Machinations of a Trickster

by Deviance

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Adventure, Human, Dark, Comedy, Romance
Length: 421942

Twilight Sparkle is stuck outside of equestria, a human mage helps her back but is forced along too.

One night a human mage decides to travel into the void in search for something that has long been forbidden to him, but instead of answers he finds a purple unicorn in need of help to find her way home. However the universe has a sense of humor, and doubly so when a dark trickster god gets into the game. And so he finds himself forced into a world that is not his own, and a destiny he has little interest in fulfilling. And through all the trials he will have to face there is one question that will haunt his path, and finding the answer may be the only thing that can save him from something locked deep inside a dark corner of his mind.

What does it mean to be a trickster?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-18 05:03:34 UTC

Chapter 2: Building a bridge

Three days had passed since Twilight had entered his mind. Three days filled with nothing but study into the more obscure texts regarding ritual magic. Twilight on the other hand (or was it hoof?) had spent the time digging around in his subconscious, and every once in a while he would receive a question from her asking him to better explain whatever it was she had come across.

Fortunately he had managed to limit what kind of information she had access to, most of which consisted of information stored within his procedural memory.

“This is so amazing! You work really differently from how we do, but at the same time we also have so much in common.”

Once more his reading was disturbed by the compulsively curious unicorn. He had honestly expected more respectfulness from her considering his studies were entirely for her benefit, but it seemed she was unable to contain herself now that she was safe and out of the void.

After all, the reason she had gotten into this mess was to investigate other worlds and the creatures in them, and technically that attempt was now a success.

“I am so glad that you find my basic functions so delightful, but do I really need to remind you that if I don't get this research done you will never see your home again?" he commented with mild annoyance.

“I know, but I'm safe here with you. Besides, after all the danger I've gone trough to get here, I wouldn't want to go back without at least having done as much research as I can about this place. I don't think I'll ever attempt that spell again once I get back home.”

That last part had a distinct tone of sadness to it that the mage had learned to recognize, she was thinking of the ponies back home missing her.

He sighed deeply and put the book he'd been reading away, then rested his chin against his folded hands and gently asked.

“Do you want to talk about them little unicorn?”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle!"

“You are also a tiny unicorn. Now, do you want to talk about it?”

“Fine, but why do you ask? We've been together for almost three days now and all you've done so far is lock away most of your mind from me and tried to ignore all of my questions no matter how nicely I asked.”

The mage rubbed his forehead. He could clearly feel a headache forming from the all chatter inside his mind. Maybe he should just have kept quiet.

“Well maybe I care a little after all, and I haven't been ignoring you. I have tried to HELP you by researching ways to get you HOME. Remember that? No matter, I can feel how much you miss them and that it pains you, and since your pain is my pain, I would rather it get resolved.”

She seem surprised at his honesty. Then again considering his behaviour these last few days he couldn't have made that much of a good impression on her.

“Well all of my friends must be very worried about me. The spell was only supposed to make me go to sleep and let my mind out of Equestria...so I guess that my body is still back there sleeping. But it's been several days since then, and before that I don't know how long I was stuck in that....place.”

Without thinking the mage responded.

“It was the void. Time has no meaning in a place where time does not exist. It could have been mere seconds or thousands of years might have passed. I doubt that last one though. Loke said that you still had a body and a connection to it. Otherwise this entire endeavour is doomed to fail. And if your body is still preserved that means the time is limited to your natural life cycle – assuming that someone is taking care of all its needs. That is unless someone put you in some kind of static field allowing you to remain unaffected by time. If that's the case, then I guess there is no limit to the time that might have passed.”

It was only until after the mage said, well thought it, that he realized that maybe he wasn't comforting her as much as he believed. He felt how the presence in his mind shied away from his words and grew quiet and unmoving. After a couple of minutes of total silence he could hear her making a mental sniff.

“All my friends...gone? But I never even said goodbye before I left...”

The mage could feel that she was mere moments away from having some kind of breakdown and hastily added to his previous statement.

“ Whoa, hold on there. Yes it is possible but I really really doubt it. This whole thing is Loke's game, and he is a trickster and a rebel but no outright sadist. There would be no point to all of this if you were to return home only to find that you had lost everything. Don't worry about it. At most, a few weeks might have passed before your return.”

He heard her sniff a couple of times before she answered back in a shaky voice.

“You really think so? I didn't always have friends, and now that I do I can't imagine what life would be like without them.”

The mage leaned back in the couch. He was intrigued by how she could manage the life of a magic student and still have an active social life. Not many can do both and it's usually hard. He himself had not even tried.

“Tell me about them.”

The next few hours were spent on the couch listening to Twilight talk about her home and the ponies in it. She spoke of her early life studying and how it took a direct order from royalty and the return of an ancient threat for her to make friends. The mage chuckled a bit at that part.

She went on about her studies into the “magic of friendship” as she called it and all the threats they had faced together. From napping dragons to Discord's escape, to a more resent event where a pony named Applejack refused to return home out of shame.

It did not take long for the mage to get into the tale of Twilight's adventures, and for some reason he found them to be quite captivating. Her world certainly had its fair share of trouble, and the fact that they were responsible for the weather and the seasons was more than a little curious in his eyes, but there was more to it than just that.

Not even once did these tales lead up to an ending with death, suffering or loss. Her world had, despite its troubles, maintained a steadfast presence of  naïve innocence. Unspoiled, uncorrupted and untouched by the darker forces in the universe.

It made the mage curious about the more ... mature aspects of life and how they viewed all of that. Animals had no problem with it. They live in harmony with nature and all natural aspects of life. But Twilight and her fellow ponies were not mere animals. They were as evolved as humans in a way, even though pony evolution had gone much differently than their own.

“So little unicorn, how does the pony world view such things as mating?”

Twilight had been in the middle of telling the mage about her take on the infatuation the dragon baby she took care of had with one of her friends when he asked the question.

Total and utter silence followed.

"You still in there? Didn't scare you away did I?”

The question was rhetorical. He could still feel her presence inside his mind but she was obviously shocked, more than shocked. The feeling emanating out of her could best be described as mortified.

Finally she answered. “Why would you ask me that?” He could feel her concern. Maybe they took this subject far more personally than his kind did.

“Curiosity mainly.”

“Well, that's just not the kind of thing one pony asks another without good reason! It's personal.”

“Well, honestly little unicorn, I have been kind enough to grant you access to some of my memories and answered quite a few questions from you. I think it is your turn to indulge me now.”

“Fine, but only if you let me look into more of your memory!”

“Agreed. Now tell me.”

“Well...”

Was the unicorn's mental projection blushing? It certainly felt that way.

How adorable.

“This is so embarrassing...”

“I take it you're a virgin?”

“WHAT!? “

“You heard me. A virgin. Someone who has not yet mated with anyone.”

“That is none of your business!”

“The unicorn's never done IT, the unicorn's never done IT!”

“Stop, please stop.”

“Fine, but unless you answer my question I am going to start composing lyrics and an associated dance to it.”

“Garh, fine. Are all humans as impossible as you?”

“I like to think I have taken impossibility one step further.”

“I don't know what you mean by that but.....Well, mating to us is very personal, and usually most ponies wait a long time before they do it so they know for sure that their mate will not leave them when they have a foal.”

“So you only mate to produce offspring?”

“No, sometimes we mate when we really love someone, but most of the time it is if the pony couple wants a foal since they otherwise might get one before they are ready for it.”

“So you never mate simply for....pleasure?”

“Not that I have heard, no. Why would you do that?”

“...Because it's pleasurable.”

“Lots of things are. I don't know why anypony would do something so personal when there are so many other things they can do for pleasure.”

The mage was becoming frustrated with this turn of events. He could buy the fact that their entire world was hopelessly naïve and innocent, but he had hoped that meant they were laid back and didn't judge such things. It bothered him immensely for some reason.

“How old are you little unicorn? And is that considered old enough to be viewed as an adult where you're from?”

“I'm seventeen and yes, but that it is still pretty young in most pony's eyes.”

“Good to know. Well I guess you answered my question so hold on a second and I'll join you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You'll see, just wait a few moments.”

The mage shifted his body and pulled his legs onto the couch so that he was laying down. He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible, and once satisfied he closed his eyes and slowed his breath. After a few minutes his body had relaxed and he began counting down.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, for, three, two, one, here we go.”

**************************************************************************************************

He stood in an almost exact replica of his living room. The walls were lined with bookshelves and on the floor piles of more books and couches competed for space with each other. It was the kind of organized chaos that the mage loved, but in the middle of it all a very surprised pony stood on one of the couches before noticing the mage standing on the other side of the room.

“Where are we?” she asked looking around herself,“It looks like the room you were sitting in.”

“Yes, this is what I like to call my real home. It is an interactive projection of my subconscious. Quite handy when I want to check up on something I can't consciously remember, or for when I need to give instructions to parts of myself that are otherwise outside of my control.”

“That sounds amazing! I had no idea anypony could do this.”

“I'm no pony little unicorn. Anyway, the short version is this: each of these books represent one particular topic or subject, and within each is all of the information that I possess about it.”

“That sounds fantastic, but....isn't this room a bit small to hold everything you know? I mean there are plenty of books around but still, I thought you knew about a lot more than just this.”

“Oh, this is just the antechamber.”

“The what?”

The mage sighed. “Think of it as the entrance. Follow me.”

He spun around and promptly walked to a wall and stretched out his hand. When his hand pressed against the wall it swung open revealing a doorway leading into another room from which a pleasant golden glow shone.

“You coming?” he asked before entering.

Twilight looked at the door surprised for a moment, then jumped down from the couch and tried to reach the door without tripping over any of the book piles. It was far harder than it sounds but she eventually managed to reach the door and let out a gasp of surprise and wonder before walking through.

It was a library, but it was bigger than any library she had ever seen. Enormous bookcases stretched down hallways that looked to go on forever. Looking up she could see several additional levels each one with just as many books. At very the top of the ceiling there hung a huge chandelier giving off a light almost as bright as the sun.

After quickly closing her mouth, she turned to the mage that stood beside her smiling down with knowing eyes.

“I know how you feel. Imagine walking in to this place one day and realizing that your mind contains all of it.”

“I..I wouldn't know how to react. There's just so much.”

“I'm well aware. Now let me give you a quick tour before leaving you to roam free.”

“You mean I get to explore whatever I want in here!?!”

“No!” The tone of his voice had taken on a iron hard quality and he looked down on the unicorn with angry eyes before pointing his finger up towards the ceiling.

“The top floor is the one containing my personal memories. All I have ever felt, thought or done is stored up there. You will not come near it. If you do, I will throw you out of my mind and back into the void. Are we clear?”

After voicing his threat, Twilight could barely move or respond. She couldn't go back there, she just couldn't. She didn't even want to be inside this place if it meant there was a risk she would be sent back.

“Calm down, calm down,” the mage gently added, “I was hasty with my words. What I meant is that you are forbidden to go there. Hold on a second.”

The mage put a finger to his temple and looked to be deep in thought for a moment, before a loud clamouring could be heard high above them. He lowered his hand and smiled to her.

“There, now it's shut down tight. Feel free to read anything you can get your hands – I mean hooves – on. Anything I don't want you to read is outside of your reach now.”

“Are you sure? I don't want to do anything that you're not comfortable with.”

“I'm sure. This entire event came from your curiosity about beings outside of your world. Might as well make sure you have as much knowledge to take back with you as possible.”

A small laugh escaped him before he turned to a hallway to their right and walked towards it.

“Speaking of uncomfortable, please follow me,” he called back in an amused voice before disappearing out of sight behind a bookcase.

Twilight took a brief, longing look at the books around herself before trotting off after the mage. He was standing far down the hallway looking at her with a curious stare. The section he was standing in wasn't illuminated with the usual golden glow but was more scarlet in colour. As the unicorn came closer to where he was standing, she could hear odd music coming from all around her.

“What's this music I'm hearing?” she asked when she reached the mage, who for some reason had the largest grin she'd ever seen on his face.

“Oh, that's just Barry White. Anyway, you asked me earlier why anyone or anypony would mate just for pleasure's sake right?”

“Yes...” Twilight wasn't sure she liked where this was heading.

“Well here's the answer,” he proudly stated while indicating the book cases at his right side.

“W..what do you mean?"

“What I mean is that here you have my collected knowledge about all that is related to the art of love making, sex, mating whatever you want to call it that isn't a part of my personal memory or experience. You have most editions of the Kama Sutra, and several other works in tantra dealing with the subject. Also plenty of books from Taoists. They know what they're talking about. Also theres plenty of works from western sexologists of all kinds.”

He turned to look at the unicorn who looked to have turned into a deep shade of red instead of her usual purple, and her mouth once more hung open in shock.

“You mean that all of these books......ALL of them...deals with mating? HOW?! How can there be so many books written about it? It's ridiculous.”

“Oh trust me, this is barely a Cliff's note compared to all that is out there. We humans have made the act of mating into an art form. So...which one do you wish to read first?”

“None of them! I don't even know why you brought me here. When I did the spell to find out more about other kinds of creatures living in other worlds, I didn't want to research about their MATING habits!”

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say little unicorn, but you have no idea what you're missing.”

“And I'm fine with that. Could we please just leave now?”

“Yes let's head back. There should be a table and some cushions for you there now. I take it based on your anatomy that you don't use chairs?”

“You mean those weird constructs you sit down on? No, ponies don't have them.”

The mage merely nodded and they walked in silence back to the centre of the library. In the middle of the room right below the chandelier now stood a large table with several comfy looking cushions placed around it. Twilight gave the mage a quick look of gratitude and rushed over and sat down on one of the cushions with a satisfied look.

She looked back at the mage watching her and simply said, “Thank you.”

He shrugged in return and said. “Well, the library is now yours to explore. If you don't mind I can summon some random books dealing with things like our societies, beliefs, technology and so forth that might be interesting for you.”

“I would love that, and thank you so much for letting me do this. You've done so much for me already. I feel a little bad for not doing anything in return.”

She looked down when she said it, a tiny sad smile on her lips and those huge beautiful eyes. He'd been right the first time, she really was kinda cute.

“Don't mention it Twilight. I'm glad I can help.”

Her head twitched up and her tiny smile broke out into a huge grin as she looked him straight in the eyes and started giggling.

“What?” the mage asked confused.

“You called me Twilight. That's the first time I can remember you used my name instead of just calling me 'unicorn' or something.”

He was at first surprised with himself, but then he returned the unicorn's happy smile.

“Don't get used to it. Now, I promised you some books I believe,” he snapped his fingers and a pile of books appeared on the table.

Twilight looked at it and made a little squeal of delight as her horn began to glow, and the book at the top of the pile gently floated down and opened up before her.

The mage stood watching Twilight with the smile still on his face. After a sudden thought the smile became mischievous and he silently snapped his fingers once more, and unseen by Twilight another book was added to the bottom of the pile. It was a special modern edition of the Kama Sutra with additional information dealing with philosophy and other things that had been added since it first was created. The mage's last thought before he woke himself up was if she would have enough time to get down to the bottom of the pile before it would be time for her to leave.

   ***************************************************************************************

Three more days had passed. Three more days where the now frustrated mage had done nothing but research day and night. There were so many variables to take into consideration with something this unusual, and so far none of the books had been helpful. He had even called upon various spirits down in the laboratory in his basement, but as soon as he had explained what he wanted help with they had refused to even speak with him.

None of them wanted to take the risk of angering the great powers, even if they wouldn't help to break the rules in any direct way. All information on the subject was slim, which wasn't really that surprising since the only beings that would know about these kind of things were beings like Loke. And they didn't go around making the information available to anyone.

At least Twilight hadn't disturbed him while in the middle of his research again, he actually hadn't heard from her since he allowed her into his “inner library”. Maybe he had gone too far in that last joke with the Kama Sutra? Or maybe it managed to get her attention and she was busy exploring the adult section of the library.

The thought made him smile. He knew she wasn't but it was still an amusing thought. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a while before the reality of his situation settled in.

He would have to improvise.

It would be dangerous. Not for him, but for Twilight. He knew how to navigate the void, in theory anyway – the time when he picked up Twilight had actually been his first attempt at doing so – but she didn't need to know that.

He actually started to feel a lot better after the decision was made. No need to search trough his collection of books looking for some helpful hint or clue. No, it was time for the practical works.

He ran down into his basement feeling more and more excited as he got to his table and grabbed a few sheets of paper and a pencil. He began going over all the needed tools or symbols to direct the forces in an aligned pattern, but which at the same time would still allow him to manipulate everything in real time.

It took a while, but after hours of fervent scribbling, cursing, roaring and the occasional outcry of eureka he dropped the pencil and leaned back in his chair. Gently clutching the paper before him.

It appeared to calculate all the possible variables and how they would interact. And it did not once show any signs of disrupting his ability to control the energy streams that would take place. All the symbols needed had been identified and the ingredients for the incense located.

One problem remained though.

The ritual design so far was perfect as far as such things go. One could think of it as building a spaceship. It's structure and functioning was flawless and would also allow him to control where it went. One part of this metaphorical spaceship was missing though.

The fuel.

The ritual would allow him to separate Twilight's mind from his own and give her a temporary home in the construct the ritual would create. It would then guide itself back to her body where she would once more become whole again. But the link back to her home was dangerously thin and wouldn't work. He needed to supercharge it to the point where it would stretch across the void without faltering in its strength at any point or they wouldn't find their way.

He didn't have access to that kind of power.

Well, unless he maybe sacrificed one or two people on an altar, but he didn't really approve of that strategy ... without a really good reason.

The mage knew what he had to do, but he really didn't look forward to it. He needed to gain access to more power than he had. And he needed it from a willing source so it wouldn't just deplete itself or get cut off in the middle of the ritual.

He needed Loke.

“Damn it,” the mage muttered to himself, the god would not give his help for free and owing a favour to a god whose sphere was literally that of trickery and deceit did not conjure happy thoughts.

But he had accepted this task and he would complete it, even if he had to go to extreme levels to succeed.

He still remembered those beautiful eyes filled with so much fear yet still daring to hope, waiting for him to save or condemn.

The mage got out of the chair and went to the circle. It really wasn't necessary but it gave him an illusion of control and he needed that for the moment.

Silencing his mind he drew upon his power and called out in a summoning.

“From home of stone and cold

From a heart in need

I call upon thee

Deceiver, trickster

Cunning and sly

Oh Loke you

Of darkest machinations

Answer my calling

Answer my calling.”

The mage waited a while before calling out again louder this time.

“Loke get over here you pompous fuck!”

“Why? Your first calling didn't even rhyme and the second was just crude.”

Looking behind himself, the mage saw Loke standing there with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

“I thought I was a trickster and didn't need to play by the strictest of rules any more?”

“First of all, bending not breaking rules remember? Secondly, there is a difference with being free spirited and plain rude.”

“Fine...Uhrm. Oh great and powerful Loke thou has come in answer to my pleas. Please I beg most humbly of thee to assist me in this my most dire of hour of need.”

“Now your also making me uncomfortable. What do you want?”

“You know what I want,” the mage growled, “I need more energy than I can draw upon for the ritual. I need a second field to charge from.”

“So you called me here in a most unimaginative then rude manner and followed that by insulting me with sarcasm. All to butter me up so you can ask for my help?”

“This whole thing was your doing from the beginning Loke. Just tell me what you want in return so I can start preparing for the ritual.”

The god's face split in a grin and he slowly answered in a drawled out voice.

“When you are done the ritual, I will give you an order and you may under no circumstances disobey. Whatever I say you must do no matter what it is and no matter how much time passes. This order will stand until I release you from it.”

The mage did not like it, not one bit, but he had very little choice at the moment unless he went out and kidnapped some random people...

No, he wasn't there quite yet. Getting close though. Besides, it was in the middle of winter and the nearest town was hours away, he'd get cold and carrying bodies was heavy work.

Not that he had any experience with such things.

“Fine, I agree to your terms.”

“Excellent,” the god said in a thrilled voice, “Now I will go, simply call on me when it's time and I will be here.”

And with that the god vanished.

The mage slumped down on the cold floor in defeat and began imagining all the millions upon millions of possible things the god could order him to do. It was just too much, he needed a distraction.

He stood up and noticed his hands had started shaking. He took a deep breath and tried calming himself, then went over to the mattress in the corner. He gently lowered himself down on it and began his usual routine to relax his body.

It took twice as long as it usually did and he had to count out loud.

“....two, one, Twilight....”

    *******************************************************************************

He stood in the so called antechamber once more and quickly made his way to the wall and opened the hidden door.

When he went trough he saw Twilight sitting at the exact same spot he had left her, only this time there was a pile of books on the floor next to her and new ones on the table. She was busy reading and hadn't noticed him come in. He smiled a little at the sight of the small creature so utterly enraptured with the knowledge stored within the depths of his mind. He felt almost flattered by it.

He watched the unicorn for a few more minutes before silently walking up behind her, but he stopped himself before making her aware of his presence and smiled as he decided to play a little prank.

He took a step back and tried to look surprised.

“Oh this dream again, this is starting to get a little bit old.”

The unicorn turned around with a surprised look as well and was about to say something when the mage continued.

“Oh well might as well enjoy it. I sure have enjoyed the ones before.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?” The unicorn managed to ask before the mage walked up to her, fell on his knees and started gently stroking her face and neck.

“Oh you know exactly what I am talking about my sweet Twilight,” he chuckled and went on.

