The Hour of Demise

Chapters

Night of the Hound
A red sun rises
Crisis meetings
Land of all things scaled
Setting off
Beyond the portal

Night of the Hound

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 1
Night of the Hound

“Pain…Agony…Too long has it been since they became a part of me, too long has it been since they first began to sear my flesh…Consuming us, devouring the body the infidels left for madness to claim…The accursed living, tainting the very world that now holds me captive within its deepest reaches!”

“My hatred burns through these cavernous deeps…My anger pounds against my mind. How the urge to unleash my wrath tortures me! If only the seal had been weakened more…Then the tiny vermin that infests the land would quake as I make the world heave with my torment! The pathetic fools actually believed they could have their way?!”

“Oh how I condemn this wretched seal…How I curse the mortals. My power was not theirs to wield, nor was I theirs to command. The greatness of my being belongs to me and me alone! The insult of their abuse and overconfidence can only be washed away with blood!”

“The seal… the seal…Weakened? Ah…So it was you, Discord, was it not? Maddened fool, why could you not withstand harmony longer and feed us more chaos?!”

“My roars make the earth quake as my body heaves…At last the machinery brims to life once more. The gears grind, the plungers live and the conduits surge with power. Yes, the seal has weakened. The hour of my release has appeared within my view. The seal shall feast upon chaos…The key to my freedom shall be made!”

“And the seal… The wretched, thrice accursed seal…Shall. Be. Broken!”

“The tea has been served.”

Princess Celestia interrupted the conversation she was having to nod at the lackey, who bowed respectfully to the deity.

“Thank you, Silver Cup.” The white alicorn said gently. “Dismissed.” She then turned back to the ponies she was having the conversation with. “Now then, my dear sister and my faithful student... Shall we have some tea before the sunset?”

It was the evening of Summer Sun Celebration, a national holiday celebrated all over Equestria. Nopony was allowed to work that day, not even the government. As of such, it was one of the very rare occasions when, after the festivities and ceremonies were over, Princess Celestia could get a little time free of governmental duties. And this year she simply couldn’t miss the chance to invite her favorite pupil to spend some simple and wonderful time together, as well as remember the many occasions in the past that brought them closer together as mentor and student.

“I would love to, Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle answered, bowing her head gratefully for a brief minute. The purple unicorn then turned to the Princess of the Moon and smiled. “It is very kind of you to allow me to observe as you raise the moon, Princess Luna.”

“Thou shall call us… me… Luna.” The dark-blue alicorn answered. “I… appreciate thine interest.” The youngest princess glanced uncertainly at her two companions. A thousand years meant a shift in the language, not to mention social customs, that she had to get accustomed to. She felt she was making progress, and hoped her sister and her pupil thought the same.

Celestia smiled at her sister and counterpart. “No need to be so modest, Lulu.” She said kindly, making the younger alicorn frown a little at the use of that nickname.

“Oh, yes!” Twilight nodded eagerly. “Your night is magnificent, Luna, and I’m sure I can learn a lot about magic if I see how you do it.” She said and then sighed dreamily. “All those stars… the constellations… I can’t possibly imagine how much time it took you to think them up! Was it difficult to do?” The purple unicorn asked, her eyes with sparkling with interest.

“Ah, I should better get somepony to bring the tea here rather than to the dining room.” Celestia said, rising up to her hooves. “If you excuse me, sister?” Luna quietly threw a glare at her elder sibling, knowing all too well that the white alicorn had just left her to her own devices with a knowledge-hungry unicorn. And had done so on purpose.

“Of… course…” Luna nodded slowly, knowing she had no real reason to refuse. She looked uncertainly at Twilight. “Thou… wish to hear about our… my… stars?”

“Yes! Tell me everything about them, Princess, I mean, Luna!” Twilight said, practically glowing with enthusiasm. “I… have studied them quite a lot, Astronomy is one of my favorite subjects, but those are merely observations made by common ponies, who couldn’t even dream of knowing the stars, their functions and patterns as well as you do. So please tell me everything!”

Luna seemed taken aback by the flood of words that had burst forth from the young unicorn’s mouth, and for a moment the Moon Princess thought Twilight Sparkle had been replaced by the wielder of the Element of Laughter. What was her name again? She searched her memory and quickly found the answer. Pinkie Pie, yes, that was it. She gave her sister’s faithful student an uncertain smile.

“I… oh… well… Of course!” Luna said, a bit louder than necessary. “Where… shall we… begin? Twilight Sparkle?”

“Oh... from the very beginning! How do the stars work? How do you arrange them every night and keep in mind all the rotation cycles? How did you think up those beautiful constellations?” Twilight rambled out the questions. Luna quickly held up her hoof and had to stifle a chuckle.

“One question at a time, please.” Twilight nodded quickly and held her tongue immediately. The Princess thanked her with a nod of her horned head. “Thank thee. Now, as for the workings of our… my… beloved stars…” She then began her explanation, and soon found herself just as lost in the tale as her companion. Never before had anypony shown such interest in her prized creation, and after millennia of yearning for recognition, the attention was both new and welcoming. It helped that Twilight Sparkle was an attentive listener, only interrupting her to ask intelligent questions that showed how closely she followed and how quickly she understood the quite complicated matter the Moon Princess was explaining to her. Soon it would be time to bring those stars forth, and then they would observe and marvel at their beauty together.

Little did the young alicorn know that the night would not be as peaceful as she thought...

Somewhere very near Canterlot, hidden in the shadows of some trees, a lonely figure watched the setting of the sun with a cruel grin on his face. His white, sharp teeth were clearly visible even in the dying sunlight. Though the sunset looked as it always did, he could now, for the first time ever, sense it was different. He could feel the magic that drove the lowering of the great star, and how. Magic came from the sun in such great quantities he could almost taste it, and he wondered how he could have been such an unbelievable fool for having never noticed it before, even though he had seen the sun rise and set for countless times.

There was no mistaking it, this was without any doubt the place he had been looking for. He could feel the excitement creeping under his skin, the restlessness tugging at his mind.

“Finally,” he thought, his grin widening. “At last it has been found, the land where Sun and Moon rest in forms of flesh.” His cold, yellow eyes stared at the royal castle in the distance, so great and majestic, but elegant and inviting all the same. “One would expect more from the place deities rest. Almost as if they made it easy for me on purpose. How very kind of them, I must reward them justly.”

A dark, clawed hand emerged from the shadowy cloak that was wrapped around him, and concealed his entire body aside from his face. Shadows formed around his hand, looking almost like wisps of black smoke. In the blink of an eye, a cruel but elegant blade had appeared, held firmly in the being’s hand.

“Yes, a proper reward indeed,” the figure thought. “I shall paint the city in a new, lively colour, free of charge. Sadly I have no paint, but blood makes a good substitute.”

Humming a quiet tune, Celestia came back to the room where she left her dear student and her sister, and peeked inside. From what she could see, Lulu and Twi were sitting at the balcony now, with the younger alicorn pointing out certain stars in the sky to the unicorn. Celestia let out a chuckle. Yes, they would become wonderful friends. It was a right choice after all to send Luna to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, despite the apparent difficulties and flaws in her plan. Not that the Sun Princess would admit there were any, of course. She just wanted the best for her little sister. With that in mind, Celestia decided to not go in the room just yet, and instead check out some of the guard posts, to wish them all a happy Summer Sun Celebration, of course, and in no way to make those who fell asleep at their job shake in their horseshoes with nervousness and fear of being fired. Nope, not at all.

As she walked towards her new destination, the Princess of the Sun glanced through a window to look at Canterlot. The streets were lit with streetlamps, and most of the ponies were asleep, and yet some windows still had a light in them. Celestia smiled. It wouldn’t have been possible without the clock she had introduced shortly after Luna’s banishment. Nopony would’ve even thought of staying up after sunset before. But now ponies lived by the clock, and as summer passed and the days grew shorter, more and more ponies could appreciate her dear sister’s creation.

If only she had thought of it sooner... Celestia shook her head. No, she would not think of it now. Luna was here, Luna was recovering, and Luna was now happily spending time with her dear friend, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, everything was alright. “Now, where were those guard posts...” Celestia muttered.

Her question would remain forever unanswered, for it was then that the peace of the night was interrupted by a deafening explosion. By instinct Celestia turned her head in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a massive column of flame rise up from the city. Celestia gasped and rushed to the window. This was some powerful magic! It took her quite some time before realisation finally dawned on her that there had been an explosion in her beloved city. Not thinking any further, Celestia galloped to the nearest balcony and took flight. Whoever threatened Canterlot this late at night would pay for it in all severity.

Before she had flown very far, however, Luna appeared at her side, worry etched on her dark face. “Sister, what, pray tell, is going on?!”

“I have no idea, Lulu.” Celestia admitted. “But I am going to find out!” She looked at her sister. “You stay in the castle where it’s safe!”

“But… It is our… my… city too, sister…” Luna tried to protest. She knew her sister always looked out for her, but sometimes, the Moon Princess thought Celestia was used to being the big sister a tad too much. It wasn’t as if she was a weak filly that had to be sheltered. She had recovered most, if not all of her strength that had waned during her thousand year exile, and her control over magic was nothing short of perfect. “I wish to help our subjects as well.”

“Luna, do realize it is too dangerous for you to go.” Celestia said sternly. “And even if it wasn’t... I... I need you to protect Twilight...” She finished quietly, her voice shaking a little. “You know this magic is extremely powerful. I don’t want her to do anything rash...”

“We are thine equal in strength,” the younger sister replied, rather annoyed. She understood her sister’s worry, but she was her equal, and a princess of Equestria as well. She wanted to ensure that her subjects were safe just as much as her sister did, could Celestia not see that?

“But... Twilight...” Celestia tried to protest, but then shook her head. Her student would be sensible enough not to rush into action, and they would make sure that the castle is safe. “Alright. Let us get this over with.” Luna smiled gratefully at her sister, glad for this opportunity to show her genuine care for her subjects. Her eyes narrowed as she focussed on the city again. Even from this distance, it looked dreadful, the fire caused by the explosion having spread rapidly throughout the capital. “You take care of the fire, I shall try to find the culprits.” Celestia ordered and sped down towards the ground before Luna could protest.

Not that Luna minded. As she had demonstrated in Ponyville during Nightmare Night, she was quite adept at weather manipulation. Her face grim with determination, Luna set to work, raising her horn high as magic flew forth from it.

Celestia, meanwhile, swooped down to the ground and landed in the middle of a square. Ponies were panicking, desperately trying to get away from the fire, and a few Royal Guards and Canterlot Police Officers were struggling to keep order.

“Captain, report the situation.” Celestia commanded, approaching one of the officers. All around her, the air was thick and heavy with magic, betraying the source of this fire.

“Princess!” The captain seemed to be quite relieved by her presence, but he knew better than to dwell on it. “We do not know what caused the explosion, but the unicorns of Canterlot Police force suggest it was work of a very powerful magician, and the epicentre of it is located two blocks away from here.” The officer pointed in the direction. “The evacuation is going steadily, and so far, nopony was injured.”

Celestia nodded, relieved. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a clap of thunder, heralding the arrival of the rainstorm her sister had summoned to douse the flames. That caused a smile to form on her features, which was quickly replaced by a frown of determination. “Thank you. Return to your duties, captain. I shall investigate the epicentre.” Celestia nodded at the captain and galloped away into the burning streets. Around her, the magic of her sister was already doing a fine job in combating the flames that threatened to devour the beautiful city. The alicorn of the sun wrinkled her nose. How unfortunate dousing such fires always gave the most unpleasant smoke. She paid it no heed, however, determined to find the source of this flame.

Her search was interrupted by a second explosion nearby, its force so great the Princess, caught off guard, was knocked off her feet into the nearest wall, which cracked under the force of the impact. She barely had the time to register a second column of fire bursting into the sky, before walls and roofs of houses were rendered apart by the force of the spell, some of the burning debris heading straight for her. She quickly formed a protective barrier around herself with her magic, dissolving whatever touched it into particles, and then teleported straight to the source of the flames, the location of which she could now clearly feel.

As she arrived on the scene, a wave of scorching heat washed over her and threatened to take her breath away. The alicorn shielded her face with her wing, but soon grew accustomed to the environment. After all, she controlled the Sun, and no heat on this planet could compare to its never-ceasing fire. Celestia looked around, trying to find clues to the explosion’s origins. There was nopony around, and only a terrifyingly large patch of scorched stone in the middle of the scene betrayed the epicentre of the explosion. But of who or whatever had set it off, there was no sign. There wasn’t much time to dwell on it, however. The flames were gaining ground once more, almost as if they were combating the water Luna called forth from the skies. It became clear then to both alicorns that the fire was not normal. Celestia decided to help her sister fight them, and used her magic to summon powerful torrents of water out of nowhere, directed straight at the flames.

Steam sizzled up into the sky where the two elements met each other, but neither seemed to overpower the other. Luna narrowed her eyes and tried a different approach. Her horn glowed with a new spell, and she abruptly lowered the temperature in the city to a winter’s chill to combat the heat of the flames. Celestia felt her cast that spell, and added an equally powered spell of her own, inwardly smiling a bit. Luna indeed was as adept at magic again as she had always been, and her older sister was glad for her help. She had solved disasters that required grand magic on her own for so long that she had forgotten how it felt to receive the help of one equal in power. Especially since the spell seemed to work.

That was when, as the two royal alicorns neared victory over the magical flames, Celestia was overcome with a feeling that something was wrong. Horribly so. Her magical senses reached out, and she felt… something’s presence in the direction of the castle. Where her staff was, her loyal guards, the many servant ponies. Where her most prized and beloved student was. Alone. And in the sky above her, Luna felt the same.

Celestia tried to teleport there right away, but it was as if that presence blocked her attempts. Having no other choice, she galloped as fast as she could before reaching a square and taking flight, speeding to the castle as fast as her wings could carry her, hoping it was not too late.

“Sister!” Luna called, partly in shock partly in anger. “The fire!” But Celestia seemed to no longer hear her or pretended not to. Fuming, the Princess of the Moon threw of all restraints and channelled her divine might, readying it for a final spell that would put an end to this once and for all. Only then could she go after her sister and find out whatever was going on at the castle of Canterlot. The situation was undoubtedly dire, and not since Discord had the Moon Princess felt a similar presence to the one now radiating from the castle, but that was no excuse to let the city burn.

“Alright, Twilight, don’t panic!” Twilight said to herself. “Sure, a big explosion of humongous magical power, sure, Canterlot is on fire, sure, I’m all alone in this castle room and the guards are outside, but it’s alright. The Princesses will deal with it, right? Right?” If the pony had any nails to bite, she would be chewing them off at that moment. She briefly glanced in the mirror at the corner of the room, and saw that her stress was quite visible by how unruly her mane had become.

“Oooh...” She whined. “But what if the fire proves too much for them to handle? Now, now, don’t be ridiculous, Twi, there’s no way some fire could be too much for the Princesses.” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “In fact, it should be all over now. Yes, perfectly... perfectly alright.” She assured herself. “They’ll come back any moment now... I can already feel their presence.” Her eyes narrowed then. The presence seemed… off. Before she could give it further thought or investigation, there was a commotion just outside her door, followed by one of the guards barrelling straight through said door. He landed unceremoniously on the floor, his eyes lifeless, with a large gash on his chest. Red coloured his otherwise grey fur.

“They always do make it difficult when it doesn’t have to be,” somebody chuckled, and the next moment a dark figure stepped through the hole in the door the dead guard had just made, entering the room. “It makes things so… predictable. And that is, in it’s own way, easy. Oh the sweet irony. By making things difficult, they make it easy for me. Such a fine cosmic joke.” He let out a cruel, cold laugh.

Twilight shrieked and backed away from the demon. It was not even the appearance of the stranger that made her quiver, or the fact that he radiated immense magical power, but that he had just killed a pony. Not even Discord did that! And why would he want to do that, anyway? He wasn’t a mindless beast that preyed on ponies, was he? Then why?

The demonic figure that stood before her now was utterly terrifying. It stood on its long hind legs, making him as tall as Princess Celestia, with a wolfish tail trailing behind it. It had doglike, padded feet, each having four toes ending in a sharp, black claw. His legs were hidden by a set of black trousers lined with golden armour. He had a golden belt around his waist, the buckle shaped like a demonic head. His upper body was lean but muscular, with chiselled abs, and was uncovered by any clothes. His back was covered in pitch black, wild and long fur, his chest and stomach with scales that looked as if they were made of ash. His forelegs were smaller and shorter than his hind legs, and ended in hands, which made Twilight immediately think of Spike. But this being’s hands held four fingers, one thumb and three normal ones, each ending in a claw. Black fur covered his arms and the upper side of his hand, while the underside shared the ashen scales from his chest. His shoulders and throat area also had fur, but it was hard to see, for the shoulders were covered by golden armour that had the shape of hellhounds’ heads, their eyes inlaid with rubies. A black cloak trailed behind him, attached to the armour.

But the most frightening was his head. It was unmistakably the head of a hound, but compared to this creature the diamond dogs looked like beauty queens. Its jaws were lined with shimmering, sharp teeth, and his eyes glowed yellow and had no pupils. His ears were longer than average and pointed, more like the ears of a jackal than of a dog. The black fur covering his head was shorter than on his back, but he had a long, ragged black mane, starting from between his ears and running down his neck till it ended between his shoulders. In his right hand he held a blade stained with blood, completing the image that screamed ‘hellish’ and ‘demonic’.

“W... what is this creature? Why is it here? What does it want? Could it have caused the fire? Should I call for help? Oh, if only the Princesses were here!” Twilight thought desperately.

The hellish hound looked around the room, and the expression of glee on his face was quickly replaced by one of sheer annoyance. “Oh for the hate of…” he cursed. The being closed his golden eyes for a second, then reopened them, looking even more annoyed. “Seems my firework distraction worked too well. I hadn’t expected the Sun to be awake at night.” A low growl escaped his throat. “A tiny oversight at my part… but even so…” He let out a deep sigh, calm and collected, one hand clasped before his eyes. Twilight, meanwhile, tried to quietly creep out of the room in order to make it outside and get some help. She had to warn the Princesses!

A tremor of magic that even a foal could pick up halted her in her tracks. She glanced fearfully at the creature, just in time to see it explode with rage. “I HATE IT WHEN THINGS GO AGAINST MY PLANS!” His hands were held high, as if clawing at the sky, his body shaking with anger. Uncontrolled magic sparked of his being, lashing out and destroying whatever it hit, which resulted in most of the room being levelled. The sight of chaos seemed to calm him somewhat, as he lowered his hands again, took a deep breath and combed his mane back in proper shape with his fingers. “I probably should not have done that.”

As much as Twilight wanted to stay hidden, the explosion made that nigh impossible. It knocked her into a wall, and she let out a yelp of pain as she fell to the floor. Which of course couldn’t go unnoticed.

“I do apologise, my little pony,” she heard his dark chuckle. Shaking her head to clear her spinning eyes, she saw that he still hadn’t turned to her. “I suppose you think me rude, ignoring you as I have. Be at peace, I knew you were there. And your presence is most fortunate. You see, I tend to get annoyed when things do not go like I want them to go. And at such times…” The hellish dog slowly turned to face her, and there was madness in his eyes. “I am in dire need of a bit of bloodshed. To calm my nerves, you understand?”

Twilight shrieked and tried to get away from the bloodthirsty murderer, but it was useless. He was staring right at her, there was no place to run or hide. The monster grinned a hellish grin and began to approach her. However, he was interrupted by a loud voice from the balcony.

“Now that is enough!”

The demonic dog whirled around in the blink of the eye, turning towards the speaker. It was her. The Sun. The divinely beautiful winged unicorn stood there on the balcony, glaring furiously at him, her wings spread and her horn lowered threateningly. The sight of Celestia in a state of fury was enough to make all but the foolish or the powerful quake in fear, but the strange creature showed no signs of any doubt. In fact, he looked positively happy.

