The majesty of Canterlot loomed in the bright morning light, as within its halls ponies trotted this way and that on official business. The world had not changed overnight, despite the strange dream that everypony had on their lips. Hustle and bustle continued, and life moved on. The power of Harmony spun and danced from native to native, weaving things back into place from what might have been. Yet, still, not all were so complacent.

In the grand castle itself, in the breakfast nook where so much of the ruling of Equestria was shared and discussed, three Princesses sat together in deep discussion as they finished their meals. The warm scent of such delicious vittles that the castle's expert culinary experts could provide made the room feel warm and safe, despite the chill still wrapping the bones of three of the beings so intimately connected to the planet's Harmony. Raising a cup of tea to her lips, Princess Celestia sipped carefully and easily, her golden magic enveloping the delicate porcelain. She inhaled the rich aroma, letting it sooth her, even as she listened to her adoptive niece.

"So," Cadence finished off a final piece of hay bacon as she spoke, "This dream was neither prophecy nor portent, but something else. The events showing two strange creatures... one of which possibly akin to... other residents."

Celestia perked at this, glancing to Twilight Sparkle who too looked curious. Knowledge of the Sanguinarian Ponies was relegated mostly to myth and legend, yet they too were part of this world. She briefly worried again at how the Sanguinarians were taking the events of the night, witnessing a Human killing an obvious Vampire, a humanoid one, but a Vampire non-the-less.

Twilight spoke softly, "You mean the Sanguinarians are actually out there... all the lore on them is rather scant, but--" She trailed off, shaking her head and making her own tri-color mane shake as she considered the implications, and asked obvious questions, "How do they feed? Are they safe? Are the legends true?"

Celestia, giving a gentle sigh, spoke softly, "The Sanguinarian are safe, dear Twilight. They have been a part of the kingdom for centuries. All the old stories and fiction are just that; stories and fiction. They do live longer then normal ponies, and require blood to live, but not as much as you would expect. Long ago Luna made allies of them, and while they are not harmed by the Sun as the legends say, they are distinctly nocturnal."

Twilight perked, "So the Thestrals are--?"

Celestia shook her head gently, "Not all of them, but a significant number of Sanguinarian are among their number. They exist across all the Tribes. We see to their needs, and their own abilities help them see to their own. They find the taking of life abhorrent, and feeding from the unwilling to be a ghastly act... I expect I will need to calm them soon. Last night's vision of that otherworldly vampire--"

Cadance nodded, "The original Sanguinarian was a member of the Crystal Ponies, though Sombra's rise saw to it they were either driven out or were hunted down during his time." She frowned, relating this. "When the Empire returned, the sanguinarians were some of the first to return to the Empire to help rebuild and reunite with ponies they had not seen in a thousand years..." She trailed off, and sighed, "The Matriarch is a dear friend of mine, and while they suffered when Nightmare Moon rose, they thankfully have been able to survive as well as the Thestrals."

Absorbing this information, Twilight nodded, "They will need to be reassured that we know they are nothing like the creature we saw... that... woman." She shuddered, "She was so beautiful, at first... and became that-- thing. It was terrifying watching her bite the Hunter. Though that proved to be the end of her thanks to the potion the golden-eyed hunter had taken." She murmured, "If only I knew what was in that potion, it would be amazing to know what it could be adapted to."

Cadance sighed, levitating a glass of milk to her lips to drink before replying, "We will need to assure them that we won't be developing something like that JUST to attack them. The Sanguinarian are peaceful and are as a part of this kingdom as the Thestrals, Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies. Just more... secretive. The idea of vampire hunters running around with potions that can turn their blood to acid would be pretty terrifying to them."

Celestia inclined her head in agreement, "I've already called for the 'Ambassador', Light Speaker, and we will assure them that this will not be the case. Still, this will likely give a rise to more anti-vampire stories. They will need some careful control to assure no one things dangerous vampires walk among us. But that is only one of our problems."

Twilight pursed her lips, "Yes. Whoever sent this dream and the intent behind it. It was clearly malicious. And there is still no rational explanation as to why. This being resembled the Humans from beyond the Mirror, but so unlike them, in lack of distinct skin coloration more then anything else. Bipedal, as they are, and tall as a minotaur. So strong and fierce, and brave to face that monster vampire. Those hands and that skill, along with his eyes. There is no record of any such creature existing in Equestria. Ever."