”I am quite glad that the real Twilight don't have access to my dreams. I wonder what she would say if she knew she was in them and what we are doing.”

“W..Wha...”

“Shhhh, no more talk, time to see what more you have learned about mating. You have been a quick learner so far.”

The mage said it all in a voice that almost made it sound like he was purring before he leaned in against Twilight's face as if he was about to kiss her.

The startled unicorn yelped and flung herself backwards as hard as she could and managed to knock over the table behind her in the process. All the books on it flew away in every direction but one of them managed to fall down on her head with perfect precision with an audible thud.

It was just too much.

Between the terrified hyperventilating unicorn's face and the comedic fall of books the mage just fell back clutching his stomach and howled with laughter. He laughed and laughed and tears started trickling down his face as he went on. It felt so good. He hadn't laughed like this in years and it felt wonderful. So much weight upon his heart that he hadn't even noticed simply fell off as he continued laughing.

For a brief moment he loved this terrified little unicorn for making him feel this way, it had been so long.

But nothing lasts forever and his laughter began to subside and with a final bit of giggling he sat up and looked at the victim of his joke.

She did not look pleased.

She had bitten her lower lip and her eyebrows were so tightly knit they looked as one. And her eyes, her eyes looked like they wanted to strangle him or something equally unpleasant.

He hadn't believed her capable of that before. Of course he doubted any guy, pony or human, had treated her this way before either.

“You...you....you......” The words were spat out and she seemed unable to find words for whatever she was thinking.

“What's the matter lover?” he asked with a suggestive smile.

“GARH, you are the most unbelievably selfish foal I have ever met. That wasn't funny!”

“Yes it was, and I'm sorry if you don't feel that way but I had to try it out. After all we might not see each other again after today.”

Her anger was gone like it had never been there, and she hesitantly looked at him before daring to ask.

“What do you mean? Have you...?”

“Yes, I think I have managed to make all the preparations needed for the ritual to send you home. I just came in here to get you.”

Twilight gave off a happy little scream before rushing over and hugging the mage's waist and just said, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou,” over and over again.

After enjoying that for a few moments – she was kinda cute after all – he grabbed her arms and released her hold of him. She went back on all fours and looked up at him with the most joyful eyes he had seen in his life.

Those eyes...

“Uhrm yes, well I can't guarantee that it will work. Much of the execution is something I will have to improvise but the preparations themselves are ready. So ... just tell me when you want to go."

“Oh okay, well do you think we could do it now? I don't want to be ungrateful or anything but I really want to see my friends again. They must be worried sick by now.”

“You're sure you are done with your research then?”

“Yes, I have learned much about your kind now, and I don't think I could possibly fit anything more into my head at the moment even if I tried.”

“I know the feeling. Let me just put the books back in their place and then we'll begin the ritual.”

“Mhm.”

The mage went over to the table and snapped his finger and it disappeared, then he began going over to the books spread out around the floor and looked at each one before snapping his finger and they went back to their rightful place.

He didn't need to do this, he could have just snapped his fingers and everything would have gone back to its original place.

But he wanted to see what books she had read.

Mostly it was just information on society, religion, philosophy, technology, language, history and some geography. But there were some unique books, one on behavioural psychology, one on martial arts traditions and even one called “Fishing”. The last one was thin. The mage did not know very much about fishing beyond the basics.

But there was one book that gave him pause and made him smile in delight. It was the Kama Sutra he had left at the bottom of the pile last time. The books weren't really books but stores of information, and he could feel that this one had been opened and read from front to cover.

He contained his mirth as well as he could. Her curiosity had won out in the end as he had hoped.

He silently laughed to himself as he realized he would be sending Twilight back with knowledge definitely a little more mature than what would be the norm for her world. Maybe it would even inspire a few ideas for her. It seemed the trickster in him was starting to take shape after all.

He had seen enough and simply snapped his fingers and all the remaining books vanished and he went over to the eagerly waiting Twilight.

“So, did you enjoy all the books you read?”

“Oh yes I definitely did. I had no idea there were so many different areas in which humans had done research.”

“Oh yes. Some of the research done can be quite graphic in their explanation.”

Was that a faint blush he saw? He hoped it was.

He stretched out his hand and looked at the unicorn expectantly. She understood and put her hoof in his hand and they both returned to his consciousness.

******************************************************************************

The mage woke up and for once his head felt without strain, maybe it was all that laughing but he couldn't help but feel good. He had been enjoying his time spent with Twilight and he would now help her return to her home. He was doing something good and that felt ... good.

How curious.

“Hello, you in there Twilight?”

“I'm here. Do you think this will really work?”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“I hope you're right.”

“Getting tired of spending time in my head are you?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know ... I will miss you, I think.”

“You THINK you'll miss me?”

“Fine, I WILL miss you, happy?”

“Yes, I'll miss you too ... You haven't even told me your name.”

“I know, and I wont.”

“Why?”

“Never mind that. Ready to go home?”

“Yes,” she answered but he could feel how his refusal to tell her his name had given the goodbye a sour tone.

“Very well, I will begin the ritual now. You can under no circumstances distract me so if you want to say anything before leaving do it now.”

“Okay, I just want to say ... Thank you.”

The mage didn't answer it. All that could be said had been said. All that remained now was to get on with it. He wasn't angry, he was doing the right thing by sending her home. She wanted to go home.

He wasn't angry.

He took a deep breath and prepared for the ritual. He drew some symbols with chalk, others with salt and some he drew with some kind of sticky liquid that locked disturbingly similar to preserved blood. He went over to a brazier and lit it before throwing in various herbs and waiting for the smell of the incense to fill the basement.

Preparations complete, now for the extra juice he needed.

“Loke it's time,” he simple said in a normal conversation tone.

“Well then let's get started.”

The mage didn't flinch when he heard the voice come from right behind him. He simply nodded and fetched a drum standing on the table laden with tools before going over to the ritual area he had created. He sat down cross legged in the middle of all the symbols, then took a deep breath before he grabbed the drum and began beating it.

It was a steady rhythm, two hits each aligned with the beating of his heart.

Soon enough he could feel the drum and heart synchronize and he began beating faster and faster, feeling his pulse following his tempo. He began a rhythmic chant and his energy began building. He knew he could sit here and continue for days and it still wouldn't be enough to send Twilight over, but then another voice joined in the chant.

Loke stood unimpressed and looked at the mage slowly falling into a trance with an eyebrow raised, his mouth was closed but a chant echoed out of him anyway.

Soon the mage could feel how Loke's chanting opened up a doorway from which the mage could draw all the necessary power to complete the ritual.

With a final bang on the drum the mage shouted and a huge torrent of pure undiluted energy, energy from a being that had walked alongside and played with humans for centuries crashed into him. But the ritual held and the power was directed by its careful design. With one satisfied smirk, the mage allowed himself to be swept up by the torrent and fell unconscious.

Loke could feel that power was still being drawn from him through a rainbow coloured cord that led into the unconscious mage's body then out again leading to the unicorn's.

He went over to the slumped body with its missing mind and smiled to himself.

He had been waiting for this.

As the god placed his hands on the body it exploded into a miasma of colors and a blast of power spread out from it in all directions.

After a few moments the body was gone and all left was a cloud of energy hanging in the air, slowly decreasing in size as its power was drawn into a rainbow hued cord leading away from it once more. But this time, no cord existed between the god and cloud of energy that had but moments ago been the mage's body.

The god was pleased and with a quick bow to an unseen audience he disappeared.

In a small town, two hours walk from the solitary mage's home, an old man was sitting in a bar enjoying a fine glass of whiskey.

His enjoyment was cut short as he felt a wave of energy pass over him and promptly the power in the bar went out, quickly followed by annoyed cries of “Hey!” or “What the hell!”

The old man himself remained quiet, and after a brief moment of thought he emptied his glass and walked out of the bar. He looked around outside and saw that the entire town had lost all power and was dark. Looking up at the sky the moon was full and not a cloud in sky.

“It will have to do,”the old man thought and began heading north. He needed to check up on a sneaking suspicion he had.

What has my stupid apprentice gotten himself into now?”

****************************************************************************************

The mage was soaring at an unbelievable speed, he could feel Twilight still connected to him but they were now of separate minds. What joined them now was the ritual itself and nothing more.

He wasn't supposed to follow her all the way home but it seemed the power had been too strong and he was now going alongside her.

It did not matter though. He could find his own way back home to his body.

The power that had gone into strengthening Twilight's cord was amazing. With it he could easily have destroyed a medium sized city or made an entire forest bloom in the middle of the winter.

But just as he was thinking about that the power went out, and for the briefest of moments there was no power being channelled into the cord. He felt panic begin to form but it didn't have time to appear fully before power flowed into the cord  again, directing the route they were following.

Was it just him or did the energy feel different now?

Didn't matter, he could feel they were nearing the end. All around him the void stretched in all directions but for a rainbow colored line of energy leading towards Twilight's world.

He could feel it coming closer.

There were no visual indications but he knew they would soon be there. He started the preparations to separate himself completely from the unicorn and throw her back into her own world. He would remain here in the void and return home following the cord that stretched between his and her body.

Just as he felt how they were in the right place and was about to send Twilight away at last, the cord snapped.

Not from Twilights body but from his!

“No! This can't happen!” he screamed before he realized that he was in worse trouble then he first thought.

The cord that had stretched between his and Twilight's body had needed to be massive and strong to guide him all the way trough unknown territory, if one needed to put this in physical terms one could imagine it as a giant bungee cord. The more power, the more taut the cord was.

There had been a lot of power in this one.

Before the mage could think of something, the collective power from the entire cord he had already passed slammed into him and sent him spiralling down what was left of it.

Which led him straight towards Twilight's body.

Twilight herself was panicking. She could feel something was wrong but didn't understand it.

The mage could see how they moved up trough different dimensions, as if someone had taken several sheets of paper and was now flipping them over until they hit the right one and went into it. Feeling dread course over him the mage tried to separate himself from Twilight, unless he did he would be the one following Twilight into her body, and there was no chance she had the skill to do what he had done for her.

With one final effort he felt himself break free, and the most curious sensation of falling into all directions at once came over him.

All the power from the cord they had left behind coursed into him. At least Twilight had managed to make it back home, the remainder of the cord that was still attached to her body would prove easy enough to follow.

She would be fine.

The mage couldn't see anything, but he started to gain more and more sensations as the energy of the broken cord flooded into him.

He felt it was nearing its end, and he would soon have absorbed all traces of it.

This wasn't supposed to have happened. What had gone wrong?

As the last remainder of the cord seeped into him, it felt like something had pushed him and he was now only falling in one direction instead of several.

It felt like downwards.

But with that last sensation came the distant echo of a laugh and the flashing image of someone taking a bow.

As the mage felt himself becoming more and more solid he managed to give one angry cry before everything went dark.

"LOKE!"

Chapter 3: A brave new world

That was quite a pleasant smell.

Maybe it was a stupid thing to notice, but really didn't have much of a choice at the moment. He still remembered everything that had happened with perfect clarity, and he really wished he didn't.

He kept his eyes closed so he wouldn't have to look around and see. His mouth was tightly drawn and his entire body was numb. As for his ears, well there was a distant buzzing in them but otherwise they seemed to be just as out of order as the rest of his senses.

Except for his nose apparently.

That smell was too strong to ignore, which was strange because it wasn't that strong by itself. It was more like it came from all around him. Like every part of his so far unknown surroundings was overflowing with it. It made it impossible for him to simply ignore everything that had happened and pretend he was back home asleep in his basement.

His basement didn't smell this nice.

He had no idea how long he had spent this way, laying there ignoring everything but that annoying, probably health friendly smell. But he was fighting a losing battle. Gradually, he felt sensation return to his body. The buzzing in his ears receded and he felt how his mouth was filled with saliva. Even his damn eyes were telling him that something very bright was shining on his eyelids.

His fingers twitched, and he breathed in through his nose which only made the smell double in strength. His brain was quick to tell him how nice it was and that he should continue doing it. Stabbed in the back by his own brain. This was just going terrific.

He expelled the breath and started feeling around with his fingers. There was definitely something around him on the ground.

It felt dry and brittle and crumbled at his touch.

He sat up without opening his eyes and turned his head, then spat out the mouthful of saliva before taking a few quick breaths and holding the last one as he tensed up and opened his eyes.

He was in the middle of a forest. The world was bright as a golden sunlight fell on the nature around him, bathing it in a warm glow and giving it a very idyllic appearance. He could see squirrels scurrying up a far away tree, and birds of all kinds were singing happily around him.

He threw up in his mouth a little.

Spitting out the sour phlegm, he forced his stupidly smiling face into a sour scowl and got up from the ground. Looking down around him, he noticed something very strange though. In a perfect circle around him all of the grass had died and was now a deathly white colour that fell apart into dust as he moved his feet around.

“I wonder if I had anything to do with that?” he asked himself loudly.

It COULD have been a coincidence, not very likely but still.

He felt around his body with his hands and started to get nervous. It felt really solid....almost like a physical body.

Which was of course impossible. He already was connected to a physical body, and transporting a physical body across worlds and even dimensions was strictly forbidden without permission, which he did not have. And even if he did have it, he didn't even come close to having the necessary skills.

So what had happened?

Obviously, Loke had decided to do something incredibly stupid just to spit in the powers faces without actually spitting. It certainly sounded like him at least.

But how? He couldn't have transported his body. He would have been stopped immediately by some agent of the powers, and as long as he had a body he was connected to Loke couldn't do a damn thing to connect him to a new one.

Besides, he recognized the body he was wearing. It was his, no question about it. Though it still felt...strange.

But where the hell did that leave him?

“Arghh!” he screamed at nothing trying to vent his frustration, and all the forest around him went deathly quiet. However it didn't last long. First one brave little bird gave off a hesitating chirp and waited. When no retribution followed all the other birds began singing again and the forest went back to normal.

Except for the furious human standing in the midst of it who could feel a brain aneurysm creeping closer.

“Fine, only one way to get to the bottom of this.”

He certainly hoped he would be listening.

“LOKE YOU BACKSTABBING TREACHEROUS SCUMBAG! ANSWER ME!”

“I can hear you fine little mage,” a faint echo answered. It was coming from such a large distance that it was barely perceptible.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?”

“Hehehe, something very clever.”

“Explain, now!”

“Well,” the voice went on, “It was quite simple really, so simple it was a stroke of genius I dare say. To put it simply, when you were drawing power, you needed a large source of energy, and you used me first since your body could not generate enough.”

There was a slight pause for dramatic silence before he added.

“But that was not quite true. You see, a physical body is an enormous bundle of energy, but so much of it is chained down to create the physical matter it is composed of. What I did was simply turn your dense meat bag of a body into energy. I shifted the matter and released it from the crude design so it could start vibrating at a higher frequency. It isn't that complicated, so you understand what I mean.”

“I do,” the mage responded in a hollow voice, “But why?”

“Because I could. This was the whole reason I had you fetch that tiny unicorn in the first place, so I could break one of the most core tenants laid down by the powers without actually breaking a single rule. Now, now don't act so depressed. This place isn't some kind of hellish dimension after all. Breaking the rules might have been my primary concern but I still had your own interests in mind.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” the mage growled. He really shouldn't be surprised, but despite knowing this, he couldn't stop feeling like he had been betrayed. He had trusted Loke to a certain degree.

A foolish mistake obviously.

“What I mean is that this world happens to be one of the most innocent and uncorrupted worlds I have ever seen. All in all, it is the perfect training ground for an up and coming trickster.”

“What if I don't feel like playing your student?”

“First of all you wont be. This is strictly a trial and error kind of deal. You'll be on your own. Secondly, you don't have much choice. If you had finished your training with your old master and achieved full wizardhood, you could have easily made a dimensional jump back to your home. But you didn't because you are just too set on the idea of being dark and tragic that you won't even try and deal with your personal issues.”

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ABOU...!”

“Shush child, there's a grown up talking now. Where was I...Oh right.”

He could hear the sound of a throat being cleared before the god went on.

“Yes thirdly, you made a promise to obey one order no matter what it was, and here it is. You will remain in this exact world in this exact dimension until I tell you it's fine for you to leave. You may not try to leave and you may not allow anyone, or anypony, to make you leave either.”

The mage kept quiet. What was there to say? He had just been tricked into an unwilling banishment from his home, and technically Loke had KILLED him before stranding him here for an undetermined amount of time.

"Fuck my life..."

Which reminded him. “Why do I have a body. You said you unravelled it and feed it to the ritual?”

“What would be the point of all of this of you would just roam around as some kind of incorporeal spirit. No, the energy that was feed into the ritual was more than enough to shape into a new body. Before you ask, it used your stored mental imprints of your body as a blueprint before taking shape.”

The god hummed a bit before adding.

“Come to think of it you should really thank me, your new body isn't an exact copy of your old one , more a copy of your mental image. Your new body should be without imperfections, you were just handed a realization of your ideal body image on a silver platter and you do nothing but complain. The ingratitude of youth these days!”

Curious, the mage couldn't help but check how his new body felt. It certainly felt better, like he had done nothing but adhere to the strictest and healthiest of behaviour for all his life.

“Now if that was all I am afraid I have other business to take care of, remember, no leaving.”

Despite having literally several dimensions between them the mage could feel the grin of the old god.”Oh, and do remember to have fun! Tatty-bye!”

All the mage could hear now was the birds going about their singing and the rustling of leaves as the wind gently blew across the forest canopy.

He hated the place already.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself he pushed all his anger out of his mind and tried to focus. Fine, he was stuck in this world for maybe the rest of his life. So he'd find a way to live with it.

He had learned to live with far worse.

Refusing to let his thoughts drift even close to that direction, he angrily set off in a random direction with heavy stomps and a look radiating anger. Oh, he was going to make quick friends with the locals he was sure of it.

“Great now I'm being sarcastic towards myself as well,” he muttered as he passed tree upon tree seemingly without end.

He continued to walk while ignoring what must have been hours passing by, and also making sure he was walking in the same direction. But the sound of water splashing stopped him in his tracks. He tilted his head while listening more closely. He was kind of thirsty, now that he thought about it.

There it was again! It was coming from his right. He ran toward the sound feeling an increasing desperation for water. He spotted a glistening pond between the trees and ran out towards it.

Honestly he had no idea why he jumped into it, and certainly did not know what possessed him to give of a scream of delight before disappearing beneath the water.

The water wasn't deep, barely deep enough for him to be completely submerged but it didn't matter, it felt so good. His body felt just so damn good! He wanted to swim, run, jump and cackle manically while doing it. He still hated Loki, but he couldn't disagree with the fact that his newly formed body was a step up from the last one. Not that there had been anything wrong with the last one, but a life of quiet study had not led to an over abundance of physical activity. Well except for the time spent under his old masters tutelage. He gave a small shudder at the memory and surfaced for air.

Now that his anger had simmered down and he was able to think clearly again, he had to admit that this was quite a beautiful place. He could have ended up in far worse.

Damn it! He was already beginning to forgive Loke for his selfish schemes.

He pulled himself up to shore and took a few sips of water from his cradled hands before giving off a satisfied sound. He walked over to a nearby tree and sat down with his back towards it and relaxed. He would get hungry soon and eventually night would fall, but he didn't worry. His old master was an old-school wizard, which meant they did not take kindly to having to rely on any kind of “technological mismatchery” as he had called it.

His idea of training someone to eventually be a wizard was a curriculum that consisted of learning to survive in the wilderness during the day and when he finally got to return home and was barely able to keep his eyes open, it was time for all the magic studies.

Oh, and then the martial arts training on the weekends that took about five days to heal from, just in time for the next round.

Yes, old school wizards held to the idea of only training those with the potential to become superhuman. It might have worked too, if he hadn't actively tried to learn as little as possibly purely for the sake of rebellion. It happens when someone else has that kind of utter control of your life, you rebel purely by instinct ... being a teenager at the time might have contributed as well.

As it stood, the mage might not have become the demigod, take-on-all-challenges superman his master had hoped for but he hadn't done too bad either. Not so bad he would die of starvation in happy sunshine forest at least.

His quiet reminiscence had left him sleepy, and the gently wafting breeze and the insistent bird song made it very hard for him to keep his eyes open. After a while he realized he was falling asleep, and he didn't mind that at all.

He dreamt something. He didn't know what exactly, everything was so confused and scattered. He thought to himself that it was his brain still trying to process all the changes he had gone through to the point he couldn't dream anything properly yet. It didn't matter thought. For once he actually felt ... at peace.

But eventually he woke up.

Night had fallen but he could see everything very clearly. Suspicious, he looked around and began noticing little details that had escaped him before. Unless his new body came with some kind of night vision, which he doubted, there was a fundamental difference here between Earth and ... Equestria.

He stood up and turned to face the tree, and then let his hand glide upwards along the trunk. It was too smooth. Not rubbery smooth or weird smooth. He could feel the usual texture of tree bark but it felt diminished in its sharp angles. More friendly somehow. This made him think a bit and he began biting his nails.

From what he learned from Twilight, this entire world had a streak of innocence in it. Compared to the standards of his native world at least. Was this innocence and friendliness so exaggerated that it shaped the entire natural world around them as well? Was purity and naivety some kind of requirement for existence in this world?

If so, he was in trouble.

Putting that thought out of his mind, he looked around. He could see almost as well as he did by day. Maybe this world didn't want anypony to be scared of the dark or something. It didn't matter. He could see, so that meant he would not need to make a camp waiting for daylight to break.