“Ah, the Sun, the flesh of the Sun! Yes, yes, at last you stand before me, I am pleased,” the bipedal dog said, smirking.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The Sun Goddess demanded, seemingly unfazed by his glee. “Speak!”

“You may call us… ‘the Hound’,” the dark canine introduced himself with a mockingly graceful bow. “I do not expect you to recognise it, after all, the fear my name alone spreads has yet to reach this… remote corner of the world. An unforgivable oversight on my part, for which I do apologise, and I shall rectify it soon.” His smirk widened as his eyes locked themselves with Celestia’s. “As for what I desire… Nothing much, truly. Only a little… chaos, on world scale.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “I will not tolerate another Discord in my kingdom. Return to your master, Hound, and do not show your foul face here again!” Celestia cried, charging her horn with magic.

The Hound raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking very much offended. “Discord? Please, my dear Sun, do not drag one such as I down to a level of such a buffoon. His chaos is of the petty, harmless type. Tricks of a maddened jester, which I do not at all require. You see, I was thinking more along the lines of the harmful kind, you understand? A few slices of death, sandwiched between the delightful bread of destruction, overflowing with the rich sauce of mass chaos that has that unsurpassable hint of panic in it.”

“Thank you, but that is not my cup of tea.” The Princess said coldly. “And I will not allow you to have your way!”

“On the contrary, your highness,” the Hound replied, chuckling madly. “You are the reason I will have my way!”

Celestia was getting tired of this banter. This Hound was so full of himself... “You have quite the nerve, Hound... To taunt a Goddess!” Through her horn, she unleashed her magic in the form of a powerful beam of light, prepared to incinerate the intruder.

“It’s what I do, Princess,” the Hound answered calmly. He wrapped his cloaked around himself and vanished into thin air, the beam missing its target completely. The Princess quickly scanned the area, both with her eyes and magic to find out where he has gone to. She didn’t need to go to such great lengths, however, as the sound of clapping could be heard from behind her. She whirled around to find the Hound floating above the balcony, clapping his hands in mock applause.

“An impressive light show, your highness,” he smiled. “Truly, your special effects are unsurpassed.”

“You’re no simpleton as well, I give you that.” Celestia said quietly before unleashing another spell, which was a tornado or energy forming all around the Hound. Inside the maelstrom, the uninvited guest didn’t panic. He merely clenched his fists, charged himself and let out a roar. The sound was infused with so much power that it cancelled out the spell of the princess. The Hound made use of the short moment of hesitation from his opponent to throw himself at the Princess of the Sun like a wolf attacking its prey. The alicorn parried his attack by forming a long, solid beam of energy that elongated her horn, impaling the beast, and then throwing him into a nearby wall.

There was a moment of silence, and Celestia thought it might be over, but her hopes were crushed as the Hound growled and climbed to his feet once more. “Now, that was uncalled for,” he chided, as if he was talking to a small filly instead of a deity. The wound inflicted upon him started to burn itself shut, and soon there was nothing left but a scorch mark on his grey chest. “I would love to continue this highly entertaining farce, oh flesh of the Sun, but I’m running on a tight schedule, so please do be so kind as to surrender now before I have to get nasty. Thank you.”

“I would like to kindly remind you that I am indeed flesh of the Sun, thank you very much, and it is you who does not want me to get... nasty...” She hissed at him, her anger beginning to peak.

“I know perfectly who and what I am dealing with, your highness,” the Hound whispered coldly, as he slowly dropped himself on all fours. His eyes narrowed as wisps of shadow that looked like black smoke began to rise off his body. “Can you say the same?”

Celestia didn’t answer and simply flooded him with an overwhelmingly powerful fire spell, seeing as just light wasn’t really effective against this beast. It didn’t work against the Hound, his body seemed to simply devour the flames before they could do any damage. But instead of counterattacking, the intruder climbed back to his feet, the shadows dissipating. His face bore an expression of extreme displeasure.

“Most aggravating, but it seems your sister is about to join us. And for a direct confrontation with Sun and Moon combined, even I am not ready,” he muttered, anger lurking under the surface of his words, ready to erupt at any second now. “I must take my leave, I fear.”

“Leave, and never come again!” Celestia thundered before sending him off with another beam of light. The Hound shrugged, wrapped his cloak around himself and vanished. The Princess thought the intruder was gone, but was proven wrong when she heard a very familiar voice scream. In all the excitement of the confrontation, she had forgotten totally about her faithful student!

“I shall leave, but this was quite a trip for me. I would like to take a little souvenir to remember the jolly good time I had here, your highness,” the Hound smiled cruelly from where he was, floating above the table under which Twilight Sparkle had been hiding previously. The purple unicorn was now tugged firmly under the villain’s arm, all her struggles for freedom in vain.

“TWILIGHT!” Celestia cried out and charged at the enemy, prepared to fight and take her precious student back, even at the cost of her own life.

“I bid you adieu, your highness.” And after those words, the Hound wrapped his black cloak around himself and his prisoner, hiding his entire figure from view. The black shape changed from solid mass into a cloud of black smoke, which took on the form of a bat, and left the room via the balcony at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud.

The white alicorn rushed to the balcony, ready to take flight, but had to skid to a stop as she nearly crashed into her little sister who had just landed there. Frantically, Celestia looked past her beloved sibling, just in time to see the shadowy form of the Hound and his captive vanish into the night sky.

To be continued.

A red sun rises

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 2
A red sun rises

Celestia was breathing heavily, staring into the night sky, trying to find any trace of the villain that had abducted her precious student. It was futile, they had completely vanished from sight.

“Sister?” Luna said uncertainly, looking at the partially demolished room. “Pray tell, what happened here?” She could still feel a dark magic linger in the room, like a foul stain that tainted the air and offended her senses.

“The culprit... That foul beast awaited us in the castle!” Celestia explained, barely controlling her anger. “He kidnapped Twilight...” Luna raised her eyebrows, her eyes widening. The last part was ill news indeed, but her dear sibling had still lost her with the first. What foul beast was she going on about? She hadn’t seen her sister this angry since their battle against Discord, more than a thousand years ago.

“What foul beast, dear sister?” Luna asked.

“It was a... A powerful magician. An ugly black dog that that walks on hind legs. But its physique aside from its... his doglike head is… unfamiliar. I have never seen anything quite like it,” Celestia explained briefly. “He calls himself the Hound.” The Princess of the Sun went on to give her little sister a quick overview of the events that had come to pass in the room between her own arrival and Luna’s. The more she heard, the more serious and worried Luna became. Though she was mostly worried for her sister. Celestia looked ready to throw a fit. She so rarely lost her calm that seeing her upset alone was a huge indicator of the severity of the situation at hoof. “He is extremely powerful and extremely insolent. And he has Twilight...” Celestia finished.

“I... I see... Thee... you said that he fled when I was about to arrive?” Luna asked with a frown. Celestia nodded. “Then... I am afraid the abduction of Twilight Sparkle is a ploy to lure us out of the castle.”

“The villain fled out of fear,” Celestia almost growled, while she started to pace back and forth in a vain attempt to get a hold of herself. “Whatever his magical prowess may be, against both of us united, he would stand no chance. This, he admitted himself. Though I suspect you may be right as well, Luna.”

Luna nodded slowly. “What... are we going to do about it, sister?” She asked the older alicorn. She trotted over to the lifeless guard, nudged him gently, then bowed her head in quiet mourning as she felt no signs of life.

Celestia fell silent, and stayed that way for a long while. “...I’m going after him.” She finally said in a quiet, determined voice. Luna straightened up in the blink of an eye, whirling around to face her sister once more. To say she was shocked would be an understatement, and the alicorn actually found herself speechless for a short while. Had this Hound taken away part of her sister’s common sense when he fled?

“My dearest sibling, have thou lost thy mind?” the Moon Princess asked, when she finally found her voice again. She stomped the floor with one of her forelegs. “That be exactly what this villain wishes, and thou would fly into his trap open eyed? For certain, the situation is dire indeed, but thou must not be rash!” Luna found herself on unfamiliar territory. Before, the roles had always been reversed. She would be the one to rush blindly into action without thinking things through, so that Celestia would have to be the voice of reason to calm her down. Now it was the other way around, and it worried Luna greatly. She understood her Sun-blessed sister had to be stressed. Having the city and subjects you hold dear attacked by magical fire and fighting an unfamiliar foe, who escaped with the student you hold dear, could not be good for one’s heart or health, the Moon Princess had to admit.

Celestia lowered her eyes. “I know this is madness... But I have no other choice.” She then looked at her sister. “He has Twilight, Luna... She... This little filly... Ever since I met her, my life changed.” The white unicorn swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice even and not shaking with emotions, yet failing. “I... I was lonely... ever since I banished you, Lulu, the palace, the life around me... it never was the same. Twilight... She was so much like you, back when we were little... She’s been my pride and joy for so long... I can’t leave her in the hands of that villain!”

Luna forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat without making a sound. She glanced at the floor uncertainly, avoiding her sister’s eyes. Of course the two of them had talked a lot since her return from the Moon, and the Moon Princess had come to understand it had been just as hard for her sister as it had been for her. She knew Twilight Sparkle was important to her sister, just like she was. Sadly, she wasn’t sure how Celestia had to feel at this moment. She never had anyone dear to her taken away right before her eyes. Luna was making progress since her return, for certain, but someone so deeply dear to her heart, aside from her sister, she did not yet have. The Princess of the Moon hesitated, searching for the right words.

“I understand thy reasons, my dearest sister,” she said slowly, picking out each word with great care. “But I must beg thee to reconsider. Do believe it pains me to say these words, but thou hast a duty to this kingdom. As thy fellow princess, I can not permit thee to put thyself at risk, and our kingdom with it, for the sake of one of our subjects, no matter how dear.” Luna bowed her head. “Do not think low of me now, my sister. I cannot yet phantom how thou dost feel, but I know thou art in pain. But our kingdom and subjects must be placed before all else. Our people look up to thee and trust thee, to a degree I have yet to achieve. What if something would happen to thee on this chase in the unknown? I have not yet the trust of our subjects to reign in thy place, and were would Equestria stand then? Please, sister, see my reasoning. I do not ask thee to abandon Twilight Sparkle. We shall send out our finest men, who shan’t rest until thy student has been returned to thy side.”

“Our finest men, dear sister... don’t stand a single chance.” Celestia said bitterly. “Can’t you feel it? The ones who stayed in the castle, the ones who stood in the Hound’s way... The guards, the maids... They are all dead now.” Celestia shook her head. “I know I can not abandon my kingdom... But the only ones who can be on par with the Hound’s power are me and you, Luna.”

The Moon Princess glanced at the fallen guard in the room and shivered slightly. She had to admit her sister had a point there, much as it pained her. Still the idea of Celestia leaving did not sit well with her at all. “Allow me to go in thy stead,” she suggested after a moment of brief silence. “Were something to happen to me, at the very least Equestria would suffer not from it. Thou art capable of handling the Moon, and our people need thee.”

“No.” Celestia said firmly and sighed. “I cannot let you go either, Lulu...” She shook her head, her voice reduced to a quiet whisper. “A thousand years, Lulu... After a thousand years, I finally have you by my side again... I... I cannot put you in danger. I don’t want to lose you again, Lulu. Ever again.”

Luna walked over to her sister and nuzzled her. “The same goes for me, ‘Tia.” The white deity nuzzled her back and sighed again.

“I don’t know what to do, Lulu. I can’t bear the thought of losing either of you. You, or Twilight... Let alone both...” The Moon Princess smiled a bit, touched, and hugged her older sibling tightly. “I must save her...”

Luna sighed deeply, but nodded, finally admitting defeat. She couldn’t stop her sister with anything less than banishment to the Sun. “Go.” She said quietly.

Celestia nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Lulu.” She said, trotting over to the balcony. “I’ll be back in time for the sunrise.” The white alicorn promised before taking off into the skies.

“Hey!” Luna called after her. “I didn’t mean right now! What of the paperwork saying I am to tend to thy duties in case thou art away longer than a night?! Who is going to calm our subjects in the city? How should I clean up this mess? Who is going to inform the families of the loss of their relatives who worked in the castle?! Sister?! SISTER?! AAARGH!!!”

After expressing her frustration with a very uncharacteristic facehoof, Luna left the chamber to find anypony who could help her solve the problems dumped on her shoulders by her sister. Thankfully, the Prime Minister’s quarters were in a completely different part of the castle, so he should have stayed unharmed. She had a ton of explaining to do, no doubt. Why did Celestia always get away with the easy tasks?

Celestia sped through the skies, following the barely visible trace of magic the culprit left in his wake. It was invisible to any normal pony, of course, but not to Celestia’s enhanced sense of magic. The trail never seemed to vanish completely from her senses, almost as if the Hound wanted to be followed. The odds of that actually being the case were quite high, all things considered. It was most likely a trap, one that she had no choice but to fall into. She was sure that if she had taken Luna with her, the Hound would have fled even further, or harm Twilight, so she had to do it alone. And survive. Equestria would be fine in Luna’s capable hooves.

The trace was getting stronger, the scent of magic more apparent. She was nearing the target. Pushing her wings harder than ever before, the alicorn sped towards her destination. Celestia came to a screeching halt, however, when she once again found the unexpected on her path. Her senses told her she had arrived at where the Hound had to be. But there was no sign of the villainous creature anywhere. At the end of the magical trail, at the very spot where the hellish dog was supposed to be, there was naught but a strange black hole in the middle of the sky.

“Wh...” Celestia blinked. She wasn’t supposed to go in there, was she? Carefully, she examined the hole with her magic. It appeared to be literally a hole in the sky, and nothing more than that. Which would most likely shut down immediately once she steps into it. She peered into the darkness, and for one brief moment, she saw a landscape flash before her eyes, appearing to reside at the other side of the hole. The white alicorn sighed. She definitely won’t be home in time for the sunrise. Luna would have her hide, horn and feathers when she returned. Cautiously, she stepped into the portal. She harmlessly passed through and appeared on the other side, as easily as stepping through a door. Needless to say, the portal immediately closed behind her. In quite a weird way. A part of the sky literally folded close… like a door.

Celestia sighed, shook her head, and scanned her surroundings, hoping to understand where she was now. The land was completely unfamiliar to her, even though the white alicorn could feel the sun respond from its resting place to her presence. Judging by the Sun’s location, the princess determined this land was far to the south-east of Equestria’s southern border. And that meant she could still make it on time if she took some teleporting shortcuts. Depending on how far she was from Equestria, of course. She had never even seen the land surrounding her before. It wasn’t charted on any recent maps. Few ponies had ever gone beyond the borders of their homeland, few ever came back. And yet Celestia did remember seeing something on one particular map – the one that hung on one of the walls in the palace library. What was it called again? Sau...

Her chain of thoughts was interrupted before she could recall the land’s name, though. Her magical senses picked up something that actually managed to nearly terrify her. There was a massive, dense spike of energy right below her. As the Princess of the Sun looked down, her eyes took in the sight of a barren wasteland that stretched out for endless miles below her. Nothing but barren rock and sand as far as the eye could see. Except for the ground right below her. Even from her current perch high in the sky, the alicorn could see a glowing white circle on the ground, and within it was another circle. The space between the two was filled with glowing rune symbols that were already ancient when Equestria was young. A second, smaller band of runes sat within the first one, and a third one within the second, and this continued until there were five sets of runes. The last circle had a pentagram drawn in it, and in its centre Celestia could make out an object sticking out of the ground.

The ruler of Equestria knew better than to disrupt the runes by landing on them, but she did fly a little lower to see the object more clearly. It was an ancient, big sword. Once it had been pure white, but ceaseless exposure to the elements throughout countless millennia had turned it black and grey. All that remained white were the runes engraved on the blade, though the ones at the hilt of the blade seemed to have begun to fade. Looking closely, Celestia did recognize a few runes, and those definitely were runes of sealing. Realising she won’t get any more information here, and in fact shouldn’t be here in the first place, Celestia began to gain altitude again, determined to continue her search of her faithful student and the foul beast that abducted her. The sealing site below her kept tugging at the back of her mind, however. The power of the seal was almost beyond understanding, even for an alicorn. She would have to research it when she comes home...

She was distracted for merely a second, just a small, tiny, insignificant second, but it cost her dearly. Pain exploded in Celestia’s chest as something hit her, giving the Princess a nasty, wide and deep cut. Her sacred blood stained her white fur. Her first instinct was to teleport away, far beyond the rune circles, for she knew that blood was a powerful magic medium, and by any means must not be spilled unto runes. But before she got any chances, she had the wind knocked out of her when an object barrelled into her already wounded front side at high speed and with great velocity. Celestia screamed in pain, and she looked at the object with horror.

“Greetings, your highness, I do hope I didn’t keep you waiting?” the Hound said cheerfully as he made a mocking bow, before he promptly hit her with a dropkick in the back and sent her crashing into the ground. Celestia tried to get on her feet, and looked around, only to see that her collision with the ground had done just the thing she feared it would do.

It disrupted the runes. Not a great lot, but for such a powerful seal the Princess feared the tiniest disruption, not knowing what the runes held earthbound. Slowly, she tried to climb to her feet, but the wound the Hound had inflicted upon her caused her unprecedented agony. It burned like hellfire, and without a doubt was anything but a normal flesh wound.

“What... have you... done...?” Celestia heaved, glaring at the Hound. The canine landed on his two clawed feet before her, sword in hand, which now was stained with the alicorn’s blood. The Princess noted he was lacking his black cloak. And Twilight. The hellish creature grinned a terrible grin and proudly raised his weapon. Only now did Celestia pay close attention to it. It was almost entirely black, aside from the red, glowing runes engraved on it. Her eyes widened ever so slightly.

“A cursed blade, befitting for one such as I,” the Hound explained with maniacal glee. “I’m certain you feel its wonderful effects as we speak, am I not mistaken? Oh yes, I can see it on your face, that delightful expression of pain, caused by the hellfire that burns your sacred flesh.”

The burning in her wound intensified as he spoke those words, and Celestia had to stifle another scream of pain. “Where... where is Twilight?” She asked her foe.

“The little pony? She is safe, worry not your pretty little head, oh goddess,” the demonic dog replied. He circled around her like a wolf ready to go in for the killing blow. “She is my esteemed guest of honour, to bear witness to the glory of my triumph!”

Celestia felt relief at those words, but it was overshadowed by the pain in her wound. If Twilight was safe, then she had to save herself and get out of here. Easier said then done, she had allowed herself to be caught off guard like a foal and now paid a steep price for it. Nevertheless, she tried to focus her magic into a teleportation spell.

“Are you honestly going to tell me you are going to leave now, flesh of the Sun?” the Hound said, surprised. “Instead of facing me? Ha! This is a joke of bad taste, your highness. You deeply offend me.” Celestia chose to ignore that comment and blinked out of existence in a flash of light. When she felt herself reappear, she was surrounded by a vast, dense jungle. She checked the Sun’s position and teleported again, not wanting to be caught off guard once more.

The backlash of a failed spell hit her like a train at maximum speed and knocked her back to the ground. The powerful blow to her already weakened body worsened the wound on her chest even more and she felt it rip open further. Celestia clenched her teeth firmly together, not knowing what had went wrong. For something to interfere with a spell, one had to be a great magician of his or her own.

“I hate being offended,” came the all too familiar voice of the Hound, who sat on a fallen tree polishing his blade. Celestia glared at him and fired a beam of pure magic at her foe with all the power she could muster. The canine effortlessly disappeared, and reappeared right behind the Princess. “Is a decent fight just too much to ask for? I haven’t had one in ages, your highness.”

“Then by all means, you should have fought fairly.” Celestia said before surrounding herself with a shield of solar flames.

“Whatever for?” the Hound asked. “I’m the bad guy, remember?”

“Fair enough.” Celestia nodded before suddenly teleporting away again. The Hound sighed and flicked his hand almost casually, vanishing into thin air and reappearing right next to Celestia in another part of the jungle. He wasted no time to swing his sword directly at her head. The Princess turned to face him and with her horn, which she charged with magic, she blocked the swipe of his blade. The Hound grinned evilly, his eyes shining with excitement.