Cadance, glancing to Twilight and nodding, frowned in confusion. She then blinked in surprise as she watched her Aunt smile serenely and shake her head. "...Auntie? Do you know something."

Princess Celestia, looking upon the two younger Alicorns, smiled her serene smile, even as a hint of sadness filled her beautiful violet eyes.

"I do indeed, dear Cadance. And you see, my dear Twilight, there is a reason for that. That man, whoever he is, was indeed a Human."

Both younger Alicorns blinked in surprise, Twilight nodding with her own understanding, both curious as to Celestia's familiarity with the species.

Twilight asked softly, "You know this because of the mirror? Or is it something else? No humans have ever been recorded as having existed in Equestria, or having ever been seen here."

Cadance shook her own head, looking at her Aunt in confusion and curiosity.

"That, my dear Twilight, is the way it was supposed to be," replied Celestia in a calm manner, her eyes gentle and tone instructive. It seemed they would be learning more of this strange human then they had thought.

"Good morning, Geralt," said Gaunter O'Dimm

Geralt of Rivia looked into those familiar cold, empty, pitiless eyes. His mind raced even as his body was still. The world around him had... stopped. He looked this way and that, and beheld the vineyard workers frozen in place, the children who had been singing now utterly motionless. Turning his head, he looked up and saw a flock of birds utterly still in the sky. The very wind itself had frozen in the utter, empty stillness imposed by this mild seeming monster... who displayed a level of power beyond anything and anyone who the Witcher had ever encountered. Time manipulation was a level of magic beyond any mortal mage or sorceress.

This, his second time being exposed to it, drove again the point home into Geralt's mind. This was not a being he could face directly. His internal monologue rumbled as he thought, So he is back. I cannot let this turn violent, despite my feelings. Yennefer is in the house only a short distance away, but its unlikely she is even awake. Probably frozen with the rest of the world.

"Hello, O'Dimm," rumbled that voice into the stillness, those golden eyes looking into those of Gaunter without hesitation. He knew Gaunter was a being of terrible power, and to offend him was to court death. He knew that. Yet still he couldn't let the moment stand. "I would say it was good to see you again, but I would be lying. I am a terrible liar."

Gaunter smiled, the smile changing his features from an impassivity to jolly good humor. He looked the kind of man you could share a mug of ale with and be quite satisfied with the company, "Oh Geralt. I think I have missed your wit the most. It is quite strange how you claim to be an emotionless killing machine, yet you have a sense of humor that could make a stone chortle." Turning from his position atop the rise of soil and stone that separated the ledges of the herb garden, Gaunter began to saunter down the row, and motioning, beckoned Geralt to follow him.

Not having any other options, Geralt followed, his hand still gripping his sword baldric. He itched to swing it onto his back and go for a sword, but he knew they would be useless in the moment.

"I am a real laugh riot, I know," intoned the Witcher in response, waiting a clear moment when he clearly wasn't about to interrupt the being above and beside him. Interrupting Gaunter O'Dimm was a mistake no one would make twice. "I thought our business was concluded," he continued. "I... succeeded."

Gaunter, rather then looking offended, chuckled, "You beat me? Oh yes, Geralt. Yes, you did. But really... did you think that would be the end? I told you when you drew me from the water-- oh yes, you couldn't understand me at that point." Shaking his head. "Our little game is over, yes, Geralt. But that doesn't mean we cannot begin another."

Geralt stopped mid-stride, and put his foot down to let Gaunter take a few more steps ahead, looking directly at him. Inside his head, what passed for screaming was happening. But to others it would seem far less an internal bit of gibbering, but for the Witcher to have his emotions in such a turmoil was something special. Inwardly he wanted to rant, to roar, to tell this horror to go to the hells that spawned him. Outside, however, he was a blank wall as fit his kind. People were often told the Witchers were a changed species, their emotions dulled and they nothing but cold, emotionless killers. Such was actually a tale that the Witchers allowed to be believed.

