The Gungnir rocked violently to one side, then the other. Even with no windows, Lotus felt the temperature begin to rise, as though the huge ship had been sitting in baking summer sun without opening a window. Her magical senses felt the impact very differently—like a great ship plunging directly into a massive wave. Its supernatural walls held firm, but there was no telling how many such impacts they would survive.

Something shook her by the shoulder, drawing Lotus sharply back to reality. Princess Twilight stood beside her, eyes wide with desperation. "Lotus! Are you okay?"

She blinked, and her eyes finally focused. "Sorry. That magic was..."

"Disorienting, I know," Twilight said. "It's not just you." She nodded at the room, and the circle of spellcasting unicorns. Several of them had collapsed to the floor, eyes unfocused and sparks flickering from their horns. Others endured better, like the elderly stallion with the long beard. Even they looked as disoriented as Lotus felt.

Alarms blared, and ponies far away galloped down hallways. The ship vibrated and shook, as a salvo of magical energy fired off into the morning sky. "I don't know how long Princess Luna can survive that," Twilight said, releasing Lotus's shoulder. "We have to move quickly, before Searing can get in!"

Twilight pointed at the diagram with one hoof. "Stand in the middle. Be ready for your portion. Can you do it?"

Lotus walked carefully over the diagram, lifting her tail high to avoid smearing or smudging any of the lines. "Cast something perfect the first time? You only showed me that spell ten minutes ago! I had weeks to learn that portal spell, Twilight!"

"You had to cast that on your own!" Iron Feather yelled, over the blaring sirens and distant battle. Like the other non-unicorns, he seemed unaffected by magical feedback. He kept his wings open, ready to fly at a second's hesitation. "You only have to sign this one!"

He was listening. The stallion could claim he didn't know magic all he wanted, but evidence suggested otherwise. That didn't mean her concerns weren't real, of course. They were still asking her to accomplish a magical feat of considerable difficulty.

The Gungnir rocked again, lurching violently. Lotus scrambled but managed to keep herself standing. Several unconscious ponies, unicorns who had planned to join them in this expedition, flopped and rolled away from the diagram as the ship moved.

"We're starting!" Twilight shouted, watching her more than the spell. "She's going to bring the ship down! Luna can only hold her back for so long!"

Twilight lowered her eyes to the diagram again and began to read. Her words came rapidly, her horn brightening as she went.

Lotus had never seen a pony use magic like this, even the princess. While instructing her in the lab, every diagram and every rune came carefully. But this—this was what true mastery looked like. She sang as though she'd spent months practicing. When she spoke the runes, each one lifted off the ground, forming a growing diagram in the cargo bay.

Only Starswirl kept pace with her. One by one, the few remaining unicorns fell away, either collapsing to the ground or just retreating to avoid damaging the diagram.

Lotus felt the same strain they did—the crash of power against her mind with every blow the airship suffered. Every unicorn here had probably forgotten more about magic than Lotus had ever learned. But while they fell, Lotus endured. She read over her simple segment at the middle of the diagram, struggling to concentrate on what was written there over the battle outside and the ongoing spellcasting a few feet away.

"It will make no difference!" boomed a voice only Lotus seemed to hear. If the other ponies could hear it, they showed no sign. But after their successful spell, Lotus's strange passenger offered no words of encouragement or explanation. Instead, she was alone against the storm.

"The ponies cannot hold me! I have burned hot and long, smoke rising to the horizon! Their Alicorns are nothing before me! Their shields crumble and fail!"

The Gungnir rocked again. This time the magical strain was joined with the groan of metal and a few distant screams. More cannons fired, and she felt magic through the walls.

The incomprehensible spell was already winding down. Lotus watched the layers of diagram vanish, joining a spell so bright she couldn't look directly at it. This is as much power as the universe-portal. If we don't complete it successfully...

The tiny voice inside her body said nothing. Even so, Lotus still imagined what she might've said, with many of the same words she studied so diligently from the tomes of magic. A failed spell that is still complete has nondeterministic effects. A failed spell that cannot be completed releases all the thaumic potential as physical force, often catastrophically.

Searing Gale wouldn't need to attack the Gungnir if Lotus couldn't seal the spell—it would be vaporized from within.

Only a few more seconds, and they would reach her section. Lotus was running out of time.