Continuing on his path west he only stopped once to sample some strange berry's he found growing on a bush. Like everything about this place they were sweet and bright to the point they almost glowed in the dark, and they did well for sating hunger.

He moved easily through the forest. The power in his new legs made it easy to move at a faster rate than he normally would, and even then it took several hours before he felt his heart rate increase.

Damn that felt good.

“Don't get arrogant. You are a stranger here and don't know what kind of danger might be waiting to pounce on you at any time.”

Barely a second had passed after stating that out loud before he heard a rustling sound come from a pair of bushes a few meters to his left.

“Just my luck. It's probably a manticore or one of the other predators Twilight spoke of.”

Readying himself for battle, he sank down into a basic martial arts stand and prepared for whatever horrible monstrosity that would come charging out of the bushes intent on tearing him apart and devouring the remains.

The rustling was heard again.

“Any moment now.”

And again, this time closer.

“Any moment now.”

Finally the bushes shook violently and out of the bushes came ...

A tiny white bunny.

The mage stared at the small creature for a moment before he began laughing at the relief that coursed through him.

But the bunny obviously failed to see the humour as it gave off a little squeak and came running towards him.

“You're kidding right?” the mage managed to ask the little ball of white fur before it tried to bite his ankle.

Yelping loudly the mage jumped back and before the bunny could make another attempt he grabbed its neck and held it up at eye level.

“Hey! No scratching or biting. I just got this body and I'd like to keep it in pristine condition for one day at least.”

It was strange, the bunny wasn't squirming the way bunnies usually did back home, and he had hunted quite a few of them.

No, this bunny was just waving his arms around, almost as if he was trying to punch him ...

A voice interrupted his thoughts as well as the bunny's futile attempts to knock him out. There was someone in the forest, and whoever it was it was trying to find someone else by the sounds of it. Long drawn out calls with what sounded like a sentence structure.

He thought about this for a moment, he would have to be careful, there would be many ways for the first interaction with the locals to go wrong.

He looked down at the bunny who was looking in the direction the voice had come from.

"Hmmm, maybe I should just break the bunny's neck and offer to share some food over a camp fire with the unknown creature. Most likely it is a pony".

But if it was a pony then that wouldn't do. They were herbivores. That he was sure of from Twilight's reaction when had he eaten a steak.

“Hehehe, she never did answer my question if she liked the taste.”

He could hear the creature moving around. She was heading south, and if he didn't go to her she would pass him by soon. Judging by the voice it had to be a female ... otherwise he felt very sorry for the males of this world.

Of course, if it wasn't a pony, it might be a carnivore or omnivore like him, then grilled bunny might be a perfect gift.

She was beginning to draw away. He had to make a decision. He put his right hand around the bunny's neck and it immediately began trembling. But just as he was about to snap its neck he realized he didn't need to. If the stranger was a meat eater he could simply kill the bunny then and there, if not he guessed he could release it or come up with an excuse of some kind for having it.

Nodding his head at the wisdom of his decision he began walking in the direction the voice had come from, for some reason when the bunny noticed this it began struggling twice as hard as it had before.

Walking around a big tree he came out in a small clearing and to his far left stood a small pony with it's back turned towards him. She was slowly heading towards the tree line and from her posture looked incredibly tense. He guessed even the very bright night around here was enough to scare some ponies. He walked silently towards her and stopped about three meters behind her before giving off a small cough.

The little pegasus, it was hard not to notice the wings, twisted around so fast he thought her neck would crack from whiplash, but her eyes instead immediately went to the little bunny dangling at his left side.

She made some kind of relieved sound in what sounded like an incredibly smooth singing language, looking down the mage realized what the pony must have been out looking for.

“...Oh my...”

That could have gone really badly.

But the pegasus, it was a little hard to see but she seemed to be of a very light cream colouring of some kind in both body and mane, looked up at the creature holding her stray pet and started trembling before she promptly fell down to the ground and put her hooves over her face.

He could hear her whimpering softly to herself.

He took a step closer to her, about to try and reassure her that he wasn't about to eat her, never minding the whole grilled bunny idea, when said bunny began twisting about like it was insane.

Giving it an annoyed look he dropped the bunny in front of him, hoping the pegasus would notice and understand his harmless intentions. The bunny didn't seem to get his status as a harmless newcomer either, because it immediately jumped over so he stood before the pegasus and spread it arms out to either side as if barring him from touching her.

He couldn't help himself.

“Really, what you gonna do? Cute me to death?”

The pegasus had removed one hoof slightly when she felt the tiny bunny leaning against her, and was now watching the mage from the imagined safety behind her little protector. He must have taken that job very seriously, because the bunny puffed up his chest before once more charging against the mage, who didn't bother with some witty remark on the utter ridiculousness of the situation.

He just flung out his right hand at the charging bunny and it promptly fell to its side, asleep.

Judging from the pony's reaction though, one might have thought he made it explode in a shower of guts and blood, because she started whimpering twice as loud and shaking so bad he became worried something might break.

“So what do I do now?”

She was obviously scared beyond reasoning, and even if he could reason with her they didn't speak the same language, that problem never existed with Twilight since they'd utilized telepathy.

“Fine, one problem at a time, I hope she won't die out of shock for what I'm about to do.”

He took a quick breath and cleared his mind before he ran towards the pegasus, when she heard him coming she flew up from the ground and screamed, preparing to fly away from what she must think is some kind of monster attacking her.

He didn't give her a chance.

He threw himself at the pegasus and pinned her wings against her body before landing on top of her, her wings were pushed to the ground and the rest of her was unable to move because of his superior mass. He grabbed her head with both hands and forced her to meet his gaze.

She had tears streaming down her face and he hesitated for one second at the sight of this. She looked like a perfect representation of angelic innocence and purity despite being non-human in form, he shrugged and forced all thoughts from his mind.

“The sooner this is fixed the better.”

He steeled his mind and as he looked into the pony's eyes he began exerting his influence over her mind. It worked almost immediately.

The pegasus beneath him had a relaxed look on her face and her eyes were glasses over. He took a slow breath and held it for a moment before letting it out, blowing on the pegasus face. He continued with this and with every time he slowly blew out air his mind went a little deeper into hers, after just five breaths he felt her walls surrender to his pressure and he melted into her.

       **************************************************

He was in the middle of a fucking zoo!

But there were no cages or zoo-keepers as far as he could see. No, just a shit load of animals covering almost every square inch of the place!

The mage himself was standing hidden behind a large tree, above him he could hear what sounded like hundreds of birds singing in perfect tune with each other. So far they hadn't noticed him standing below them. He didn't want them to either, in the distance he could see lions, tigers, elephants and a lot of other animals for which he had no name but was pretty sure had sharp teeth and claws.

He looked around and tried to locate the pegasus whose mind he was currently within but couldn't see her anywhere.

Oh wait, there she was!

She was flying high above all the animals and was spreading some kind of unidentifiable food, strangely enough all the animals ate at it when it fell down around them, including the predators.

Trying to develop a strategy for dealing with all of these creatures, he eventually arrived at the conclusion that the best way was the direct way. The mind would only defend itself if the conscious controller did, he had already broken through the automatic mental defenses.

So either she was just as timid and afraid in here and that wouldn't be a problem, or she would turn out to have channelled all her pent up emotions inwards and turn into some kind of bloodthirsty death god.

It was her mind after all.

“No guts no glory. Get out there now!”

As far as inspirational speeches goes, it left much to be desired but at least it was something. The mage abandoned his hiding place and went out into the open, all the animals ignored him until he stood below the flying pegasus and called.

“HEY, you up there! I need to talk to you!”

The pegasus looked like she had managed to trip on air before she corrected herself and looked down, as soon as she did the entire assortment of animals froze.

“Oh shit,” a thought echoed out from the mage.

But his fear didn't come to realization as all the animals began squeaking, squawking, roaring, screeching and all other kinds of noises.

All in fear.

It was the most well coordinated retreat the mage had ever seen, the forest they stood in was cramped with animals, yet they all managed to avoid running into one another in their attempt to flee as fast as they possibly could. After a few minutes of ear shattering noise all was silent, and a very terrified pegasus lowered herself down from the air until she stood before the mage, trembling but not as bad as before.

“You... you can talk?”

“Yes amazing isn't it what one can do with a vocal cord and a tongue, I am sorry for the ... introductions outside.”

“What do you mean....b-by outside?”

“I mean that we are inside you're mind as we speak, can you remember what happened before, meeting me outside?”

She looked confused, but realization dawned upon her soon enough and she started whimpering again, looking up at him with her eyes filled with terrible loss.

“N-no.....oh poor little...A...angel.”

She looked about to burst into tears so he hurriedly said.

“The bunny? He's only asleep don't worry about him he's fine.”

“Y-you promise that he's not hurt?”

“Promise, now the reason I'm here is simple: I don't speak your language and I need to learn fast.”

“What do you mean, we're talking right now.”

“No, we are just thinking thoughts. Now listen closely. I want you to concentrate on all that you know about your language, every feeling, thought and whatever else you can associate with it.”

“But I....”

“No buts, do it now.”

Her face looked tense, but she seemed to have gotten over the worst part of her fear and was now trying to help him. It took time but eventually a sound echoed out of her. It contained all that he had asked her to think about concerning her language. And as the sound spread out another sound responded in turn. It came from an old well close to where they were standing.

The mage walked over to it while a confused pegasus watched him, she was really cute as well, just like Twilight but in a different way. Her mane had a pink coloring to it and a light, soft, yellow covered the rest of her body, she had a cutie mark that was in the shape of three butterflies on her flank.

“Oh crap.”

“What?” the pegasus asked in a fearful voice.

“Your name wouldn't happen to be Fluttershy would it?”

“H-how do you know my name?”

“Great, just great, Uhh, I'm a friend of Twilight.”

“Twilight! But...but...do you know what's happened to her? Please we have been so wor...”

“Yes, yes I know. We'll talk about that later, right now I need to let an alien language be absorbed into my mind.” and with a dramatic flourish of his robe had let himself fall down the well.

He heard a squeak of fear from the pega ... from Fluttershy before he hit the water. When he did, he allowed himself to sink deeper down, and felt around with his senses for what he was looking for.

And there it was, the language of Equestria. He didn't get a sense they had a name for it, it was simply the language of Equestria at least to this particular pony. He ignored all the personal emotions she had connected with each word and its meaning, and instead simply let the factual understanding seep into him.

It was extremely unpleasant but considering the situation, he didn't have any other viable options.

When he felt he had absorbed all that he could, he relaxed his mind and let the mental projection he was wearing fade into nothingness, and he was abruptly called back into his own body.

    ***************************************************

He was still on top on Fluttershy, but the pony didn't really look scared now, she looked more like she was on the verge of utter panic but hadn't decided if she should be or not.

Who could resist the opportunity?

He raised an eyebrow and with a suggestive tone and half smirk simply asked in his newly acquired language.

“How ya doing?”

Chapter 5: Settling in

(Authors notes: With permission from JasonTheHuman I am using the Lyra from his story in this one and recommend everyone to go read it if you haven't already done so. The story is named Anthropology and everything written up to and including the seventh chapter is basically what Lyra has been going trough up until about a month before Twilight got lost in the void. After that the story diverges and any updates on Anthropology will be separate from the Lyra in this story.)

Karon was not enjoying the party.

Not that it wasn't nice, it was amazing in its organization. The strategic placing of the tables and the assortment of treats sitting atop them. The pleasing aesthetics of the party decorations and light setting provided a comfortable environment and had turned the solemn library into a party of epic proportions. And all of the ponies present had been quick to apologize to Karon for reacting in such an extreme fashion to his appearance and proved to be very friendly once that was sorted out.

Well, all except that first pony he had come across, the one with a lyre as a cutie mark. She'd spent the entire time in a corner watching him with the most stalkeresque look on her face possible.

No, the reason why Karon was not enjoying the party was not the wonderful food, setting or ponies.

It was because there wasn't a drop of alcohol to be found anywhere!

He wasn't the most social animal you could find...

“Understatement of the century! Give the man a trophy!”

...But he had attended more then one gathering in his rebellious teenage years where they did little else but drink, laugh and fornicate to their hearts' content.

He missed the burn of a nice whisky, the smooth pour of a glass of vodka. Oh and absinthe, how he missed the godly nectar that is absinthe. But no, instead he was trapped in pony land where one couldn't even find a glass of cider while at a party that put all other parties to shame.

It WAS a double welcome-wake up party after all.

The pink pony responsible for the party, Pinkie Pie, was truly a genius at what she does. But when Karon had tried to discreetly hint at the tragic lack of alcoholic content among the beverages, there had obviously been some miscommunication because she had winked at him, nodded as if she understood completely and ran off only to return with a bottle of hot sauce which she'd given too him with a sly look and the whispered words, “Don't worry, they just don't get us.”

So now he was both miserable and confused.

He was sitting at the top of the stairs overlooking the room below with all the ponies. Most of them were standing around chatting with each other while nibbling on some of the many different pastries. The rest were out on a open section of the floor and were performing sequences of rhythmic movements to the music in what he could only guess was the pony version of dancing.

The exception was the lyre pony, she still stood in a corner -figuratively speaking since the library was circle shaped- not even trying to blend in by talking to someone. She had been watching Karon for the entire evening so far and whenever he tried to her meet her gaze she would look away at something else before returning to staring at him.

Did he have something between his teeth? Or was she upset he hadn't woken her up after she had fainted in the street? He would have just gone and asked her if it weren't for the fact that she creeped him out.

Sure, most people would probably feel extremely safe amongst creatures that appeared to have been taken straight out of a Disney cartoon. Not Karon though. He had read the original brother Grimm's fairytale collection, and you don't look at Disney the same way after that.

He sighed and began toying around with the bottle of hot sauce still in his hands. It was made out of  glass and red in colouring with the image of a flame on it. How did Pinkie manage to get the idea he wanted this?

“Something wrong? You don't look like you're enjoying yourself.”

Karon looked behind himself and saw Twilight standing there. She had chosen to remain in bed despite Pinkie's insistence that she wouldn't be able to party if she were in bed. Well, unless they joined her, but Twilight had quickly put a stop to that idea before it escalated.

“It's nothing. Having trouble adjusting is all I think. Though I am fairly impressed Pinkie Pie managed to organize all of this in just a few hours.”

She just laughed in response. “That's Pinkie Pie, always ready for a party.”

Karon merely nodded in response. He had hoped he could have spent the night in a stupefied drunken state. Instead, he was left sober and having to deal with everything that had happened now that things seemed to have settled down and there was no immediate crisis that needed his attention.

“You sure you're alright? This is a party for you as well, and I wouldn't want you to feel neglected.” He smiled a little. The ponies around here truly were a caring bunch, but he just didn't really know how to respond. Should he return the kindness in turn? Or just accept it and assure her nothing was wrong? Or something else entirely?

He covered his face with his hands and tried to ignore everything around him.

“So, what should I do now then?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Well I'm here, I reached Ponyville relatively without incident. I have managed to make some friends and from what I can tell most of the population seems okay with the idea of me staying if the elements of harmony keeps an eye on me.”

“What would you do if this had been an entirely unfamiliar setting?”

“I would have located a food and water supply, created a shelter of some kind in a hard to reach area and try to investigate the land and familiarize myself with it. But that's just basics for survival. I need to know how I am to LIVE here.”

“Well, you've got food and water down, plus shelter since Twilight offered you her spare bed in thanks for saving her ... again.”

“Which leaves investigating and familiarizing.”

“Yes, so do that. You're in a library. Begin with reading all the books you can get your hands on, then go from there.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because that's what I did back home, shut myself away and spent my days reading and experimenting. New place, new body, new name. Might as well try and form new habits. Healthy habits.”

“Which would be?”

“Experiencing more then just the inside of a book while inside a house. Isolation has made me weak I think. Had this place been anything else but the land of cotton candy and compulsively nice ponies I would most likely have died before the end of the first day.”

“So you're going to stop reading books?”

“Don't be ridiculous. But I need more than that now, I think. Maybe Loke was actually right. Maybe this was exactly what I needed, to be more then just an image of a mage living solitary in a house filled with dusty tomes and a head filled with nothing but thoughts and no experience before dying alone.”

“Sounds like what Loke said when you first meet him, remember?”

“Yeah I do. Looks like he was telling the truth the smug bastard.”

“Well I don't really feel like partying, but if I am going to try and be a little more connected to those around me, I should probably start out by actually being sociable.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“It does, thanks for the help.”

“Talking to yourself remember.”

Karon put his hand on his knees and smiled. He was being ridiculous sitting her acting all dark and lonely. Half of this was for him after all. He snapped out of his musings when a hoof began poking at his shoulder.

“I said are you all right? You were just sitting there without answering.”

Karon turned around and put a hand on her hoof and looked her in the eyes.

“Those eyes...”

“Yes, actually Twilight I think I'm fine. Do you want to join me downstairs?” He pointed with his other hand down towards the stairs and the ponies laughing and dancing.

“Well I still feel kinda tired, perhaps I should just...” Karon interrupted her by moving in close and with his mouth right next to her ear whispered.

“If you don't come with me I am going to join you inside your bedroom and question you about which positions of the Kama Sutra you thought looked the most fun to try.”

He retreated with a grin that only got wider as he saw the terrified expression on Twilight's face which quickly became red with embarrassment. He stood up and went down a few steps before looking up at her. She only shook her head with a displeased look before rolling her eyes and trotting down the stairs right behind him.

When they reached the floor, they were immediately surrounded by ponies asking questions and giving Twilight many congratulations on finally waking up and hoped she would feel better very soon. Karon noticed that almost everyone was more interested in Twilight than him, so he gave her a quick smile before abandoning her to the masses and slipped away.

He tried to stay close to the bookshelves so he wouldn't stand out, as he was almost half as tall as everyone else inside. He wanted to try and see if he could surprise that unicorn with a lyre cutie mark.

His dark robe melted in with the dark unlit areas of the library perfectly and he saw the lyre pony looking around trying to spot him. He remained motionless before she turned her head and looked in the other direction before quickly sneaking up right behind her turned head and sat down on his knees.

He tilted his head before leaning forward and asked her. “What are you looking for.”

She jumped into the air and came down on all four staring at him with a shocked expression that then froze as she must have realized he knew she had been spying on him the entire night.

“Can't keep your eye off me huh? I know I'm pretty and all but you have to try and contain yourself girl, I'd only end up breaking your heart.” She backed away uncertainly at what he'd said, he couldn't make out her expression perfectly but she looked very eager for some reason.

She looked around herself quickly and noted that no pony was within earshot before her eyes widened to that bowling ball size again and she said.

“You're a ... human.” She said the last word with so much emotion that it gave Karon pause. Maybe he'd missed something here? He looked at her more closely. He couldn't read her face perfectly but it was obvious there was something on her mind she thought was very important.

“Oh I get it.”

“I understand, you must have heard one of those human horror stories Applejack mentioned was in circulation. I don't know what you've heard, but I assure you that I have no intention of eating you all alive or whatever else they might have said humans usually do.”

"Come to think of it, I do wonder how a burger made out of colorful ponies would taste like."

"Keep thinking like that and things are going to go very badly for us. I mean me."

“I'm not talking about those stories!” she leaned in really close and whispered, “I know the truth.”

“I do not like where this is heading...” But he merely nodded in response and whispered back.

“What truth are you talking about exactly.”

She looked confused before adding a little slower.

“The truth about humans of course. The truth that the princesses has tried to cover up with all their lies, but I discovered it! I knew humans existed and now I have proof: YOU! I know the real story of the humans!”

“Okay, this is moving from mildly entertaining to seriously disturbing.”

“Uhuh, and what exactly is this grand truth you have discovered then.”

She looked at him like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, but her face quickly changed back to that weird look he now understood was the face of a fanatic conspiracy theorist that really needed to get laid. No wonder it took time for him to pin it down.

“I understand, you're afraid that if you tell the truth to anyone they will come get you. You're just testing me.”

Karon resisted the urge to facepalm.

“But don't worry, I already know. I know that humans have been here before, I know humans are the one who created almost everything we ponies have and use. Our entire civilization is built upon what was left of the humans! We owe them everything!”

Karon sighed deeply and felt a headache forming, this was going to take a lot of convincing.

“Easy now, trying to be sociable and make friends remember?”

“Fine!” He tried to look as comforting and understanding as he could so she wouldn't freak out or start throwing accusations when he disagreed with her.

“What's your name?”

“Well ... my pony name is Heartstrings but my real name is Lyra.”

Karon glanced at the cutie mark on her flank, barely visible in the low light of the library. A lyre then, and she had adopted a new name, interesting.

“Well then Lyra, why don't you tell me about what exactly it is you have found out.”

Lyra began recounting the story about her passion for humans – though to Karon it sounded like an obsession – and her research into everything she could find about them. Karon was surprised her conspiracy theories actually were based on some facts but the gaping holes in her reasoning were obvious.

She ended the story with how she had taken to helping Twilight into her research about humans but barely a month had passed before Twilight had fallen asleep and had been unable to wake up for three weeks. Then she suddenly wakes up and has a human around, something that had made Lyra convinced there was a conspiracy behind all of this.

“Should I try and break it to her carefully or the hard way?”

“Carefully.”

“That is an interesting story Lyra, and I admit it added some pieces of information I did not have, but you are wrong on many accounts.” He had thought she would react with sadness and loss at best and violently at worst instead she did something entirely different.