While it was true Witchers were a reserved, dour lot, in truth the result of that was not from the extensive mutations, but rather their training. To be taken as a child and forced through some of the most harsh and dangerous training the world had ever known, to be set on a Path where it will be only yourself versus the monsters. It tended to render most Witchers... taciturn. If not downright sociopathic, as he had seen on some occasions in Witchers of other schools, let alone his own. The Mutations did have a dulling effect, yes, but the mask that the Witchers wore was a product more of their own harsh lives and their need to cope with it, rather then chemical and magical alterations. One needed only look at the others of the school of the Wolf to see the differences in how a mind took both mutation and the trials placed before them to become what they were.

At this point, however, had Geralt not had both to draw upon... he would likely have died. Speaking his mind to Gaunter O'Dimm at this point was tantamount to suicide. Yet still, he had to have his say.

"If you're here about another job, Gaunter... you can take it and go." So tame, so emotionless his words. Even as inside he was snarling. The Wolf baring its fangs behind his golden eyes, wishing for a throat to bite. "I have seen what you do, Gaunter O'Dimm... more then once. I have stood before you and faced your challenge. At this moment, in this place, I deny you. The answer is simple; No."

Gaunter, having walked forward and down the slope, stood a short distance ahead of Geralt. His back to the Witcher, seemingly vulnerable, yet far from it. Without seeing his face, the Witcher could not judge his emotion. But the utter stillness that had taken Gaunter in those moments made him wonder. The mind of this being was utterly alien to him. Gaunter spoke then, causing Geralt to tense up as he would if expecting a blow.

"Is this... about your retirement?"

Geralt frowned, wondering at Gaunter's point. But in the end, it was. And he replied so, "It is. I have followed my Path. With no small thanks to you, O'Dimm. I remember White Orchard. I remember little journey together. I have what I was seeking. I have done what I set out to do. I am done."

Gaunter O'Dimm... laughed. Threw back his head and laughed! The moment was so shocking that it drove the Witcher back a pace before he regained his equilibrium. And he listened.

"Humans have been known in our world beyond the glimpses into alternate worlds that Starswirl began with the use of his mirrors," spoke Celestia gently to the two raptly attentive alicorns across from her. "Long long ago... a human girl and her two siblings walked this world, shortly before my birth. Her name was Megan. And she helped the ancient tribes a great deal... and brought forth a power that would one day become something very important."

Celestia levitated her glass up to sip, even as Twilight twitched in excitement. It was rare that Celestia spoke of the days before herself and her sister were born, and legend and lore, along with all recorded history, was sparse at best. Excitedly Twilight chirped a question as Celestia sipped, "Was this before Discord's reign?"

Celestia nodded as she replaced her cup into its saucer, "Hundreds of years before. Thankfully Megan and her family never had to deal with his ways, nor the chaos that erupted. Though part of me wishes she had returned to aid our little ponies. My sister and myself were still young then, not yet fully come into our power. It would be a long time before we were ready to challenge Discord and set the world on its proper course. Though, to be fair, Discord's presence arose in some ways because of what Megan and her siblings did..."

Cadance, who had been silently absorbing the information, blinked in surprise, "How is that? She didn't... what? Was she--"

Celestia shook her head gently as Twilight looked from Cadance to her in slight confusion to dawning realization, "No no. She wasn't his creator, or his mother. But Discord's very power comes from Harmony. They are a balanced pair, one not able to exist without the other. And Harmony had not fully come into its power until Megan planted the Tree of Harmony by sacrificing the Rainbow of Light."

Twilight gasped, "The Tree of Harmony! But that means..."

Celestia and Cadance shared a glance before the matronly Princess continued, "Yes, Twilight. It was by Megan's hand that the Elements of Harmony were born, and because of her you and the other Bearers hold them now."

Twilight shakes her head, awe sparkling in her eyes, "But... what of the girl, this Megan? Where did she get this 'Rainbow of Light'? How did she help the ponies of old? What-- what happened to her?" Her wings were poised and her horn's light was searching out a quill so she could write down all she had learned, already feeling the need to take notes.

Celestia's response to Twilight's words was to go silent, a look of sadness crossing over her features. It was clear this story carried a great deal of weight with the Solar Diarch. And a great deal of pain.