"You've sworn your lot with ponies! You will burn with them, die with them. No forgiveness offered to you, traitor! The wages of your actions will be returned to you!"

She's trying to distract me, Lotus thought. Her enemy had to feel the spell building as it got stronger. She would probably realize that Equestria had no intention of defeating them with the simple force of cannons or whatever spells Princess Luna could wield.

I can't fail. Everyone needs me. Equestria might not be her home, but she had already come to know it so well. If its people, or even her new species were ever to know peace, she couldn't fail now.

Twilight finished her section in another few seconds, lifting all but a simple circle of runes from the ground. A few moments later, Starswirl caught up with her, dropping to the ground in exhaustion as so many of the other ponies had.

Then Searing Gale struck the Gungnir again, more forcefully than before. For a single terrible moment, Lotus saw bright yellow lines spread from the point of impact. Then the wall caved in, sending huge chunks of molten metal splashing into the cargo hold.

Searing Gale wasn't just trying to knock the airship from the air, she was trying to reach them!

Lotus felt the wave of heat roll in, already sweltering. That was before Searing herself appeared in the opening, a flaming horror so large she would barely even fit in the oversized cargo area.

"Lotus!" she bellowed, this time a roar of sound that rattled the airship. Those ponies still awake finally got up, fleeing towards the steps. But many were unconscious, unable to retreat.

Still others refused. Iron Feather watched just beside the spell. If Searing made it much further, she would turn the cargo bay into an oven!

"You wished to join them so badly! Then join them in death! Burn with them! Fuel the cleansing flame!"

The spell still hovered before her, a few words from complete. Twilight's wings flared open, drawing her eye with the sudden motion. She glared out at nothing, her horn almost as bright as the sunlight outside. But for how much longer? She couldn't keep the spell balanced a few seconds from casting, not forever.

Lotus focused her magical attention on the spell. If Equestria fell, it wouldn't be because she wasn't brave enough. If she was going to die, let her die trying.

Three simple clauses, not that different from the ones she used to seal every spell she cast. "Unbound is this one. Cut free is she—released is she. Let these words be sealed!"

Searing Gale called out, her voice a roar of fury and fear. But she was too slow—the spell was already cast.

It exploded outward from the diagram, swallowing Lotus and Searing Gale in less time than it took to breathe. Before Lotus could scream, the ship vanished from around her. She reached out for Iron, extending one hoof weakly in his direction.

Of course, there was nothing the pegasus could do to protect her from the spell. Before he could fly to her, it had already done its work.

Lotus was somewhere dark and cold. For an immeasurable eternity there was only blackness around her, so deep it robbed everything of depth.

There was no light to see, nothing to give form or dimension to her prison. There was only her and the blackness, extending for eternity.

Sometimes she shouted for help. Other times she cried or begged. It made little difference. No one came when she called—not Twilight, not Iron, not even Gus.

Often her mind wandered, unfocused and confused—this was a mercy. For when her thoughts made straight lines, she was forced to remember how she had gotten there. She did what Twilight asked, cast that desperate spell in a futile attempt to keep the ship safe.

She said I wouldn't be hurt, Lotus thought sometimes. She would've cried when she did, pain and desperation and betrayal. But she had no body, and so could not.

Lotus had only her thoughts, so she had little to do but wonder at what had happened and why. Maybe this was death, and she'd just cast the spell wrong?

She continued in that lightless eternity forever, or at least a close approximation. Long enough that her memories began to blur at the edges, her mind. Maybe the spell didn't fail—maybe this was its intended outcome. Maybe the connection to Searing Gale would only work if she was sacrificed along with her.

The instant she thought that Lotus saw shapes again. Huge gray trees formed from the darkness, rising up to skeletal limbs. Dead gardens and empty rivers stretched through the center of Hono, or some other village very much like it. Many homes crowded around an ancient castle, their windows so smeared with ash that she couldn't see through them.

Lotus didn't complain—after all that time, her world had shape again, dimension! She moved and found she could. Lotus had a body again!

Like everything else, her coat was solid gray, with lighter shades in some places and darker ones in others. She could feel too, though those sensations came distant, as though she had slipped thick gloves over everything. With each step she took, little flakes of ash drifted up from her body, rising away to join the world of dust.