She pleaded.

“What do you mean? Please you must tell me! I have been dreaming of humans my entire life, please tell me everything! Please you must!”

The poor unicorn looked, well Karon didn't know how she looked but definitely on the verge of something. But he could understand her. What had begun as a curiosity and hobby had taken over her life. She couldn't let everything go to waste after all of her hard work.

“Lyra ... before I continue I want you to know that I understand, I really do, and if you want me to, I would be happy to tell you absolutely everything about the human world and civilization. But before that, you will need to hear the truth.”

“What do you mean when you said human world? I don't understand.”

“Exactly, now remember what I said. But first...”

“This is going to hit her hard.”

“There has not been any kind of human civilization or rule in this world Lyra. Maybe a few humans have been here before, it is possible, but never any kind of culture or people have ever settled here, we do not belong to this world. I'm sorry but you are wrong, yes obviously some things here have been designed similarly as many human constructions. But it is not something you have taken up after some long dead human empire or kingdom. The places and cultures you have read about are not of this world and never has been.”

She didn't answer, she just looked ... broken ... confused.  She had dreamed of humans, spent almost every free minute she had researching about them. She had felt like the whole world had been against her knowing the truth, and now when the impossible happened, a human had come to her, it only told her she was wrong.

It was more then she could take.

Lyra turned around and ran out of the library and into the early spring night without looking back at the human staring after her with sadness in his eyes. He had seen the tears that'd begun streaming down her face.

“So much for having fun at a party...”

He felt bad for having done that, but really, he had no choice. If he hadn't done it she would have just taken whatever he did as some hidden signal that she was right. Well, she was right in a way. Humans had certainly influenced pony society, but he needed to test that theory before taking it to her.

“Soon enough. Just make sure that what you find is the truth so she doesn't end up making up facts to fit the holes again.”

He turned away from the doorway and closed the door behind him, some ponies had seen Lyra run away and watched him, but it had gone unnoticed by most. Karon just nodded at the one's looking at him wondering what had just happened. He tried to spot Twilight but couldn't make her out in the sea of ponies. Instead, he settled for grabbing a cupcake from a nearby table and leaned against a bookcase while he munched on it.

It was delicious, and it was a shame he hadn't tried enjoying the party earlier. It was getting late and most ponies were moving around slowly and looked worn out. Too much dancing and pastries perhaps.

He was considering grabbing another cupcake when Rarity appeared out of the pony crowd and walked up to him.

Karon might have teased Twilight a lot and dropped tons of innuendo and flirting comments, but he felt absolutely no sexual attraction to the ponies at all. He had never once actually thought about sleeping with one seriously, and he doubted he ever would no matter how lonely he'd get in this world without another human for companionship.

But even he had to admit that Rarity looked just as attractive in the dim light of the dying party as she had in glittering sunlight. Her shiny coat looked smooth as silk, and her purple wavy mane moved around like flowing water as she approached him. Her sparkling eyes perfectly framed in by dark eyelashes that fluttered seductively.

He was glad he wasn't a pony because he was pretty sure if he were, he would be experiencing cardiac arrest at the moment from seeing her approach him like that.

She looked at him with concern.

“What the matter darling? Are you not enjoying the festivities?”

He shrugged in reply before responding, “Bad things just seem to follow me everywhere.”

She was a little taken aback at his way of responding, probably expecting him to act accordingly to the gentlemanly, no gentlecoltly, manner he had previously been displaying.

He took a deep breath.

“Forgive me lady Rarity, the festivities have worn me out and I had an unpleasant interaction with one of the ponies here before. It was not my intention to act so callously.”

She merely nodded. “I understand perfectly darling. You are new here so you must find all of this very strange and hard to manage. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

She was looking up at him with sparkling blue eyes waiting for an answer. She didn't know how well her remark had struck.

He thought back to what Twilight had told him about Rarity and gave her a brief analysis.

She was the element of generosity and was personally obsessed with beauty. So she was not only extremely passionate about her own appearance but also loved using her skills to make others beautiful. Karon was an entirely new being, one she had never encountered before, and he also happened to have treated her like, he presumed, few other had before.

She was probably very eager to try and see what she could do with him, if he allowed her to work on him that would give him time to get to know her. But if he worked WITH her, that might be even better.

“Yes there is one thing you can do for me lady Rarity.” She looked eager to hear what he had to say.

“Two things actually. One is that my current appearance is below what should be expected of one's own self. I have heard that you are a true artist when it comes to achieving a presentable image of  one's appearance. I would love to assist you in making a proper outfit and perhaps find time for a grooming of myself if you find that acceptable. In exchange for this I will offer all my available knowledge of fashion and related subjects from my world.”

Now she definitely looked eager. He had hoped she would find the challenge of designing an outfit for a new species intriguing, but she looked practically ecstatic.

“Oh that is an absolutely brilliant idea! I think I will go home straight away and start working on some designs. Please, come by the boutique tomorrow around noon.”

Karon watched her go with mixed feelings. This could go very wrong if he wasn't careful. He would have to be extra aware of what he did so not to do anything that might insult her.

He looked around the library. Almost every light had gone out now and few ponies remained. He could see Pinkie Pie dancing, the only one still dancing actually. And Twilight stood with another pony he didn't recognize and was chatting. The rest of the harmony gang must have taken off because he couldn't see them anywhere.

After Twilight had told them about how he had saved her from the void and helped her get home, they had quickly decided that he had earned their trust and could be counted as a friend. Especially now that he was stuck here as a result of helping Twilight. She had not taken it well when he told her, and almost started crying when she thought it was her fault. He had reassured her that he wasn't sorry it had happened and that he liked it here.

“Kinda true, it could have been a lot worse.”

Karon's stomach growled and he remembered he hadn't eaten much else besides cupcakes since he got here. Not that there was anything wrong with them but he didn't want to ruin his newly created body by ignoring its needs. He walked over to where Twilight was talking. Seeing the human approaching, the unknown pony said something to her and trotted off with a brief nod of farewell to Karon.

“So did you enjoy the rest of the party then?” Twilight asked.

“A bit. There was an incident with the pony named Lyra. She ... made a lot of interesting accusations, most of them untrue, but she did mention a thing or two that I found very interesting.”

She looked away from him and didn't answer at first. She looked ashamed.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all of that. After you had rescued me from that ... place, I had forgotten all about it. Afterwards, when I realized I had ended up with a human, in a world full of humans, I wanted to take the opportunity to learn all I could. I honestly didn't believe you existed outside of legends before meeting you, and even then it took time for me to realize what you really were.”

“Why not just tell me?” He wasn't angry or anything. Karon was just curious why she didn't mention it before when she was inside his mind.

“Well, at first I just didn't know how to begin and then, well, you were doing a lot of things that were pretty frightening like eating ... meat...”

“I just knew that would come around biting me in the ass sooner or later.”

“Sorry about that Twilight. That was inconsiderate of me.”

She looked surprised that he had actually apologized.

“I didn't know you could be so nice. I thought you were going to say something like...”

She put on a sour face and tried to make her tone deeper in an attempt to mimic him.

“...Well it's not like you knew it or anything.” It wasn't a very good impression, but it still looked cute when she did it.

“I get it, I acted like an asshole. I'll try and do better in the future.”

She giggled at his response. “Well, I can't ask more than that you try.”

He stretched his hand out to her and asked. “Friends?”

She smiled and put her hoof in his hand and they gently shook. Before he dropped it, he stroked her hoof gently. It was odd, it didn't feel like a horses coat usually do, it was a lot smother and less like fur. He didn't know what to call it. It was more like they had a second layer of skin made out of ... something.

“You like her..”

“Well of course, she's a nice pers- I mean pony.”

“That's not what I meant.”

“I know what you meant. You are mistaken.”

“I am you remember. If I think so, you do so to.”

“So Twilight, you wouldn't have any food lying around here somewhere. I am starving and cupcakes may be nice, but I need a little more than that.”

“Well, the kitchen is through that door over there. There should be plenty of food you can eat in the fridge, that is if you can handle eating vegetables.”

She said the last part with a smile. It would take time for him to get used to a no-meat diet and she knew it.

“I think I will survive, but if I don't, I will be holding you and your grass eating ways responsible.”

“Hey! I don't ea-”

“Hay is grass. End of story.” He turned around and marched to the kitchen with a badly concealed smile before she could come up with a retort. Yes, he would enjoy staying here for a while.

He bent over a little and opened the door leading to the kitchen. Stepping inside, he realized it looked very similar to a human's kitchen, but there were differences. No knife set that he could see, and after having investigated a little more closely, he found nothing but bowls, plates and a few other kitchen tools.

Oh and a bread knife, but he couldn't find any bread so he settled for some carrots he found lodged in a corner of the fridge and started munching on them thoughtfully. They tasted good, far juicier then the old Earth carrots he was used to.

A thought came to him, standing there in the kitchen enjoying his carrots.

This was his home now.

It might have been sudden and entirely unexpected, but it had happened. New world, new body and a new name, and now a home to go with it all of it. Not just a home, but a home and friends in it. It felt very strange.

He ate the last carrot and went back out into the library. Everyone had left save Twilight who stood by the stairs waiting for him to join her. He went over to her and patted his stomach with a content grin and she smiled back.

“Ready to go to sleep? Spike has been sleeping for hours already, so make sure you don't wake him up.”

“I'll do my best.” He gently bowed and motioned with his hands up the stairs. “Ladies first.”

She looked pleased Rarity wasn't the only one getting special treatment and walked up the stairs. Her horn glowed as she opened the door before her and climbed up to the platform as silently as she could. Karon just grabbed the edge and heaved himself up with ease and walked over to the guest bed standing across from Twilight's. It was a bit short but he would manage. At least it was wide enough for him.

He took off his clothes and looked down with a curious glance. Yeah, all those muscles were not there before he got here.

Loke may be a selfish asshole, but at least he put thought into his gifts.

He glanced over and noticed Twilight staring. “See anything you like?”

She just gave off an annoyed sound and rolled her eyes. He thought so at least, hard to say in the dark no matter how light it was compared to the Nordic winter nights back ho- back on Earth. There was a round window in the wall that showed the quiet, peaceful town sleeping under a starry sky. The moon was full and gave off plenty of light once his eyes had adjusted to the conditions.

He kept his boxers on, he didn't want to push Twilight too far. Sure, all the colts walked around naked, but they had the decency not to dangle their junk out in the open 24/7.

He slid into the bed and let out a sigh. It was comfortable despite his feet and ankles dangling outside the bed. He stared up at the ceiling and hoped Twilight wouldn't mind a few questions before falling asleep.

“Twilight?”

“Yes?” she grumbled sleepily with a annoyed voice.

“Would you mind if I ask a question or two?”

“You couldn't have done this earlier?”

“Well yeah, but I'm doing it now instead.”

“Garh, fine! If it will let me go to sleep sooner ask whatever you want.”

He chuckled a little, teasing Twilight would probably become his new hobby.

“Well first of all, did you finish that report on humans that Celestia wanted?”

“Princess Celestia. And no, I've been resting the entire time before the party, but I will send it to her first thing in the morning after I write it, I have more to report to her then I thought possible now.”

“Lyra mentioned that Luna had managed a slip of the tongue during something called 'Nightmare Night' and revealed that she knew about the existence of humans. I could only assume that Celestia is aware that we exist as well. So my question is simple: will your report mention the fact that I am here?”

“Of course. It's not like we've tried to keep your presence here a secret, and even if you said that you feel fine with staying here for a while, I know you must miss your home. Princess Celestia is the wisest and most powerful being in all of Equestria. If anyone can help you in going back home it's her.”

Karon was silent for a moment, considering how much he should really tell her.

“Might as well be truthful.”

“Twilight ... I can't let her do that.”

“What!? Why not?”

“Because I made a deal with Loke, it was the only way to successfully complete the ritual and get you back to your body. In return for giving me all the extra power I needed, I swore to obey one command he would give me and keep obeying it until he releases me from it. He tricked me yes, but he still kept up his part of the bargain and ... he ordered me to remain here in this world, in this dimension, until he tells me it's fine to go. I can't try and leave, and I can NOT allow anyone else to make me leave, that includes the Princess Celestia.”

“But-”

“No Twilight! No buts. I will remain here until I am set free by Loke or somehow the great powers decide to override his authority, but I doubt that last one since he didn't break any rules per say. So I will remain here, maybe for the rest of my life. And I hope that you will allow me to make this my new home ... at least for the moment”

“It's my fault, if I hadn-”

“Quiet! Yes you made a stupid rookie mistake, but everyone who studies the arts make them from time to time. It's not your fault. Loke might have set me up for this, but I still was the one that CHOSE to help you and I would do it again without a second thought!”

Twilight didn't answer at first. She was silent, but he could hear her moving around in her bed like she was struggling with something. After a long uncomfortable silence she became still and said.

“Thank you.” It was all she needed to say really. Those words said more then anything else she could have said and the air was filled with heavy emotions.

Karon didn't like those moments.

“Heh, it's not like I could leave someone with such a hot flank as yours hanging now could I?”

“You are just impossible to talk to! Here I am trying to thank you for saving my life and tell you how sorry I am that you lost your home, and instead all you can talk about is my flank! If you hadn't noticed by now we aren't even the same species!”

Karon smiled, he liked these kinds of moments far better.

“Well, take it as a compliment then. Even males outside your kind can't help but notice that hot bundle of fun you call your flank, mmmmhmm, I could stare at it all day.”

“If you don't have any more serious questions I'm going to sleep now.”

“One more.”

“Fine, but no more talking about my flank ... or any other part of me!”

“Hehe, agreed. No, my question is something else entirely. I couldn't help but notice that despite being epic in it's proportions, there wasn't a single drink around this party.”

“What are you talking about? There were plenty of things to drink at the party.”

“No I meant drinks, as in alcohol. Drinks with ethanol in it. You know, fermentation of different materials, followed by distillation if you want the good stuff, that you drink and it gives a depressant effect on you sensory system and lowered inhibitions. A state commonly called being drunk.”

“I know what you mean. Around here we just call it booze.”

Karon smacked his forehead, really? The ponies actually called alcohol booze instead of some other more puffy name like the-funny-walk-water or glibbergabbel.

“Good to know. So yes, why wasn't there any around?”

“Well Pinkie is the one that does parties around here, and as far as I know she doesn't drink. She mostly only eats or drinks things with sugar in it. Besides, she's bad enough as it is only on sugar, I don't even want to know how she would act if she were intoxicated.”

“Fair enough. We'll I'm done. Sweet dreams Twilight, see you in the morning.”

“You too.”

Karon looked back up at the ceiling and grinned. He had settled in nicely, and after a little probing around the social scene and some internal dialogue, he had managed to come up with three goals he needed to achieve before all else.

“1: Research more into pony society and this world.”

“2: Make friends and form alliances to make sure no one gets the idea to try and send me back to Earth. That includes Celestia.”

“3...”

Karon's grin went from ear to ear and he had to suppress the desire to cackle like a maniac.

“...Get some alcohol, organize a surprise party for PINKIE, and then get her drunk.”

He turned around and laughed into his pillow hoping Twilight would have fallen asleep and didn't hear him.

He relaxed eventually and turned around again. He looked out the window where the moon shone with a soft silver light. He fell asleep watching it travel across the night sky and slumbered peacefully, dreaming of mischievous deeds he might perform on his new pony friends. All his dreams were sending him the same message, and he understood it perfectly well.

This was going to be fun.

Chapter 6: An unexpected party!

Karon woke up to the sounds of bird chirping and found himself smiling as he stretched his arms and looked out the window. The sun looked to be pretty high in the sky so it definitely wasn't early in the morning. He glanced over at Twilight's bed and found it empty, she must have let him sleep in. He groaned and got out of bed. He should have told her that Rarity was expecting him around noon, hopefully he wouldn't be all too late.

He hastily put on his robe, pants, socks and shoes and jumped down from the platform with a whoop. He felt young, strong and full of energy and wanted to make use of it. Maybe he should go for a run or something if he still had time before going over to Rarity's.

He was still smiling.

He noticed and carefully removed it and adopted a solemn look of careful contemplation instead. If he wasn't careful, all of this sugary happiness would infect him too deeply and he would turn into some kind of happy, squealing, daw'ing pony lover. Why did that sound so awesome?

He did a little morning stretch before opening the door and walking down the stairs to the library.

Twilight was standing over at a writing desk, most likely finishing that report on humans Celestia wanted. He needed to come up with a nickname of some kind for the princess to use around Twilight.

“One thing at a time.”

She was fully concentrated on the task and hadn't heard him come down. He briefly considered frightening her but thought better of it. Instead he walked into the kitchen and found Spike standing on a stool mixing some kind of salad. He looked up as Karon entered and greeted him.

“Oh hey Karon, I thought Twilight said you were going to be sleeping in today.”

“No, I have business with Rarity today, she's expecting me around noon at her boutique. You wouldn't know what time it is?” Spike didn't answer instead he just pointed over his shoulder towards an old clock hanging on the wall.

It was ten.

“Strange, maybe I'm just not used to the sun being so strong.”

“Well then, looks like I have plenty of time. Is there anything around for breakfast?”

“Hold on,” the little dragon said and jumped down from the stool and walked over to the fridge. He took out a wrapped sandwich and walked over with it to him.

Karon accepted it with a nod and looked inside it before eating, just as well, there was a dandelion in it beside the lettuce. He removed it discreetly before Spike noticed and put it in his pocket.

“So you're heading over to Rarity's huh? For what exactly?”

The question sounded harmless but Karon saw that worried little wrinkle between the dragon eyebrows.

“Must be worried about getting competition.”

“She agreed to help me in creating a few sets of clothes and perhaps give me a haircut or something. I honestly have no idea how I look at the moment.”

“That explains it. Rarity is the best at that kind of things. Well, see you later bro.”

Karon nodded and went back out into the library and looked over at Twilight, then went to the front door and called back at her.

“I will be going out for a look around the area before going over to Rarity's. You can find me there later if you have any news.”

She looked up at the human standing in the doorway, surprised that he wasn't still sleeping, but gave a smile in response and said, “I'll come find you when I get a response from Princess Celestia about you being here.”

Karon nodded and stepped out. He hoped he would have time to prepare before meeting the princess, because he had no doubts she would want to speak with him sooner or later. If Lyra had told the truth, then Luna and probably Celestia as well did not hold his kind in high regard.

He would not spend any amount of time locked inside the moon if he could do anything about it.

It was a beautiful day outside, he used to prefer sleeping during the day and enjoy the quiet silent nights instead of the hectic time when the sun was up. He still did, but if all of Equestria's days were like this, he might change his mind.

He turned the down the street and headed off west, the sun at his back casting a long shadow in front of him. He passed by some ponies on his way and most of them gave him a courteous nod, and those that didn't know of him just stared as he went by.

His spider sense began tingling, or rather the mage equivalent thereof. He was more or less a prodigy with sensitive magic and right know he clearly felt how someone was following him. The mental energy used up as someone focuses intently on anything is easy to pick up on for someone like him, especially if it is him it's also directed at.

He tried to catch a reflective surface so he could look behind him but couldn't find any. No matter, he didn't feel anything dangerous coming off the stalker, so she or he was most likely just curious.

He kept on walking, ignoring the itch between his shoulder blades and eventually ended up on the outskirts of the town.

Maybe he should visit Fluttershy. He had given her a apology for leaving the spot she told him to wait at, but he felt like he owed her a little more considering the panicked state she'd been in when she'd come flying to the library yesterday. However he decided to save that visit for later. Right now he just wanted to explore the area surrounding Ponyville. He was really curious about the Everfree Forest and knew it should be somewhere west of Ponyville.

It sounded as good an idea as any other so he kept on walking, following the dirt road stretching over the hills and between trees spread out sporadically. As he passed through a small cluster of trees he emerged out from them seeing a short but empty field stretching before him.

On the other side of the field stood a forest, its trees dark and tightly grown side by side. Where the field and land behind was vibrant and colourful, the forest and even the sunlight shining down on it before him was gloomier, and there was mist between the trees hiding whatever was inside.

Karon looked to his left and right. The empty field before him stretched from side to side for what seemed to be forever, as if the land of the ponies wanted some sort of invisible border separating their home and that of the Everfree Forest, and as if they wanted nothing to do with its darker nature and untold mysteries.

How could he resist having a look?

He crossed the field of grass and stopped before a small opening between two large trees. It certainly looked foreboding, but he was a student of the magical arts. Dark mysteries and ancient seats of power were his bread and butter and did not deter him at all.

He went trough the opening and was quickly devoured by the ancient forest as the mist swallowed him up, and darkness surrounded him. He stood still for a few minutes and waited for his eyes to adjust.

Whatever forces that made sure even the nights in Equestria were bright either did not work or choose to not work in the forest, because even after his eyes had adjusted to the gloom it was still pretty dark. And so with a lack of other options he merely shrugged and began walking forward, making sure he did not trip over any exposed roots or walk into a low hanging branch.

The mist made it hard to see, and in the distance he could occasionally hear strange sounds breaking the otherwise silent forest. Maybe predators of some kind?

He stopped and briefly considered the indications of that possibility.

Twilight had mentioned several different kinds of creatures that could be encountered in here that would probably consider him food despite being an unknown. She didn't mention if they were intelligent or not, but he would guess a no to that question. That meant that they could be fooled a lot more easily than ponies, but they would probably have heightened senses, so using some kind of invisibility technique would be too risky and far too tiring.

