Lord Thanatus and we don’t know it?”

“No, you’re tempting fate.”

“Oh please, you still believe in fate-I’m about to eat my own words about now.”

A pair of galloping hooves, much heavier than the regular soldiers’ of the chasing army, echoed from behind them. The stallions looked back and saw two massive soldiers charging from around the corner.

They were covered head to hoof in thick, spiked armour. They looked to be thrice the size of a regular soldier, but moved at incredible speeds. They moved so fast, Silver and Huntsmen could see their afterimages trailing behind them.

Huntsmen called them out by name, “Night Walkers!”

“What?!” Silver exclaimed.

“A tribe of mythical warriors, only heard of in legend. They are incredibly strong, and incredibly fast. Would figure Lord Thanatus would’ve gathered them to his army and bring them along to get us.”

“What do we do?”

“…” Huntsmen had no idea what to do.

He looked down to his friend, Silver, then forward to Ace and Ebony. There was no way that all of them would make it with the Night Walkers trailing behind. He looked back at Silver, who, despite trying to hide it, was holding back his full speed to be alongside him.

“What do we do?” Silver asked again.

“Go.” Huntsmen solemnly answered.

“What?”

“Go, help the mares get as far away as possible while I hold off the Night Walkers.”

“No! I am not letting you.”

“Who said you had a say in this?”

With that said, Huntsmen pulled out his sword and plunged it into the ground, grinding to a stop while Silver galloped onwards with the others.

“Huntsmen!” Silver cried out to his friend far behind.

Huntsmen turned his body and prepared for the Night Walkers, drawing out their humongous maces from their backs as they came within a few dozen metres of Huntsmen. Huntsmen looked back at Silver and saw his tearing face. He gave a slow nod, a final gesture of friendship before the duo finally comes to an end.

He returned to the Night Walkers, and swung his blade.

The forest grew thicker and thicker as Twilight approached the center. She looked back, and saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy approaching behind. Their faces couldn’t be seen in the dark, but Twilight knew they could only be that of determination.

Quickly, she looked around for a means of shaking them off. Her luck came in the form of a large tree in her path.

With a flick of her horn, a large lightning bolt falls from the sky and strikes the tree at its base. She teleports herself and the book through it as it falls towards Dash and Fluttershy.

Back in the clear, Twilight read more as she ran in the ever-growing monsoon,

A light could be seen at the far end of the cave. Ace, Ebony, and Silver were approaching the end and hopefully the Olc Sword. Silver joined alongside Ebony and boosted the limping half of Ace onto his side.

It didn’t matter how much blood from Ace was staining his clothing and fur, Huntsmen gave him a job, and he’s going through with it.

Ebony looked back and saw Eclipse at the head of the stampeding forces. With her magic, the stampede was catching up.

“They’re catching up to us!” She hollered.

Silver Chord cursed, “Damn it! We can’t make it. We gotta throw them off.”

The two’s eyes darted around the cave in search of something useful. Silver’s eyes then set on Ebony’s circlet, and an idea quickly came to mind.

“Ebony, can you make a fake path in the cave and have clones of you and Ace follow me?”

“I-I-I think?” Ebony replied, unsure of herself. “Wait, why follow you?”

“Somepony’s going to have to hold them down once they realize it’s a trick.”

“Silver,” Ace muttered in her slowly dying consciousness. “Don’t.”

“We have no other option. Ebony, take Ace to the end of this cave and to safety, live your lives to the fullest, both of you.”

“But-” The two attempted to retort, but Silver was quick to retort.

“Do it!”

Reluctantly, Ebony agreed. Focusing as much of her concentration as she can allow, a non-existent alcove was drilled into the cave wall and a large shadow appeared next to her, resembling the combined bodies of Ace and Ebony. A stone wall then formed ahead, blocking the actual path.

Silver gave a salute before running to the entrance of the false alcove with Ace and Ebony’s illusionary clones following. He stopped right as where the wall is and taunted at Eclipse. Eclipse and the other soldiers noticed and charged towards him, not noticing Ace and Ebony phasing through what seemed to be the cave wall just out of their peripheral vision.

Silver pulled out his bow and aimed it at Eclipse.

As he loaded the arrow and pulled back, he said to her, “I hope that this hurts real bad.”

He released the arrow.

A large shadow lingered over Twilight. Looking up, Twilight saw the tree she knocked over several minutes ago, now levitating with a blue aura.

Rarity.

The tree was then slung over, aside of Twilight’s path. A flash of blue light shone from behind Twilight, and Rarity and Applejack ran out from the light. They were only a few metres behind, but the speeds made it seem like they were just a few inches behind.