The village wasn't empty. Many shadows moved through its streets, each one as gray and lifeless as herself. She even recognized some of the fashions—woven basket saddlebags used to hold produce, and the temple attendants with their silk robes. Lotus knew none of them. "Hello?" she asked the first, a merchant with a cart of fruit. He levitated a knife through the air, slicing into more pale reflections. It sounded like a metal knife when it struck wood, yet the pieces flaked away in the wind with each stroke.

The merchant didn't meet her eyes, or even seem to see her. He worked his way through one dry fruit, then arranged a plate of nothing to join the others on the front of his stand.

Another kirin slipped past Lotus from the other side. Though neither spoke, an exchange of some kind must've happened, because one gave coins, and the other opened her basket to receive the nothing. She walked away, tail flicking back and forth as though satisfied with the nonexistent exchange.

"What's happening, Mom?" asked a little voice, the first beside her own she'd heard in eternity. Lotus spun, eyes settling instantly on the place the sound had come from.

A ghostly kirin lingered there, as colorless as every other awful thing Lotus had seen so far. Yet somehow, she came instantly into focus, looking directly at Lotus instead of past her.

Lotus dropped to one knee beside her, so she could get up close. The filly was easily the smallest young pony she'd ever seen, so small she looked like walking was new to her, and she should still be in diapers. Her eyes were so big, they took up most of her face.

"Mom?"

The filly nodded. "What's happening, Mom? When can we leave?"

She pressed up against Lotus's foreleg, as though she could somehow hide from the lifeless village all around them.

She knew this voice, even if she hadn't heard those exact sounds before. This was “Spark,” the being that had tried to tempt her to burn her friends and murder her neighbors for magical power. No sign of any of that hostility anymore, though.

"Soon," she whispered. Even if none of the kirin reacted to her, that didn't mean none of them were listening. If they sent her back into the dark... "We just need to find a way back."

"Okay."

Lotus made her way through the village, moving as quickly as she could without breaking into a gallop. Her hoofsteps made no sound, lifting thin trails of ash into the air behind her. Even her own voice might not have made a sound—for all she knew, those thoughts moved directly between them.

No birds flew through the trees, and no familiar insects hummed from their sheltered crevices. If she was trying to find a way back to Equestria, where would it be?

The castle, obviously. Nowhere else in the village stood so tall, or so bright. Even Hono's fortress was not so mighty before Searing Gale burned it. This was something even greater, at least ten stories of stone, wood, and crystal windows.

As she walked, Lotus heard, or maybe felt, Spark scampering along behind her. She moved unsteadily, and more than once Lotus stopped to help her to her hooves again. But she kept moving, no matter how many times she fell. Without having to even think about it, Lotus slowed her pace, making it easy for the little pony to keep up with her. If that meant passing through the village a little slower, maybe that was okay. Better than going back into that endless abyss.

The castle gates were already open. For her, or—maybe someone more dangerous. Huge flags and banners hung from the walls, though they lacked any of the bright colors and vivid pictures she saw in Hono.

"Mommy, look," whispered the voice, gesturing behind them. Lotus turned to look—and saw the outskirts of the village were crumbling. The fruit-seller, the huge trees ringing the village—all were gone, leaving nothing but swirling black when she looked in that direction.

If I stay still, that will be me, Lotus thought. Even from this distance, Lotus recognized an advance when she saw one. Street by street, house by house, the village was already fading. If its residents could tell, none of them reacted, some walking directly towards oncoming oblivion with casual calm on their faces.

"Inside, hurry," she urged, flicking her tail through the open door. "Follow me."

“Spark” had already been doing that—but it felt like the right thing to say. The little pony needed to know Lotus was looking out for her.

They passed into parts of the castle Lotus had never seen before in Hono—through a fortress courtyard, past a strange indoor garden of black sand. Lotus somehow knew where to walk—drawn by sympathy, or maybe a desire to get as far away from the destruction outside. If they had to go back into that abyss, she wasn't sure her sanity would even survive.

Then they reached a throne. It sat atop a platform of metal and sculpture, not unlike the one she'd seen depicted in illustration in Equestria. Yet instead of stained glass, this one was surrounded by a dozen huge tapestries, banners with frilly stitching at the bottom and many overlapping patterns.

Lotus already knew who they would find here. There wouldn't be such a large castle and elaborate throne otherwise.