However, animals usually had a flight or fight reaction to most situations. He had no intention of fighting anything inside a place that would breed such dangerous creatures, so Karon would have to make them fear him.

Easy enough.

He faced a tree standing to his right and put both of his hands on it's trunk and relaxed his mind. He gently allowed his awareness to encompass the trees and he soon felt himself form a connection to the collective consciousness of the forest around him. Each tree, bush or other plant life connected to each other forming a massive union of what could be called minds.

It wasn't anything like the minds of mammals or reptiles, but it was still a mind, and one that could be communicated with.

Karon felt a brief resistance as the forest fought back against this intruder, but it calmed down when it realized it was not under attack. The forest mind did not experience emotions as other life forms do, but it still had a sense of what we would have called curiosity and allowed Karon to continue.

He searched through the collective of minds until he felt a stronger concentration of mental energy. He didn't know where it came from exactly, but he knew that it belonged to a tree, a very old tree. He got the sense of almost endless seasons flowing around him. Rain falling down on him from the thick clouds above. The sun fighting through the perpetual gloom to reach the tallest trees stretching up in hope of capturing some of the light. He felt winters and summers pass by in endless cycles.

He felt all of it and in turn he allowed some of his own memories to be felt by the tree. The sudden change from the dark and warm existence in a womb, the harsh light in his eyes and soft cooing of a parent. His legs giving out underneath him as he tried to stand for the first time, his mouth trying to form his first word unsuccessfully.

He didn't dare give more than early childhood memories, but it was enough for the tree. It was satisfied that the creature before him meant no harm. They had connected their lives for a brief moment and had judged each other to be worthy.

Karon sent one last feeling of being honored in thanks and shifted his awareness back to his body. The connection to the forest was still there in the background, and it provided him with protection. As long as that connection remained he had the blessing of the entire forest and nothing in it would dare touch him. Any animal that discovered him would immediately feel a sense of dread should it ever even consider harming him.

Nature's wrath is terrible.

With new confidence Karon set off deeper into the woods at a steady pace, despite being slowed down by the terrain. He would have become exhausted quickly if he had been in his old body, but with his new one, he instead felt a kind of burning joy at pushing it beyond what was comfortable.

To his surprise, he eventually stumbled out of the mist and found a trail. It looked to be regularly used despite the location.

Either it must led to some water hole used by the animals, or it was the trail leading too and from Ponyville. He considered going deeper into the forest, but he felt he had explored enough for today. The forest would remain and he had nothing but time on his hands. He could come back tomorrow or the day after that.

The question is, which way leads out and which way goes deeper in?

“Hmm, well the sun is hiding behind all those dark clouds above, so I can't judge by that. And I haven't gotten used to this planet's magnetic field yet so I can't sense which way is north or south. Maybe the forest knows?”

“So ask it then.”

He brought the connection with the forest up to the forefront of his conscious and probed for some sensation of where the forest felt that the road led. It was an odd question for the forest because it did not understand at first. Eventually though it sent back a feeling of ending, where the forest's awareness stopped.

“That way.”

Karon sent another feeling of gratitude into the forest's mind and headed off left, following the trail. He heard creaking around him from time to time but whatever creatures were watching him must have gotten the forest's point because they remained hidden.

Eventually he saw a bright light in front of him and the forest opened up to reveal the serene landscape that was Equestria once more. He took a look behind him before stepping over the invisible line separating the two lands, and as soon as he did, his connection to the forest cut off.

Karon wasn't surprised by that, but he increased his pace just in case some kind of predator had followed him to the edge and was eyeing him hungrily now. He couldn't sense any danger, but he had been wrong before.

He saw Ponyville in the distance and decided to run the last stretch. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped he wasn't late for his appointment with Rarity. A gentleman does not keep a lady waiting after all.

He began jogging at a medium pace. Despite his new body and it's superior state in regards to his old one he was beginning to feel pretty tired. He needed to try and learn his limits so they wouldn't take him by surprise if he ever needed to push himself in the future.

As he was closing in on Ponyville he began thinking back to the Everfree forest.

“It certainly was a lot darker in nature than what I have seen of Equestria so far, and I am not just talking about the light when I say that.”

“I know, it is a lot more similar to Earth.”

“I just don't understand the relationship between the forest and Equestria. They are so close together, yet that invisible line was not just a visual helper. There was an actual border of some kind separating the forest's awareness and Equestria.”

“You have been in this world for little more than two days. There are a lot of mysteries waiting to be discovered and solved, and some of them might be a lot darker than you first imagined.”

“Yes, I thought this world would be easily understood because it seemed so innocent and almost naïve in it's design.”

“You are a student of the arts and mysteries. You of all people should know that nothing is what it first appears to be. Maybe this world isn't as innocent and naïve as you believe.”

“Maybe not.”

Karon had been deep in thought and hadn't noticed he had passed into Ponyville already, in fact he could see Rarity's boutique from where he was standing. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply trying to steady his heartbeat. He remained like that for a couple of minutes before he straightened up and wiped the sweat from his face. Rarity might not appreciate him stinking up the place, but he had no other options right now unless he chose to postpone his visit.

He walked to the door and was just about to knock when something suddenly slammed into him from behind and flung him straight into the door, smashing it open as he was thrown inside.

                                       *********************************

Rarity had spent the entirety of last night coming up with ideas for Karon's clothes. It was so exciting! She had never before made anything like this, well unless you counted that outfit for Spike when he acted as narrator during the Hearth's Warming Eve play.

But that had been after an already created design and she had just followed the instructions. No this was entirely different! She didn't know what exactly the humans considered to be attractive in their fashion, but she had to assume it was close to their own standards for beauty.

After all, she had seen that he had been wearing a robe almost identical in design as some of the unicorns that had magic as their talent often liked to wear. So she had chosen to focus on recreating and improving some of the usual designs popular among such unicorns and make something that fitted Karon.

She had only seen his robe and that had only been in plain old black. Not many ponies wore that colour and they definitely did not use it exclusively. She hoped that Karon didn't mind wearing something a little more colourful. She didn't think she could stand making clothes with nothing but black.

She had gone to sleep with grand ideas floating around in her head and slept contently knowing she would have ample opportunity to present all her ideas in the morning.

As soon as she had woken up, she had taken care of all the work that needed her attention as quickly as she could. After that had been taken care of it was around eleven and she had spent nearly an hour after that fixing her mane, foaling around with different clothes she perhaps could wear and other activities in preparation for Karon's arrival.

He had so far acted like a perfect gentlecolt, besides that little slip up last night, and she wanted to look her best for his visit.

She had just managed to apply her mascara in a perfect amount when she heard the front door bang open with a loud crash and something yelped loudly in surprise and pain. She turned around and ran to investigate, stopping herself briefly to look in a mirror before giving a satisfied nod then running out to the store.

She gasped when she was meet by the sight of Karon lying on the floor groaning in pain and behind him stood Scootaloo wearing a helmet and balancing on that little scooter of hers. Flanking her was Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, both of them wearing determined expressions.

All three of them looked up and saw Rarity standing there with her mouth open in surprise. They quickly circled around the still groaning Karon and positioned themselves between him and Rarity as if protecting her.

Rarity snapped out of it and looked down at the fillies with their back turned to her.

“Girls no,no,no what did you do!?”

“Helping you sis! We were just passing by on our way to the clubhouse when we saw that thing lurking about outside your store! Scootaloo went right into it and it fell trough the door. If you hurry and get help before it wakes up we can catch it!”

All three fillies looked at each other with perfect synchrony and loudly shouted.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS THING-CATCHERS!”

Rarity's eyes shouted just how furious she was with the little fillies, but she didn't want to act unladylike in front of Karon, no matter of dazed he appeared to be.

“Girls, you simply must stop acting before you think things through! This is no 'thing', this is Karon. He's a human currently staying with Twilight and he came here because he wanted me to help him in designing some clothes!”

“Ya mean it can talk?” Applebloom looked confused as she shifted her glance between the slumped form of Karon and the scowling Rarity. “Then why didn' it say something?”

Rarity felt it was very hard at the moment to act with the proper grace befitting a lady, but she tried to answer in as calm a voice as possible. “Did you stop to ask him what he was doing?”

Applebloom scrounged her face and carefully thought back before she answered. “Oh yeah, that's right. We never did.”

She turned towards Karon and said in a very neutral voice. “Ah'm sorry.”

Karon only groaned in response.

She looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell and nudged them both when they didn't say anything.

“I'm sorry mister, we didn't know you were a friend.”

“Fine I'm sorry too, can we go now? If we can't be thing catchers, then we should go back to what we were doing before getting here,” Scootaloo said in an inpatient tone.

“Yeah!” both her friends exclaimed at the same time, and all three of the formed up and shouted, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE-EXPLORERS!” Before they turned around and rushed outside.

“We'll I'm glad that's over so we ca- ... Wait what did they say? Girls! GIRLS!”

Rarity ran out of the shop and set off after the little fillies as fast as she could before they could get away. Karon was left on the floor inside the boutique and groaned a final time for good measure.

                                          ************************************

It wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. Sure whatever it was that had hit him in the back hurt like hell at first, but the pain quickly receded. No, he decided to remain on the floor and act incapacitated because he could hear from the tone of the voices that what attacked him must have been children of some kind.

And right now what he wanted to do was not child friendly. If he got up he knew he would have to act like a gentleman should and communicate peacefully with the little monsters. So he continued groaning and didn't look up as Rarity spoke with them. He could hear she was angry but held back. Maybe it was his presence here or something else, either way he was disappointed. He had hoped for some kind of punishment.

“Karon ... Never have any children. EVER!”

“I wasn't planning to.”

“I am not joking. If you spawn a little monster like these kids I...I will commit suicide.”

“But we're the same?”

“Exactly.”

He heard the little monsters run out of the store with Rarity following after them and groaned a final time before he pushed himself off the floor. He looked behind himself and saw Rarity running after three little pony children of an indeterminable age, one of which was riding some kind of bike or skateboard.

“Now I've seen everything.”

“You do know that saying that is like challenging the universe to fuck up your day right?”

“No, that's when you say that it couldn't possible get any w-”

“Don't you dare say it!”

“Hehe, just kidding.”

He groaned again, this time it was real.

He looked around the boutique. It was spacious and there were several mannequins shaped like ponies. Some of them were empty, some of them had clothes of different kinds on them, but all of them were pretty colourful and ... Well, frilly might be a bit strong but they had definitely a distinct feeling of old French aristocracy over them. All that was missing was a huge wig.

“Oh look, on the top shelf: a huge white frilly wig.”

Karon really hoped that Rarity would be open to suggestions when it came to designing clothes because he would not wear anything like that even if his life depended on it. He began taking a closer look around the shop when he heard the sound of somepony entering the store, he looked and saw Rarity coming inside with a tired expression.

“Is something wrong my lady?”

She looked at him with gratitude, happy the little incident hadn't made him lose his chivalry.

“No, no, nothing wrong at all. Those three were just about to go into the Everfree forest to find some caves to explore, but no matter. That's all taken care of now.”

She walked over to the closest mirror and took a look in it. She looked a little displeased at the sight but Karon couldn't see anything wrong with her looks. She looked just as stunning as always.

“Well, well, well, even you seem to have fallen for her beauty.”

“I can appreciate it for what it is. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

“She's already managed to get one biped to fall in love with her, why not two?”

Karon didn't answer. Instead he decided it was high time to really put some effort into his flattery.

“Surely my lady, you are not worried that you are not yet prepared to receive guests.”

She turned around facing him and looked a little worried despite his words.

“Well, all that running did ruin my mane a little.”

He smiled at her until she met his gaze.

“Nonsense my lady. It is impossible to improve upon perfection.”

“Oh that struck gold.”

Her pupils had dilated to almost double their usual size and her eyes practically glowed with joy after he'd said it. She trotted over and briefly stroked against his side as she passed him by before turning around and said.

“You are an absolute jewel, but come, I want to show you all of the designs I was busy drawing last night before going to sleep. I'm sure you will love all of them.”

He followed after the now giddy little unicorn as she walked into a different room. He saw there was a lot of drawings scattered here and there all over the room, among what seemed like every kind of implement available. Organized chaos ... Now he was really beginning to like Rarity.

“I take it that this is the room you use when searching for inspiration, am I correct?”

She turned around and stared at him in surprise.

“Why yes it is. How could you know that?” He smiled at her and stretched his arms out and moved them across the view of the room.

“I would recognize the seat of inspiration no matter where I found it. Few people can truly see the patterns where others merely see a mess,” he said the last part with a wink.

Her look of surprise turned into one of shock and she began eyeing him carefully, almost warily.

“You are the first one to ever see it that way besides myself. Why even Twilight thought that it was just untidy when she first saw it.”

“I do not doubt that. Twilight is an excellent practitioner of the magical arts, but her approach to things is a scholarly and very rigid one. But I ... I am an artist. And I have no trouble in recognizing another artisan no matter what art they practice, especially not one that is as obviously brilliant as you are lady Rarity.”

At first Karon got worried he had laid it on too thick because she looked worried and was staring at the floor distantly, her hoof thoughtfully placed underneath her chin. He didn't want to pressure a response from her but after a few minutes of silence it was getting unbearable and he gently cleared his throat.

Her head snapped up and she looked at him.

“Is everything all right? You looked worried my lady.”

“Oh I'm terribly sorry about that, it's just ... I've never meet anypony that could see right trough me the way you do. It is honestly a bit unnerving.”

"It was never my intentions to make you uncomfortable. Can you forgive me?”

“Darling, there's nothing to forgive. I'm just being ridiculous standing here worrying for nothing. Give me a moment.” She straightened her back and her horn began to glow as several sketches floated off the ground and settled on a desk next to the wall.

Both of them walked over to it and Rarity let Karon pick them up and look them trough.

“She certainly is creative.”

The designs were mostly different variations of robes and mantles. Some consisted of different pieces supposed to go together, while other designs were just a normal robe but with patterns of all kinds in almost every colour combination that existed.

They looked kind of nice, with the exception of all the colours and the occasional laces. He would not wear anything with laces, period.

“These are very imaginative lady Rarity. I would like to make a few adjustments but otherwise I think we are almost ready to begin sewing. Maybe half an hour of discussion and then we will be ready to begin."

After three hours they hadn't gotten any further.

“You can not be serious! Nopony mixes black and red for an outfit. It's just depressing to look at! And the shape of those shoulders are just ridiculous! They should be much more closely fit. And the other outfit is even worse, just look at it! We would have to use double stitches for that, which would ruin the whole thing! I don't know what kind of garish clothes humans wear, but around here nopony would ever be caught wearing something so dreadful!” Rarity was screaming at Karon, who in turn had gotten sore in the throat from all the screaming he'd done himself.

Things had gone well at the start, but after a few small disagreements of proper clothing design and what was appropriate they had both realized something.

The both of them were incredibly stubborn.

Rarity believed firmly that a light colour scheme of at least three colours and a closely fitted upper piece with a wider lower piece was the most desirable way to make Karon more presentable. Karon on the other hand wanted a one piece robe with no more than two colours mixed in and preferably a hat of some kind to go with it.

They had now been arguing with each other for over two hours about the pros of their respective ideas and the cons of the other's. And they were getting tired, but neither wanted to give any ground after fighting for so long.

Finally Karon relented.

“Fine! If you are so set in making me look like an exploding rainbow, then we'll do that ... lady Rarity.” It was incredible that he had managed to keep this up for so long after everything else he had done during the day. But now he was feeling exhausted and his mind was becoming so groggy that he was worried that he might start slurring or something else very ungentlemanly.... The shouting didn't count.

She looked over at him with suspicion in her eyes. “What do you mean by that exactly?”

He took a deep breath and calmed down, she was doing him a favour after all.

“We can compromise. I say we make a one piece set robe, but we can use three colours for it with a matching hat with two colours. We design the robe with a fitted waistband so it looks similar to a two piece set and also matching boots. Does that sound agreeable ... my lady?”

He almost growled that last part.

At first Rarity's eyes shone in triumph but they hastily narrowed as she pointed at him with her hoof and asked.

“What colours?”

“Black, red and gold.”

“Never! Light blue, yellow and deep blue hems.”

“Purple main colouring, maroon centre lines and black hems!”

“Ridiculous! Red main colouring, pink hems and sky blue intersections!”

“Ha laughable! Dark red main colouring, dark green centre lined stripe and golden hems!”

She was about to shout something back before Karon raised his hand and stopped her.

“The hat can be in red with a golden cord along it's base.”

“What kind of hat are you proposing?”

Karon grabbed a sketch and pencil and hastily drew a copy of the hat Gandalf wore. He had wanted one for quite some time since he knew how much playing to the stereotype would piss of his old master.

“Ugh, that's the same kind of hat that insufferable Trixie wore.”

“Who? Never mind, do you agree to this?”

She hummed gently to herself and put her hoof under her chin again. Her eyes flickered up and down the hat as she imagined it in different colours together with the main outfit.

“Red in colour but with a band around the base in black but with golden string sewn in a pattern.”

“Really you're thinking black? Okay then I ... wait, in what pattern is the thread sewn?”

“I was thinking perhaps a triangular knot pattern?”

“No way, criss cross side stitches!”

“You are the most insufferable creature I have ever encountered before!”

“I get that a lot. I mean ... If you say so lady Rarity.”

They looked at each other, both still breathing heavily from the shouting and Rarity's skin – coat – whatever it was – shone a little from the exertion. Her cheeks were reddened and her eye's were shining more than they usually did.

She stared at him with a gaze he couldn't decipher the meaning of and looked about to take a step towards him before she froze and took a step backwards instead.

“I can begin working on it later tonight if you want it ready by the morning,” she said it in a tone that indicated she wanted to make peace with him.

“If you have the time, I would appreciate it greatly,” he said it in the same tone as she had, and gave her a knowing smile. She smiled back at him and once more they stared into each others eyes.

This time Karon broke away first.

“But I hope you will be free this evening?”

She tilted her head a little to the side before asking.

“Why, I might be. What is it you are asking me exactly?”

He laughed a little before responding. “I am afraid much of the surprise party Pinkie Pie threw went unappreciated from my side. I want to make amends, so I am planning on throwing her a surprise party this evening.”

She looked a little disappointed for some reason when he first said it, but she quickly turned her face into a smile again.

“You are a true gentlecolt Karon. Not many would bother to even try, especially not since Pinkie isn't even aware that you didn't enjoy her party.”

“She might not be, but I am. That is enough for me.”

"Yeah right. No hidden agenda behind a veil of chivalry at all."

“Well, I certainly couldn’t forgive myself if I missed a party for such a noble cause. Where is it going to take place and when exactly?”

“I have yet to work out the details. I was planning on taking care of that after my visit here but I had not anticipated on staying this long.”

She blushed a little and turned her face away. “Well, I am partially to blame for that.” She looked back at him. “I was busy taking care of a very difficult client of mine.”

Karon laughed and shook his head. “That sounds absolutely dreadful. There is no excuse for such behaviour when in the presence of such a divine creature as yourself. Do you think you can ever forgive such a foal for his actions?”

“Well I might eventually, but he would have to earn it.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, he liked Rarity. She might at first only appear to be a superficial drama queen, and she was to some extent, but there was also so much more complexity to her than that.

“You LIKE like her.”

“This again. I am not interested in a relationship with a pony.”

“You say that now, but it's been four years since you last had sex. Wait another month or two and we'll see how you feel about it then.”

“You are a disgusting little man you know that.”

“Right back at you. Oh wait I am you.”

“Well lady Rarity, I hope that this client of yours will make amends soon. Maybe he will be at the party tonight and you can see him there.”

“Well, I guess I could come, if only to give him a chance to apologize.”

“Excellent, I will make sure Twilight sends out invitations when the place and time is set.”

Rarity nodded with a smug look on her face and walked him to the door, before he left he turned to her and asked.

“Oh and I was wondering if you happen to know where I might find a high quality supplier of fine spirits.”

She arched an eyebrow at this, but then her face split into a grin that could have rivaled Karon at his worst. “Oh you naughty thing.”

“Ok, that was HOT.”

She cleared her throat and leaned in closer, Karon could feel her breath as she turned her head up towards him.

“You should go see Applejack out at her farm. I know by way of a few clients of mine that her family is responsible for supplying some of the restaurants in Canterlot with such wares.”

He gave her a wink and silence formed the words “Thank you” with his lips.

She just stifled a laugh in returned and waved him off.

“To Applejack's it is.”

He began walking towards the southwest. Twilight had told him that the Apple family farm was in that direction, and so he followed the road that was supposed to take him there. The sun was creeping slowly towards the horizon and he needed to pick up his pace if he wanted to pull this whole thing off. He began jogging once more. His legs felt tired but there was still a lot left in them.

After running for a short while and passing by more of the almost identical hills and trees, he saw huge acres of nothing but apple trees stretching over and around many hills all around. In the centre of it all stood a barn and a house. He assumed it must be the Apple family house and ran a little faster towards it. He rounded a fence and came across a small road leading through the apple fields towards the house and set on it.

The house was rapidly becoming closer so he stopped running and walked the rest of the way at a slow pace, taking in the scenery.

He saw what looked like an ancient pony with lots of wrinkles and white hair sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and looked out at the fields stretching off into the distance.