Their voices try to reach Twilight’s ears, but are obscured from the rain and adrenaline pumping throughout Twilight’s body.

Regardless, Twilight wanted to shake them off as well. Her magic was running low, but it would be more than enough for this trick.

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, and as Rarity and Applejack tried to reach her, Twilight teleported behind them. She then teleported to ahead, then at their sides, then on a tree, then another, then below them, and continued to spam her teleportation spell. Eventually, Rarity and Applejack became dizzy from keeping track of Twilight and fell over each other. Twilight returned to where she first stopped. She was a bit dizzy herself, but found enough strength within to continue forward.

Stumbling through the final stretch of her journey, she continued to read.

The rumbling hoofsteps of Thanatus’s army died down as Ebony and Ace approached the source of the light. Before them stood a final gate, much greater than any of the previous ones. White light poured from the cracks and around the outline of the door. Surely, what they have been seeking throughout this entire quest was behind that stone door.

A warm smile grew on Ace’s and Ebony’s faces as they looked upon the door. There was barely anything on the gate, only two massive stone handles, side by side. Ebony set Ace down and flew up to one of the handles.

She pulled on it, but nothing happened. She then flew to the other one and pulled, but to no avail.

“Perhaps they need to be pulled at the same time?” Ace asked, her horn already glowing.

An ocean blue aura surrounded the first door handle.

“Ready?” Ace asked.

“Ready.” Ebony replied.

With their combined might, the mares pulled on the two handles. The cavern rattled and shook as the two pulled. The gate rumbled before a large crack began to form down the middle, between the two handles. As it reached the bottom, the gate halves lurched forward, and light flooded the cave.

There it was, after all of their work, their sacrifices, there it was. In the blinding white light, Ace could see it, stabbed into a pile of black ash, the Olc Sword lay.

Ace shrilled with joy, “Ebony!”

“Is it open?”

“Yes!”

Ebony, as quick as a fiddle, leapt from the handle and glided down to Ace, cheering, “We did it! Centura is saved! I knew we can do i-”

But as she was about to reach the cave floor, right beside Ace, something lurched out from the darkness. Ebony stopped in midair, and a bloodcurdling gasp escaped her throat. Through her chest, was a long, black blade, engraved with runes of blood and emanating a ghastly red glow, extending from the shadows.

Ebony’s eyes became bloodshot. A tear dropped from her check and landed on Ace’s quivering nose. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Ace saw the life drain from her best friend. Her mouth slowly drew open and a tearful scream erupted from her throat. The blade lowered itself to the Ace’s shoulder, and Ebony’s dying body slid down into Ace’s grasp.

“Ebony!” Ace yelled for her. “Please, don’t die on me!”

The blade dagger quickly drew back into the darkness, and outstepped the armoured boots of Lord Thanatus. Frightened, Ace dragged Ebony with her into the gate. She closed the gate doors on the approaching stallion and returned to Ebony’s cold body.

The only sign of life still in her was her chest rapidly pulsing up and down. Ace rested her hooves over Ebony’s chest to block out the stab would and keep her calm.

“I-I can’t feel my wings, nor my lower half,” Ebony gasped and sputtered in shock.

Ace quickly calmed her, “Don’t-don’t panic Ebony. Please, you’re going to be alright. You have to be alright. We can get through this. You have to live!”

“It’s too late, I can feel the exit wound, this is it.”

“No! No it isn’t!” Ace yelled as she frantically tore off her green tunic and wrapped it around Ebony.

She then reached for the bandages around her barrel, only to be stopped by Ebony’s hoof, resting on her covered side.

Ace barked, “Ebony! I’m trying to save your life!”

“…” Ebony didn’t answer, instead taking a moment to collect herself.

Her breath slowed down, and her eyelids slowly closed. Her panicked grasped evolved into the hums she would sing to Ace whenever Ace had a bad dream back in Southern Town. Ace reached for Ebony’s eyelids and tried to keep the up.

“Don’t die on me! Please! I don’t want you to go too!” Ace cried.

Ebony, now having found peace in her situation, calmly responded, “Ace, this is the end for me. It was a heck of a journey though, I’m happy that it was my last one before I go on to Who-Knows-Where.”

“No!” Ace bawled with tears raining from her eyes.

“Ace, remember on one of our adventures, when we spend the night in the old treehouse?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Do you remember when we told each other our greatest wishes?”

“…You, you wanted the last thing you’d see to be me.” Ace answered.

“And you wanted to be the greatest knight in history, one with a legacy known to all over the world. Well go, fulfill that wish. I got what I wanted-” Ebony said before a violent cough struck her.

“I, I will.” Ace choked.