“Now that’s more like it!” he praised gleefully. Celestia glared at him again, and then her horn suddenly glowed again, creating a pillar of solar fire aimed right at the Hound. The canine strafed to the right to dodge it, lashing out with his sword again, to have the alicorn block it with her horn once more. The two combatants set off in a fierce duel, Celestia using her horn as her own blade and, despite her agonizing injury, managing to hold her ground quite well at last. She tried to heal herself as well while fighting, but did not have much luck, for the blade was indeed cursed, and any magic that touched the wound caused her more pain. She had to finish this quickly, for soon it would be time to raise the Sun.

The Sun Princess lunged and managed to pierce her foe’s shoulder, causing the Hound to growl in discomfort, but he retaliated by viciously scratching her with the claws of his free hand. Celestia cried out in pain, but with her horn still embedded in the Hound’s shoulder, she threw him onto the ground, and stomped on him violently with her gold-shoed hooves. The beast howled like a wolf, before doing one of the dirtiest tricks there was in battle. With all the might he possessed in his legs, which was a considerable lot, he kicked her right on her already gaping chest wound. The kick threw Celestia off balance, and she screamed in excruciating pain as the wound began to burn even more. The Hound took advantage of her distraction to get to his feet again in an energetic jump. He breathed in and then opened his jaws, breathing flames that were coloured black and blood red at the alicorn.

Celestia immediately conjured a shield of light to defend herself, which took considerable effort. To her surprise, the flames of the hellish dog covered her shield instead of being cast away by it, and began to burn their way through it. It was anything but normal fire, not even the average magical flame. It was an entirely new form of fire for her. Perhaps it was an unwise decision, but she tried to fight fire with fire, and created a second shield, made of pure solar flames. This time she had success, and her flames overpowered his. It didn’t seem to deter the Hound. He ran towards her and leapt straight through her divine flames, sword brandished. Her horn and his blade met once again. Noting her success, she let the flames lace her horn as well. The Hound snorted.

“Two can play that game, flesh of the Sun,” he said, and he proceeded to drench his blade in darkness, giving it the appearance as though it was giving off black smoke.

“So I guessed.” Celestia replied, narrowing her eyes.

“And how is that little scratch on your chest going for you?” the villain asked casually, as he swiped at her with his blade. She met it head on with her horn, but for some reason his blows seemed so much more powerful all of the sudden, as if the muscles driving it had increased in strength ten times. Celestia ignored his question and decided to change tactics: breaking out of close combat, she took flight. Her opponent remained on the ground, following her with his glowing yellow eyes.

“Come now, your highness! Our dance had barely started!” he called to her.

“Oh, you want a dance?” Celestia asked, charging her horn with magic. “Be my guest then.”

A runic circle that covered the whole clearing they were fighting on appeared on the ground, courtesy of Celestia, which was immediately replaced by a round patch made entirely of solar flames. The Hound growled again in discomfort as the fire singed him, but aside from that it didn’t seem to do much. In the blink of an eye he had vanished, to promptly reappear standing on Celestia’s very own back. Now that was an insult, and Celestia shook him off immediately by diving lower in the air. At the same time the magic circle she had made began to shoot pillars of flame into the sky. The Hound deftly zigzagged between them all, before stopping in mid air. He held his free hand up, gathering shadows into it, until it seemed as if he were holding a thundercloud. It even had lighting coming from it, only it was coloured red.

“Two can play this game, huh?” Celestia muttered, sending one of the fire pillars straight into the cloud. The cloud simply ate the flames like a tasty snack and grew bigger. It began to draw in the remaining solar flames, growing in size with each one it devoured. When it was the size of a small house, the Hound let it go and breathed his hellish flames at it, blowing the black cloud up into the sky. Celestia gulped, watching the cloud cautiously. The demonic dog below her now raised his sword high up into the sky, pointing it at the dark, unnatural thundercloud. A truly gigantic bolt of red lightning shot down from the cloud and struck the blade and the Hound holding it. Celestia’s first instinct was to flee before he struck her with that blade, and she did so, flying down to the tree level to land somewhere. Above her, the thundercloud dissipated, and the Hound, who now had red, electric sparks coming off himself and his sword, laughed quietly to himself.

“I really shouldn’t have gone so high on the melodrama scale,” he mused. “A small cloud would have done just the same, but it’s just so much fun to be melodramatic and scare her senseless.” Shrugging, he blinked out of existence and reappeared on the ground, right before Celestia. The alicorn came to a sudden halt and moved back higher in the sky, watching him warily, but the Hound just smirked. He swung his blade, seemingly through thin air. But just when she was wondering what he was trying to accomplish with that, the sword elongated itself dramatically with a bolt of red lightning, which struck Celestia head on.

The Sun Princess screamed in excruciating pain as red electricity coursed through her body. Her wings failed her, and she crashed into the ground, her chest wound exploding with pain from the rough impact. The Hound watched her fallen form calmly, petting his sword as if it were a dear pet.

“A little trick I have named ‘Fulminous Edge’. Do you name your attacks, your royal highness?” he asked, as if he was just meeting her out in the park on a sunny summer day. “I sometimes do. A demon lord has to do something to keep himself busy when he’s not out bringing pain and misery into the world. Though I won’t blame you for calling it childish, for I do suppose it is. Why would an attack need a name, after all, no? True, true, but you would be surprised what boredom makes a hellhound do.”

Celestia couldn’t make a witty retort, however, for she was paralyzed by the electricity. After an agonizingly long period of torture the after-effects of his attack faded and she could move again, though every muscle screamed with protest as she did so. Then all of the sudden she got a feeling that made the situation even worse. Her internal clock told her it was time to make the sun rise. Which she was in no condition to do properly. But she had to try, at the very least! Not rising the sun would mean worldwide chaos! And that was exactly what the villain wanted. So Celestia closed her eyes and concentrated.

“Ah yes, it is indeed time to make the Sun go up,” the Hound nodded, once he saw what she was doing. He glanced at his wristwatch, which appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into the void beyond the fourth wall again as soon as he stopped looking at it. He sat down casually on a fallen tree again, folded his hands together neatly and waited. “Please, do proceed and put it up, we’ll continue after that little formality.”

Celestia was surprised that he let her do it, but she had no other choice anyway. With her magic, she reached out to the Sun. Her wound burned and hindered her greatly, but she still felt it respond to her magic. Carefully, she began to raise the Sun. Slowly, but steadily the Sun began to rise. Celestia held her concentration pretty well, until a particularly strong pang of pain made her lose it for a moment. The Sun spun out of control for a split second before Celestia caught it again, but she was too exhausted to correct its course. No matter, she had to raise it. And during it all, the Hound just watched and didn’t interrupt. Finally, she had raised the Sun above what would be Equestrian horizon, and sighed in relief. The Sun could move by itself from here.

“Well then, all done?” the Hound asked casually. Celestia didn’t reply, exhausted as she was. She didn’t even notice the bloodthirsty expression that appeared on his face. “Then let us finish this, what say you?”

Before she could reply, the beast attacked. She only just got the time to raise her head when the Hound suddenly stood right before her nose, and without any hesitation he plunged his sword, brimming with shadow magic, through her chest. The blade sank into the sacred alicorn to the hilt, its tip emerging out of her body through her back again. Celestia opened her mouth but no sound left her throat, and watched in horror as the sun above her turned red. She sensed the ripple of magic before she saw it, and a blast of shadow coursed through the blade and into her body, and she felt it blast out of her via her back. The shadow struck directly into the Sun, causing its edges to start fading to black. With this dark rite complete, the Hound slowly and agonizingly, to make it as excruciatingly painful as possible, removed his blade from Celestia’s body, the Princess’ legs collapsing beneath her right away. The Hound stood before her, utter delight on his face.

“As I predicted… Victory is mine, Princess!” he roared in triumph. And Celestia, the divine ruler of Equestria, could only admit defeat. The Hound raised his blade, no doubt to deliver the finishing blow. “And now…”

He was suddenly interrupted by a blast of water, followed by a wave that nearly washed him away. Though the attack was unexpected, he managed to hold his ground and stood firm, but wasn’t prepared for something pouncing on him and driving two daggers deep into his flesh, before a firm kick in his gut sent him flying. Celestia’s vision was blurry from pain, and she couldn’t see exactly what attacked him, but she could tell it was light-blue and had roughly the same shape as the Hound. Whatever it was, it landed on two feet right next to her. In the distance, she heard the Hound get to his feet again.

“By the fangs of the Hell Wyrm, if it isn’t good old Bluefin,” she heard the Hound say, but his voice sounded as if it came from miles away. Celestia heard the newcomer say something in reply, but could no longer understand it. She couldn’t focus, and everything went black.

Back at Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna stood outside on the balcony, gazing at the Sun. She had been worried at first when the sun had set a few minutes later than usual, then incredibly relieved once she saw the first rays emerge from behind the horizon. But now, now there were no words to describe how she felt. The Moon Princess couldn’t think or act, she could only stare. She didn’t understand in the slightest, couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened to make the sight before her happen, but it didn’t matter. All she could do was stare.

Stare at the Red Sun that had partially risen above the world.

To be continued.

Crisis meetings

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 3
Crisis meetings

It was a nice, peaceful morning at Sweet Apple Acres, or so thought Applejack while lying in her bed and enjoying the last few moments before sunrise. As soon as the rooster crowed, it would be time to rise and shine, and do all the usual morning chores. Those could wait just a tiny bit longer, though, for the bed was nice, warm and soft. Five more minutes wouldn’t hurt. Speaking of which, was it just her, or the rooster was kinda late with crowing this morning?

“Nah, probably just mah imagination.” Thought Applejack. “It’s not like a rooster can oversleep... There he goes.” The earth pony smiled as she stretched herself and got out of the bed. The rooster crowed again, which was unusual. And again. AJ frowned and put on her hat. Was it just her, or the rooster sounded... panicked?

Applejack went outside to see what was wrong with the rooster, but what she saw was beyond any degree or definition of wrong she had even come across in her life.

“What in tarnation?!” The farm pony’s eyes widened like saucers as she looked upon the sky. The Sun was red! Not only that, it seemed to have shifted a bit south, rising up between Barney and Timmy rather than between Timmy and Martin (all three of which were trees, of course). And finally, the edges of the Sun were pitch black. That could only mean one thing: trouble!

Not wasting another moment, the Element of Honesty left the farm, galloping at full speed to get another Element, namely Rainbow Dash. She had no clue what in Celestia’s name was going on or why the Sun was being the way it was. It didn’t even really matter why it was that way as long as there was a way to make it stop being that way! She was out for only a few minutes in this sun light, but already she didn’t feel that good. The rays of the sun seemed way too hot, even though it was only morning, and the further she ran on, exposed to it, the more of a headache she got.

“This ain’t good... Ain’t good at all...” Applejack muttered as she reached her destination, namely Rainbow Dash’s cloud house. “DASH! DASH! WAKE UP, Y’ALL!”

“A...J...?” Came a sleepy voice from the inside, and a few moments later the fastest flyer in Equestria lazily drooped out of the window. “Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s sunrise, and the sunrise is all freaky!” Applejack explained. “Just look!”

“Wha...?” Rainbow Dash blinked, slowly turning her head to look at the Sun. “Whoa!!!”

“See? Ya’ll gotta wake up Fluttershy, and I’m gonna go get Rarity and Pinkie. Meet at the library.” The earth pony said before galloping away, not giving the sleepy pony any chance to get another word in. Though, looking at the Sun again, Dash understood the urgency of the situation.

Spreading her sleepy wings, the Element of Loyalty took flight. “Princess Celestia must be in a really bad mood today...” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Need to give her tips on pulling good pranks…”

With those thoughts, the rainbow-maned mare reached her destination – Fluttershy’s cottage. She could see that the animals that lived with her were unnerved by the Sun’s odd behaviour. “Understandable, with this heat, sheesh!” the rainbow Pegasus thought as she wiped the sweat off her brow. Dropping down to the door of the cottage, she gave it a few knocks with her hoof.

“Fluttershy! You awake yet?” Dash shouted. The door opened, seemingly on its own. The cyan pegasus was confused for a moment, until she thought of looking down. There he was, a very annoyed-looking bunny. “Angel, I need you to wake Fluttershy up at once. It’s an emergency!” In response, the white fuzzy creature angrily waved a clock around, gesturing wildly at it. “Yeah, well, I was raised at this ungodly hour too, and you should look at this!” Dash said, pointing at the Sun. She couldn’t believe she was reduced to arguing with a rabbit. Then again, this was Angel. The rabbit did freak out at the sight of the Sun, though, and immediately ran to wake Fluttershy up. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

“Angel...” Fluttershy yawned. “Aww... why you so scared...?”

“Fluttershy, no time for that, come to the library now!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Um, oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash, I... I didn’t know you were here.” Fluttershy said timidly, walking up to the door. “Um, would you like some tea?”

Her fellow pegasus facehoofed at that. “Fluttershy, there’s no time for tea. The Sun is all crazy and Applejack is gathering everyone at the library!” She dragged her fellow Pegasus outside and turned the timid pony’s head right at the sun.

Fluttershy let out a really loud gasp and said: “Oh, I... Of course! At once! Umm... but I need to tell the animals to hide... This Sun looks like it could burn them...”

Rainbow Dash was getting impatient. “Can’t they figure that out for themselves?”

“Oh, but, but I need to make sure of it! And put the little ones in their cute little beds and...” The shy pegasus rambled on.

Dash sighed. “Fine, fine! Just don’t take too long!” She said before zapping off into the skies. By now Rainbow Dash was sure Applejack would have gathered Pinkie Pie and Rarity already, the three ponies no doubt waiting impatiently and talking amongst themselves about her being late. It made the Pegasus shiver. She couldn’t be late! Rainbow Dash was never late!

“And then I was all like: ‘Oooh, the Sun is weird this morning! Maybe it’s the end of the world coming!’ And you know what that means?” The pink party pony rambled, looking at her marshmallow-white companion. “An End of the World PARTY!”

“Pinkie, darling, I don’t think the end of the world is a good cause for partying.” Rarity said, taking a fan out of her saddlebag with her magic and fanning herself. “But I’m sure this heat is going to be the end of me! Oooh...” She took the liberty of allowing herself to fall on Twilight’s couch. The two of them had just arrived at the library as per Applejack’s request, and the farm pony herself was currently upstairs, trying to wake up Spike.

“Aww, but it would have been so much fun!” Pinkie pouted, but then her face lit up again. “Say, are you hungry? ‘Cause I’m hungry. Twi won’t be mad if we raid her fridge a little, now would she? Ah, of course not. Want me to bake some cupcakes?”

“Speaking of Twilight, I thought she said she would be home by morning?” the white unicorn replied, looking around the library again, as if Twilight Sparkle would suddenly appear if she just kept looking long enough.

“She’s with the Princesses, silly, I think she just stayed for the night at the castle!” Pinkie said with a smile.

“Pity, for I’m certain she would have at least an inkling as to what’s going on with our dear Sun,” Rarity replied. “Black is just not its colour.”

Before Pinkie could reply, however, a loud “INCOMING!!!” broke the silence of the room, and Rainbow Dash came crashing through the window. The two ponies already inside winced as their pegasus friend crashed once again into Twilight’s bookshelves. Rarity looked at the heap of books and Rainbow Dash on the floor and sighed, shaking her head.

“Darling, it’s called a door, use it,” she chided.

“Heheheh... Sorry.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I didn’t wanna be late...”

“Ya’ll not late, sugarcube, and thanks to ya’ll the sleepyhead over here woke up.” Applejack said, coming downstairs with a very sleepy Spike in tow. When he saw the mess Rainbow Dash had created, he groaned.

“Oh man, not again…” the baby dragon grumbled, and he immediately set to work to clean it up before Twilight could complain.

“Alright, everypony, y’all here?” Applejack said, looking around. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“Eh, she said she was gonna warn her fuzzy friends to not go out in the red sun first,” Rainbow Dash replied, while she helped Spike to clean up.

“Huh? The Sun is red?” Spike blinked.

“YES! It’s the end of the world so we’re going to have an ‘End of the World’ party!” Pinkie Pie answered, hopping up and down excitedly.

“Uhh, I don’t think it’s the end of the world...” Spike said cautiously. “But seriously, red? I mean, I saw it change colour once, but it was slightly pink, and that what when Princess Celestia got a bad case of hay fever.” He put a claw to his chin and seemed to be thinking deeply about something. “I heard Twilight say once that the Sun is kind of an indicator of Princess Celestia’s health.”

“Umm... does it mean the Princess is sick?” Fluttershy said, quietly coming into the room.

“Uhh, I’m not sure, Twilight would know,” Spike answered with a shrug. It was then that he noticed that his caretaker wasn’t here. She hadn’t come home last night?

“Whatever caused it, it sure means trouble!” Applejack declared. “Hmm, wonder if those fancy books hold some answers.” She glanced outside, to the red sun, and shivered despite it being so hot. This sunlight would be disastrous if it kept on for much longer. Sure, it could be tolerated by a pony, but it would spell the end for her poor apple trees, and with it, the entire harvest.

“Oh, um, Pinkie is good at finding books.” Fluttershy suggested.

“Yup! I found it!” the pink bundle of mysteries replied excitedly, hopping around while balancing a thick book delicately on top of her head. When the others could finally get her to calm down enough so they could take the book, they placed it before them on the floor. The title on the cover read: ‘Everything you need to know about the End of the World!’. “The party part is on page 183!” Pinkie said helpfully. There was the sound of five jaws hitting the floor simultaneously. “What?” Pinkie asked innocently.

“Ugh, just ignore her, she’s being Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, and she pulled the book towards her, checking its table of contents. “How the world may end, Discord, Meteor Showers, Super volcanoes, Demise, Alien attacks… And a whole list of nonsense.”

“Well, do any of them mention a red sun?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash ran her hoof along the list, scanning it quickly. “Nope, no mentioning of any Red Sun anywhere.” Her eyes narrowed and she frowned, looking at the list again. “There’s a Black Sun here, though.”

“Umm, it is trimmed with black edges...” Fluttershy noted. “We should look at that...” Spike’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he heard the shy pony’s words.

“It’s BLACK?!” he exclaimed, his voice full of panic.

“Why don’t y’all look for yourself?” Applejack suggested, pointing to the window. The baby dragon whooshed past her so fast that the mare found herself spinning. Spike took one look outside, saw the Red Sun with its shades of black at the edges, and promptly began to panic.

“This is bad... It’s really, really, REALLY bad!!!” When he saw that the others were just giving him odd looks, the young dragon slapped his face with his palm. “UGH! Don’t you fillies know anything?! If the Sun’s turning black it means Princess Celestia is dying!”

Shocked silence that followed his words lasted for a whole minute, before it exploded with a flow of incoherent screams, questions, and overall panic. Even Pinkie Pie didn’t feel like throwing an end of the world party anymore. Yet the panic didn’t last for long, either, for it was interrupted by a very loud burp from Spike.

Spike immediately grabbed the letter that materialized from his green fire, and opened it up. “It’s from Princess Luna!” He looked closer at the letter. “Dear... uhh... umm... ehm...” He then looked up helplessly at the ponies. “I can’t read this.”

“What? Why not?” Pinkie Pie blinked.

“I can’t understand her handwriting.” Spike explained.

Applejack peered into the letter over his shoulder. “It’s all fancy!” She declared.

“Give me that!” Rarity exclaimed, taking the letter from Spike’s hands with her magic. “Why, of course you ruffians wouldn’t understand it, it’s the Canterlot Casual Cursive writing! Allow me to read it.” Rarity cleared her throat.

Dear Elements of Harmony,

We, Princess Luna, take pen to inform ye of matters of great importance which require your assistance. We implore ye not to panic. The situation is grave, terribly so, and haste is required. We need ye at your best, which panic shan’t give us. Read the following message attentively, we beseech ye.