Cadance too looked at her Aunt in curiosity, noticing the reticence in her expression and clear sadness. She spoke gently, trying to sooth her aunt, "Considering all this together... its unlikely that this vision of a human, carried in on the lines of Harmony itself, and the fact that the Tree of Harmony was planted BY a human are unlinked. We'll probably need the whole story, auntie. I'm sorry if this pains you..."

Celestia let out a gentle sigh, "It is not so much that... as it is a story that is linked to many things. Including my mother, and how Luna and I came to be... and then her passing. It is a grief still sharp, for no matter how many years that pass... you never forget losing your mother." Closing her violet eyes as she loses herself in the moment. "I would wish it turned out differently, in the end. But such can never be." To her surprise, she felt the weight of two smaller forms pressing up against her as both Twilight and Cadance pressed in to wrap their wings about the larger Alicorn, their barrels pressing supportively against her own. Celestia opened her eyes to look and found Twilight's eyes full of sympathy and the love of a daughter for a mother, while Cadance's own eyes were filled with understanding. An orphan herself, the Princess of Love knew Celestia and Luna's pain deeply, though Celestia had quickly assumed a similar role in her own life.

Celestia, smiling, nuzzled first one then the other, "Oh my dear sweet Twilight... my darling Cadance..." She inhaled once, strengthening herself, then spoke, "The story began a long time ago in a magical place called... 'Dream Valley'."

The laughter of Gaunter O'Dimm seemed to fill the still and silent world.

But what came next stunned the Witcher even more, as the plain, ordinary man turned and walked right up to him. Gaunter always seemed just slightly shorter, just slightly more unassuming to the Witcher. But now, like when they faced one another 'on the moon', the wish peddler was looking him right in the eye. His expression though was not angry, but fondly bemused. Like a father who was gently chiding his child.

"Geralt of Rivia. Done? Nevermore to walk the Path? Oh, please, Geralt, you and I both know that you are lying to yourself. You and your lady love."

It took every ounce of control in Geralt not to interrupt, but control he had. So he remained silent, despite wishing fervently that he could tell Gaunter to go to hell for even mentioning Yennefer. The very thought of them in this close a proximity filled him with a dread so deep that it chilled his very bones. Not seeming to notice Geralt's internal war, Gaunter continued as he raised his hands to motion around them.

"You think this little vineyard enough to contain you? YOU?! Not to mention Yennefer. You are both lying to yourselves. You both are only reaching or exceeding your first centuries. Vesemir of Kaer Morhen was over THREE and he still fought to protect your little Swallow when the Hunt came."

The very mention of that event was enough to cause Geralt's hand to tighten on the scabbard of the sword in his hand. A creaking that did not go unnoticed by Gaunter, who, rather then looking offended at the obvious threat, smiled as if Geralt had proven his point. Turning in place and stepping back, grandly motioning to the world around them, he continued without remorse as he pounded truth and facts into the Witcher. For so long had he and Yennefer wanted to leave the spheres of life they both inhabited, to find only themselves and silence and peace. To be normal. A dream both of them had yearned for...

"Even now, Geralt, you long to draw that sword and strike me down... only you know you can't. I am a foe beyond you, as you well know. Those blades you carry can never, will never taste my flesh. Even now, you are desperately searching for a way out of this. But you cannot do it... by lying to yourself." He pointed harshly at Geralt, accentuating each point with a twitch of his hand to drive it home, "You and Yennefer have centuries more on this world, this continent. Do you think it will possibly forget you after what you have done?!" Gaunter's voice was no longer genial. It was accusing.

"The King of the Wild Hunt may be dead, his dreams of species domination of all worlds dead with him, but where are his people? They were not all killed, Geralt. The White Frost is defeated, Ciri saw to that... but without its presence to threaten them, the Aen Elle will be able to rebuild, strengthen their numbers... ...and come searching for the one who slew their king. Despite what good Avallac'h can do to try and change the destiny of his people, Eredin was not alone in his ambition! He never was!"

Throwing up his arms in exasperation, Gaunter turned and tossed his head back as he cried out to the still world, "And don't get me STARTED on the vampires! The Beast of Beauclair is dead, Geralt of Rivia, but the Unseen Elder knows you now. You did right in not going to see him, but he has gained your scent from his kindred and while you may have stayed in vampiric law and custom thanks to your dear friend... do you not think Detlaff had others that owed him in his centuries of life? Others, like Regis, who would come seeking the presumptuous mortal who dared strike down the immortal?"