He walked up to her as she saw him coming and asked in the most respectable tone he could muster.

“Afternoon ma’am. You wouldn't happen to be Granny Smith, the elder of the apple family?”

“Ah'm Granny Smith alright, but who are you coming here asking questions? Ah ain't ever seen one of your kind here before.”

“No, I don't believe any of my kind has ever been here before. I am a friend of Applejack's and came here hoping to discuss a little business with her.”

“Ye're a friend of Applejack's? Why didn't you just say so from the start!”

She gently got out of the rocking chair with what sounded like the worst case of arthritis he had ever heard. It wasn't even supposed to be something one could hear! She slowly made her way to the front door and opened it before shouting in a voice far louder than someone that fragile should be able to produce.

“APPLEJACK, YA GOT A VISITOR HERE FOR YA!”

She smiled at him- even her smile squealed with old age- and slowly walked back to her rocking chair.

A few seconds later Applejack came trotting out the front door. “Now what the hay is ya'll shouting about?” She stopped as she saw Karon standing on the porch.

“Hello there Applejack, I was wondering if I could take a minute of your time. I have a proposal for you.”

“Say what now?”

“Business, I have a business proposal.”

“Ya do? Well then step inside.”

He followed her indoors and leaned against the door frame as she turned around.

“So, what are ya suggesting?”

“I am at the moment planning a surprise party for Pinkie later tonight since I was to overwhelmed by everything to enjoy her's properly yesterday.”

“No, you just want too see Pinkie Pie get drunk.”

“Hush you.”

“Anyway, I was told by Rarity that your family was responsible for the distribution of fine spirits around these parts.”

“Why that gossipy... Where did she hear of that? Never mind, why would ya want that for.”

“Well it is customary to include fine spirits in any party where I am from. It helps people relax and open up to each other. Anyway, would it be possible for me to procure a few bottles or caskets or whatever else you use for storing it?”

“Well ... Ah guess it won't hurt for ya to take a look at it. But ya said you would be paying for it? Ah thought you just arrived here and didn't have any bits at all?”

“Just show me where the brewery is and I will explain there.”

“Alright then.”

“Let's hope you're right now.”

Applejack went over to a door under the stairs and opened it before heading down into a basement, Karon followed closely behind and came down into a small but clean brewery.

“As I thought.”

“Would you mind me having a look at the wares first?”

“'Course, here ya go.”

She went over to a large crate and opened it before picking up a bottle from it with her mouth.

“How sanitary.”

She went over to Karon and gave him the bottle, his eyes widened and he almost dropped the bottle in shock when he took a look at it. It had an amber liquid in it and a black label that said in silvery letters, 'Applejack's Daniels'.

“...What ... the ... fuck....”

“Yeah, if I ever needed a definite proof of the close relationship between Earth and Equestria, this would be it.”

Applejack was looking at him with a confused glance.

“Somethin' the matter?”

“Oh no, it was just ... Well, it reminded me of something that's all.” He cleared his throat.

“Well I think this would do nicely, would it be possible for me to take say, twelve bottles with me.”

“Ah guess, but how are ya planning on paying for all of it.”

He gently shook the bottle in his hands.

“Would you mind me having a sip of this, I wish to confirm something.”

“Have a go.”

He nodded and unscrewed the bottle and took a sip. Strong, burning with a woody taste mixed with the sourness of apples. Definitely whiskey.

“Just as I thought, you're distillery process is flawed.”

Applejacks eyes narrowed and her tone became dangerous.

“What do ya mean it's 'wrong'? Are you saying Ah'm cheating in ma work?”

“No nothing like that, but let me ask you, how did you come across the way of making this? Since it's called Applejack's daniels I assume you are the creator of this brand.”

“Well ... it all started when ma granddaddy ate a bunch of spoiled apples. After that, he began letting them spoil on purpose and try and make a drink out of it. After a while he asked a bunch of unicorns for help an they helped set him up with this contraption here, but he passed away before he could start using it, so ah did it for him and got into the business of selling.”

“Interesting, well the process of making whiskey is simple in theory but more complex in practice.”

“Whiskey? What is that.”

“Why this type of drink of course. What do you call it?”

“Ah call it a daniels. Thats why it's called Applejack's daniels.”

Karon's left eye began twitching.

“Uh ... sure, okay. Well making 'daniels' is more complicated than what it seems, at least if you want to make it really good. If you give me twelve bottles I will help you improve your recipe and process. If you are satisfied with my work afterwards I can also help you expand upon your product base, creating new kinds of spirits. Especially after I have familiarized myself with the local herbs and plants.”

“We'll, it does sound like an honest deal, so why not.”

She spat in her hoof and stretched it out towards him.

“Why not?”

He spat in his palm and gave her an icky high five.

“We'll that's settled then. Where do ya want it delivered?”

“Do you think you could deliver it to the library? I am thinking of setting up the party there, and be discreet. I don't want Pinkie to find out.”

“Ah'll be in an out without anypony the wiser.”

He nodded in return and after having said goodbye to Granny Smith, headed off towards Ponyville again. Now he needed to find a way to distract Pinkie and later lead her to the library, and also get to Twilight so she could magically send out invitations to everyone in the town. Oh and also get some pastries and such for food.

Karon might be talented at many fields of magic but mass teleportation of party invitations was an area he freely admitted to sucking at.

He saw the sun was beginning to set and started to feel stressed, and so took of at a run, but halfway towards Ponyville his instincts screamed at him to duck, so he flung himself abruptly to the side and heard a crash behind him. Just where he had been standing a moment ago was now a very dazed Rainbow Dash looking confused at hitting the ground instead of him.

“I take it you're ready for round two?”

She shook her head and sprung up into the air with a grin.

“Hey if I wanted to I could take you down in ten seconds flat!”

“My, my that is big talk coming from someone who can't avoid crashing into the ground. My advice is to try steering.”

She didn't respond other than ram into him again. This time though she caught him unguarded and went right into his stomach.

Karon felt all air punch out of him and clutched the pegasus tightly to him locking his arm while he began waiting for air to seep back into him. But she had obviously learned something from last time and was expecting it. She started squirming in every possibly way. She didn't weigh much, but she had very strong muscles and a sleek body, and eventually he lost his grip and she shot up into the air.

Karon briefly considered cutting her flying ability off again but decided not to. This was a contest of the body, not the mind.

He fell down on his knees and put his hands over his chest and hoped she would take the bait.

She did.

She might have expected him to try and grab her again but he had also learned from their encounter. She loved to fly up and dive straight into people. It was her attack of choice he figured. So when he saw her set off towards him, he tipped back on his back and spread his legs apart while shifting his body so she wouldn't come crashing straight into his crotch.

Instead she dove right over him but was caught between his legs when he slammed them together. He twisted over so he was lying sideways with Rainbow Dash waist firmly locked between his legs. Her wings were still free and she began flapping them furiously, Karon's eyes narrow and he shaped his hand into a fist with his thumb stretched straight out and punched into the intersection of muscles right beneath her left wing.

He had been right. They were similar in the location of their nervous system. And he had just punched into a cluster responsible for her wing. She screamed out in pain as her body arched itself before becoming very still. Normally he wouldn't like the thought of hurting a pony, but Rainbow Dash had chosen to play the offended warrior.

The martial world is painful. That had been one of Karon's masters first lessons.

“Do you surrender?” he asked the pegasus.

She began struggling again for a moment, but it was half hearted and she sighed and nodded her head. He let go of her and got up on his feet, he looked down as the pegasus flapped her wings a few times before rising up in the air.

She looked sad.

Karon smiled at her and asked in a voice that made it sound like a question. “Better luck next time?”

She looked at him surprised but then smiled and nodded, thinking perhaps that he understood her better than she first thought.

“You know, you got some pretty sleek moves, where'd you learn that?”

“A grouchy old man in the middle of the woods.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, anyway Rainbow I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?”

“I don't now, depends on what you want.”

“I am planning a surprise party for Pinkie Pie. I was hoping someone could distract her for a while then take her to the library.”

“Your planning a surprise party for Pinkie? Why?”

He briefly considered giving the same excuse as he had to the others but decided that Rainbow Dash was the kind of prankster that might appreciate his little scheme.

“Hehe, well I want to repay her for that party last night and also ... I'm planning on getting her drunk.”

Her mouth fell open at the words and she just stared at him before she began laughing.

“Ohhh, that is so awesome! Of course I'll help with that. I've never seen Pinkie drunk. I'll bet it will be the best party ever.”

“I was hoping the same. So, do we have a deal?”

“Hay yeah. So, when do you want me to bring her over?”

“I'll send you a message. You'll understand when you get it.”

She shrugged in reply, “Okay then, see you later.” She shot off with what looked like a rainbow trailing after her.

Karon smiled and headed of towards Ponyville again.

“Pastries and Twilight left. I know there were plenty of left overs from the party yesterday which should still be at the library.”

He jogged the rest of the way and opened the door to the library breathing heavily and sweating, Twilight wasn't in the main room so he headed up the stairs and found her reading a book lying on her bed.

She looked up when she heard him enter and give him a quick glance.

“What happened to you?”

“A lot of running, among other things. Say, do you still have all those left overs from last night?”

“Yes, I didn't know what to do with it all so it's all stored in the fridge and freezer.”

“Excellent, I will bring them out and set up some tables and maybe put up some decorations.”

“What for?”

“I'm throwing Pinkie a surprise party as thank you for yesterday.”

She looked at him suspiciously but he only returned the glare with a smile.

“Anyway, Applejack should be over soon with some wares I ordered, and Rainbow is out keeping Pinkie distracted. I'll set up everything, but I need you to magically send out invitations to everypony in town that might want to come.”

“You're really taking this seriously aren't you?”

“I will allow you to organize all that's left if you help me.”

“Oooooh, sneaky.”

She looked at him with eyes saying she knew exactly what he was doing, but she still made some kind of annoyed sounds before adding.

“Fine! But there better not be some hidden agenda behind all of this.”

“Twilight I would never ever not do anything like that.” He smiled before he took off towards the kitchen leaving Twilight going over what he had just said.

He had began setting up tables she had stored in a small compartment in the second library room downstairs when she trotted down to him.

“Okay I'm ready to send out the invitations, when will the party start?”

He considered the questions for a moment before answering.

“In an hour, that should give us enough time to set it all up.”

She nodded and walked back up the stairs but stopped halfway up and looked down at him.

“Maybe you should think about showering first before anypony shows up.”

He looked at her with a puzzled look before he sniffed his cloth.

“Mother of god!”

“Yeah you're probably right, can you handle the rest of the set up while I do that.”

“Sure, the invitations will just take a few seconds to send out.”

He nodded and headed up the stairs after her, there was a bathroom entrance from her bedroom, he had no idea how the plumbing worked in Equestria but the hot water was lovely all the same. He spent a while soaking himself in the blissful heat before finally stepping out and drying himself with a small towel Twilight had given him.

He had put his clothes in a large bowl of water – he could clean them properly later – when he froze in the middle of picking them up.

There was a mirror on the wall.

There was a lot of condensation on it so he couldn't make anything out but he knew that if he wiped that away he would see his new self. He stepped forward and his hands shook a little as he slowly drew his hands over the reflective surface....

It was him all right, but he still looked different. His hair was shorter and lighter, his old hair had been straight and pitch black. This was wavier but charcoal or dark grey in colour.

His beard had the same colour but was shorter, now neatly cropped so it only draw a broad dark line across his jawline and stretched up from his chin in an O up too over his lip.

“Damn you fine, sexy.”

“Thank you, but I don't get the point of this.”

He was referring to his eyes, his old eyes had been a cold gray. These ones were of a strange almost orange or yellow colour.

“Amber, that's the word you're looking for.”

“Thank you. So what do you think?”

“Could be far worse. You could have ended up looking like Loki.”

This made him laugh at first but he stopped when he realized he DID look a little like him, the haircut, the beard, the strange eyes ... Of course Loke's eyes had been black but still...

“Maybe you should stop thinking in terms of Loke and more in terms of what he is.”

“Which is.”

“A trickster.”

Karon thought about this and realized he was right. If there was one thing that these changes had produced, it was the image of something  mischievous about him. When he looked in the mirror he saw someone that seemed to reflect and encompass all the virtues and sins of what one might expect from a trickster.

"He shaped me for what he wants me to become."

“No, he shaped you for what you already are, you simply now need to begin growing in it.”

“You're right.”

“Of course I am, I'm you.”

He smiled at himself and looking in the mirror he knew that that smile was something that belonged on that person. The person in the mirror looked like a trickster, but when he smiled there was no question about it. Karon took a deep breath and turned away, he walked over to his wet clothes and poured a little energy into them, heating them up until they had dried sufficiently for him to wear them.

He put them on and headed downstairs, where he saw that Twilight had finished everything and was now standing in front of a large crate next to Applejack.

She did not look happy.

“And what exactly where you planning on doing with this?” She motioned towards the crate with a hoof.

“Well, primarily it's for drinking but I guess you could use them as paperweights. Why do you ask?”

“This is why you asked me about the lack of alcohol at last night's party, because you planned to acquire some for now?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it's a party. I'm sorry Twilight, but from where I'm from a party isn't really a party without a drink or two.”

“Well this isn't ho-.”

“Apapapap, don't be like that now. This is my party and I take full responsibility for all that occurs because of my planning. Besides Twilight, you have to give me time to get used to your ways, I'm still getting adjusted to all of it.”

“That was just low. Really? You played the guilt card.”

Twilight looked away in shame before responding in a hollow tone.

“I know. Do whatever you want.”

Karon felt a twist in his heart from what he'd just done. He walked over to her and fell down on his knees and looked her in the eyes for a moment. Her eyes were full of so many emotions, pain, regret, sadness, anger. He looked at her for a while then did something entirely unexpected. He stretched out his arms and pulled her into an embrace.

Applejacks mouth fell open at this and Twilight's entire body had become rigid, he remained like that for a while until she finally relaxed and hugged him back.

He heard her sniff a few times, that was when he chose to speak.

“Stop blaming yourself Twilight, you are not responsible for my actions. I chose this even if I didn't know it at the time, and I don't regret it. I have more now than I ever had back home because my life there was so hollow, I couldn't feel how much was missing. I don't regret meeting you, or coming here meeting everypony else. So Twilight...”

He leaned back out from her and took her face in his hands and looked her deep in her eyes, a tear was trickling down her muzzle.

“...Thank you.”

She sniffed a few more times before smiling at him.

He gently squeezed her cheeks before standing up again, Applejack looked a little teary eyed as well.

“Nice speech, did you mean any of it?”

“More than I thought I would.”

“Enough of this weepy business. Twilight and Applejack could you welcome everypony while I send out a message to Rainbow to head over here in a short while.”

They both nodded and positioned themselves at the front door while Karon headed into the other room downstairs, what he called the little library. He stood in the middle of the room and folded his hands together. Hopefully this wouldn't take too much time.

He created a mental projection and shifted his awareness to it. Everything came out blurry and without sharp edges but it would work for now.

“Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash....” He repeated over and over until he felt a twinge coming from afar.

He set off after it, passing trough walls and other physical object like a ghost flying off towards the setting sun. He got the sense he was near Rainbow Dash and turned north, and when he got to a lake he could sense her close by.

He floated around in random directions before he picked up the sound of the thoughts of the pegasus he was looking for. He couldn't make her out very well but he felt her mind all the same, so he floated over to it and with painfully slow movements grasped her head with his hands.

Instantly he felt his mind connect to hers. She must have felt something as well because he mind began buzzing and her physical body moved around. But it didn't matter, he had hooked unto her mind.

“Rainbow Dash, this is Karon, you can bring Pinkie Pie over to the library now.”

“What they hay! How did you do that?!”

“You would need to read books to understand, so I wont bother trying to explain.”

“Now hold on just a second! Do you think I can't h-”

“Yes, yes I know I know. Now get moving, we're expecting you shortly.”

He broke off the connection and allowed his mental projection to disperse and was flung back into his physical body. His head snapped backwards and he fell down on the floor, but that was as much damage the sudden transition would do. Well, that and a headache, but that was nothing a little whiskey wouldn't cure.

He stepped out of the room and into the main library. It was full of ponies and all turned to look at him. He waved to them all and spoke loudly.

“Rainbow Dash should be here with Pinkie Pie in a few minutes. Everypony prepare yourselves!”

The ponies moved around a bit and formed a semi circle around the entrance waiting for the guest of honour to arrive. Karon went over to a table where someone had arranged a lot of cups and all the Applejack's daniels bottles. He grabbed one in each hand and went to the front of the gathered ponies and waited.

After a few minutes of waiting they heard the sound of a bouncing pony, unmistakably Pinkie Pie, and everyone went quiet and tensed up.

The door creaked open and in bounced the pink pony but immediately fell flat on her flank as all the ponies and one human screamed at the top of their lungs.

“SURPRISE!”

Pinkie Pie's face began almost glowing and her smile was huge as she looked at every pony gathered before her eyes went to Karon standing in the middle of them.

“A PARTY! But ... What are we celebrating?”

She looked thoughtful when she asked but in reply Karon merely lifted the bottles in each hand and shook them.

“In about half an hour Pinkie, that won't matter at all.”

Chapter 7: Should have stayed drunk...

A light struck, one so blindingly bright it seared a hole into Karon's mind, and he wanted to scream from the horrible pain. Instead, he groaned and with a massive effort put a hand over his face, shielding himself from the sunlight shining in his eyes.

“I hate hangovers.”

Karon's head throbbed painfully with every beat of his heart. His mouth felt dry and there was something stuck between his teeth.

He really, really did not want to get up.

But dehydration is a cruel mistress, and he eventually succumbed to the need for water. He was just about to try and sit up when he noticed something was holding him down. He rubbed his eyes a few times before blinking them open.

“Arghh! Why is the world so bright. Where is Nightmare Moon when you need her?”

At first Karon thought that he must still be dreaming. He shook his head once to clear it but immediately regretted the decision when the headache increased ten-fold.

The library looked like a battleground.

His mind couldn't comprehend all the strange impressions he was getting when he looked around. He tried to focus at one thing at a time instead and looked down towards whatever was holding him. It was Rarity, sleeping soundly with a tiny content smile on her lips, her body tightly pressed against his with a hoof over his chest. From this position she seemed a lot bigger than the ponies normally did when they were walking around on all fours.

Karon looked her over, and despite her mane being a bit more ruffled than usual and her mascara being a bit smeared, she still looked extremely beautiful.

“Don't comment on that.”

“I don't think there's any need to.”

“I think sunsets are pretty but I don't want have sex with the sun.”

“Please. If you could you probably would.”

Karon ignored the unhelpful thoughts and turned his body so he was facing Rarity directly. He was just about to try and remove her hoof when she moved in closer and muzzled into his chest with a happy sound.

“Must! Resist! The cuteness!”

“Is that even a word?!

“Yes it is. Now what do we do?”

“Remove her hoof and gently slip away ... after a little cuddling.”

“Good man.”

Karon smiled down at the sleeping form of the unicorn and placed his left hand against her side and began stroking it up and down slowly. She reacted with a low moan and stroked her muzzle up and down in return, her horn was dangerously close to his throat but he ignored it. This was just too adorable.

But, his body was constantly reminding him that it really wanted some water, and Karon eventually relented and removed Rarity's hoof and stood up. His head swam with images as he looked down at Rarity and he had a flashback from last night.

                                                 **********************************

Ponies can not hold their liquor.

There had to be at least 30 ponies in here, yet not a single one of them was sober. Of course, neither was he.

All around him there were ponies dancing in spastic movements to non-existent music. Well, that wasn't true, there was someone singing very loudly somewhere but he couldn't make out the words. Karon's head felt fuzzy and his entire body was infused with a pleasant glow. He stumbled by a group of ponies lying on the floor playing some kind of weird game. He didn't know what it was, but it looked fun.

He remembered that he wanted a cupcake, those things were delicious. He looked around himself and saw a table standing just a few steps away. He licked his lips in preparation of the godly treat when he noticed his right leg was stuck.

He was first confused at this but then he looked down and saw that Rarity was holding it. She was saying something looking up at him with pleading eyes.

“Whaaat!?” he had screamed at the unicorn.

“Please, please, please, please, please forgive me. I only wanted to make you clothes, beautiful clothes. Fabulous clothes! I didn't mean to shout at you, ohhh I'm such a bad lady. I can't even control myself at all.”

Karon's brows furrowed in the heroic attempt to discern the meaning of what she had just said.

“Whaaaat?”

“I said I'm a bad lady. A real lady would never get into a shouting match with a gentlecolt like you. Please forgive me!”

Slowly realization seeped into Karon's brain and his confused look vanished with a smile.

“I ... I ... I underschtand completely.” He swayed a little when he spoke and stretched down his hands, grabbed Rarity underneath her arms and lifted her up into the air, holding her out in front of him.

In some distant part of his mind, his body was screaming at him not to do that while bending his back but he didn't pay any attention to that. He was happily drunk. It could wait.

“You ... You are a pretty little lady ... and don't you forget it,” he said looking at Rarity.

Then he brought her up to him and kissed her.

At least he thought that was what he was doing. He wasn't entirely sure. He couldn't really feel anything, and he couldn't see that well either. But he thought he was kissing her. He knew his tongue was moving around so he assumed they were because he knew there was also something else in his mouth moving around with it.