As ye have no doubt noticed, a Red Sun has risen above all of Equestria, and I dare guess the rest of the world. It is a dreadful sign that something has gone astray with our beloved sister, thy Princess, Celestia. Last night, our royal capital and castle were attacked by an unknown villain. The accursed creature infiltrated our castle whilst we were tending to the fire in the city, but our sister sensed something was amiss and returned home.

There, so she told us when we saw her briefly upon our return to the castle, she confronted a figure who calls himself ‘the Hound’. The foul beast was chased off by our beloved sister, but not before he had abducted your friend, Twilight Sparkle. After informing us of these events, our sister gave chase. We have not heard of her since, but when we saw the Red Sun rise, we knew something had gone wrong. The blackened edges of the great star informed us that it had gone terribly wrong.

Our sister’s life, and by extension all of Equestria and the world, is in grave danger, this much we know. Of the fate of your friend, Twilight Sparkle, we have no clue. Ye art the Elements of Harmony, and since this is a matter that affects ye personally as well, we beseech ye to join us with great haste at Castle Canterlot, so we can hold council on our next course of action.

Our chariot should arrive not long after ye receive this letter.
We repeat: do NOT panic.

Our Royal Highness
Princess of the Moon,
Luna

Silence filled the room as Rarity finished reading the letter’s last words.

“Well... hmm... Looks like y’all were right about the Princess.” Applejack said to Spike.

Fluttershy gasped. “Someone kidnapped Twilight!”

“And we have no clue as to who did it.” Rarity said. “Pinkie, I don’t suppose you could...”

“Find another book? Nope! It’s not here.” Pinkie declared as she scanned the bookcases. “No books here on what to do in case of Twilight kidnapping.”

“I think Rarity meant something about the Hound that kidnapped her, sugarcube.” Applejack explained to the party pony.

“Oh! Well, no books on that either!” Pinkie grinned. She gasped dramatically. “That means we don’t know anything about how to get Twilight back!”

At that moment, a dramatic thunderclap followed by lightning could be heard from the outside, followed by a rather timid knock on the door. The pink pony hopped over and opened up for whoever it was that had arrived.

“Eeep! It’s Nightmare Moon’s carriage!” She squeaked before bolting back inside and hiding behind Rainbow Dash.

“We are Her Royal Highness’ Princess Luna’s carriage, if you please.” One of the stallions who drove it replied. “We’re here to collect the Elements of Harmony.”

“That’s us, alright.” Applejack nodded. “Come on, y’all, the Princess is waiting.”

“Oh, oh, but I wanna drive the Pinkiecopter!” Pinkie Pie said eagerly.

“Fine... Everypony else, let’s go.” The orange Earth Pony commanded. Spike made a move to come along, but Rarity put a hoof to his chest to stop him.

“I think it’s better if you stay here, Spike,” she said calmly. “To inform everypony who asks where we have gone. And to try and prevent global panic from breaking out.”

“...Umm... okay... Anything for you, Rarity.” The baby dragon said, giving the white unicorn a hug. “Just... just don’t let anything bad happen to you and Twilight, okay?” Rarity hugged him back gently.

“I won’t, you have my word.” Rarity said solemnly and kissed the baby dragon on the forehead. All worry was instantly forgotten as Spike’s world turned into smiles and rainbows, reflected by the huge hearts in his eyes. Satisfied, Rarity left the library and closed the door behind her, then boarded the carriage.

“Well, off we go! To Canterlot!”

Applejack glanced at the closed library and then at Rarity, grinning slightly. “Y’all sure have a way with them men, Rarity,” she said.

“Ah, it’s but a simple task for a glamorous beauty such as myself.” Rarity said, winking adorably. “Why, I could give you a few lessons on that, Applejack.”

“No, thanks. I’ve had it with fancy-shmancy folks.” Applejack shrugged. She thought back to her brief stay in Manehattan and shivered. “I’m gonna find mahself a colt that takes me for what I am.”

“Uhh, ladies, are you ready to take off?” One of the carriage ponies asked.

“Oh, um, yes, if... if it isn’t too much trouble.” Fluttershy said.

“COME ON, YOU SLOWPOKES!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the sky.

“LAST ONE TO CANTERLOT IS A SOUR CUPCAKE!” Pinkie declared before speeding off on her Pinkiecopter. Luna’s guards could only stare at the contraption and its arguably insane pilot, while Pinkie’s friends just sighed.

“Just go, boys.” Rarity ordered, and Luna’s carriage took off.

Luna was pacing around the throne room impatiently and restlessly. She had seen the right and left side of the chamber probably a thousand times by now, but she couldn’t get her hooves to stop moving. The Moon Princess was sick with worry, and every time she glanced outside to see the Red Sun and its black edges, she knew why. Over and over again she cursed herself for allowing her sister to go off on her own like that, or even letting her go at all. Then again, she had had no reason not to, for when was the last time Celestia had ever gotten into trouble? There was no foe or adversary left standing on this world that could pose a threat to her sister, so Luna had always believed. Apparently, she was wrong. Very wrong. She couldn’t be sure that it had been this ‘Hound’ that was the cause of this all, but the chances of that being the case were high. The both of them had underestimated this new foe, the youngest Princess knew that all too well. A mistake she wouldn’t make twice. There was no doubt that she would go in search for her sister now, but she would do so prepared.

At that moment, Luna heard something from outside. “PINKIE, SLOW DOWN!” A voice in the distance shouted. It sounded awfully familiar.

“I DON’T KNOW HOW! WHEEEEEE!!!” Now that voice, Luna recognised very well. She didn’t have time to ponder on it, however, for a flying contraption made of candy came crashing into the room. Though, surprisingly, the damage caused was minor, as it came through the balcony and crashed on the marble floor, rather than smashing through the window. Luna let out an inward sigh of relief. Her sister was rather fond of those windows.

“Wheeeee! That was a fun ride!” Declared the pink Element of Laughter, getting out of her ruined Pinkiecopter, but then suddenly gasped. “Oh no! Flinchy tail... twitchy ear... Princess, that window!” Pinkie pointed at the window right next to the balcony. Confused, the Moon Princess looked at the said window and saw a pony going at it at full speed! Quickly, she put up a force field to protect the window.

“INCOMING! Huh? WHOA!!!” Rainbow Dash cried as the force field bounced her back and sent her spiralling in the air. Luna glanced at Pinkie Pie.

“We thank thee, our sister cares for those windows greatly,” the Princess said.

“Tee hee. It wasn’t me, silly, it was my Pinkie sense!” The party pony giggled, taking one of the candies from her Pinkiecopter. “Care for a candy cane?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “No? More for me, I guess!” Pinkie said, devouring the sweet in one big lick. The Princess shook her head in disbelief. She would never understand some ponies.

“Pinkie, will you stop being so Pinkie Pie in front of the Princess?” Rainbow Dash said, landing properly on the balcony for once. “Ehm, sorry for the window, by the way.” She apologized. Luna recognised her now as the pony who had been zapping everyone at Night Mare Night, though they had yet to be formally introduced.

“No harm was done, the window is whole still,” Luna replied calmly.

“Yeah well, it would have been wrecked if not for the bouncy spell...” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. “Anyway, are the others here yet?” She looked around.

“No! They’re last! So they’re the sour cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie screamed excitedly. “And I was first! WHEE!”

“Ignore her, Princess, she’s just being Pinkie Pie.” Applejack instructed, entering the room with Fluttershy and Rarity, flanked by guards. Luna send those away with a flick of her hoof.

“I apologize for all of those ruffians’ misbehaving.” Rarity said.

“Oh, um, if you don’t mind, why have you gathered us?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

Luna’s horn flashed and she made five pillows appear, laying in a circle, for the Elements to be seated on. She trotted over to the centre. “Please, we, I mean, I, ask that ye be seated, for there is much to say.”

“Oooh, fluffy!” Pinkie approved, lying down and cuddling her pillow instead of sitting on it like the rest did.

“Most of ye, we… I have already been introduced to,” Luna began, nodding her head in greeting at Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Oh... Oh! Oh right, we haven’t been properly introduced!” Rarity perked up. “I am Rarity, an aspiring fashion designer.”

“And I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in Equestria and a soon-to-be Wonderbolt!” The cyan pegasus made her introduction.

“Charmed,” Luna replied, extending her hoof, though she forgot to turn off her Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Huh? I thought her name was Luna?” Pinkie Pie blinked in confusion.

“It is a figure of speech.” Rarity explained. “She is glad to meet us.”

“Oh!” A lightbulb lit above Pinkie’s head, which was promptly ignored, just like the Princess’ hoof, which she expected to be kissed. Luna sighed and lowered her hoof. Where had tradition gone, she wondered. Regardless, she had more on her mind than the lack of proper protocol. She glanced at the windows, illuminated by the red sunlight.

“We assume ye have all seen the state of the Sun?” the Princess inquired.

“We sure did.” Applejack nodded.

“Umm, Spike said it had to do with Princess Celestia’s health...” Fluttershy said worriedly.

“Twilight Sparkle’s assistant was correct,” Luna confirmed with a nod. “When my sister and I rose the Sun and the Moon for the first time, the powerful magic that tied these great celestial bodies to ourselves, in return tied us to them as well. Because of this, were any kind of harm to befall my sister and I, the celestial bodies we raise and lower would be affected likewise.” The ponies nodded, understanding that.

The Moon Princess pointed at the red-tinted windows, to the Sun outside. “It is this that all of Equestria, and the world, is witnessing now. Our sister has been harmed, and gravely so if the Sun shows shades of black.” Luna closed her eyes briefly and steeled herself. “We know not if ye are aware of it, but if the Sun starts to turn black, it signals our sister’s life is nearing its end.”

“Well, Spike sort of told us that...” Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head.

“Ah, we suppose it makes sense he would know, having lived in Canterlot as Twilight Sparkle’s assistant for so long,” Luna nodded. She looked at each of the ponies seriously. “We pray ye understand that the situation is dire indeed.”

“We do understand, Princess, even if some of us don’t act accordingly.” Rarity said, giving Pinkie Pie a look. The pink pony smiled innocently.

“What? There’s no point in being afraid! You gotta laugh your fears away!”

“Pinkie, it’s one thing to laugh at fears, but... don’t you think this situation needs to be taken a bit more seriously?” Rainbow Dash tried to give a clue. She looked at her friend intently.

“Aww... You’re no fun.” Pinkie pouted. “But hey, I’m listening!”

“Thank thee,” Luna commented, and then continued. “We have called ye all here to discuss this matter, for we require your assistance. We trust ye have read in our letter about this character that calls himself the ‘Hound’?” The ponies nodded in agreement. “We know nothing of him, aside from what our sister told us. But seeing the state of the Sun, we shan’t take any chances. We shall consider him a threat of no greater danger than Discord himself, and as of such, we require the assistance of ye, the Elements of Harmony.”

“Sure thing, Princess!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

“Umm... what do we have to do to help?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“We shan’t rest until our sister has been found and returned to us, and the Sun restored to its proper state. We intend to head out in search Celestia and Twilight Sparkle ourselves, and we would ask ye to join us on this journey,” the Princess explained. “Seeing as how the Hound, I suspect, may have injured our sister despite her vast power, we shan’t risk going alone, which is why we ask ye, the Elements of Harmony, the strongest power in the world.”

“Well, Princess Luna, you can count on us!” Applejack declared, putting her hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder. “Uh, but the fancy jewellery is somewhere in the castle.”

“But, ehm, without Twilight… ehm… the elements aren’t complete… are they?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“They will be once we find her, silly!” Pinkie Pie said something that made sense for once.

“But, oh, ehm… what if… what if we find the dog before Twilight?” the shy Pegasus insisted.

“Well... We, ahem, I can try to fill in for the Element of Magic.” The Moon Princess suggested.

“But I thought princess Celestia said you both lost your affinity to the Elements?” Rainbow Dash asked, frowning.

“I can try...” Princess Luna emphasized. “I cannot guarantee that it shall work. Yet controlling one Element without affinity to it is simpler than controlling three, let alone all six.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “Though we… I hope we can reunite the Element with its proper bearer before the occasion arises that they are needed.”

“Sounds good to me.” Applejack nodded.

“But where are we supposed to start our search?” Rarity inquired.

“I have tried to determine our dear sister’s location with a map-marking spell earlier, but alas, it failed.” Luna explained. “It is most likely that our sister is outside the borders of Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle as well. Which means, I fear, my dear subjects, that our expedition shall take us to lands beyond our homeland, where few ponies have ever wandered.”

“Ooooh! Does that mean we’ll get to be, like, explorers? Woo-hoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered excitedly.

“Thy enthusiasm is appreciated,” Luna commented. “But I fear thee will find it fading quickly. I trust ye are familiar with the Everfree Forest?”

“Well, yes? That’s where we rescued you from Nightmare Moon.” Rainbow Dash stated the obvious.

“For which we… Oh for the love of our moon, why must language change?!” The Princess could barely restrain herself from planting a hoof firmly on her face.

“Well, it sorta happens on its own...” Applejack said awkwardly.

“Umm... it’s not like you need to correct yourself... all the time, I mean...” Fluttershy smiled at her. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I mean...”

“After a thousand years, we are simply… Having difficulties to forswear traditions to which we have clung to since Equestria began,” Luna apologised. “Though we do think there are matters more dire to attend to than our difficulties to adapt. Shall we get back to the matter at hand?”

“Yes, please.” Rarity nodded.

“Very well then,” the alicorn concluded. “As we were saying… It is commendable ye are excited to explore, but ye would best temper that enthusiasm. The world beyond Equestria is much like the Everfree Forest, if not worse. Weather changes and clouds move on their own, animals are vicious. That is the norm for the outside world.” She turned towards the throne upon which her sister usually seated during the day to rule her country. Behind it was a great, beautiful tapestry depicting the unity of the two sisters. Luna’s horn glowed as she used her magic to roll the tapestry up, revealing that underneath it was a large map, engraved in stone.

“Whoa... That’s a big map.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “I didn’t even know Equestria was this big!”

“Umm, Dash... Equestria is over there.” Fluttershy noted, pointing to one section of the map marked with blue gemstones.

Rarity gasped. “You don’t mean... it’s a world map?!”

“A map of the known world,” Princess Luna corrected the unicorn. “This map covers all charted lands, but there has yet to be anypony to go beyond the borders you see here. That is uncharted territory, lands none has seen or visited yet, though they do exist. So the world is even larger than what ye see here.”

The ponies just stared at the map. Like most other ponies, they never even thought of the world beyond Equestria, so the new knowledge was a lot for them to take in. It was Fluttershy who finally broke the silence.

“Ehm… Do you know where on the map Princess Celestia and Twilight are, then, Princess?” she asked quietly.

“Not yet, but we shall find it out. At once.” Luna said, charging her horn with magic. She concentrated on the image of Celestia and the sacred holy magic of the Sun that always defined her, then directed her magic at the map. Soon enough, a yellow dot lit up, to the south of where Equestria laid. Far to the south. So far it was almost on the opposite end of the map, the land where the dot was bordering on uncharted territory.

“Oh my... Is that where Princess Celestia is?” Rarity’s eyes widened.

“So it would seem,” the Moon Princess said. She narrowed her eyes and looked at it thoughtfully. “It is too far south of Equestria… Our sister could not have crossed such a distance by wing. Magic must have been involved, though this goes beyond a mere teleportation spell, even for us alicorns.”

“Twilight would have known what it was...” Applejack said sadly.

“That we doubt,” Luna said, surprising them all. “We do not underestimate the knowledge of Twilight Sparkle, for she is indeed a gifted unicorn, but if even we cannot, not yet at the very least, comprehend what has happened for my sister to cross such distance, we doubt thy friend could.” She paused for a moment, then added, rather awkwardly. “No offence?”

“None taken, I guess... But, ah...” Applejack scratched her head.

“Twilight is not only good at magic, she’s good at studying magic.” Rarity said.

“Yeah! Like when something unknown comes up, she can find it in a book in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Then suddenly, it dawned at her. “Find... a book?”

The present Elements of Harmony looked at Pinkie Pie, who busied herself with eating the remains of her Pinkiecopter. It confused Princess Luna a great deal. Pinkie looked up curiously.

“What?”

“Princess, where do y’all keep ya fancy magic books?” Applejack asked.

“Why, in the royal library, of course,” the Princess replied.

“Take us there.” Applejack nodded.

Luna seemed uncertain about it, though. “We do not understand thy reasons, but we shall comply, fair Applejack.” Her horn flashed, and the group was promptly taken from the throne room to the library.

“Whoa...” Rainbow Dash blinked, looking around. The library halls seemed endless, and bookcases towered all around them, reaching the ceiling.

“Alright, Pinkie Pie.” Applejack asked her party-loving friend. “How’d ya reckon one can teleport a pony to the other end of the world in a blink of an eye?”

“With a portal!” Pinkie exclaimed. Princess Luna blinked a few times. Wasn’t Pinkie Pie standing right next to her just a moment ago? Then why did her voice sound... “It’s right here in this book!” The party pony said while hanging over the banisters of the second floor section of the library.

“How did she…?” Luna could only mutter, utterly at loss for words.

“Relax, Princess, she’s just being Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, flying up to where Pinkie was and taking both her and the book back down.

“Thanks, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled, and then tried to read the title: “Uh... Apple... No, Ape... uh...”

“‘Aperture Science’.” Luna read for her. “‘Thinking with portals and all things portal’. Written by Cave Coltson.”

“Eh... heheh... I’ve never been good at fancy science...” Applejack said sheepishly. Her words went unheard, however, as the Princess had already lifted the book up with her horn and started looking through it attentively.

“Cave Coltson was a prodigy at Aperture Science, and quite ahead of his time, if I remember well,” the Princess muttered. “Yet I do not believe he ever managed to create any spell akin to the one we seek…”

“Buuut it has to be there!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “My Pinkie sense doesn’t lie!”

Luna frowned. “Pinkie sense?”

“Pinkie sense!” The party pony nodded. “Like when Rainbow nearly crashed that window! I told you it was gonna be broken!”

“Yes, but… what…?” the Princess sputtered, still not understanding.

“So pleeeeease trust me?” Pinkie looked at her with huge pleading puppy dog eyes. “Just skip the parts where he gets technic-y science-y stuff! Look at the magic-y stuff!” Luna shook her head awkwardly, blinking, but proceeded to do as requested. To her surprise, Cave had written a pretty good summary of other ponies’ theories research on portals, and that was before any nonsense about portal guns came in the book. One paragraph even referred to Starswirl the Bearded. All in all, after reading through that summary, Princess Luna found herself having a clear idea of what to do next.

“Huzzah!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly at Pinkie Pie. “Thy senses were correct! It is impossible for us to create such a portal, but thanks to this book, we know of a way that we may still cross the distance.”

“Hooray!” Pinkie squealed, throwing a bunch of confetti in the air.

“So, uh, how are we gonna do that?” Applejack asked.

“We must follow the trail of our sister and find the point where she vanished,” Luna explained. “Should we find this point, we can try to attempt to replicate whatever magic was used to bring her from Equestria to so far in the south.”

“Oh, okay then.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “So when do we head out?”

“As soon as ye are prepared,” Luna answered. “We need to gather supplies for our journey, as well as more information on the land Celestia has vanished to...”

“Found it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed from the other end of the hall. Luna glanced at the other Elements of Harmony.

“Do not ask, I suppose?” she wondered aloud. The other ponies just nodded. “Then let us proceed to see what she has found, and prepare accordingly,” Luna finished, taking the book the pink pony was offering her, already having grown used to the strange abilities the bubbly Element of Laughter displayed. Sometimes, it was better just to not ask, indeed.

To be continued.

Land of all things scaled

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 4
Land of all things scaled

Celestia groaned as light reached her still closed eyes, causing a splitting headache in addition to horrible pains in her chest. Her mind was an utter mess of memories, feelings and thoughts littered all over the place, none of it coherent, and her body felt even worse. The alicorn couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so terrible, if she ever even had before. She couldn’t understand where she was or what has happened.