Each sentence was a hammer blow into the heart of Geralt of Rivia. He thought that after saving Ciri that his task was done. He thought it was over. He thought he could be at peace. He thought Yennefer and he could find a place to finally find what they had long sought. The dire prophecies of doom being woven by the dark and terrible creature before him were trampling all over those dreams, as small and wonderful as they were. His face grew harder and harder, his eyes seeming to glow with ambient light of the beautiful sun above as he leveled them upon Gaunter O'Dimm. He sought to deny his words in any way, and found it difficult at best.

Have I been chasing an impossibility all this time?

"And lets not forget your dearest Child Surprise... the Lady of Worlds. She who can step from one world to the next as easily as you could cross this field," Gaunter motioned extravagantly to the fields of grape that were now, extensively, Geralt's property. "What worlds will she find on her travels? What dangers will she encounter? What new threats will she find to face? What wonders and worlds of technology or magic will her feet tred upon... and what will she bring back with her?"

Turning back to Geralt with the final question, Geralt narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, using his chin to indicate Gaunter even as he took the pause as a moment to reply, "And then there is you."

Gaunter, looking pleased, smiled beatifically to the Witcher as he clasped his hands before him in an almost benevolent way, "Oh yes. There is me. Me, me, me. You who played a game with a being beyond your understanding and somehow came out the victor... you who have found evidence of my other works." To Geralt's jerk of reaction, Gaunter nodded, "Oh yes... that was my doing. The woman needed to learn a lesson. And how you and Yennefer have restored her... and dear Marlene has even found a good, humble man who will show her the meaning of both love and generosity. Two qualities that, if she had possessed when she met me..." Gaunter trailed off, even as he began to approach Geralt slowly.

Geralt, for his part, remained still. Only the tightening groan of his gloves on the scabbard of the sword in the double baldric he carried giving lie to his apparent calm stillness. The White Wolf was ready to explode. He had all he had come to value thrown in his face. Every dream he had told to be a lie. Every victory he had won claimed to be nothing more then the next step in a struggle that showed no signs of stopping. Chaos awaited, surrounding his tiny dream home where he and the woman he loved thought they could find some sort of shelter... some surcease... an Ending.

"Geralt of Rivia. You are a fool," spoke Gaunter O'Dimm as he approached, his brows lowered. "To think you could have a Happy Ever After... while I still exist..."

With a shout of rage released, and a blur of movement, Geralt of Rivia attacked.

Into his hands came one of his two blades, the other dropped from the baldric as the long, curved sword so elegant and deadly spun into his hand in one fluid movement. It was foolish. It was stupid. But it was all he ever was. Defiance in the face of death. To walk his lonely Path and deny the darkness its due. And before him now was everything he had ever fought exemplified in one being. And with all that fury, with all that righteous rage, he attacked. The blade to hand had almost chosen itself. The sword given to him by the one who previous owed debt to this madman, this thing with a liar's face. The blade of Olgierd Von Everec, Iris, named for his beloved, glowed with a red light all its own beyond the runic enchantments etched into the blade by skilled artisan hands. If any blade had a right to taste the flesh of this man, it was this blade. The sword of the family that was utterly destroyed by Gaunter's machinations. It held within its steel length powerful enchantment, but also the vengeance of all those who had died to its edge, and the suffering, grief, and madness woven by this being before it all born in a solid length of pure steel vengeance.

And like it all meant nothing... Gaunter O'Dimm raised his hand, and caught the blade mid-stroke.

The ringing instant passed as silence and stillness overcame the world, after the sudden clash that sounded like metal striking metal. Golden cat's eyes looking into the empty dark pits that were the eyes of Gaunter O'Dimm. The smile on the creature's face was... terrifying to behold. For his features were no longer human. A hideous, twisted monster met Geralt's wrath with his bemusement, as sharp teeth gleamed in a sinister and amused smile. The jarring impact up the length of Iris made Geralt's shoulders ache from the force of the impact, yet still, holding the very blade, Gaunter stood. The eye locked stance maintained for an instant, before the world shifted, and once more there was the genial face of Gaunter O'Dimm there once more.