"Come to gloat at your victory?" asked a voice, from atop the throne. She wasn't bellowing anymore—this creature was far more subdued. "Go on. Your betrayal... it succeeded. Here we are."

The speaker was a Nirik, the only one Lotus had seen in all the ashy village. Yet in a world of dust, there was little to distinguish her, beyond a darker coat and paler mane than Lotus. Even at the foot of the throne, Lotus felt no heat from her.

She did feel the filly cowering behind her, body shaking where it touched against her leg. "She wants to kill me," whispered a little voice, too small to even understand the meaning of those words. Lotus looked back, patting her gently on the head.

I don't think she can.

"Not gloating," Lotus said. She settled onto her haunches beside the throne but didn't bow. "I didn't want anyone to die. When you escaped... you didn't have to kill ponies. You could've just gone off to live your life."

The Nirik watched her for a long time. The cruel laughter Lotus expected never came. "Would you, reflection? After all they did to me? Let the abusers smite you again? Bow your head in submission to their cruelty? Accept it without vengeance?"

Lotus met her eyes. "I would never do what you did. Rampage across the country, killing anyone who gets in your way. How many villages did you burn? How many more would it take, before you were satisfied?"

The castle walls buckled, then lifted away. There was no village anymore—nothing at all, except that room, a narrow vertical slice of the castle extending above and below them. Nothing else remained.

"And now you are here," the Nirik said, gesturing with both hooves. "I tried to warn you what ponies were like—what their loyalty would cost you. You risk your life to protect them. Did they tell you what your sympathy would mean? Their magic pulled me from creation. Of course it brought you with me."

The room was already shrinking, its edges lifting away as though carried in the wind. She pulled the filly closer to her, protecting her with her own body. If this was the end, she wouldn't leave the little pony to face it alone.

"They told me I would be safe," she said. "I'm sure they believed it. Twilight never lied to me."

Now came the laughter—though it was much weaker, more like a pained gasp. "Look around you, Lotus Cinder. We've been cast out. This is Limbo. From whence we go, none return."

The throne crumbled beneath her, dropping her to floor level. She stood without pain, though chunks of her body were already flaking away on the edges. There was nothing within, not even fire.

"I suppose this is what I wanted, in a way. A world without ponies. My work is done—I'm free."

She turned her back on Lotus then, staring off into the blackness all around them. "I hope this is what you wanted, shadow. This death comes for both of us."

Searing Gale dissolved before her eyes. Ash crumbled to nothing, as though carried by a wind Lotus couldn't see. With it came a sigh, of a weight long carried but only now released.

A stranger would not recognize it, but Lotus did. It's hard to live with hate for so long. She can finally let go.

A pair of little legs clung to hers, squeezing so hard it hurt. "Mommy, I'm scared."

"Me too," she admitted, patting the little creature's back. She could offer nothing more. There was no color here, no magic she could feel. Soon there would be nothing at all.

It touched her hooves first, the numbness and the cold. Blackness waited there, and whatever waited beyond the veil of death. At least she died for a good reason.

"Do you hate them?" asked the little voice. "For leaving you here?"

Lotus shook her head. "I don't think Twilight knew. And even if she did... how many can say they went out saving so many? Millions will be safe tonight because of us, Spark."

"I hope so," the little one whispered, her voice very small. "That sounds so... nice."

Lotus lifted her in her mouth, keeping the small one's hooves away from the growing blackness. If they were about to die, they could die together.

I hope Gus finds his way home.

Then came the light. Compared to the darkness, it blinded her, prompting Lotus to shield her eyes with one hoof. With it came color, breath, and heat.

"What is that, Mom?" The little pony squirmed in her mouth, so much that Lotus had to settle her on her back, or else risk dropping her. "Look!"

"I don't know," she whispered. "But it's waiting for us." Lotus stumbled forward into the light, taking Spark with her.

Author's Note

Holy crap did the art pull out all the stops for this one. Bravo, and thanks for helping punctuate the drama with something this amazing. We have the work of three great artists here in this one.

First is Helmie, showing the epic conflict at the beginning of our story. Then we have KlaraPL, in the world of ash and smoke. And finally Acesential, showing Searing Gale's final defeat, or perhaps her final victory.

Great work all! I get chills looking at these. It's amazing to see the story that existed only in my imagination brought into such vivid life.