He looked around the room while presumingly still kissing Rarity and saw that Twilight was standing over there, looking very grumpy. He couldn't let that happen, this was a party.

He moved Rarity back out and held her at eye level before adding.

“Soo-o, will you still make me the clothes?”

“O-of course darling ... anything for you.”

Karon looked at the unicorn carefully, or tried to at least. He scrounged up his eyes to better make sense of what he saw but it slipped away. She just looked like something. At least she wasn't about to start crying like before. Karon didn't like crying, it was icky and ... well icky. He did not want to deal with a crying unicorn, kissing her seemed to have made it better so he left it at that and unceremoniously dropped Rarity before stumbling towards Twilight.

                                                  *******************************

“Garh, stupid brain! Why would you do that?” Karon was hunched over and rubbing his temples. That little memory had brought with it an even worse headache than before and a sick feeling in his stomach.

He had kissed Rarity.

Sure it had only been because he really didn't want to see her cry, and he'd been drunk. Drunken logic works differently. He really hoped she wouldn't remember anything. She would most likely take it the wrong way. It would be terribly unfair to make life complicated for him when he didn't even get a chance to enjoy it properly.

“Uhh, not that I would want to.”

“Yes, yes. Obvious denial blablabla etc.”

He ignored his inner voice once more and thought back. He had a dim recollection of Rarity popping up every now and then around him for the rest of the night trying to get him out of his clothes so she could better take measurements.

“Oh no...”

And when he'd told her he couldn't because human males didn't have the luxury of hiding their private parts like colts did, she had become even more frantic about getting him naked.

“Rarity can not handle alcohol.”

“Look around you, no pony can.”

Karon had to admit that there was a point in that. Looking around the room, he wasn't even sure where to begin sorting this mess out.

“Water first.”

He nodded to himself and stepped over Rarity and then walked into the kitchen on unsteady legs. He opened the door but froze when he saw what was inside.

“Is that Spike?”

“Yes.”

“And he's sleeping on top of a bear?”

“Looks that way.”

“Should I go?”

“Fuck no, I'm thirsty.”

He briefly considered this and then walked inside trying to avoid making any loud noises. He opened a cabinet and took out a mug that he filled with water from the sink. He closed his eyes and savored the cooling relief spreading throughout his body. He repeated this three times before looking to his left at Spike and the bear.

The bear was awake.

It had somehow managed to move Spike to the table and stand up without making a single sound.

“Fight or flight?”

“I'm way too tired for this.”

He did neither, and instead he just looked at the bear for a few seconds before stretching his mug out towards him and asked, “Want some?”

The bear growled in response and walked over to the counter where he stopped and looked at Karon with brown eyes.

Karon filled the mug with water again and put it on the counter next to the bear. The bear stood up on its back legs and bent over, grasping the mug with both paws as it began licking up the water. It made a sound very similar to Karon's previous groans. Looking behind the bear, Karon saw that there was an empty bottle of Applejack's daniels on the floor.

“I hear ya big boy.”

The entire situation was so bizarre that Karon had just decided to go with the flow. He didn't have the will to do anything else at the moment anyway. He gave the bear a pat on the back and it responded with a rumbling sound as Karon headed for the door. He stopped before going through it and picked up a scroll of some kind that Spike was cradling in his arms.

It had a large golden seal on it and after a few painful moments of hard thinking he came to the conclusion that it must be one of those messages princess Celestia sent to Twilight. He pocketed it and decided to bring it to her once she'd woken up, wherever she was.

He walked into the library again and stood there, looking around himself.

“Where do I even begin?”

“How about we start at the most obvious point.”

It sounded reasonable, so Karon walked across the room to the other side and stopped to consider what the hell it was that stood before him.

Someone had built a fort, out of books.

And it wasn't a small fort either, it stood taller than Karon and even had two towers flanking the large block of stacked books. On top of all this was Pinkie Pie, sleeping soundly on what looked like a...

“Is that a cannon?”

“Sure looks like one.”

“Beings like Pinkie Pie should not have access to projectile weapons. Especially not the kind that can sink an entire ship.”

“I am not disagreeing with you.”

Karon did not know what exactly he was supposed to do now. Wake her up? Just leave her there? Maybe he should start re-shelving the books? Of course he didn't know where the books belonged, so that wasn't really an option.

He had wisely decided to just leave it alone in the hope that perhaps the problem would sort itself out, when he suddenly got another flashback from the party.

                                                 ****************************

He had just turned around and was looking at Pinkie Pie standing on top of that awesome book fort she had been building and was screaming something.

“The ability to lasso a diamond dog is insignificant next to the power of the party cannon!” She had screamed before punching down on the fuse and the cannon had erupted in a blinding flash of smoke, gunpowder and confetti.

                                                         ********************

Karon groaned once more as pain washed over him after the brief flashback.

“I don't know what is the most worrying: Pinkie with a cannon or the fact that she quoted Star Wars?”

“I don't see why we have to chose.”

Karon ignored himself and looked around before deciding where to go next. He saw Lyra sleeping on top of the staircase surrounded by a bunch of random objects. At first he was surprised to see her here. He would have thought she wouldn't attend the party after having more or less all of her dreams crushed, but then another flashback forced itself on him.

                                                             **********************

The party had been going on for about an hour now and most of the Applejack's daniels had been drunk by the suddenly whiskey friendly ponies. This had been quickly followed by almost all of the pastries as the ponies had discovered that everything tastes better when you're drunk.

Karon was enjoying watching Pinkie jumping around the place and grabbing ponies for impromptu dance numbers when he felt something poke him in the side.

It was Lyra.

And she was drunk.

“I wanna talk with you!”

Karon had felt a little nervous at first but since he could see no way out he nodded and motioned his hand towards the stairs. She saw where he was pointing and began walking towards them while Karon followed her lead.

They passed trough a sea of ponies doing everything from talking with each other to shouting at Pinkie. Who was currently running around collecting all the books she could find for some unknown reason.

When Lyra reached the stairs she looked back at Karon who flicked his hands to indicate she should continue upstairs.

When they both reached the top, he sat down on the top step and Lyra tried to do the same but with far less grace.

“Schooo, you wanna talk?”

She looked at him with a accusatory glare and pointed her hoof at him. Which at this close range meant she was more or less pressing her hoof against his nose.

“You're a mean human.”

He looked at her hoof confused, then back at her.

She looked very sad.

“Meeeee? No way! I'm the shnicest guy around for like, ever!”

“Noooo, you are not! You are a meanie mean human that ruins innocent ponies' dreams!”

“I'm sorry, I didn't WANT to be mean, but you were saying so many stupid things, and I don't want you to be stupid.”

“I am not stupid! No one else knew you were real but I did!”

“I know, I know. But so many thing you said were wrong. Isch not like your fault, you just conclusioned a jump. Wait, I mean you jumped to conclusions.”

“I tried my best! But everypony said I was crazy and it was wrong, then you said the same thing and you made me cry because I thought you'd be nice.”

The parts of Karon's brain that still hadn't been completely usurped by the invading alcohol processed what the unicorn had just said and after a long and complicated debate arrived at a possible solution.

“If ya want I can teach you to sing human songs I know.”

Tears had begin forming as Lyra had spoken, but as soon as she heard what he'd just said, they evaporated like they've never been there, and she gasped as she considered all the implications of his offer.

“I could sing songs made by humans?”

Karon nodded sagely and tried to imagine a song he could teach her that might fit. As he was racking his brain for an answer a melody began playing in his head and from the memories of his childhood a song was emerging.

He smiled at Lyra and said. “I know the perfect schoong for you.”

They both retreated into Twilights bedroom where he coached her relentlessly in singing just one song until he finally declared her ready to perform.

Lyra had not understood what he meant at first, but as Karon stepped out to the top of the stairs and cupped his hands to his mouth she felt a chill travel down her spine.

Karon then shouted as loud as he could to make sure he got every pony's attention.

“HEEEEEEEY! I have an accounschment to announce! Lyra is going to sing a human song and you better listen or Twilight will turn you into frogs. Hit them Lyra!”

He jumped to the side after the last part and allowed Lyra to walk out into full view of every single pony gathered. It was deathly silent but Lyra stood unafraid, she knew a human song and now she was gonna sing it!

She cleared her throat and her horn began to glow. Several books, inkwells and other items floated up in the air and began clinking, bashing and just generally cause a weird rhythmic sound that almost sounded like a melody.

Then she took a deep breath and sang the complete lyrics of the *I wan'na be like you** song from Disney's The Jungle Book.*

She poured all her heart into it as her hidden desire to become human finally had gained an outlet. She sang and sang and the floating items kept on causing noise vaguely reminiscent of the original song's instrumental play.

When she was done all the ponies began stomping their hooves, Karon assumed it was their form of clapping. But Lyra didn't look finished.

After years of hiding her secret desire, she had now finally let her darkest secret been told to all of the ponies in here, they just didn't know it. They thought it had just been a weird song with some catchy tune.

The liberation Lyra felt was amazing, she had never realized just how hard keeping so much of what she wanted and did a secret. Even Bon Bon didn't know all of it.

So she sang again, her horn still glowing as she took it all from the start and sang again. When the ponies saw that she would continue singing the same thing they simply went back to what they had been doing before. Some of them pleased they now also had music at the party.

Karon stumbled down the stairs as carefully as he could manage. Walking down stairs that doesn't have a railing is hard enough sober, but while drunk, it's just dangerous. Karon was pretty sure that during the twenty or something seconds it took to get down, he nearly died three times.

                                               *************************

Karon did not groan this time. The pain had lessened and he was beginning to feel a little less like he was dying. Lyra was sleeping peacefully. A little drool was making it's way out of her mouth and she snored almost inaudible.

He thought about waking her up but remembered she had spent the entire night singing the same song over and over until she had collapsed. She wouldn't be able to talk to him after that, so he turned around and walked away from the stairs.

“Okay, what's to be next?”

“How about that.”

The voice was referring to the pile of unconscious ponies pushed up against the wall opposite Pinkie's fort. They were all sprinkled with confetti and there was also some kind of strange dog like creature lying right beside Applejack. Looking closer, Karon saw that it's paws or hands or whatever were tied up with a rope.

He already knew what was coming and he didn't resist when another flashback came.

                                          ***********************************

“Wohooooo! Go Applejack! Go Applejack!” The ponies had formed a circle and within it was Applejack swinging a lasso facing the dog like creature.

“You stand no chance little pony, we're going to win and then you must give us diamonds!”

“Ah wouldn't count on it mutt! Once ah tie ya up then you'll have to plough ma family's fields for a week!”

The two combatants circled each other wearily while the ponies surrounding them were screaming in a frenzy.

“Two bits says that Applejack wins!”

“I put five bits that the diamond dog beats her!”

Bets were screamed loud and an opportunistic pony began running around taking the bets and writing down the stakes in a book he had grabbed from the nearest shelf.

But every pony and the human in the audience gasped as the diamond dog suddenly sprung into action and rushed towards Applejack. She waited until the last minute before she swung the lasso towards the incoming dog. And as she jumped to the side and pulled the rope the nose tightened around it's front paws and it fell down to the floor face first.

She ran forward and grabbed it's back paws and pushed them together with the trapped front paws and tied them all together. She stepped back from the defeated dog and swung her head high into the air and shouted.

“Yeeehaa!”

Karon was applauding but turned around as he heard Pinkie shout something from the top of that awesome looking fort she had built. He heard her quote star wars before she fired some kind of confetti cannon at them.

The confetti had spread across the entire audience and flung several of them into the wall and they were knocked unconscious. The same fate befell Applejack and the diamond dog and they were lying slumped against the wall, buried beneath a ridiculous amount of confetti.

The ponies in the audience that had not been knocked unconscious by the sudden attack were shouting at her angrily and some of them began collecting what books Pinkie hadn't already stolen. Then they began building little ramps up towards the fort, but Pinkie retaliated by throwing books down at them and they returned fire.

When other ponies who hadn't been a part of the audience saw this, some chose to run to Pinkie's aid and she lowered down a ladder – Karon had no idea where she had gotten that from – and they climbed up and helped her push back the invaders.

Karon was staring at this for at least a couple of hours as ponies for maybe the first time in a thousand years were once more learning of the horrors of siege warfare.

                                         *******************************

Karon decided wisely it was best to leave Applejack as she was as well. That confetti must have hurt, and she would most likely be very angry when she woke up. Instead, he picked her up and carried her over to Rarity and put them next to each other.

Rarity quickly embraced the sleeping form of Applejack and Karon had to admit that they looked very cute together. He just hoped he would be there for whenever they woke up.

He looked around the main library room and couldn't see anything else that appeared to be significant. There were random ponies he didn't know strewn about, sleeping. Several of them sporting nasty bruises and other injuries from what he assumed had to be the books Pinkie and her army had thrown at them.

Karon had already investigated the kitchen, which left Twilight's bedroom and the little library. Also he had managed to locate Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Lyra and Pinkie Pie.

Of all ponies which he was familiar with that left Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight herself.

He decided to go look in the little library first.

He walked over to the door a little steadier on his feet and opened it, fully expecting to see some kind of utter devastation. Instead he only saw Fluttershy sleeping in the middle of the floor with the rest of the room entirely untouched.

“This is way too good to be true, something is not right.”

He hesitantly walked around the room checking for damage or waiting for something to collapse but nothing did. Eventually, Karon just shrugged, considered himself lucky and kneeled down next to Fluttershy and gently shook her.

She didn't respond.

She was clearly breathing so she wasn't dead, maybe she was just a heavy sleeper?

He was shaking her a little harder as yet another flashback came to him.

                                                            ********************

Karon, Twilight and Fluttershy was standing in the little library.

Fluttershy had been extremely difficult to convince to try out at least one drink. She had eventually taken a few sips but it had been enough to affect her a little. Afterwards, having taken Fluttershy outside for air and looking at Rainbow Dash doing tricks, Twilight and Karon had meet up and began arguing about magic and it's proper application.

Karon held firm that Twilight was a brute that needed to learn the finer points of the arts. He would never have admitted it but he was jealous of the unicorn. In terms of pure juju juice she had more power to draw from than Karon did, and she was far more skilled in physically based magic like moving objects, teleportation or controlling the elements.

Twilight on the other hoof held firm that Karon was being arrogant and one should not spurn the more practical everyday applications of magic just to appear to be distant and mystical. She also had claimed many times that the kind of sensitive magic he did was far to tricky and unnecessary when the same effect could be achieved with more direct means.

Fluttershy must have become more courageous after those few sips because she had suggested a contest to determine who was right.

Whoever could turn her into a tree would win.

Both Twilight and Karon had accepted that and began preparing themselves.

“This won't work you know. Trees are far more complex than they seem and you are in no state where you can summon the needed concentration for something like this,” Karon had mocked the drunken unicorn.

“Could you be quiet. I'm almost done and then you will have to admit that you can't beat plain old fashioned unicorn magic.”

Her horn had begun to shine brighter and brighter as she spoke until it became hard to even look in her direction. The charged spell exploded with a weird warping sound and went straight at Fluttershy who was standing patiently waiting in the middle of the room.

It hit her and she was enveloped in a purplish white glow that slowly faded. When it was gone Twilight and Karon looked at her, one in triumph and one in shock.

The spell had done absolutely nothing.

“Woohoo! I told you, I told you! You might be some kind of unicorn prodigy, Twilight, but you haven't been trained to control your mind the way I have! A little drinky drinky and Twilight is suddenly not so good with magic anymore, haha!”

The poor unicorn was shocked that her spell hadn't worked, but the gloating of Karon snapped her out of it.

“You still haven't *hick* tried.”

“On it sweetie pie.”

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. Sweetie Pie is outside."

Karon walked forward to Fluttershy and tried to find his very elusive balance before beginning his attempt. He constructed the spell in his mind, but it took time.

He didn't see Twilight's skeptical glance interrupted by random hiccups, but he finished building the spell and put his hands on Fluttershy's head and released it.

The energy flooded into her mind and began reconstructing her conscious mind until it had run it's full course. Karon stepped back with a smug smile on his lips and turned to Twilight.

“And that's how you do it!”

“You didn't do anything! She's still Fluttershy!”

“Yeah but she doesn't know that. She thinks she's a tree now.”

“That doesn't count! You were supposed to turn her into a tree, not trick her into just thinking she is one!”

“She doesn’t just think it! She now has the mind of a tree, it just happens to reside in a pegasus body.”

“That doesn't count, you were supposed to turn her into a physical tree not a mental one.”

“You are so superficial Twilight, you know that!”

The both of them had argued for a long time and had left Fluttershy alone in the little library thinking tree like thoughts.

                                                 *****************************

Karon was mortified he had ever been stupid enough to try such a dangerous procedure while intoxicated. Had it been just a temporary illusion it would have not been a big deal but this wasn't an illusion. He had transformed Fluttershy's entire mind into that of a tree.

She didn't just think she was a tree she had the exact same mind as one, just not the physical vessel to go with it.

He put his hands around Fluttershy's head and stretched his senses into it. He meet with no resistance at all, a tree mind doesn't work if it doesn't belong to a tree. It wasn't designed to function in collaboration with the data a pegasus body would pick up and transmit, so she had shut down.

The mind had retracted from it's own body and was now busy trying to reinforce it's own existence by trying to feed itself false information telling itself everything was okay. It was frightening to see just how close Karon had come to turning the adorable little Fluttershy into a brain dead vegetable.

But it was easier to destroy something than create it.

He took hold of the constructed spell, still forcing Fluttershy's mind into a form it didn't understand, and just yanked it out and ripped it to bits. Her mind instantly returned to it's normal design and she opened her eyes' confused.

“Oh, what a strange dream.”

“What did you dream about Fluttershy?”

“Well, I dreamt I was a big beautiful tree, but there were no other trees around. I was a very lonely tree, it was a sad dream.”

“But did you like being a tree?”

She thought about this for a moment before she smiled that angelic smile of hers.

“Uhm, yes.”

“Glad you did. Now you wouldn't happen to know where Rainbow Dash or Twilight are would you?”

“I don't know where Twilight is, but ... Rainbow Dash said she'd fly around the world, don't you remember? Oh I hope she's okay.”

“Around ... the world?”

She looked at him with a worried look. “Don't you remember?”

Just as she said it a flashback forced itself into his mind.

                                                    *******************************

Karon stood outside next to Fluttershy and watched as a surprisingly well coordinated drunk Rainbow Dash flew around outside performing various tricks for Karon's benefit.

She was cheered on by Fluttershy who softly exclaimed “You rock.” or “Yay!” every now and then. There was no way that Rainbow Dash could hear her but Karon thought it was sweet all the same.

Dash performed a final double flip and came flying in a straight line towards them. Well almost straight, she kept steering off but managed to keep herself relatively on course. She stopped above them and proudly asked.

“How about that huh? Never seen smooth moves like those before I bet!”

“Farily impressive, I admit,” Karon had answered.

“But you still haven't lived up to your boast about being the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.”

“Well then, I guess I just have to prove it.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Give me a challenge and I'll take it!”

“Fine how about ... flying to Canterlot and back before the sunrise.”

“Pshh, I thought I said I wanted a challenge. Give me something harder.”

“Okay, I want you to fly around this entire world!”

“Is that all? I can do that in ten seconds flat!”

“Ohh yeah. If you can fly around this planet in ten seconds, then I promise you that I will hit on Celestia the first time I meet her.”

“Hahaha, you're on! And if I lose, then what?”

“You promise me that you will always be available to be my sparring partner for whenever I want to train!”

“DEAL!”

Karon looked up at the confident and very intoxicated pegasus before he drew a line in the dirt with his foot.

Rainbow Dash flew down and stepped up behind it and bent her legs in a ready stance.

Karon shouted as loudly as he could.

“READY!”

“SET!”

“GO!”

Rainbow Dash took off in a mass of swirling rainbow colours and disappeared into the dark night sky.

Karon began counting while Fluttershy had turned around, as if expecting Dash to appear above the opposite horizon any second.

“Three, two, one ... Yupp, she lost.”

The both of them stood looking at the horizon for a few minutes before Karon turned to the most innocent creature he had ever meet and asked.

“Wanna go inside and have a few more sips?”

“Okay.”

They walked into the library in search of more alcohol, and Karon quickly forgot about the pegasus trying to fly around the world in ten seconds.

                                  ******************************************

“Oh fuck, I hope she's all right. Heh, maybe she's even still flying.”

“Okay Fluttershy. I remember but ... Nothing we can do about that right now. Best if we wait for her to come back by herself. If she hasn't done that by the end of the day then Twilight and I can figure something out to bring her back. Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine.”

“O-okay, if you're sure....”

“Absolutely!”

“Nope, she's most likely dead.”

“Shut up!”

Karon turned away from Fluttershy who was lying down again holding her hooves over her head and repeated “Ow, ow, ow, ow.” Over and over in a tiny little voice.

He left her there to nurse her headache and decided to search through the last room he hadn't entered yet. Twilight's bedroom.

He walked out into the main library and saw that some ponies had woken up and were now groaning and gently turning around trying to escape the brutal sunlight streaming in trough the windows.

“I feel your pain,” Karon thought as he ascended the steps leading to Twilight's room. He didn't bother knocking, he doubted she would have heard it. Instead he just pushed it open and went inside.

It wasn't that bad really.

The room looked the same, bookshelves lining the wall and a ladder leading up to the platform above. He carefully climbed up the ladder making sure he wouldn't fall and break his neck.