At that moment, she felt something cold touch her forehead. A wet cloth. At the same time she felt something touching the wound on her chest – it was cold and stung a little, hurting her, making Celestia groan again, but after that the pain lessened somewhat.

“It seems to soothe her, like you said it would,” she heard one voice say.

“Of course it does, was there ever any doubt of that?” a second voice snapped back.

Celestia tried to open her eyes, but found herself unable to do that just yet.

“Looks like she’s regaining consciousness,” the first voice noted again. With her mind a bit more clear now that the pain was mostly gone, the alicorn was able to identify it as female.

“Much too soon,” the second voice mumbled, this one male. There was something peculiar about his speech, as if he stretched out every ‘s’ with a hiss. “From such wounds one should be dead, and if not, out for a few weeks at the very least. You just brought her in last night, T.”

“Must be because of her being whatever she is,” the female replied. Celestia was intrigued by all of this, but had to pay attention to more mundane needs of her body. She heard the faint sound of gently flowing water in the background, and it made her body feel thirsty.

“W... water...” she managed to croak out.

“You heard the lady, T, go get some,” the male said.

“Don’t order me around, N,” the female snapped brusquely. “Why me?”

“You have hands. And limbs, for that matter,” came the deadpanned reply.

“You have magic.” The female argued back. “But fine.” Celestia could hear the sound of splashing as something stepped or moved in some body of water. Oh, if only she could open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they were made of lead. She could feel wet cloths touching her again, this time delicately wiping her face. Then there was the sound of something wading through water again.

“The water,” the woman said, still brusque and snappish sounding.

“Thank you.” The male said, and Celestia felt a bowl touch her lips. The alicorn eagerly drank the contents of the bowl, as if her life depended on it. Which might as well have been true. While she drank, she heard the man speak again. “You need to learn to not be so snappish, Bluefin.”

“T!” she heard the female growl.

“Including that.” The man continued calmly.

“I don’t need you berating me on how I behave, Poisonfang, so keep that forked tongue of yours behind your teeth and do your job or I swear to the Church I’ll find another healer,” the female, ‘Bluefin’ or ‘T’, as it seemed, spat.

“And you will make sure that the ‘other healer’ doesn’t report you to the lackeys of the Hound... how?”

“Please, that miserable fur heap may have done a lot of things, but infiltrating this village has yet to be one of them. I dare him to try,” the female said mockingly. The man clacked his tongue in disapproval.

“Oh, yes, because daring the one who wounded the sun herself is such a smart thing to do. Aren’t the wielders of Anthrophy supposed to be smart?” he retorted.

“Look, it’s not like I asked for it...”

“Yet you have it. Act accordingly,” the man said, sounding irritated.

Celestia groaned again, these two were worsening her headache. It didn’t help that most of their conversation went over her head, and that they seemed to talk as if she wasn’t there. The alicorn stirred, but her body refused service. She tried to pry her eyes open once more. This time it worked, and Celestia could finally see the bickering couple. And the sight shocked her greatly. She had expected ponies, maybe griffins, or, well, anything but what she saw before her.

A sleek, serpentine dragon female, with scales of the most beautiful shades of blue, with elegant fins and four legs talking to a great snake male. Now while she could get over the dragon talking – after all, most Equestrian dragons could talk – the snake caught her completely off guard. There was nothing draconic in him – in fact, he was a cobra, and almost as big as Celestia herself in size. The serpentine wasn’t much smaller, either. And unlike any dragon she had ever seen before in her life. It looked more like a serpent with four legs and fins than a dragon, to be honest.

“Oh look, she opened her eyes!” The serpentine said, pointing at her.

“Thank you, I have eyes in my skull myself,” the snake hissed. He slithered his sleek form towards the alicorn, his flat, scaled head slowly rising from the ground until it was at eye level with the Princess of the Sun. His dark blue, nearly purple, forked tongue flew out of his mouth every so often. A true snake in mind and body, Celestia thought. And yet… he could speak. “Well, her eyes are focused, that’s a relief...” He muttered to himself. She saw the grand cobra rear up higher and bend over her body, now looking at her back. “The wound caused by the eruption seems fine. You were in time, Bluefin.”

“T!”

“T,” he sighed, annoyed.

“W... where am I... and what... are you?” Celestia managed to whisper. The cobra raised what would normally be an eyebrow.

“You don’t know a snake when you see one?” he asked in disbelief.

“Not a sentient talking one...” Celestia admitted. She closed her eyes and frowned. Everything hurt, and talking to a snake didn’t help much. Everything was a blur, her thoughts were spinning and nothing coherent came out of them. The cobra patted her on the head with the tip of his tail.

“Easy there, it’s clear you do not understand the state you are in, my dear,” he said calmly and patiently. “I suggest you rest, you will need it.” And with that, he withdrew from her and slithered back towards the serpentine dragon. The cobra gave her a pointed look. “Make sure she sleeps, T. I have done all that I can for her flesh, but the impurities inflicted upon her are beyond my capabilities, you know that.”

“Yeah, well, thanks anyway, N.” The serpentine replied. Celestia found herself losing consciousness again then.

“Alrighty, it seems we have everything packed here.” Applejack said, putting on her saddlebags. “Rarity, did y’all finish redrawing the map from the wall?”

“Yes, yes, just give me a few moments. Detail is what we need, darling, and detail is what I’m trying to capture.” The white unicorn said, looking carefully at her drawing. It turned out that there wasn’t any copy of the map in the royal library that didn’t look like it could crumble to dust the moment one touched it, so they needed to make a new one. And nopony could do it better than Rarity, for whom, as a fashion designer, good drawing skills and attention to detail were a must.

“So, uh, what’s the land we’re going to again?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Princess Luna was about to answer this question, but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie. “Sauria!” The hyperactive pink pony declared. “It’s a land full of lizards! And they’re big! And all can talk! And have magic! Hey, can you imagine? If Gummy was from Sauria, he would have talked, too!”

“I still don’t really get that,” Fluttershy said timidly. “I mean… we have such darling little lizards too… but they don’t talk…”

“That, dear Fluttershy, is caused by a different magical layout in the land.” Princess Luna explained. “Our world is rich with magic and harmony, which course through land, air and sea like blood through our veins. Harmony, and the magic that is a result of it, are the lifeblood of the world in which we live. It forms and shapes the land, and those who thread upon it. So it was that in these lands, ponykind could grow into what we are today, whilst in the lands beyond Equestria, the same happened for other beings. Just think of our gryphon neighbours. They are unrelated to us, and yet share the same capabilities to learn and build as we do.”

“Makes... sense...” Rainbow Dash said, raising her eyebrow. “Come to think of it, I’ve never thought why gryphons could talk and all, while they don’t even have hooves.” After all, encountering talking sheep and cows was a simple, everyday occurrence in Equestria.

“Why, yes, in other lands having hooves or not having them has nothing to do with intelligence.” Princess Luna nodded. “Likewise, we may come across equines who are nothing more than animals in our travels.”

Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. “But how do they party then?!”

“They... don’t?” The alicorn looked at Pinkie a bit awkwardly. “Other creatures do instead.”

“No… Parties?!” the pink earth pony repeated, her eyes the size of dinner plates, her jaw somewhere on the floor. Luna could see all colour drain from the pony as the Princess’ words settled in.

“Oh, Pinkie, I’m sure there are parties.” Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder comfortingly. “But instead of pony parties, they have lizard parties! Isn’t that... fun?” Her bubbly friend looked at her for a minute, then perked up.

“Yes, of course! I wonder how lizards party? Do you think they have cupcakes? Oh they must have cupcakes! You can’t have a party without cupcakes! Should I take cupcakes with me as a gift? Then I could teach them how to have a real party with cupcakes!”

“Eh, sugarcube, it’s best if we take as little stuff as possible with us...” Applejack said. “But don’t y’all worry none. You can bake cupcakes on the spot, you know all the recipes.”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie confirmed with an eager nod.

Luna had followed the entire conversation with growing worry and she eyed the pink pony uncertainly. There was no doubt that this was the current holder of the Element of Laughter, but Luna couldn’t help but wonder if the party pony realized what she had agreed to join. This would be anything but a picnic or a fun adventure. It would be dangerous, and possibly lethally so.

Speaking of Elements, she had brought the case that held them from the tower, but had yet to hand them out to their rightful owners. She opened it reverently and called her fellow ponies around herself. “It is time we bestow upon ye thy Elements once again.”

“One moment please, I’m not finished with the drawing.” Rarity said as she checked the map over again. Squinting, she put one tiny dot in place next to a river. “There, I finished.” She smiled, folding the map carefully, and trotted over to the Princess.

“Thy work is of greatest accuracy, fair Rarity,” Luna complimented.

“Why, thank you, Princess Luna, I’ve been trying my best to convey all the details, both major and minor.” Rarity smiled at the compliment.

“We are certain it shall aid us greatly in the journey to come,” Luna nodded. Her horn glowed and she lifted out one of the Elements of Harmony. “Please accept thy Element of Generosity.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness.” Rarity bowed lightly as Luna secured the necklace around her neck. It was still the same perfect fit as it had always been. The next Element was the one of loyalty, so the Moon Princess called Rainbow Dash forward. The rainbow-maned mare made a fancy bow as well, just for the show. Luna seemed pleased by the display of proper protocol, however, and bestowed the pegasus with her element.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash grinned and once again admired how cool the lightning-bolt gem looked.

“Take good care of it,” Luna instructed. “Its power might very likely be needed.”

“I sure will, Princess!” Rainbow Dash assured her. Luna nodded, and revealed the Element of Honesty, signalling Applejack’s turn. The farm pony trotted over and tipped her hat at the Princess. If Dash and Rarity displayed fancy etiquette, so would she. It must have been a modern gesture, for the Princess looked somewhat surprised, but she understood its meaning and gave the farm pony her Element.

“Once more thou shall wield the Element of Honesty, fair Applejack.”

“It’s mah honour, Princess.” Applejack replied.

The Element that followed was none other than the element of Laughter. “Oooh! Ooh! I get my pretty necklace!” Pinkie Pie bounced up to the Princess and looked at her with shining eyes. Luna bestowed it upon her, but gave her a warning look as well.

“We hope thou understands the severity of the situation, and the danger we shall undoubtedly face?” the Princess asked.

“Sure thing! But I’m not a scaredy-cat worry-wart cowardly-pants, I’m the bravest pony in Equestria! I laugh at my fears.” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“It shall be dangerous,” Luna warned. “The chances are high we will get hurt.”

“Well, that’s okay! I’m not afraid of being hurt. I have my Pinkie sense! Oh, Twilight once got hurt real baaaad because she didn’t listen to me.” The party pony said quietly. “But we’ll be fine, promise!” She smiled so widely and sincerely Luna almost found herself believing her.

“Alright then, Pinkie Pie. Please accept thy Element of Laughter.” The Princess said.

“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie chimed.

With that said, Luna brought forth the last Element she could hand out now, the Element of Kindness, and she beckoned Fluttershy to step forward to receive it. Fluttershy did so, and smiled shyly at the Princess. She didn’t really know what she was supposed to do here, so she pretty much just stood there being shy. Luna smiled back kindly, trying to not be intimidating. Though she had been with her only briefly at Nightmare Night, the shy pegasus had still managed to give the princess a good impression.

“Kind Fluttershy, we grant thee your Element, as Equestria needs thee once more,” the Princess said.

“Umm... well... thanks?” Fluttershy said awkwardly.

Luna looked at her pensively. She did not know the Elements as well as her sister did, and thus was not aware of the other pony’s hidden inner strength. What she saw was a kind, sweet and timid pegasus, and she wondered if the girl was up for the journey ahead, and asked her so.

“Oh... um... I know it can be dangerous... but... Poor Twilight is out there all alone. She must be so scared! And Princess Celestia is hurt... I... I don’t think I can leave them alone like that...”

“Then thou shall go with us so that thou might see the both of them safe with your own eyes,” Luna decided with a smile.

“Um... Thank you, Your Highness.” Fluttershy smiled back.

With this small ceremony having been completed, the Princess of the Moon took the last of the Elements, Magic, from its resting place and put it safely in one of her saddlebags, to keep it safely with her until the time came when she could hand it to its proper wielder. She looked at the remaining Elements, now her travelling companions, trying to determine if they were ready for departure and what lay ahead. They seemed ready enough – Applejack has just finished handing them their respective saddlebags, and now the ponies were just waiting for her command.

“Just one more question, princess,” Rainbow Dash said, perking up. “If you’re not here, and Princess Celestia isn’t either, then who will do all the ruling and stuff?”

“The Prime Minister and the Council.” Luna answered simply.

“Oh, well, if that keeps things okay while we’re gone, it’s cool,” the rainbow pegasus shrugged.

“We are sure they are quite capable ponies.” Luna nodded. She fastened the straps of her own saddle bag and then looked at the rest of the company. “Very well then, are ye all ready?”

“We sure are, Princess!” Applejack confirmed with a smile. She glanced at her friends. “Isn’t that so, everypony?”

“Ready as ever!” Rainbow Dash saluted. The other ponies just nodded.

“Then we shall be on our way!” Luna declared.

When Celestia woke up for the second time, it was quiet, except for the gentle flowing of water that was permanently present in the background. Her eyes opened, and her vision was more focused this time around, allowing her to truly take in her surroundings. Which were quite peculiar, and unlike anything she had seen before. The place she currently resided in resembled a cave somewhat, but at the same time looked a house as well.

It was, in fact, a mixture of both. Long ago the place Celestia now found herself in had been flooded and submerged on the bottom of a great lake. The bottom of the lake was marked with the strange stone spires that jutted up all around, like giant stalagmites, some nearing ten metres in width. But as years passed, the water level lowered as the lake was emptied, and the stone spires now stood tall and dry in open air. When the first villagers settled here, they attentively, patiently and carefully carved out homes for themselves within the stones. A process aided by the fact that some stalagmites had already been tunnelled through or hollowed out by erosion and currents. It was such a structure Celestia now found herself in. Celestia didn’t know of it, of course, she was told that much later, and for now, she was more focused on the interior of the cave house.

She was royalty, used to the grandness of her castle in Canterlot, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the simple, natural elegance the interior possessed. The walls, though carved out of solid rock, were very smooth and carefully polished, almost shiny even. The rock was just plain old grey rock, but it had the beauty of the different natural shades and colours caught within its embrace, breaking up the monotony of the colour grey. There were even fossils of ancient sea creatures, mostly just shells, caught within the stone. It was quite peculiar. She looked up to see a wooden floor above her, indicating multiple levels to the house, reaching up to where the stalagmite became too small to hollow out further. Higher levels could only be reached by a vertical ladder that led through a round hole in the floor. It was nice wood, too. Much lighter in colour, it contrasted the grey stone perfectly and brought lighter colours into a mostly grey area.

Looking around a bit more, the alicorn saw that daylight could fall into the room through small round windows all around the wall. They had no glass in them, making the princess wonder if it didn’t rain inside. She glanced at the bed she laid in now: perfectly normal, made of wood with four legs, a soft mattress and pillow, and warm, hand-woven blankets. Letting her eyes drift further, that’s when the Sun Princess saw things become a bit more odd. The bed stood on a crescent shaped floor, which was held up by short, sturdy stone supports. Below it flowed water, for the base of the house was flooded, a foot or two deep. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the house wasn’t exactly flooded. It was that its base laid below the water level, for through the entrance of the house – a simple round hole in the wall with no door – Celestia could see a world outside that was submerged. Whoever had built this house had done so in the middle of an undeep body of water. Why anybody would want to do that was beyond her, and it looked like exiting the house could be difficult for the alicorn. Not that she was in any condition to do so just yet.

Still, it had its own appeal. The submerged floor was covered in fine, white sand, making the water look crystal clear. And all light that fell on it was reflected in that unique pattern of light only water could make on the ceiling. Speaking of which, the Princess noticed a couple of nets hanging from the ceiling, holding materials that were meant to stay dry. Why anyone would want to keep… bones was beyond her, though. There was some more furniture scattered around the room, mostly cupboards, and some niches in the walls where pots, vases and some tools were stored. No chairs or tables in sight, however.

Celestia didn’t have much more time to ponder, though, as she saw a dark shape coming – or, rather, swimming – towards the entrance. A few moments later the figure entered the house, and Celestia could see that it was in fact the serpentine female she had seen earlier. She was carrying a big sack made of fine net with her, which filled with something green. The serpentine hung the sack on a hook so that the water would flow out of it, and then looked straight at Celestia.

“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good.” The serpentine said, nodding at her. She rose up from the water, letting most of it glide off her blue scales, before climbing on the crescent floor, wiping her four feet dry with a towel.

“I... suppose that’s good indeed.” Celestia nodded back at her. “Am I correct to assume that this is your house?”

“You are,” the aquatic dragon confirmed while she busied herself with rummaging through a collection of pots in a niche, not looking at the alicorn. Her finned tail waved from left to right behind her.

“Then, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your hospitality.” Celestia smiled warmly at her. Now that Celestia could get a better look on her, she could tell she was quite a peculiar dragon. She did resemble a sea serpent, akin to the purple one that lived in the Everfree forest river, but only vaguely. She was only as big as Celestia, yet seemed fully grown. Her sky-blue scales resembled those of a snake more than those of a dragon, and she had smaller arms and legs. And finally, she had truly beautiful bright blue semi-transparent fins, one of which ran along her spine all the way from her head to the tip of her tail. On the tail itself was another fin, which was wide, elegant and semi-transparent as well. All in all, she was quite a beautiful water serpent.

“It’s nothing,” the serpentine shrugged. Her snakelike eyes looked at the ceiling, and when Celestia followed her gaze, she saw a black crystal embedded in a socket specifically designed for it. “Seems like I have to switch the Parch stone,” Celestia heard the other woman mutter to herself.

“The Parch stone?” Celestia inquired. The dragon glanced at her briefly, then returned her attention to the black crystal. She reared up on her hind legs to her full height of two metres, and plucked the stone out of its socket. The serpentine placed it on a cupboard and took another stone from inside a sealed pot. This crystal was a very light shade of blue, and was fitted into the socket on the ceiling, where it began to give off a gentle blue light.

“They absorb the water in the air, keeps it dry so the wood doesn’t rot,” the female reptile explained brusquely. “And they give some light. As they take in more water, they turn from blue to black, and once black, need to be replaced since they’re full.” She held up the black parch stone for Celestia to see. “This one I’ll toss in the fire next, to make the water it holds evaporate, and then I can use it again. Everyone has some of these.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded. “That is convenient.” There wasn’t much else she could say about it. She was curious as to how they work, if absorbing water was their natural function or if they were magically enchanted to do so, but she was no Twilight Sparkle, and didn’t want to be overly inquiring. The dragon didn’t seem very talkative either, as she said nothing more, simply took the stone and climbed up the ladder, vanishing upstairs. Celestia could hear her move on the wooden floor above her. Soon enough she came back downstairs, carrying something. What surprised the alicorn was that the dragon came down the ladder face first, and Celestia couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as she did so. The serpentine glanced at her sharply, an eyebrow raised.

“It’s nothing.” Celestia smiled peacefully.

“I would think so,” the female snapped. She set the thing she carried, which happened to be a dinner plate, down on a cupboard and walked over to the net she had hung up to dry out when she entered the house. She opened it slightly to fish out a few handfuls of green stuff. The dragon turned her head to Celestia. “You’re a horse, and horses eat clover, yes?!” It was meant to be a question, but came across more as a bark.

“Why, among other things, yes.” Celestia said, taken aback by her impoliteness. “I’m not exactly a horse, though. I’m an alicorn.”

“Alicorn, horse, all the same,” the dragon huffed. Then she paused, as if the words only now sank into her. “I thought alicorns had died out,” she then said slowly, putting some of the clover on the dinner plate she had brought.