"Geralt, Geralt, Geralt... ...At last. You have begun to wake up from this dream."

Turning his head, Gaunter examined the blade in his hand, studying its angrily glowing length and the runes etched into its surface as he stood there unmoving. The full weight of Geralt's fury was still behind the blade's length, and yet Gaunter held it as if it were nothing but a stick a child had tried to wave at him. "To think you kept this... It IS a good sword, sure enough. Better with the augmentations and enchantments you had placed into it. But to choose Iris as your Steel over one of the other Witcher masterwork weapons you've acquired in your travels." He shook his head slowly, leveling his gaze at the Witcher. "I'll forgive you that. I had been trying to cause it, after all. But I see the White Wolf still lives, despite all rumor to the contrary..."

Geralt grunted, finding his focus and calm in moments. Dread washed over him at what he had done, but was keenly swept away. Fear was nothing but an emotion. Courage was a choice to overcome that emotion. He knew the figure before him now could strike him down or do worse to him, but to spit in his teeth was the only option he had left. "How magnanimous of you, O'Dimm," growled that deep, rumbling voice. "As for the blade, I never came upon one more worthy. Clearly, though, I should have drawn Silver."

Gaunter's laughter erupted again, even as he stepped back. But Geralt did not miss the fact that the hand Gaunter used to catch the blade was tucked behind him while the other was raised in amusement even as he motioned his acceptance of Geralt's words. "True enough, Geralt. True enough. Now, let us discuss the work you will be doing for me, shall we?"

Geralt snarled, spinning Iris around him and dropping into a fighting stance as he held the blade to the side of his face. Suspicions confirmed, he noticed the edge of Iris gleamed with something other then blood. A black oozing liquid ran along the blade slowly... dripping onto the soil at his feet as he stood there, "Enough, O'Dimm! There will be no more deals, no more challenges. I do not accept your contract. I will NEVER work for you again. Seeing all you have wrought before, you are nothing and no one I ever want to consort with again."

Gaunter only smiled, "Aaaaaah, but there you are wrong again, Geralt..." He almost purred the words as he began to circle the poised fighter, and with smooth, flowing movements, Geralt swept his stance to follow him. "...Especially when you hear what I am offering."

Geralt shook his head, "Never, O'Dimm. Your promises come with too high a price."

Gaunter's smile only deepened, the hand he caught the blade with kept still behind his back, and that sinister, inhuman face flickered into being for an instant before vanishing, "Even if I mean to make your little dreams... a reality... and give you and the woman you love what you have wanted to have together more then ANYTHING? Oh, Geralt... if you do this for me... I see children in your future."

"I already have a daughter," replied Geralt with simple dignity and profound truth.

In response, the demon peddler pointed at him again, "Not of your blood... not of your flesh..."

"As good as," Geralt snapped, "Now release me from this frozen hell and go. We're done O'Dimm." He rose from his fighting stance, leaning down to snatch up his baldric, was halted by O'Dimm's next words.

O'Dimm just smiled, spreading his hands again, "If you think that was all I was offering you, Geralt... you're mistaken. I am offering you... what you really want. Peace. For your friends. Your family. A new age has begun, thanks to your actions. A new world is upon us... ...one I intend to make so much more... interesting. If you help me, they will not come to harm. If you refuse, the new Conjunction I will bring forth will destroy everyone you love, everyone you care about..."

Geralt went perfectly still as he absorbed O'Dimm's words. One hand held Iris, still glowing ferociously in seeming demand for more, and the sheath and baldric that held his other blade, one no less ornate and no less treasured. Geralt slowly angled Iris and slammed it home with a hissing click of metal. "You lie. The Conjunction wasn't your doing."

O'Dimm crept forward, "Oh, but it waaaasssssss..." The face once more changed, as did Gaunter's tone, turning more dark and sinister. "The Conjunction of the Spheres. Such a quaint name for 'invasion', don't you think? Fifteen hundred years ago this world felt my touch and saw rise to monsters and Elves and Dwarves and Halflings came to know their greatest enemy; Man. Think of it, Geralt of Rivia. What do you really KNOW about the Conjunction? And you know smaller ones have occurred... bringing new and varied creatures into this world. It has been, however, too long. Mankind has done its work. Its time for a Culling. Just like I did on your original world..."

