"You summoned me, my masters?" Death kneeled before the three stone faces, their mouths oozing lava and their eyes as bright and fiery as the depths of Hell.

THERE HAS BEEN AN ANOMALY IN THE BALANCE. the Council spoke, it's disembodied voice rumbling from a different stone face every other sentence.

THE GUARDIAN OF A WORLD HAS DEFIED THE NATURAL ORDER, AND REFUSED TO ELIMINATE THE EVIL PLAGUING THEIR CHARGE.

YOU WILL GO TO THIS WORLD AND ELIMINATE HER, AS IS YOUR DUTY, KEEPER OF SOULS AND PROTECTOR OF BALANCE.

"Oh lovely," the Horseman groaned, his voice gravelly and with a hint of sarcasm. "And who might be accompanying me this time, hmm? That ever so annoying Watcher?"

NO. YOU ARE UNBIDDEN.

SHE HAS BROKEN THE BALANCE AND THUS DOOMED HER KIND.

THIS FREEDOM CANNOT BE ALLOWED, OR SHOULD WE REMIND YOU AGAIN, NEPHILIM?

"That... Won't be necessary." He spoke somberly. "But what of my brother, War? Wouldn't facing a Guardian be his specialty?"

THE BALANCE HAS BEEN THREATENED, YES.

HOWEVER, THE GUARDIAN HAD WITH HER A SAGE.

Death groaned. "Of course she did. Did this Sage mention my utter displeasure as well? I'd rather arrive there and get this over with. It's my Duty and Honor or some such nonsense my brothers and sister always spout in these pointless meetings." He gestured to his Horse. "And what of my steed? Was he mentioned as well?"

PROVOKING CONFLICT IS NOT YOUR NATURE, RIDER. WE UNDERSTAND THIS.

REGARDLESS, YOU HAVE BEEN NAMED THE EXECUTIONER IN HER PROPHECIES, AS WITH COUNTLESS OTHER WORLDS OF CREATION.

YOUR CHARGE WILL ARRIVE FIRST. IT IS THE WILL OF THE SAGE TO BE SO.

YOUR PATH IS BEFORE YOU, RIDER, NOW GO!

Despair remembered the conversation as if it were his own with the Council. It wasn't every day he could sense even his Master's unease at this particular mission and to make things worse, there was also the matter of the Sage's Prophecy. It gave the Guardian time to prepare against the inevitable, and she has proven to be capable of denying one's destiny before. In the horse's mind, he saw two endings to this coming conflict, and both looked to be equally devastating. I wonder if that unknown power I sensed earlier had anything to do with this feeling...

Shaking his head of such thoughts, Despair focused on his current goal. From what he knows, there is another latent power in this world, likely a construct from the time of it's birth in order to maintain Balance. Focusing, Despair reached out with his ethereal power, feeling along the cracks of magic intertwined within Equestria's center. Binding his form to the shadows of the Everfree to deter prying eyes, he probed further. Most sources of power were mundane and natural, shaping the land and it's inhabitants like wet clay, that is, until he came across a nudge of resistance- a barrier of sorts. Immediately, the stallion could tell it was a power that only Creation could make.

Not altogether hostile, it didn't impede his probing, but still gave resistance. It almost felt...alive, as if it was guaging Despair's magic as much as it's own was, then adapting to it. Suddenly, knowledge burned into his head and he understood this magic a bit better. It gave itself a name:

Harmony.

Hmm, yes, I suppose you are. He mused. The magic harmonized with his own, much to the horse's amusement. It was forever bound to the aether, but at the same time, it also had another form from what Despair's magic had told him. Pouring more of his power into the magical probe, he earned a violent ethereal shriek piercing his ears, despite the lack of current physical form. Suddenly it was as if Harmony saw the horse as a threat, and began attacking his magic head-on.

"Hmph" No longer showing restraint, Despair's magic broke through the resistance Harmony was putting up like a hot knife to butter. Slicing and ripping through the haze of protection, the magic hissed and screeched at him until it finally gave up, knowing that any more resistance would see it destroyed by his hooves. "Good, you learned." He chuckled sadistically.

Looking through the hole ripped through its magic, Despair peeked through, and was shocked to see not one source, but several. "Naughty thing!" He tisked, looking further. One of those sources was buried underneath the portal's entrance where he arrived, though it was dormant, and the others were scattered. One was nearby, just on the outskirts of the forest, while three more were somewhat further but clumped in the same general area, most likely a nearby town. Another one reached far above the clouds and further out west, and the horse saw the final one shining North of the 3 gathered in the distance, before another power stabbed into his own and it disappeared.

"Bold move, Guardian." He sucked in a pained breath, before probing now for her presence. Harmony whimpered away from Despair's magic this time, granting him unobstructed access to the rest of this world's magical channels. "Seems even Harmony bows to Despair eventually." He chuckled internally. Diving deeper and deeper, he scoured for any source of power significant enough to pose a threat, when suddenly, his magic stalled before what he could only describe as the brightest magical barrier he had ever come into contact with, almost exactly where that other source of Harmony appeared before he was cast out. "Found You!" He chuckled, pulling his magic out, and rematerializing.

Despair was smart. Smarter than most of the other Horses of the End Times. His power required him to be both persuasive and Sadistic, so it came to no surprise that he was suddenly bound by a golden aura and teleported away from his current home in the Everfree. After all, he expected it.

What he didn't expect, however, was the cell he found himself in. It wasn't a typical jail cell either- it had Marks of Creation strewn about and chains attached to several anchor points on the ground, ceiling, and walls. Standing up, Despair stood in the center. "Comfortable?" An elegant voice asked.

He snorted. Neighing and rearing, Despair slammed back down with a thundering Boom, cracking the entire cell he was in, before shattering into specks of dust. Chuckling, he slowly stepped down from the decimated pedestal. "Did You really think some old runes could possibly keep me away?"

"No," the voice replied, stepping out of the shadows. It was a winged dark blue unicorn with an ethereal starry mane and tail who stood as tall as Despair. "We know better than to upset the Balance. My sister, whom you seek," Princess Luna paused, watching the cell reassemble itself and the horse within squeal with shock. "Does not." Suddenly, the chains from earlier bound Despair to the middle of the pedastal, a new pair of runes circling him in the center.

"Release me, you insignificant pawn!" He hissed at the Alicorn before him.

"I am not to interfere with the Balance." Luna Repeated before stepping back into darkness. "Such was not my fate. I am but a pawn."

Hmph, I have no idea how you lesser creatures managed to find how to cast these binding runes, but I am going to teach your Guardian a lesson in fooling Despair He thought. Summoning the power of his master, Death, the ethereal horse conjured Harvester, a gargantuan Scythe glowing with a purple aura, it's Skulls of the Damned wailing upon every impact it made with the cell upon arriving. Flicking his head, the weapon cut cleanly through the Eldritch Prison, freeing him of his shackles and destroying the binding runes. Slamming his hooves down, he banished the shadows to reveal a very terrified Luna cowering in the corner.

"I will say this only once," He flew Harvester into the stone wall, mere inches from the mare. "Your Guardian does not control Balance. Something you ought to learn quickly, if you truly mean not to interfere." Yanking the blade out, he walked off, opening a portal between realms. "Oh, and one more thing," Harvester swung back towards her and sliced her horn clean off, sending the Alicorn wailing in agony. "We would not be here if it weren't for you, Nightmare. Remember that."

Author's Note

Shit's gonna hit the fan next chapter.

Hope you like it, if not let me know what I can do to improve!