“Not quite.” Celestia said. “I and my sister are still very much alive.”

“Then how did you escape the Hound up until now?” the female insisted, as she began to cut some mushrooms into pieces to add them to the clover for an extra taste. “I know him, he does things thoroughly. If there were alicorns here, he’d have known and killed you long before.”

“I’m not native to these lands... In fact, I was brought here only last night, by the Hound’s spell.” Celestia explained. “That was after he attacked my beautiful capital and kidnapped my favourite student.”

The dragon looked at her briefly again. “Where do you come from then?” She mixed some spices through the salad she was preparing. “The demon’s influence stretches from Sauria to the Dragonspires in the north. Almost everywhere, thus.”

“Dragonspires, you say?” Celestia pondered for a while. “If my memory serves me right, those are located to the southwest from the Gryphon Kingdoms... I come from Equestria, which is even further north.”

To her surprise, the serpentine laughed, almost like a scoff. “Please, every hatchling knows the lands beyond the Dragonspires belong to Discord, pretty much the only reason the Hound hasn’t gone further than them.”

“As a matter of fact, my sister and I have defeated Discord more than a thousand years ago.” Celestia said dryly. “Ponykind has lived peacefully and prosperously ever since under my... our rule. He managed to escape not that long ago, but was promptly defeated again.”

“Of course, of course, and the Church wasn’t destroyed,” the serpentine replied sarcastically.

Celestia glared at the serpent. “You may not believe me if you wish so...” The alicorn shrugged. “But what is this Church you speak of?”

“The Church of Light of course,” came the answer, and Celestia could see some form of sorrow in the serpent’s eyes as she spoke of it. “He destroyed it all eons ago. There’s nothing left of its great civilization.” She clenched her fist around something she wore around her neck. “Nothing at all.”

“I’ve... never heard of it...” Celestia admitted.

“Feh, few have these days,” the dragon shrugged, and she came over to the alicorn and set the plate of salad before her nose. Celestia shifted herself into a more comfortable position and began eating. It was fine clover indeed, and the mushrooms were a nice touch. Could use a few daisies, but overall, it was quite a pleasant meal.

The serpentine watched in silence. To her, this horse was certainly strange. She did have wings and a horn, which would make this equine an alicorn... that is, if T hadn’t known for a fact that they had died out. It was all very strange. First she felt the familiar presence of the Hound in the distance, together with another great power she couldn’t identify, then the sun turned red and black and when she arrived on the scene she found a winged horse that the Hound had seemed quite intent on killing. It didn’t make much sense, any of it. Especially that she claimed to have defeated Discord and to be ruling his land. The last trip to the north had only been two millennia ago or so, could so much have changed in such a little time? The serpent sighed. All this thinking wasn’t good for her brain...

She glanced outside to the red sun, still burning far too strongly above the world. She didn’t know what the Hound planned with it, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Seeing him cast the spell that did it had been truly terrifying. She wondered where exactly the alicorn fitted into it, however. The Hound had blasted shadow from her body into the sun. Why?

Suddenly, the alicorn interrupted her meal. “Looks like it’s time to set the sun...” She said quietly. The serpentine looked at her, puzzled.

“The sun hasn’t moved from where it stood since it turned red,” she said.

Celestia’s eyes widened. “Is that so?” She asked. While it took effort to raise the sun and put it down to sleep, during the day it was perfectly capable of moving on its own.

“It’s in the sky, and it’s red, but it looks like it had just risen, and it rose more to the south than normal,” the dragon explained. “I don’t know what the Hound did to cause this, but I don’t like it.”

Celestia looked at her wound sadly. She knew what caused it. The Hound’s shadow blast must have made the sun lose its momentum as well, making it stand still. Meaning it would take extra effort to move it... The divine alicorn sighed. She had to do it.

“Keep an eye on the Sun.” She told the serpent and concentrated on her magic. Soon enough, the room was filled with soothing light coming from her glowing horn. The serpentine advanced on the alicorn, her face bearing a serious expression.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” she began.

Celestia ignored her. The serpent had no right to interfere with the natural order. The alicorn had to lower the Sun, and had to do it now. Concentrating, she reached out to the now-red star. As she did so, she felt another magical presence, one that she knew all too well. Her sister was there to move the Sun as well. This was good, she would need her help. Together, the two deities reached out to the Sun and gave it a push.

“Fine, be that way and kill yourself,” the dragon snapped, turning her back to the alicorn and looking through the window outside. She didn’t know what magic this stubborn horse was trying to cook up, but N clearly told her one shouldn’t practice magic while being in such a bad condition. The serpentine sighed and looked at the Sun, but then couldn’t stifle a gasp. Had the Sun just... moved? Her eyes narrowed. It had! She turned her head to the alicorn, then to the Sun again. She gasped again when she saw the black areas of the sun expanding. The alicorn’s face twisted into a pained expression, too, but her horn glowed only stronger.

The serpentine woman could only wonder what in the blazes was going on. Was it a coincidence that the Sun moved just when this alicorn used some weird magic? It must have been, else it would imply that this equine had just moved the sun. But why did the black areas expand? She looked at the alicorn again and saw the bandages over her wounds turning red. The reptile acted immediately, but it was too late. The alicorn’s face had twisted into a shocked expression as she opened her eyes, which had gone completely white with magic. She then screamed, and a powerful force seemingly knocked her back. The rest was lost in a blinding flash of light.

The aquatic found herself sailing through the air as well, landing with a crash against the opposite wall of the bed before falling into the water below. Shaking, she got up again, to find her house a mess and the alicorn a pile of misery, her bandages now soaked red. The wounds had reopened and the female cursed. All that work for nothing! She debated whether to try to bandage her again herself or to get N right away, when suddenly it became dark outside. Putting her head outside through one of the windows, the dragon was just in time to see the moon move before the red sun. She was no expert in astronomy, but this eclipse was definitely out of place! It made absolutely no sense. It seemed as if heavens and earth had fallen into complete, total and utter chaos!

Bluefin T growled and decided to do the only sensible thing she could think of. Get Poisonfang N here as soon as possible. He was the bookworm, he could make sense of it!

“What in the blazes is going on?!” she grumbled, cursing and swearing all the while as she let her body glide into the water and swam away.

To be continued.

Setting off

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 5
Setting off

‘Then we shall be on our way!’, Luna had declared. As it turned out, some more things had to be taken care of before the group of six could truly be on their way. The Elements of Harmony had departed from Ponyville in extreme haste to respond to the summons of the Princess, but they had never expected to go out on a quest to the other end of the world to find their dying Princess and kidnapped friend. Most of them had ponies waiting back at home for them, and those that had to be informed. Luna didn’t want to waste much time anymore, so it was decided that letters would be written and sent to Spike, who would deliver them in turn.

Applejack wrote a note to Big Mac and Granny Smith telling where she had gone off to, and that they would have to run the farm on their own for a while, explaining the situation in her own simple, down-to-earth wording. Rarity did the same for Sweetie Belle and her parents, though she avoided mentioning the fact that the world could very well come to an end and that her quest would be dangerous. Fluttershy had animals back at home who needed to be taken care of, but she couldn’t write a letter to Angel. No matter how smart, the rabbit couldn’t read. So she instead wrote to Spike, to politely ask him to take care of the cute little critters. Pinkie Pie let Mr. and Mrs. Cake know, through a very strange letter that Luna couldn’t make heads or tails of, that she had gone of to lizard land to make Princess Celestia pinkie keen and teach new ponies how to party with cupcakes after they smeared a cake in the face of the meanie pants that had hurt the sun. As for Rainbow Dash, she only asked Spike to inform her boss at the Weather Factory that she was off duty for an unlimited period of time.

Princess Luna signed each of these letters herself and gave them a royal stamp and seal, to let the recipients know that the contents of the letters were the truth, and not some excuses of the five ponies to skip their chores and daily duties. Not that she thought it would be seen as such without her signature, but administration required it. Almost as soon as she finished signing the last letter, the Prime Minister came rushing in. The old stallion seemed quite relieved that the Princess hadn’t departed just yet, for he had scheduled an announcement later that day to inform the populace of the current affairs and events, and had brought the text of the aforementioned announcement to Her Highness for approval. Suffices to say it took the Moon Princess more than an hour before she was done with it, all the while wishing for the old days when the word of a Princess was absolute and if she said she’d be on her way it meant she’d be on her way with no needless paperwork. Not that the speech needed her approval, anyway, it was nearly flawless.

So when all things were said and done and they were finally ready to depart for real, the time had come to lower the Sun and raise the Moon already. After apologizing to the Elements for yet another delay, the alicorn excused herself and went to one of the many balconies of the castle. The Moon Princess felt uncertain about the whole thing. In all her years, she had never truly lowered or risen the Sun herself. Celestia and she had always stayed true to their respective celestial bodies, until of course the Sun Princess had no choice but to take up control of the Moon when Luna was banished. Celestia had experience with the Moon, Luna had none with the Sun. What made her especially nervous was the fact that the Sun had not moved all day long, meaning that it would require extra magical force to make it move before she could guide it to its resting place. That in itself would be a taxing experience, but she had to raise the moon after this as well. Nevertheless, she couldn’t let her uncertainty stop her. She closed her eyes, concentrated on her magic, and reached out to the Sun.

The now-red star responded to her call, just like the Moon always did. Yet it was a completely new experience for the Princess of the Night still. The Sun was a burning fire star, not a cold, silent planet, and Luna had to adjust to its magic.

Moments later, she felt something. Another one was present with her magic. It could only be...

“Celestia!!!” Luna called out mentally. Her sister didn’t respond. Regardless, it was a relief for the dark blue alicorn to discover some sign of life from her dearest sibling. But she forced herself to focus on the task at hoof. Celestia seemed to acknowledge her presence, at least, as she beckoned her sister to join forces. Luna responded immediately, and together, the two sisters pushed the Sun.

Pushing the Sun was no easy task. It was as draining for the mind as it would be draining for one’s body, and required extreme concentration and power. The fact that the Sun was already in a wrong position and not in its normal state didn’t help much. Regardless, the two managed to get the Sun going...

It was then that everything went wrong. The experience was similar to a failed spell, but the backlash the Moon Princess received was far greater than any other she had ever felt before. She could practically feel the evil force behind it, the taint that was now in the Sun. A dark force used her sister’s magic to keep the Sun in place. The magic Luna had gathered for her attempt exploded in a blinding flash of light and the alicorn was blown off the balcony by its force.

“Whoa...” She heard someone’s voice. She shook her head and opened her eyes, only to see herself surrounded by the concerned Elements of Harmony.

“Um... are you okay...?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Luna’s body shook while she slowly climbed back to her hooves.

“I... am fine... fair Fluttershy...” She whispered, breathing heavily. “I have verified that our dearest sister is alive... yet the villain has cursed the Sun. We cannot move it.” The Princess looked at the Sun and her worry grew, for she could see the blackened areas expanding. “The situation is even more dire than I had feared…”

“Oh my...” Rarity remarked, staring at the Sun wide-eyed.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy squeaked. “If... if the Sun won’t set... The night won’t come! And all those poor, darling little critters won’t get good sleep...”

Applejack frowned. “Not even talkin’ about mah apples and other crops.”

“It’s a disaster,” Rainbow Dash summed it up.

Luna regained her composure, and stood up proudly. “Hmph. Not if I can help it.” She said. “I am the Princess of the Night, and I assure you that the Night shall come!” She declared, accidentally switching to the Royal Canterlot Voice, making her fellow ponies cover their ears. Luna ignored it this time, though, and headed out to the balcony. An eternal day would be as much of a disaster as an eternal night, and she would have none of it. If the Sun could not lower, then she would darken it. Concentrating her magic, she reached out to the Moon, which was as comfortingly cold and obedient as ever. Slowly, carefully, she created her new masterpiece. Before her banishment, the phenomenon she was creating now was shown only on the greatest of festivities and celebration, as a sign of the unity of the royal sisters. Now she created it out of pure necessity.

A magnificent eclipse had become the new Night. Using the celestial body that corresponded to her, Luna had darkened the red sun, and prevented the birth of an eternal day. It was the best she could do for now. The Eclipse was not a true night, and her moon could not prevent all sunlight from reaching the world or cover it in the darkness of night fully, but it was much better than doing nothing at all. The only regret she had was that something so beautiful and rare would now become a common sight for as long as the Sun could not be lowered, robbing the Eclipse of its splendour. Sighing, the Moon Princess went back to her loyal subjects, the Elements of Harmony.

“We fear this shall have to suffice for the night…” she explained. “We must make haste and find our sister and restore the Sun to its proper state. The results of a Red Sun overstaying its welcome in the sky shan’t be anything short of catastrophic.”

“Indeed.” Rarity nodded, and the others agreed as well.

“So, now we depart?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It can not be delayed any longer,” Luna confirmed with a nod. “We must find the magic trail our sister left in her wake, and chase it to the place of her disappearance.” The Princess then suddenly gasped and hit her face with a hoof. “We were so distracted with worry we forgot not all of us possessed wings!”

“Oh, oh!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “That’s okay, that’s alright! I’ll be back in a jiffy!” The pink party pony said, speeding off at an amazing speed. Almost instantly the next room was filled with sounds of clanking, bonking, hammering and chainsaw noises. Luna glanced at the remaining Elements of Harmony nervously.

“Should we be worried?”

“It’s... kinda hard to tell now...” Rainbow Dash admitted, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “We must see the results...” She winced as she heard more loud hammering. Finally, the cacophony of building noises ended in an explosion, and Pinkie came dashing into the room.

“Ta-da!” She declared. Then looked around. “Oops.” She dashed back into the next room and came back with something really big covered with a white tablecloth. “Ta-da!” Pinkie repeated.

Several questions popped through Luna’s head all at once. Such as how the pink pony had made whatever it was in such a short time, how in the name of Equestria she had found all those tools they had heard her use, where she had found a tablecloth large enough to cover whatever it was she had built, how she had built it with no plan or blueprint to follow, and finally, just what the hay – she frowned at herself for using such crude language – it was that Pinkie Pie had made.

“Fillies and gentlecolts – except there are no gentlecolts, just fillies – may I present the new and improved Pinkiecopter!” With one fast move, she made the tablecloth fly off her creation. “Or, rather, it’s a Pinkieplane.” She corrected herself, giggling. Her revelation was met by six pairs of eyes popping out of their sockets, followed by six jaws hitting the floor. Even her friends, who were more or less used to her antics, realized that this time she had outdone herself.

It was clear that Pinkie had used the remains of her Pinkiecopter to make this, but it wasn’t the only thing she used. In fact, the most prominent detail of the Pinkieplane was Celestia’s flying chariot. How did Pinkie get her hooves on that, nopony knew or could ever imagine. Even so, Pinkie Pie turned it backwards – the plane’s ‘tail’ was where the driving stallions should have been harnessed, and Pinkie embedded a huge propeller on a pole into the chariot’s back. The space between the carriage and the tail was covered with tight-fitting cloth to give it a good aerodinamical shape of a gondola – Luna realized with growing dread that this cloth actually used to be a red curtain. On the tail itself was another, smaller propeller. And finally, the new contraption sported wings on its sides – made from what used to be a perfectly good dinner table and decorated with icing and candy that made them resemble gingerbread cookies.

“Alright, sugarcube, how in tarnation did ya come up with this?” Applejack demanded.

“Well! I’ve been wanting to improve my Pinkiecopter for a long time, because really, it’s chilly cold as you get high up, so I thought I could wear a coat while driving it, but hey, who wears a coat when flying? That’s just silly. And then I wanted to share the view with you, my friends, ‘cause the sky is awesome! Clouds are like cotton candy! Except, you know, white. And then I saw a flying lantern, and it hit me with an idea! One could keep safe and warm while flying! So I came up with this!” Pinkie chimed. The others tried to follow her rush of words, but mostly failed.

“That wasn’t really what I was wonderin’ about,” Applejack muttered to herself.

“You sure this thing will fly?” Rainbow Dash asked sceptically.

“I’m sure! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” The party pony performed the Pinkie Pie swear. “Or my name isn’t Pinkamena Diane Pie!” She added for extra assurance. She waved at Rarity and Applejack. “Hop aboard!”

“Ugh, I’m not going to board this fashion disaster!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Too bad, sugarcube, there’s no Twi around to make ya grow wings this time.” Applejack noted, then looked at the Pinkieplane, gulped, and got inside. Pinkie was already there, clad in a leather helmet with goggles and a white scarf. The farm pony wasn’t even going to ask where her pink friend got those. The marshmallow-white unicorn groaned again, but boarded the plane.

“Yay! Fillies and gentlecolts, captain Pinkie here, thank you for flying with Pinkamena Airlines.” The party pony chimed and pulled a lever, starting the propeller. “Off we go!” She declared, putting on her goggles. The plane sped forward towards the balcony at maximum speed, and for a moment, it seemed like it would crash into the rails, but no, the hastily built contraption actually took off and now soared through the air.

“We shan’t attempt to comprehend,” Luna whispered awkwardly, before spreading her wings and taking to the air herself.

“That’s the right course of action.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Come on, Fluttershy.” She took the still shocked pink-maned pegasus by her front leg and dragged her along in the air. After shaking off her shock and amazement, Fluttershy hesitatingly spread her own wings and flew on her own strength. Just then, the Pinkieplane I soared past, its pilot waving giddily at the winged ponies.

“I don’t believe it, Pinkie,” Applejack muttered as she glanced over the railing to the ground below. “This thing actually flies!”

“Well, duh, I Pinkie Pie swore it would!” The pink pilot replied, grinning widely.

“How do you come up with these ideas, darling?” Rarity wondered aloud, still not feeling entirely safe aboard the contraption.

“It’s like I said! A paper lantern hit me! It even lit up when it did, ‘cause it’s a bright idea!” Pinkie explained. That made little to no sense at all to the white unicorn, but Rarity wisely decided that since this was Pinkie Pie anything was possible. “Enjoy the view, fillies!” Pinkie advised, taking another turn with her plane.

“I think ya should ask the princess where ya should take this thing!” Applejack advised.

“Silly, that’s what I’m about to do!” Pinkie giggled as she flew closer to the midnight-blue alicorn. “Where to, Princess?”

Luna, who had been hovering in the air, at first didn’t react. Her horn glowed as she cast the spell that would allow her to trail her sister back to where she had vanished. Pinkie was about to ask her question again, but Rarity put her hoof over her mouth, indicating that she should wait. The Moon Princess’ eyes snapped open the following moment, a triumphant smile on her face. With another simple spell, a glowing white path of magic appeared in the air.

“Steer your contraption to the end of this line, Pinkie Pie,” Luna spoke. “That is where our destination lies.”

“Okie dokey lokey!” Pinkie saluted and did as instructed. The alicorn glanced at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, to see if they had heard the message as well. They did, and followed her closely, even though Fluttershy seemed to be a little tired.

“Hey, are you holding up, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’m... I’m fine...” The yellow pegasus smiled timidly.

“You sure? You seem a bit bushed,” the blue pegasus insisted.

“It’s... it’s okay... I just... don’t fly this far... this high... that often...” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Say no more!” Rainbow Dash grinned, and she took Fluttershy by the hoof and dragged her along as she raced towards the Pinkieplane. The self proclaimed fastest flyer in all of Equestria flew right next to it. “Rainbow Dash to Pinkieplane, do you receive me?”

“Hey yeah, I receive, what’s up?” Pinkie grinned and waved at her.

“You got room for one more passenger? We’ve got a pegasus in need of some wing rest here,” Rainbow Dash replied, returning the grin.

“Sure! Drop her right in!” Pinkie chimed.

“One extra passenger coming right up!” Rainbow Dash cheered, and before Fluttershy could protest, she dropped the shy Pegasus neatly between Rarity and Applejack. The Pinkieplane didn’t change course even slightly. It was clear that Pinkie had thought of having Fluttershy as a passenger when building it.

“Ehm, I apologise for the trouble…” the yellow Pegasus muttered quietly, looking at her hooves.