Gaunter's claims grew more and more outlandish by the instant, but looking into those black pits, Geralt could only wonder. Did he do this? Did this being really cause the Conjunction of the Spheres? Did he destroy the human's original world and bring his ancestors to this one? Did he cause the vampires, ghouls, graviers, and others to be brought with them? Why? For what purpose? Geralt, in that moment, asked the only question he could ask as despair washed through him.

"The how in all the worlds could I have beaten a being that had the power to do that? I asked you before what you were, Gaunter. I remember you told me. That one time you would spare me and not grant my wish. You said all who know your true name our now dead, or have met a worse fate." He firmed himself, eyes narrowed in grim accusation, "I ask again. What the hell are you, Gaunter O'Dimm?"

O'Dimm paused, then shook his head slowly, once more looking like the man he was at the tavern where he had shown Geralt just how powerful he was for the first time. "...Again you ask. And again I say this... No, Geralt of Rivia. No. I will not tell you. I still need you, after all." Repeating and quoting himself, his smile wry as he winked, "As for how you beat me, you know how. I, like many others, have Rules. Rules that must be followed. I am no demon, djinn, or conjurer, nor am I anything you could dare dream. By those rules, you won!" He sounded actually pleased, smiling with pride at the Witcher, "Your soul and Olgierd's... and how marvelous it was! I was so enraged! But by my rules, my defeat stood. And in my defeat, my first in so long... I learned something."

A pregnant pause passed, and his dark eyes sparkled. "I learned the secret of something... someone... I've been searching for... for a very. long. time." Darkness passed over his features again, and that smile returned hideous and inhuman, before once more the genial man was once more there. Raising his hands, he clapped them once to emphasize his point, holding them before him clasped palm to palm without showing any sign of pain from having blocked a sword as he did.

Gaunter continued, "But know this, my promises are genuine. If you help me; you, Yennefer, your friends... all those whom you love will survive the coming storm. I will even protect you and hide you from those who would come for you. You and Yennefer will live in happiness. Where the Path will not find you again. And you, and her, will have children to keep you company. Isn't that a all you've ever wanted, Geralt? Truly?" He motioned his arms wide as if putting something on display, smiling broadly in the frozen world, "Well?"

Geralt of Rivia stood in utter silence for what seemed an age. Yet in this frozen world, where time itself stood still at the whim of this being, there was truly no limit to it. Or to the patience of the being across from the Witcher. O'Dimm merely stood expectantly, congenially. Promising such wonders, while offering horrors and truths that were terrifying if true. And this was Master Mirror. Why wouldn't they be?

"You love it so much. Give me some Time. I... am not alone anymore. I have to speak to...," turning his head, Geralt looked to the main house where he was certain the raven hair of his beloved splayed upon her pillow as she slept the morning away. Yennefer slept in late these days, content at the peace they had both achieved.

Gaunter only smiled, "Of course! Of course! That is the beauty of time, after all. Its always there for us when we need it. And I, am a man of limitless patience...." But then he stepped forward, "Know this, Geralt. This offer is for you only. She will have no part in this. I will await you at the crossroads. Come alone and at night... and you can tell me your decision..."

...and with that final word, the world resumed. Geralt of Rivia stood in stunned silence for long moments after... looking something he hadn't in a long time. Looking lost.

Author's Note

I hope you all have been enjoying my little take on crossing over the Witcher with Equestria. My goals are simple enough, but the next few chapters should see Geralt and Yennefer both within Equestria proper. This has been fun to write and a good learning experience for me. Reality has kept me from getting more done then I should have been, but I've worked out a lot of my ideas and am making plans for the future.

There is a lot of world building here and I simply have to do it justice on both sides of the equation before bringing the disparate halves together. Our villain needs his monologues with his favorite toy, Celestia needs to prepare her charges with a tale long forgotten, and steps have to be put into motion.

Gaunter O'Dimm's wishes for the two worlds are not good at all. And only time will tell if they can be thwarted.

As always, quite happily accepting all comments, feedback, whathaveyou. I do this without the guide of an editor and do my best, but always miss one or two things. Feel free to point them out and I hope they don't detract from the story I am trying to tell. My thanks for reading!