With the last of her strength, Ebony pulled herself up to Ace’s face. Her lips locked onto Ace’s, and the two locked together for what felt like hours. Eventually though, Ebony’s grip on Ace’s shoulder’s died, and her body slumped over onto the stone floor. Her eyes became sealed shut, and her heart no longer pulsed. A small smile still remained on Ebony’s face though, the only warm still that remained on her corpse.

A pool of tears reached her grey mane as Ace wept. She wept for minutes on end, mourning the loss of her best friend, as well as Silver’s, and Huntsmen’s, and even Eclipse’s, all to the grasp of Lord Thanatus.

A long shadow reached to her from behind, and a haunting whisper spoke in her ear, “Pity, she had so much potential.”

Ace leapt forward and over Ebony’s body and looked at the shadow. Her sword drew from her scabbard as she examined the being. His body, five times taller than Ace, was dressed head to tail in solid, steel armour. His twisted, gnarled horn and wings made of a sickly skin, black as pitch, were the only things to be seen.

The orange and red fiery glow his eyes shone gleamed through his helmet and illuminated his head and the spiked crown that laid upon his head. At his side was the longsword that slain Ebony, still dripping red from its victim.

A fury, a rage, a hot-blooded desire of revenge, quickly engulfed the last hero. Ace’s teeth were gritted together and grinded against each other. Her sword vibrated within her shaky magical grip. Her eyes burnt in wrath and her mouth boiled, waiting to release its full steam of curses onto the stallion who murdered her friends.

“You monster!” Ace screamed as she swung her sword forward.

Upon making contact with the armour, her sword became bent to a hard curve. It didn’t stop her however, as she continued to wail onto Lord Thanatus. Lord Thanatus simply walked forward while the sword clashed against the impenetrable steel.

When he had enough of Ace’s sword, Thanatus raised his blade to his side, and it’s blade extended upwards, right into Ace’s next swing and cutting half her sword blade clean off upon contact.

Ace pulled her sword, now a jagged dagger, back to herself, but didn’t show one sign of fear.

“Arcega Shutts Minn, daughter of a soldier and medic upon the battlegrounds between Centura and Damascariot, oh, how I’ve heard so much about you in such little time,” the lord spoke.

“Lord Thanatus, vile filth, and murderer of my friends and innocent ponies!” Ace barked back.

“You want to know something; I never wanted to kill your friends. Not at all. Silver Chord, Huntsmen, Ebony Diamond, they were all perfect fit to join my army. But then, much to my displeasure, they sought after that blade behind you. They were so well set on it. I couldn’t run the risk of keeping them alive, especially after what Silver did to my newest proxy.”

“Eclipse…”

“Correct.”

“Well say goodbye to her, ‘cause I’m taking you down!”

With a single bound, Ace leapt towards Thanatus. She dug the remains of her sword into the visor of his armour. A slicing sound was heard, but Lord Thanatus’s body didn’t even flinch. A cackle instead roared from inside the armour, and Thanatus sprung into attack. His wings grab hold of Ace and fling her down to the floor. His sword then hovered above and its blade changed down to the floor. Ace rolled away just in time.

She grabbed hold of Lord Thanatus by the wing and bit down. With wrath still rife within, Ace rampantly chomped down on the wing. Thanatus’s sword swung and extended to reach her, but she wriggled too much. Finally, with a blast of magic, Lord Thanatus shot Ace off of him. He caught her with his hoof and swung her over the pile of black ash and to the other side of the resting chamber.

Ace’s body struck the stone wall with a powerful thud before it slumped onto the floor. Lord Thanatus appeared before her in a gust of black smoke, his sword aimed for her chest.

“You-” Ace said before coughing violently. “You won’t get away with this. As long as I’m still fighting, Centura, will never be destroyed.”

Lord Thanatus did not answer, but instead pulled his sword back. The blade snaked back into the hilt before firing out at Ace. Ace closed her eyes, as a loud shing echoed throughout the chamber.

What followed next was an eerie silence. No sight of red, no sounds of screaming, no smell of steel or iron, no taste of warm copper, no pain to be felt. Ace opened one of her eyes, and saw the tip of Thanatus’s sword, only a centimetre from her body.

The black statue of steel stayed still as it looked over Ace’s shivering body.

Finally, it asked, “Do you know why I am, who I am?”

At the center of the raging hurricane, Twilight finally reached her destination. It was a clearing in the forest, with several large standing stones and ruins standing at its center. On these rocks were the hieroglyphics detailing the history and mythology of an ancient pony tribe that no longer existed to this day. And at the center of these stone ruins was a round altar, with a unique, circular drawing etched into it and a podium at the edge, all carved from the same stone.

The Inanis Zone.