“No problem! I like having more friends around!” The pink pony smiled at her. “Isn’t flying fun! Whee!”

“Umm... I think it is...” Fluttershy said timidly, then carefully peered outside. “I like the view...”

“Well I prefer to keep mah hooves firmly on the ground,” Applejack said, still eying the Pinkieplane with some suspicion and apprehension. “But had no choice now, I suppose.”

“But the view is indeed marvellous, darling.” Rarity said, smiling gleefully. “Why, it even gave me an idea of a new ensemble for pegasi!” Then she glanced at the airplane itself and grimaced. “But next time you build one of these contraptions, do let me handle the design, alright?”

“Okie dokey lokey!” The pink pilot readily agreed. The plane continued on its way, flanked by Rainbow Dash and the Princess, following the magical trail of light.

Far away from Equestria, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Twilight Sparkle was having much less fun than her pink friend. The purple unicorn did not know for how long she had been there. It could be hours, it could be days, she had no way of knowing. She was locked up in a cage made of black stone that looked a lot like onyx, only it had red lines running all over it that glowed like magma. She had attempted to break out or teleport herself to safety, of course, but either the cage was special or the Hound had cast a spell on it, for all her attempts backfired on her, leaving her bruised and battered by her own hoof.

As for where she was, she did not know that either. It must have been the residence of the Hound, or at least a temporal one. It was a cave of sorts, but not a natural one, it had been carved, manually or magically, out of the rock, similar in appearance to a gothic, dark and even satanic temple. There could be one chamber, or there could be many more, the pony didn’t know, she had only seen the circular chamber she was in, and the entrance that looked like it lead towards a hall of sorts. It felt as if she were trapped inside a volcano, for the heat within the Hound’s lair was unbearable. In the middle of the chamber stood an obsidian throne – the most gruesome, demonic piece of furniture Twilight had ever seen. She guessed it belonged to the Hound, though she had not seen him much since he had locked her inside this cage. Statues of demonic creatures stood near the walls, four in total, one in each wind direction. Pure lava flowed from their grotesque jaws like water in a fountain, and the molten rock flowed through open canals to a circular basin that surrounded the throne.

“I... I hope Princess Celestia is alright...” She muttered to herself, while fanning herself with her hoof to try and cool off a bit. Her eyes looked around the chamber again, and she couldn’t suppress a shiver once she saw the terrifying decoration that was everywhere. There were carvings on the walls and ceiling, portraying most horrifying events and creatures. Niches had been hacked out of the walls as well, in which the Hound had found it appropriate to place skulls of slain foes, and use those as lanterns. The hollow eye sockets of the skulls, lit up by the fire burning inside, seemed to stare at her and watch her every move. Twilight shivered. Why did villains always have such a twisted sense of beauty?

“It comes with the job,” somebody said, and in the blink of an eye, the Hound suddenly sat leisurely upon his throne. Twilight nearly jumped in her cage, startled by his appearance. “Though you wound me, my little pony,” the villain continued, staring at the claws of his fingers casually. “I was quite proud of my little home.”

“Each to his own... I suppose...” Twilight said. The Hound chuckled darkly, the sound sending Twilight backing away from him as far as possible.

“Then what do you prefer, my little guest? A sweet old room in a cosy library bathing in the light of the dying sun, per chance?”

“Yes...” Twilight said automatically, then gasped loudly. “Dying sun?!”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that little detail before? I apologise, I’ve been a bad host to keep you uninformed,” the Hound replied. He put a clawed finger to his jaws in mock thought. “Now, from what point on have you been out of the loop, my dear little pony?”

“Uh... Since you... dropped me here?” The purple unicorn said, smiling awkwardly and backing away some more. Not even Nightmare Moon had given her such shivers as the beast seated there on his throne.

“Well, to keep things simple…” the demonic dog answered, folding one leg over the other and clutching his hands together and placing them on his lap, acting entirely casual. “I did a bit of magic bait here, a bit of magic bait there, and of course, the Sun took it as I expected. You played your part well, little pony.”

“You used me as bait for the Princess?!” Twilight’s eyes widened. She kind of suspected that before, but the possibility of him taking her prisoner because of her magic potential was also quite high. “But... But what does that have to do with the Sun dying...?”

“Oh yes, I was about to get to that,” the Hound said happily. “So after her royal highness came after me, I lured her to these lands through a portal I had been nice enough to leave behind for her. After that, there was a bit of a fight between us, but naturally that ended with me putting my sword through her chest. Ever since then the Sun’s looking a bit red and black, you know. Nasty heat, too. Just think of the worldwide climate changes that’ll cause, the mass starvation and extinction! Dear me, I’d say I’ve done something quite awful!”

“You... y-y-y-you did WHAT?!” Twilight nearly screamed, hoping she had misheard something. But no, what he said was crystal clear. He was not lying either – the obvious glee in his tone told of his victory.

This beggared all belief. Celestia, her mentor, the wise, kind, eternal ruler of Equestria, the Goddess of the Sun... Impaled by a sword... And the Sun itself wounded...

“I plunged the world into sheer, utter, destructive chaos,” the Hound clarified, letting out a loud, barking laugh, clearly taking great satisfaction in it all. “Oh, the Blood Sun is quite the sight, believe me, my little pony.”

“But... but... but WHY?! Why do you need chaos?” Twilight demanded.

“To get what I want, of course,” the villain replied simply.

“And... what is it you want?” The pony asked.

“Curious little filly, aren’t you?” he smirked. “What fun would it be if I revealed that already? It would spoil the surprise once the moment is there. The hour of Demise is coming, my little pony. The world as you know it shall end, and I shall inherit its ruins.” His dark grin widened as he rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation.

Twilight gulped. This was new... this villain wanted to actually destroy the world... Why would anybody want this?

“Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it?” the Hound grinned, as if he had read her thoughts, which he very well may have.

“I guess...” Twilight nodded and sighed. This was just too much... Her entire world was about to be destroyed – figuratively and literally speaking. And he was entirely calm and casual about it! Oh how she wished to get out of here... To be back home, in her Ponyville library...

“How unfortunate, you wish to leave from my generous hospitality?”

“I wouldn’t call it quite hospitable...” Twilight admitted.

“Come now, a warm cage, a nice interior and hundreds of skulls, not to mention me, to keep you company, what more could a pony ask for?” the Hound chuckled. Twilight facehoofed and sighed. He had to be sarcastic. The demonic dog sighed.

“Of all hostages to pick, I had to get the one without a sense of humour,” he growled. Yawning, the beast rose from his throne and stretched cracked his neck a few times. “But since you’ve served your purpose…” He held out his hand and summoned his sword out of thin air to it. Twilight yelped and tried to get as far from him as the cage allowed. Surely he didn’t mean to...? The Hound walked up to the cage and raised his sword. Twilight curled up in fear, preparing for certain death the blade promised. But the deathblow never came, instead the demon merely tapped the cage with his blade, and the door swung open.

“Ah great Hell Wyrm, how I love melodrama,” the monster chuckled. “Now come on out, my little pony. You’re free to go.”

Twilight peeked from her curled up position with one eye. “I... I am?”

“Well, I have no further use for you, and if I let you in there you’d starve since I have no intention of feeding you,” he replied with a shrug. “Of course, if you would rather stay in there, be my guest.”

That seemed to convince the purple unicorn, and she cautiously stepped out of the cage, as if expecting the Hound to hit her with his blade anyway. The monster did no such thing. Instead, he vanished without a trace, only to reappear seated on his throne once more. He snapped his fingers, and a hole appeared in one of the walls. Through it, Twilight could see daylight.

“Leave through there, but I fear you’ll have to find your way back to Equestria yourself,” the Hound said calmly.

“Umm.... that’s quite okay. Thanks.” Twilight gave him a forced smile. “Bye-bye!” She said and then sped off into the hole as if her life depended on it. As soon as she was through it, the hole closed behind her, and Twilight found herself in a long narrow hallway. The walls were lifeless grey, smooth and straight, and about ten metres high at the very least. The ground beneath her hooves was just as smooth, flat and grey as the walls were. But at least she could see the sky above her. She couldn’t see the Sun from her current position, the walls were too tall for that, so she couldn’t confirm what the Hound had told her. Not to mention that currently the sky was black, indicating that it was night. Still, the sky looked... different, somehow.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard something roar, not very far away. It seemed to be coming from behind her... But there was nothing but a hole in the wall behind her back, was there? She looked behind her, only to find that there was no wall there at all, instead the hall just continued on.

“Oh no...” Twilight gulped and sped away from whatever was making the roaring sound. She heard a growl behind her again. She glanced over her shoulder once more, and saw a shadow appearing on the wall at the end of the hall behind her. She couldn’t identify the creature, but she felt like she didn’t want to. She had to duck behind a wall, she had to hide somewhere! She got at the other end of the hall now, only to find that it was a crossroad, a path going in opposite directions left and right of her. Taking a lucky guess, she went left. She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, went around a corner, only to be faced with another split in the road. This time, she went right. But no matter where she went, she always just came to another fork in the road, or at times a dead end, which was even worse. And through the walls she could hear, at all times, the growling and panting of whatever was stalking her. This just wasn’t right. The Hound had trapped her in what seemed to be an enormous labyrinth!

And right on cue, the voice of her captor echoed darkly through the air and between the walls. “Oh, I forgot to mention, my dear little pony, that to get back home, you only have to escape from my little maze. Do beware of my pets, though, I think I forgot to feed them recently, so they might be on the hungry side, and probably won’t mind a bite of pony flesh.”

“Oh, so now you tell me...” The purple pony sighed.

“Well, yes, otherwise, it wouldn’t be called deceit, now would it?” the Hound laughed. Another roar sounded, very close by this time, and the purple unicorn could hear something breathing, as if it was standing right next to her. A shadow of a wolfish creature appeared on the wall, and the pony knew that the monster was right around the corner. “Run, my little pony, or meet your end. But can you find the exit, before my pets find you?”

To be continued.

Beyond the portal

The Hour of Demise

Chapter 6
Beyond the Portal

Luna trotted around nervously in circles on the ground, her horn glowing while she was studying the magic that lingered in the air. She was aware of the Elements of Harmony watching her, but for the moment paid them no heed, focussed entirely on her task of finding the remnants of the portal. It had to be somewhere past midnight now, but it was hard to tell with the night being in such an unnatural state. Following the magical trail that had led them to the place where Celestia had vanished was an easy task, and the journey had been completely uneventful.

“Uh, found anything yet, Princess?” Applejack asked. Luna was too concentrated to respond, her head moving in every direction.

“She will tell us if she does.” Rarity shrugged.

“Can’t you help her look around?” Rainbow Dash asked the unicorn.

“I’m afraid not, darling.” The fashion designer frowned. “Being a unicorn does not equal being good with magic. I’m just good at finding gems...” She sighed. “Twilight could have helped.” She then added: “Besides, I did cast a glance at the spell the Princess will have to perform in order to open this magical doorway, and to be frank, it went completely beyond me.”

“Wait, wait, wait... I thought she didn’t know the spell for making portals?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head.

“Making portals, no. Replicating someone else’s spell with exact same functions, precision and properties based on magic traces alone? Yes, we did find such a spell.” Rarity clarified.

“Just like my Pinkie Sense predicted!” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“Yeah, that thing o’ yours is mighty weird...” Applejack said quietly.

At that moment, Luna’s horn flashed brightly, and everybody turned to her.

“My little ponies, it appears that we have completed our studies.” The Moon Princess said. “We are ready to replicate the spell.” She motioned them to step back a bit. “We do not know what shall happen once we cast this spell, so we shan’t take any chances. It might be wise for ye all to stand back.”

“Um, oh, of course... if you don’t mind...” Fluttershy said, and the ponies stepped back to what they thought was a safe distance. Pleased with that, Luna set to work, closing her eyes as she concentrated her great magical prowess through her horn, casting this tricky replication spell that she had seen in the book. A small shining star appeared on the tip of her horn, and after filling it with as much condensed raw magical power as possible, Luna set it free.

The star immediately dashed into the air, as if pulled by a strong magnet. It stopped at a certain point, and then exploded into magical dust. As the dust vanished, one could see a faint outline in the sky. Then, on its own accord, the portal opened. It was as if someone cut a piece out of the air and made it swing open, revealing a large, circular and pitch black hole. Luna shivered as she brushed against it with her magic. This doorway to another land was corrupted with dark power, it unsettled her. She found it quite reminiscent of Discord’s spells and powers.

“Yay! We have a portal!” Pinkie cheered, and then declared: “All aboard the Pinkieplane!”

“Pardon me, Princess, and no offence meant, but just to make sure, you are certain that this will take us to where we want it to take us, are you not?” Rarity asked, addressing the Princess of the Night.

“The spell we used had been cast perfectly. We are positively sure that this portal indeed leads to Celestia.” Luna said. The white unicorn nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“Uh, Princess, you might wanna stop callin’ yourself ‘we’...” Applejack said a bit awkwardly, being nothing but honest. “I mean... We’re not in Canterlot where all that fancy-shmancy stuff is required, right?”

“But it is tradition to use the royal ‘we’ when addressing our subjects!” Luna replied, looking uncertain. She knew Celestia didn’t speak as such any more, and Twilight Sparkle had brought it up during the Night Mare Night as well. But it was a habit, something she was used to using for many centuries, and it was hard to let go of such things.

“Yeah, well... When you do that, it always makes me wanna ask, who’s we? Where’s the other person?” Rainbow Dash admitted. “It’s... kinda annoying.”

“The ‘we’ refers to the fact that we speak for all of Equestria and ponykind,” Luna explained, looking at her hooves nervously.

“Ehm... even when you... um... talk about something you did all on your own?” Fluttershy asked innocently.

“Only when in presence of our subjects,” came the answer.

Pinkie giggled. “Then pretend we aren’t here, silly! Hey, besides, we’re not your subjects! We’re your friends! Right, everypony?” Luna was rather taken aback by that.

“Uh, Pinkie, I’m not too sure you’re allowed say that...” Applejack said awkwardly.

“Why not?” The pink pony asked, completely clueless.

“We…” Luna paused, sighed and shook her head. “I mean… I… would be delighted and honoured to address ye as such.”

“YAAAAY!” Pinkie cheered, followed by a quiet ‘yay’ from Fluttershy.

“Wow...” Rainbow Dash blinked. “I’m actually friends with royalty!”

“We would be honoured and delighted to be your friends, too, Your Highness.” Rarity smiled.

“Please... Call us... me... Luna.” The alicorn responded. She remembered having told the citizens of Ponyville to address her as such as well, on Night Mare Night, but due to various circumstances and events, it hadn’t come to pass. Now, there was a new chance. It was both exciting and a bit frightening to the ages old winged unicorn. Friendship was a luxury rarely granted to both her and her sister. And especially for her it was unknown territory.

“Okie dokey lokey!” Pinkie cheered. “Oh, oh! I’ll definitely throw you a great party when we get back! ‘Cause making new friends is a great thing to throw a party for!”

Luna smiled awkwardly at the pink earth pony. “That sounds… fun?” she tried.

“YES!” Pinkie bounced excitedly. “My parties are the best parties in town! Not at all like that boring Grand Galloping Gala!” The Moon Princess remembered the last Gala and everything Celestia had told her about it. It hadn’t sounded that boring at all, she thought. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, got so excited that she hugged the alicorn and began bouncing around together with her. “We’ll have cupcakes, and music, and games, and a piñata, and cake, and fun, and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, and hot sauce, and my special punch, and...”

“Whoa, slow down, sugarcube!” Applejack raised her eyebrow. “Ya’ll do realize we’ll throw that party after we save Twi and Princess Celestia, right?”

Luna quickly untangled herself from Pinkie’s smothering embrace and scooted over to Applejack, trying to look innocent. “Yes, yes, indeed, which is something we should quite quickly get back to, if nopony objects…”

“Hey, that’s right! Silly me.” Pinkie giggled. “To the Pinkieplane!” She declared, waving in the said direction, and then dashed to it, jumping right inside. “Hop aboard, everypony!” Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy quickly did as requested, while Luna and Rainbow Dash spread their wings. Starting up the propeller, Pinkie quickly prepared to take flight, and then took off perfectly. With great expertise, she steered her plane straight at the passageway in the sky. Luna and Rainbow Dash followed close behind her.

It was just as the Pinkieplane began to enter through the black hole that Luna realized something was amiss. Her warning cry came too late, however. There was a flash of red light, and the next thing the Princess knew, the airplane was reduced to a million pieces that were blown all over the place, while its former passengers and pilot began falling towards the ground below. The falling ponies screamed, but thankfully, Fluttershy didn’t lose her ability to fly because of fear this time, and managed to grab Pinkie Pie while still in the air, while Luna and Rainbow Dash sped down to get Rarity and Applejack. Gently, the three of them lowered the former passengers of the plane to the ground.

“WHEE!!! This was...!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, but then looked around. “... Not... fun...” She concluded with a frown, then sniffed. “They broke my Pinkieplane!”

“Hate to break it to ya, sugarcube, but I think the plane be the least of our trouble,” Applejack said. “We could’ve been dead.”

“I...” Pinkie sniffed. “I know... But it was my very first Pinkieplane!”

“It’ll be your last.”

“Wha?! Who said that?!” Rainbow Dash demanded, spreading her wings threateningly and looking around, ready to take off any moment.

“None may pass through the gate.”

“Too bad, we’re already here.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Intruders shall perish,” the strange voice replied. Something was happening with the gate. Sparks or red electricity were flying off it, and Luna could feel that something was wrong. There was something coming their way, through the gate. There was no going back until it was there, even if they found a means to fly. Not only that, but the approaching presence felt... powerful... and disgustingly dark.

Suddenly, tendrils of darkness shot forth from the black hole in the sky, shadows rising off them like the blackest of smoke. They lunged towards the startled ponies and wrapped themselves around the six adventurers. Before they could react, the snake-like appendages had already pulled them off their feet, drawing them towards the hole. Before long, the ponies were absorbed.

Luna cursed inwardly as she paid attention to their surroundings. Or, to be precise, the lack of thereof. The ponies were surrounded by endless, empty, pitch black darkness. “We are in the emptiness between portals… And we are not alone. Be on your guard, my little ponies, there is no telling what lurks here!”

Fluttershy and Rarity shrieked and huddled closely to Pinkie Pie, who giggled, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked prepared to fight back whatever was there, and stood protectively next to their friends.

A low, long and loud moan echoed through the void, sounding like the gleeful cry of something that finally got food again after eons of starvation. All six of the ponies could feel that they were being watched or observed by… something.

“Food…”

Fluttershy shrieked again, dropping to the ground and covering her head with her hooves, shaking with fear.

“We’re not food, silly!” Pinkie giggled. “Cake is food!”

“Ponies… Pegasi…Unicorn…” the strange voice, which sounded hoarse and genderless, seemingly coming from all around them, said. “Haven’t tasted your flesh in ages… And oh… oh… Alicorn… It has been millennia since last I feasted upon you… The previous one, I had to let pass… But not you… All of you… I am allowed to feast upon… Fooood…”

Applejack gulped. “I... I don’t wanna be eaten...”

“We have to get out of here!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Eh, yeah, we will as soon as you tell me where the exit is,” Rainbow Dash replied, kindly reminding them all that they were stuck.

“You will not go…anywhere… except inside me…” the being said. There was a soft rumbling, and then the ponies could finally see something else besides each other and the emptiness. A mouth, an enormous maw, slowly opened wide. Once fully open, it was circular, set all around with row after row of enormous sharp teeth. The mouth was large enough to swallow a whole herd of ponies at once. “Food…”

Shrieks filled the air as they saw the monstrous maw and imagined themselves being ripped apart by it.

“Pull yerself together, everypony!” Applejack shouted, looking at Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie. “We ain’t gonna go down without a fight!”

“Please do tell how on earth you plan of fighting that thing, darling,” Rarity replied nervously, glancing at the gigantic maw with undisguised fear.

“AJ’s right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Aren’t we the Elements of Harmony? We have magic! We can do something!”

Luna shook her head. “There is little we can do against this… creature, my friends,” she said insistently. “Engaging this monster would only wear us down, it is best we escape. I shall attempt to teleport us all away from here…”

“Oooh, oooh... please, please do so, Luna... that is... if you don’t mind...” Fluttershy whined as she trembled from fear.

“No… You will not leave… You shall feed me, Charibdis!”

And as the words were spoken, the six ponies felt a strong sucking motion pull them towards the gaping maw, the abyss of teeth. The monstrous entity that lurked in the emptiness, known in ages past simply as Charibdis, sucked them towards itself, so that it could feed upon them, a pleasure it had not known for far too long.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. There was no way she was gonna let this thing eat her friends! Grabbing the one closest to her, Rarity, she began flying against the wind, pushing her wings to the limit to escape the maw. She felt like a fish trying to swim up against a waterfall, but did not give up. She could not let her friends down!

Driven by her determination, her necklace, the Element of Loyalty, began to glow. The lightning-shaped gem gave off a bright light that illuminated the emptiness, and a horrifying shriek came from the mouth of Charibdis. It was a howl of agony, for never before had such a bright light come within the darkness of its void, and it burned.

“Star… the accursed stars…!”

“It’s afraid of light! We can beat him!” Applejack exclaimed. Inspired by the newfound truth, her Element of Honesty began to glow as well. A second star had begun to burn brightly within the emptiness, and the ponies could feel the anger and agony of the devouring entity.

“No… No! I shan’t be denied!” it screeched, and the winds that pulled the six adventurers towards the abyss of death increased in strength.

Luna tried her best to perform the spell of teleportation, but her attention was constantly divided between preventing herself from being drawn into the maw of Charibdis, making sure none of her new friends were pulled in by the entity and marvelling at what was happening around her. Her concentration was constantly interrupted.

Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. It was Fluttershy, who somehow managed to float steadily next to her.

“You can do it, Princess... I mean, Luna.” The shy pegasus smiled warmly, assuring her. Her gemstone, the Element of Kindness, glowed brightly as well. The rays of light emerging from her necklace drove back the entity, which bellowed in frustration and powerless anger. As a final attempt to have its meal, tendrils of shadow sprang forth from within the maw of Charibdis, trying to grab the ponies once more and pull them inside its mouth to devour them.

“WHEEE!!!” Came a cry from Pinkie as she began teasing the tendrils. “Hey! Hey, catch me! Nope, you missed! Come on! Nope, missed again! Tee hee hee!” The party pony giggled, genuinely having fun playing tag. Her Element of Laughter shined like a little star. Any tendril caught within its light withered away.

Luna watched all that, and still couldn’t concentrate, despite Fluttershy’s assurance. The lights, the noise, they were so distracting... Then, all of a sudden, the Princess couldn’t hear anything, as if someone had blocked all noises. She looked around only to find Rarity, who surrounded her with a ball of magic.

“It’s okay, darling, you can concentrate now.” The unicorn smiled. She often used this spell when Sweetie Belle was just a baby to block out her crying while she was working, and still used it occasionally when she was ‘in the zone’ creating new dresses. And now she used her magic to aid Luna, despite being pulled into the abyss of death. Her Element of Generosity shed soft, warm light.

“We’ll hold the critter back for ya’ll, you just get the lot of us outta here,” Applejack added. The five floated towards each other, making some sort of battle formation, and their Elements glowed thrice as bright, reacting to each other. The lights of their elements seemed to combine, and then suddenly there was an explosion of light, the brightness flooding through the emptiness like a tidal wave, turning the blackness around them into shining, bright white.

“NOO!!!” Charibdis howled in agony, the monstrous mouth of the entity sticking out like a stain on a white tablecloth. Despite all the light, its body was still not to be seen, cloaked forever in shadows that not even the Elements of Harmony could penetrate. “The light… The light… It burns…IT BURNS!!!”

Luna finally got her concentration perfected, and teleported them all out. The emptiness between portals and its ancient, gruesome inhabitant vanished from sight, and the cries of agony from Charibdis echoing away. The only problem was that Luna had no idea where they were going. Teleporting herself, let alone five other ponies, out of a place that, in theory, didn’t truly exist was a taxing enough task on itself, not to mention the possibility that none of the laws and rules of magic she knew applied to the emptiness. But, for a moment, she could feel a glimpse of something, shining like a beacon of light, and the teleporting spell pulling them in that direction. A flash of light, and the ponies were safe.

Well, as safe as one could be about fifty feet in the air. Luna gasped and quickly teleported them again, much closer to the ground this time. They landed safely on their hooves, and the Moon Princess let out a deep sigh of relief, glad that that ordeal was over and had ended well.

“See? We actually beat this guy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly.

“Oooh, so it was a guy? I had no idea! It sounded pretty unguy-ish and ungirl-ish to me!” Pinkie Pie grinned brightly.

“I’m sure she used that as an expression, darling.” Rarity assured her, then looked around. “Hmm... I hope we’re in the right place this time...”

“We… I mean, I, doubt that Charibdis has perished,” Luna said to Rainbow Dash, before joining Rarity in looking around. Wherever they were, there was a lot of vegetation and trees, like a forest. The Princess shook her head. No, it was too dense, the temperature too warm and the air too humid to be a forest. A jungle, then? “Let us try to find out where we are. Fair Rarity, do you still have the map?”

“Of course,” Rarity replied with a smile, and she lifted the map out of her saddlebag with her telekinesis. Luna took the map with her own telekinesis, unfolded it, and began casting map-marking spells. One to show their current location, one for Celestia, and one for Twilight Sparkle. Almost instantly three dots appeared on the map: one gold, one purple and one red.

“Well, it appears we indeed landed in the right lands.” Luna smiled. Her smile faltered a bit. “Though it would also appear that my dearest sister and Twilight Sparkle are quite far removed from us.”

“So, um... where should we go?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“That depends on who we wish to reunite with first,” Luna answered.

“But they’re both really important!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“We… I know,” the Princess said. “But choices have to be made. In this unknown territory, we cannot afford to split up. There is but one map, as it is.”

“Well, which way would be faster?” The cyan pegasus asked. “They both can be in danger, we can’t waste any time!”

“I hate to say it, but I think we should go fer the Princess first. She’s kinda more important than Twilight at the moment. I mean, not to be bleak but…” Applejack spoke up, but she couldn’t finish her sentence, not liking what she had planned to say.

“But if anything happens to Twilight Sparkle, it would be a loss to us personally only. Were something to happen to ‘Tia, it would be a disaster for the entire world,” Luna finished for the farmer, who nodded.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I... I see the reason...”

Rarity, meanwhile, took a close look at the golden dot on the map. “Strange... According to the map, the Princess seems to be in the middle of a lake.” This surprised her friends, and they hurried over to see for themselves.

“It does look like a lake!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Oh, oh! Maybe the Princess went for a swim!” Pinkie suggested. “Beach parties are fun!”

Luna looked at the pink pony sharply. “Might we remind thee that our sister is very likely injured, given the state of the Sun, and thus a… beach party? ...would be the last thing on her mind.”

Pinkie frowned and lowered her head. “Yeah... I forgot...” She said quietly. Satisfied with the fact she understood that this was no light matter, Luna returned her attention to the map.

“I do not find my sister’s location strange.” She continued. “The world map is more than two thousand years old, and landscape could have changed in that time. There might be no lake there now.” It sounded logical, at the very least.

“Not only that,” Rarity added. “This small dot suggests that there is a settlement on the coast of the lake.” She then paused for a few seconds. “At least, there was.”

“Which is also logical,” Luna commented. “Living beings often settle themselves where there is water.”

“So we should head there. Okay.” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“Ehm, how long will it take us?” Fluttershy asked.

Luna took a close look at the map before answering: “We happen to be in dense jungle, thus, by my estimations... It shall take us about three days. Two if luck is on our side, but I tend to doubt it. Not only is the territory foreign to us, we have no way of knowing what awaits within the jungle, and we are not used to this climate either.”

“That’s no fun...” Applejack frowned. “I reckon we should find a good place for camp, and get some sleep.” She looked at the Princess. “How many hours till dawn? Uh, I mean, till the night’s over...”

Luna glanced up at the sky and had a thoughtful frown on her face. “A little less than five hours, by estimation.”

“Then we should definitely get some shut-eye.” Applejack nodded.

“I quite agree,” Rarity added. “I have had quite enough adventure and excitement for one night.”

“Hey, those rocks over there look kinda good.” Rainbow Dash noted, pointing to the right of them from her position in the air. “Maybe we should camp there.” The others followed the direction her hoof pointed at with their eyes. What Rainbow Dash noticed was a group of three big rocks standing right next to each other, sort of forming two sides of a triangle. They couldn’t really provide good shelter, but at least they’d be sure nothing will attack them from behind if they camped there.

“Seems as good a place as any!” Pinkie Pie said, and she hopped over. The other ponies followed. By the time they reached the stones, Pinkie was already cuddled up in her sleeping bag, snoring lightly.

“Should we make a fire?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Well, the night is warm, and fire kinda might attract animals... or enemies.” Applejack noted.

“Or keep them away,” Fluttershy argued quietly. “Most wild animals are afraid of fire…”

“Yeah, but the Hound’s cronies might find us!” The earth pony argued. “Ya think that big maw of darkness won’t come crying to its master?”

“Applejack makes a good point,” Rainbow Dash quipped. “We can fight off wild animals if needed. Besides, you can use the Stare on them, it’s no problem!”

“Oh… but… no… I couldn’t…”

“Huh? Why not?” The cyan pegasus raised her eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t want to scare them without a chance to become friends with them…” the other Pegasus answered, hiding her face behind her pink mane. Memories of the Grand Galloping Gala floated through her mind.

Applejack sighed. “Fluttershy, you won’t get a chance to become friends with them if they try to eat us.”

“Oh… ehm… I suppose that is true,” Fluttershy admitted.

“So let’s just go to sleep.” Applejack said, getting her own sleeping bag out.

“Would you mind passing me a bit to eat before that, though?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Sure thing.” Applejack said, taking an apple from her bag and tossing it to the pegasus. The winged pony handily caught it and gratefully started munching on the fruit.

“Aah, nothing beats a Sweet Apple Acre’s apple after a job well done,” the pegasus grinned.

“Yup. I’ve got dried apples too, for when the fresh ones go bad.” Applejack grinned, taking an apple herself. She looked around, trying to see if anybody else wanted one. Fluttershy had fallen asleep already, and Rarity said something about being on a diet.

“One for me, please,” Luna said hesitatingly. Applejack smiled and tossed her one as well. The alicorn caught it handily with her magic, and nibbled elegantly from it. The Princess had a questioning look on her face. “Pray tell, what is this… ‘stare’ thou mentioned?” she asked in a whisper, so as to not wake up the ponies already sleeping.

“Huh, well... Fluttershy has this ability to intimidate animals with the Stare. They tend to obey her after that...” Applejack explained. The Princess’ frown deepened.

“Dost thou mean… she stares at them… and they are intimidated?”

“Well, yeah, pretty much.” Applejack nodded. “It’s a special way of starin’.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought. “That is quite a remarkable talent,” she said, with a hint of amazement in her voice. “I do not remember hearing of this ability ever before.” The Moon Princess glanced at the sleeping Fluttershy, smiling warmly. “She is a very special pony then, indeed. One would not say by looking at her, though.”

“I think she’s plenty special.” Applejack shrugged. “All of mah friends are a plenty special bunch of ponies.”

“Every pony can be special in some shape or form,” Luna commented.

“Agreed.” The farm pony grinned. “Well, I’mma gonna get some shut-eye. Or you want me to keep watch?”

The Moon Princess shook her head. “I shall stand guard,” she offered seriously. “Ye all need your rest more than I do. As Princess of the Night, we find it hard to sleep during our time as it is.”

“Alrighty then.” Applejack nodded, getting into her sleeping bag. “Good night, Luna.”

“Pleasant dreams, fair Applejack,” the Princess replied, turning her back to the sleeping ponies and looking up at the sky. It was hard to see with the tops of so many trees hanging overhead, which would, during day, prevent almost any sunlight from reaching the forest floor. But even then, Luna could still see traces of the unnatural eclipse, and the sight worried her and wounded her heart. Where was her sister now, she wondered, and what condition was she in? What had happened to the valiant Twilight Sparkle, to whom she owed a great deal? Even she, Princess of the Night, equalled only by her own sister, had no way of knowing.

She turned her gaze away from the darkness above, and looked at the sleeping ponies behind her. She felt a small smile tug at her lips, and unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest. Elements of Harmony indeed, she thought. They barely knew her, and already counted her as one of their friends, and not just because she was their Princess, but because they wanted to. It was a touching gesture, and Luna was deeply moved. She had had so little friends, even before her banishment, and now she had so many lost years to make up for. But thanks to her sister’s love and care, and these bighearted ponies sleeping behind her, she had made a very good start. There was little more that she could wish for, aside for the safety of her sister and Twilight Sparkle, of course.

“We’ll find them…” she whispered quietly to herself, lifting her gaze up towards the heavens once more.

Celestia looked around. There was nothing but darkness surrounding her...

She heard something... A cry for help. Someone was trying to break out...

For a moment, she was confused. Who was it? What happened? And then she felt it. Her sister, she was trying to escape an empty void of darkness, but the place she tried to escape to... She must not!

“LUNA!!!”

In a surge of magical power, Celestia pulled her sister towards herself, altering the course of her teleportation. She must not land in that accursed place! Just one pull...

It worked. Celestia sighed in relief...

And woke up.

“Her horn glowed again...” A familiar voice muttered, and Celestia recognized the voice of her host.

“That’s strange.” Another voice sounded. The hiss in his speech made Celestia guess it was the cobra that tended to her earlier. “She’s clearly using magic in her sleep...” The Alicorn felt something move next to her on the bed. “And of course, it did her no good. Again.”

“Clearly suicidal, this one,” the voice of Bluefin T snorted. “I say we let her kill herself if she so desperately wants to die.”

“I wouldn’t think so...” Poisonfang N replied calmly. “You don’t have to be so blunt, I told you that already.”

“Hmph. I do what I want.” Bluefin grumbled.

“So I see,” the cobra said dryly. He rubbed his forehead with the tip of his tail and sighed. “But enough of that, did you find out anything more? I heard there was report of commotion near the edge of the jungle.”

“Yeah, well, Tweet said it was a bunch of multicoloured equines.” Bluefin shrugged. “But you know those birds and their brains, he couldn’t remember anything else.” She flipped it off as nothing, that much was clear, and the snake rolled his eyes.

“Your ignorance and lack of logic never cease to amuse me.” He shook his head. With a sigh, he pointed at Celestia. “Here we have a multicoloured horse. And you get a report of multicoloured horses. Do I have to go on, or have I humiliated you enough already?”

“What, you think they’re looking for her or something?” Bluefin raised her eyebrow.

“I doubt it’s a coincidence, at the very least, that we are suddenly flooded by equines,” the cobra answered.

The serpentine sighed. “If they want her, fine, let them take her.”

The snake copied her gesture, letting out a deep sigh of his own. “You really depress me sometimes, Bluefin. I wonder why I have so much patience with you,” he grumbled. “What is it with you lately that makes any conversation with you wind up containing more venom than I have in my fangs? Granted you never were the cheeriest Serpentine around, but ever since you made that journey to the Seal two years ago, you’ve given a whole new meaning to ‘unfriendly’. You should be glad I still want to talk to you, else you’d be all alone, given that most others have given up on you.”

Bluefin fell silent for a long time. She instinctively reached to the pendant on her neck, as if it could protect her. Then she glared at her only remaining friend. “You visit the Seal and see how cheerful you’ll be after standing in its presence.” The Serpentine gestured at the door of her house with her head. “Just listen to them all going on their daily business. As if the Hound is just a faraway nuisance, and the Church and its Adepts are a mere hatchlings’ tale.”

“T, I know you’re a descendant of a strong clan of Adepts, I know you are eager to follow their teachings, I know! But that doesn’t explain your behaviour.” Poisonfang glared at her.

Bluefin turned away, still clutching her pendant. “The Hour of Demise is coming...” She heard the cobra snort.

“Good luck trying to convince anyone of that. You can count the ones who have heard of Demise, let alone know its meaning, on one tail,” he said.

“And that’s exactly why I don’t want anything to do with them!” Bluefin cried out, hitting a wall with her fist. “Nobody believes me! For them I’m just a Serpentine with a strange power that saves their sorry tails every time one of the Hound’s cronies comes too close!”

“Can you blame them, though?” Poisonfang asked sharply, looking at her with a dark and serious gleam in his eyes. “Can you blame them for choosing denial? Can you blame them for not wanting to believe that the things you say can really happen? Our lives have been wrapped in shadow for generations by now, T. The Hound singlehandedly took cheer away from these lands. Then you come, and say it will only get worse, when life is hard enough as it is. Can you blame them?”

For a while, the room was silent. “...I guess not...” Bluefin finally whispered. She growled softly. “But it’s no excuse. Yes, things are bad already. So everybody should listen to me to prevent it from getting worse, not put their claws, feathers, tails, fins or whatever in their ears and pretend it won’t happen.”

“Easier said then done. We don’t all have your kind of power,” Poisonfang replied.

“I didn’t ask for it...” The serpentine replied, almost automatically.

“That’s not the point,” the cobra said. “The point is that you’re one of the few qualified to collide with the Hound. Only you and the ones like you can survive such an encounter, you know that, Bluefin. They cannot even take on the Hound, how do you expect them to help you prevent this Hour of Demise you dream about?”

“...I hate it when you’re right...” Bluefin growled quietly.

“Tell me something I didn’t know already,” Poisonfang laughed. Bluefin just sighed and shook her head.

“The eclipse still hasn’t passed...” She noted, looking from the window. “Aren’t they supposed to be really, really short?”

“Supposedly, yes,” the snake nodded. “But due to everything that has happened lately, I’m not even surprised anymore.” He shook his head slowly, and his eyes looked sombre. “The Hound is on the move, Bluefin. We both know it, and we both don’t like it. Something has happened, has changed… He’s been happy with tormenting these lands for the past few centuries, bringing it all under his claw at a leisurely pace. But now… You find him with this alicorn, at the same time that the Sun turns red… You dream of things I do not want to imagine… Now this unnatural eclipse. It’s too much to be coincidence, and I don’t doubt that the Hound’s had a claw in it. He’s stepped up his game. But why? And why now?”

“... You know...” Bluefin said thoughtfully. “This horse claimed she’s from Discord’s lands. That he’s been defeated. She kinda said it happened twice. And when she tried to use her magic, just before I called you, she said I had to watch the Sun. I swear I saw it move a bit, and then the Eclipse happened. I wonder if…” She trailed off and shrugged. “No way, I’m being stupid. Forget I said anything.”

The cobra just kept staring at his friend, barely believing what she said.

Bluefin saw that and shrugged again. “Like I said, forget it. Just a dumb rumour that I allowed to go to my head.”

“...Did you ask her name?” The cobra whispered.

“What?” Bluefin raised her eyebrow. “No way, even I’m not that rude.”

Her snake friend facetailed. “Saurian customs do not apply to horses...” He groaned.

“Well excuuuuuse me for being polite for once!” The serpentine sneered. “Why are you getting so worked up over her name, anyway?”

“The rumours, Bluefin, the rumours!” Poisonfang snapped back. “If we knew her name we could now at least verify if that ‘dumb rumour’ is just that, a hatchlings tale. And if not, we’d at least know why the Sun is acting up.”

“If you really want to know...” Came a hoarse, quiet voice from the bed. “I am Princess Celestia.”

The two friends turned around to face the wounded alicorn, shock etched clearly on their reptilian faces. Silence reigned for a while, and then the whole spire house shook with Bluefin’s cry.

“WHAT?!”