Twilight was in her bed sleeping, but around her were crumpled notes of paper. Karon tip toed forward and picked up the one closest to him.

It read.

Dear Princess Celestia.

From your faithful student Twilight Sparkle

I am sorry to inform you that the report you wanted on humans did not contain all the information I had gathered about their kind while inside the mind of the magic user called Karon. Who is currently residing with me. I decided to exclude this because I was quite frankly embarrassed about having choosing to research  this despite Karon's own instance that I should. So I send this letter in hope's of explaining about a book written by the humans called the Kama Sutra I read about while inside Karon's mind, it details....

Karon didn't read further.

Instead he snapped up another note and read it, it was almost the same thing but written a little differently. He went trough all the notes he could find all of them was of the same thing.

Twilight explaining the Kama Sutra, some had drawings even, to the ruler of all Equestria and by all reports some kind of demi-goddess on the side.

If she had sent one of these to her ... Twilight was going to kill him.

He tried to force a flashback to occur but it didn't work. He sighed and felt despair creeping up on him, when he heard a groan and saw Twilight blinking as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Uuuhhh, what did you do to me?”

“Me what are you-!”

But he was cut short as a flashback finally happened.

                                                *******************************

He had just dropped Rarity on the floor after kissing her and was heading over to Twilight. She looked grumpy and he didn't want anyone to be grumpy at a party he had planned.

She was him coming and glared at him the entire time.

“Are you happy now? You've managed to turn every single pony completely crazy with those drinks of yours!”

“Want one?”

“No I don't want one! Can't you see what you're doing to these ponies?”

“Twilight, my hot flanked friend ... Can you honeschtly say that none of these ponies weren't crazy before I got here?”

She opened her mouth as if to reply but closed it shut again.

“I thought scho. Now, I thought you of  all ponies would take this opportunity to tescht yourself.”

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Well ... drinking affects the mind. Someone like you should be interested in exschperimenting with how it affects you.”

She honestly looked to be thinking about what he'd said. He had thought her a lost cause, maybe she was feeling lonely being the only sober pony. Even Fluttershy had given in.

“Fine! But only as a scientific experiment to understand the subjective experience of somepony that has been drinking!”

“Whatschever you say, hot flank!”

He had brought her a cup filled with Applejack's daniels. Then another and another until she was totally wasted.

Then things quickly escalated.

Twilight had started teleporting invitations randomly to locations over all of Equestria. Most must have simply ended up in the wilderness but it didn't take long before a bear arrived carrying an invitation in it's mouth. After that a diamond dog. And after that, a talking otter had arrived.

She had eventually stopped sending out invitations and gotten into a fight with Karon about magic and then got interrupted by Fluttershy who issued the challenge of turning her into a tree.

After that had been done, she had retreated into her room for some unknown reason and Karon had been kept busy with Applejack's fight with the diamond dog and the ensuing warfare between the united forces of the audience and Pinkie Pie's volunteer defenders.

He had tired of looking at ponies knocking each other out with books after a couple of hours and went upstairs looking for Twilight.

He had found her surrounded by crumpled notes writing something.

“There! Finally it's perfect,” she said with a triumphant smile and had been about to walk over to Spike's cradle before Karon stopped her.

“What do you have there Twilight?”

“This is a letter to princess Celestia explaining what the Kama Sutra is.”

Somewhere deep inside, entirely forgotten by the drunk Karon, the logical part of him was wailing in terror at what he'd just heard and was begging him to stop it.

Instead Karon just looked at Twilight with a frown and asked.

“That doesn't sound right? Why would you do that?”

“Because, I didn't tell her in the report she wanted! I lied to her when not telling about exactly everything I had learned about humans. I wrote about everything else but that, I couldn't keep lying to her any more.”

Karon thought about this, it still sounded strange but if she said she needed to, then he guessed she did.

“Okay, how will you send it to her?”

She didn't answer, she just trotted over to Spike's bed and pushed him out of it.

“Huh? What? ... Twilight what did you do that for?” he asked while rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Spike I need you to send this letter to princess Celestia right now!”

“Uh, are you all right Twilight? Your eyes look a little red.”

“Spike! Send it to princess Celestia right this instant.”

“Okay, okay. Geez,” he said and took the levitating parchment and blew on it with a greenish fire. It transformed into some kind of cloud like substance and flew out the window.

“Okay, I'm going to sleep now. See you both in the morning,” Twilight said and walked on unsteady hooves to the bed and collapsed on it, instantly falling asleep.

“Lightweights,” Karon mumbled to himself and climbed down the ladder and then headed for the door.

“Hey wait up!” Spike said and followed after him.

“I'm gonna get something from the kitchen, you hungry? Want me to make you something?”

Karon thought about it for a moment but shook his head. Seeing Twilight fall asleep had reminded him of how tired he felt and now he only wanted to go to sleep as well.

“Suit yourself,” the little dragon said and walked out the door and Karon followed after him.

He went down the stairs without tripping over himself and saw that almost every pony had fallen either unconscious or asleep by now. The talking otter stood at the door and was waving good bye to those still awake.

Karon waved good bye to it and then went over to a comfortable looking spot on the floor and laid down. He couldn't remember why he hadn't stayed in Twilight's room and slept in the bed, but it didn't matter.

The floor was pretty comfy.

He had almost drifted off when something nudged him in the ribs. He opened his eyes and saw Rarity standing over him.

“I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you, I was just wondering if-.”

Karon interrupted her before she could finish speaking.

“Rarity my dear, I am to tired too argue or fight back. So if you want to sleep with me, just come down here and shut up.”

Rarity's eyes had bulged at his suggestion and even her carefully applied make-up could do nothing to hide the furious blushing.

But she didn't step back.

Instead she lowered herself to her knees and gently laid down on her side. Her eyes locked on Karon, she scooted closer to him and put one hoof over his arm. He smiled at her once.

Then he closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Rarity had been very surprised at this at first. She didn't think he meant sleeping as in actually sleeping next to each other.

But seeing the peacefully resting form of Karon had made even her clouded mind give up, and she pressed herself against him as close as she could and soon followed his lead and fell into a deep sleep.

                                             ***********************************

Karon stared at Twilight, waiting for the inevitable signs that the memories of the previous night were returning to her.

He did not have to wait for long.

It began simply, first her brow furrowed and she looked to be experiencing a headache. Then her eyebrows went up and her eyes widened. Then slowly her jaw went slack and a tiny, tiny little sound emerged.

It sounded like a no.

“Huh, so that's how it looks when a brain get a 404 error message.”

Karon looked at Twilight with pity in his eyes, she really didn't deserve this. Then he remembered the scroll he had found Spike cradling in the kitchen.

“Twilight ... I found a message next to Spike ... I think it's from Celestia.”

Her eyes turned to him ever so slowly and he reached into his pocket and presented her with the scroll. Her eyes became bigger with just a tiny fraction but it was enough for him to confirm that it certainly was from the princess.

Her face didn't change at all as her horn began glowing, and the scroll opened up and hovered before her face. Her eyes moved along the parchment and her deep purple colouring became a couple of shades lighter as all blood drained from her face.

“This can't be good.”

Her eyes stopped moving at the bottom, so Karon stretched out his hand and grabbed it from the air, and Twilight's horn stopped glowing. He held up the parchment and on it was written.

My dear student Twilight Sparkle

The information regarding the presence of a human in Ponyville and the knowledge you have brought back with you from this foreign world is very unsettling.

This last report you have sent to me has also caused me some concern regarding how much of this Karon's influence you are under.

I have decided that it would be best if both me and my sister Princess Luna were to journey to you so we can make sure that all is well with you and your friends.

You can expect us tomorrow at 12 sharp. We will be arriving by teleportation to avoid announcing our presence to the rest of Ponyville since this could possibly turn into a dangerous situation should the human prove aggressive despite your tales of his valour.

                                                                                                                                Princess Celestia.

Karon looked up from the parchment and stared into empty space. Then he turned to the small clock standing on top of one of the bookcases.

It was 11:55

He turned back to twilight and slowly said.

“Don't worry, I know exactly what to do.”

She nodded a tiny nod and didn't move, she just kept on staring.

Karon turned around and climbed down the ladder and went trough the door. He moved down the stairs and scanned the room for what he was looking for, hoping desperately it would be there.

It was.

He walked over to a table and picked up a half empty bottle of Applejack's daniels and gazed at it.

“So ...  two things can happen now. Either Twilight will snap out of it and kill me, or the princesses will banish me to the moon....”

He really did not want to be sober for this.

He had just had time to open the bottle and pour a mouthful down his throat when he suddenly heard the poofing sound he had come to associate with teleportation magic coming from behind him.

“Here we go....”

Chapter 8: A misunderstanding

Karon did not turn around, but he heard two gasps of surprise and shock coming from the new arrivals. He remained with his back turned against them and finished the bottle.

His head was swimming nicely and a pleasant dullness was descending upon his senses, his bodily senses at least. His metaphysical senses were practically screaming.

The power radiating from the princesses was ridiculous. He could feel it streaming off them like there were two miniature suns right behind him. Well that might be a bit misleading. It was more like there were two small planets standing behind him, but with a reversed gravity.

It was simply their presence.

It was like being crushed from all directions at once, but it wasn't a physical thing. It was his mind being crushed, putting pressure on all his barriers and defenses.

He doubted every pony who meet them experienced this.

“Hey! Maybe they think I'm special?”

“Maybe you should turn around and ask them.”

Karon wasn't sure he wanted that. The pressure he felt was most likely the pressure of having two demi-goddesses giving you their undivided attention while not at their happiest.

But he was drunk, and nothing can beat you when you're drunk.

He turned around while swaying a little and looked at the rulers of his new home.

The power behind their eyes was surprisingly weak.

The pressure continued but it was just there, it didn't increase or adapt. Most likely, the princesses had expected him to immediately fall on his knees or something from it, because the look on their faces still matched those shocked gasps he had heard.

They matched the description Twilight had given, mostly. One was tall, slender and had a shining white coat to rival Rarity's. Her mane flowed multicoloured and seemed stuck in a permanent breeze while a cutie mark in the form of a sun glowed on her flank.

She looked mostly shocked and a little angry.

The other one was different. Her coat was of a bluish purple he couldn't really find a name for and a light blue mane. Her cutie mark looked like an inkblot with a moon in the middle and she was smaller than her sister, but still bigger then a normal pony would be.

She, on the other hoof, looked mostly angry and a little shocked.

After Karon had turned around they both looked straight into his eyes and he was starting to get mixed messages about their level of power. At first the pressure didn't increase, he thought they were already giving it all they had.

But slowly more power was used, the pressure began burning and freezing at the same time and pressed harder against his defenses. It would have been far worse if he hadn't just swept half a bottle of moonshine masquerading as whiskey.

He ignored the pain and forced his face to twist into a smile. “Morning ladies, so glad you could drop by.”

“WHAT FOUL ARTS HAS THOU PERFORMED UPON THESE INNOCENT PONIES HUMAN!”

“Someone needs to put a mute button on that one.”

At this point, Karon had more or less decided that things couldn't get any worse. They would try and send him to the moon or turn him into stone or something else equally undesirable. Might as well have fun with it before the fighting started. He would not go peacefully.

He looked around at all the ponies spread out over the floor groaning in pain at the loud noise that was Luna's voice. Many of them had injuries of some kind but nothing too serious in Karon's eyes, sometime you hurt yourself while partying. Get over it.

“I might have started a tiny war after having mildly poisoned your ponies with some ethanol based liquid. They were enjoying it at the time though so I doubt you'll hear them complaining after they get past the hangover.”

“THOU TRICKED THESE GENTLE PONIES INTO CONSUMING BOOZE SO YOU COULD BETTER MANIPULATE THEM INTO CONFLICT?!”

Karon couldn't help but snort at the princess use of the word booze. Seriously it was too damn funny.

Luna did not agree.

Her blue eyes flashed with searing anger and the freezing pressure on Karon's mind lifted as she lowered her horn and it began to glow. Karon had no idea what she was planning and therefore couldn't prepare an appropriate defense against it.

An cloud of indigo light collected around her horn and her mane had turned into a similar colour and was now flowing in the same way her sister's did.

The indigo cloud compressed into a pin point beam that shot out from her and slammed into Karon. It sent him flying backwards into a bookcase where the indigo cloud engulfed him. It tore at him and he felt cuts form over his entire body, but it wasn't that bad. Would have felt a lot worse had he been sober.

The cloud around him dissipated and he looked at Luna staring back at him with murder in her eyes, her sister had turned to her and looked surprised at what she had just done.

But Karon's gaze fell downwards to himself ... his robe was shredded.

                                     ***************************************

Karon stood on the porch of an old house. It was located in the middle of the woods and unless you knew where to look for it, you would never find it. It was raining gently and the forest smelled of new life and pine trees.

Karon, but that had not been his name back then, turned facing the door leading into the house. An old man stood there, heavily muscled like an old grouchy bear and his hair and long beard were as white as a snow owl. He held something in his hands, it was black and looked like clothing.

The old man walked with heavy steps that forced a creak out of the boards underneath his feet and his voice rumbled as he spoke.

“I want you to have this. It was the robe I wore back when I was just an apprentice.”

Karon looked down on the folded robe in his master's hands. Varsif was not a man for sentimental good byes.

“What's the catch.”

The old man's chest sounded like the sea striking rocks as he laughed.

“You will only be borrowing it. You can return it to me when you are ready to come back.”

Karon looked at the grizzled wizard with angry eyes.

“You ask too much of me old man. I don't think I can ever return here.”

“I only asked of you that which was necessary. And don't be so foolish, I am a wizard. I know that one day you will be ready to come back and face that which you are not ready to face yet. When that day comes, you can give back the robe.”

Karon looked down at the robe as if it was a poisonous snake and a lifeline at the same time.

How he wished that Varsif's words would be true. He wanted to return here one day and finish what he had begun.

But he was not ready yet.

He gingerly took the old robe and held it out before him, it was old without doubt. But the fabric was still strong and a proper robe was something he had always wanted.

“Thank you ... I hope I can return it one day.”

The old man grunted and flicked his hand as if waving him off. Karon smiled in return, the old man would never change.

He turned around and walked out into the cleansing rain. Before he could disappear entirely into the woods he heard the voice of his master call out behind him.

“You are still my apprentice lad and I will be keeping an eye on you! Don't do something stupid or I will be very irritated!”

The last glimpse of the house Karon had caught was between two trees, smoke puffing out from the chimney and the windows aglow with golden light as the rain drummed around him.

Then he had turned and walked into the forest's embrace, his new robe keeping him dry.

                                          *********************************

“She destroyed my robe....”

Karon had not felt this kind of loss for a long time. The robe had been more then just a piece of cloth to him. It had been the sign that his training was not over, that he still had a chance in the future.

Now it was just a useless pile of scraps barely clinging to him.

“IT'S ON NOW BITCH!”

Both the royal sisters recoiled at the sight of Karon, his eyes were burning with hatred and their amber glow now looked more like that of a raging fire. He stood up facing them and the little ponies who had not yet left after having seen the two  royal sisters in the library quickly ran out the door at the sight of the furious human.

Karon might not be the greatest wielder of combat magic, but that fact escaped him at the moment. When he was done with them, the royal sister would be begging him for mercy.

Rage flooded his dulled senses and he extended both his hands as energy poured into them, scarlet light erupted from his palms and with a roar Karon threw it at the sisters.

Luna had looked on as Karon summoned his power and done nothing, but Celestia was wiser then her sister and had been building up power should something like this happen. She channelled it into a golden white sphere before her and Luna and the scarlet light crashed into the sphere with a hissing sound.

But the lights died out fast and Celestia dropped the protective sphere and stared in horror as Karon grew even more furious at his failure. He screamed at them in rage and spread his arms out to his sides and shaped his hands into claws.

The library shook and books fell down from the high places Pinkie had been unable to reach.

Celestia held back, she had come here fully aware that the human might become aggressive but she could not understand what they had done to warrant such anger.

Luna had attacked him yes, her sister had very little faith in their kind after the last time humans had walked these lands, but his rage seemed out of proportion. He had looked resigned when they first entered. It had not been until Luna had attacked him that he had shown any signs of such anger.

Where had it all come from?

But Luna had no thoughts questioning why the human was so angry. His kind only felt hate and all they could do was hurt others. She had witnessed this before and she refused to let it happen again.

As soon as the library began shaking the lunar princess charged at the human, her horn aimed at his heart. She had never before done such a thing, but she would not let history repeat itself.

Luna had never trained for combat despite having been forced into it many times before, Karon had. He saw her coming and as her horn closed in on his chest he sidestepped and grabbed the long sharp horn of the princess and twisted it.

Her momentum carried her on as she lost her balance and banged into the same bookcase Karon had just a minute before.

“Kill the bitch! Kill her, kill her, kill her!!”

Before she could recover Karon jumped at her and drove his fist down into her side, punching her as hard as he could. He would have continued until nothing but a bloody pulp would have remained but instead a force caught him and suspended him into the air. Celestia's horn glowed with a golden light and her face now showed clear signs of anger.

She did not want to fight but she would not allow her sister to be hurt under any circumstances.

She would contain the human until they could investigate exactly what he had done and the extent of the damage caused.

But Karon had other plans.

Even his drunken rage clouded mind understood that he was outmatched against the sisters, maybe he could have taken one if he was lucky but never the both of them together.

Not here at least.

His strength was in affecting and controlling minds. He could not win a battle likes this, he needed to change the battleground.

He watched as Luna got up and looked up on him with determination in her eyes. Celestia joined her and they stood next to each other, looking up at the trapped human in the shredded clothes.

They said something but Karon ignored them, he was busy gathering power for the very complicated piece of magic he was about to perform. It would have to be perfect in design or they would see right trough it.

He was going to create a field that would make all three of them fall asleep and join together in a dream. If one of the sisters realized that they were dreaming, they would be able to simply wake themselves up.

His only chance at this would be by making it so convincing they would think he had transported them to another distant location. After all, they had no idea what he was truly capable of.

He doubted they had any experience or knowledge about this kind of magic. Twilight had never encountered it before and if Celestia had, Karon thought she would have shared it with her top student.

No, against this they would have no defense.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the task, the lines of energy were weaving into a complicated and very delicate pattern, it would remain active until one of the dreamers chose to wake up and Karon did not plan to do that before he had caused the sisters some considerable pain.

“Almost done.”

It was weaving itself together faster now, forming itself into a large symbol burning in his mind. As the final weaves were placed, the symbol began vibrating and glowed with a blue light. Karon uttered a single word and the light sprang from his mind, invisible to sight by normal means but it shone into the minds of the two alicorns and they fell down on their sides asleep.

                                                     **************************************************

Karon stood on an empty grey expanse, the ground was nothing more then the gathered dust of aeons untold. Standing in front of him a hundred meters away were the two royal sister with a nervous look on their faces.

They looked around themselves and spotted Karon. They did not make a move at first, but eventually they trotted over towards him slowly. Karon waited patiently for them. Had they known they were in a dream they would have gotten out by now. They had bought his deception.

Celestia stopped about ten meters before him and asked in a dangerous tone.

“Where are we human? And how did you take us here? You were locked inside my magic and should not have been able to escape.”

Even in here, Karon's mind was foggy and much of his usual clarity was lost. Anger still burned bright in his heart and made it even harder to think straight. Maybe that was the reason behind the charming environment.

Karon didn't answer at first, he only stared at the two sisters. Celestia looked at him with caution while Luna was seething with anger ... and was that a little fear he saw?

They stood out clearly against the grey background surrounding them, the sky was full of storm clouds and Karon imagined how fun it would be to perhaps summon a few lightning bolts from them.

The alicorns would limit themselves in the battle simply because they thought they were awake, they expected their usual limits to still exist and so they did. Karon knew better, this was a dream and as such he could effect everything without any regards to his usual strength and weaknesses.

In here, he was a god too.

“That will not matter in a few minutes you stuck up bitch.”

Celestia took a step back in surprise, no one had talked to her like that in almost a millennium and even then never with such venom behind his words. Luna reacted only with anger.

“DESIST WITH THY GAMES AND RETURN US TO THE HOME OF TWILIGHT SPARKLE THIS INSTANT!”

Karon sneered at the furious lunar princess. “I don't take orders from a donkey with a bad paint job and a carrot stuck on her forehead.”

She stomped her hooves down in fury and lightning erupted behind her. Karon smiled wickedly at this and stumbled a little as he walked towards her.

“Nice trick, but let me show you how it's done!” He pointed a hand in their direction and from the clouds above massive thunder was heard and multiple lightning bolts struck down at the alicorn sisters.

They reacted fast and a dome of silver and gold formed around them, shielding them from the worst of the attack. But they still thought this was real and that their powers were limited, so when the barrage of strikes did not cease the domes faltered.

Then broke.

Both Celestia and Luna were flung away as the lightning strikes exploded at the ground and left them both twitching as electricity ran through their bodies.

Why did Karon feel like he had done something wrong?

He ignored the thought and let anger take control of him, too many things had been taken from him lately and he had not even tried to fight back.

No more.

He stretched out his hands and Luna was lifted up in the air, her hooves around her neck as if struggling against a giant hand strangling her.

“You can not comprehend the amount of pain I am going to put you trough you self deluded fuck! You're supposed to be some kind of half goddess badass that almost destroyed this world in a jealous rage. Now look at you, a weak little foal about to beg for mercy from me.”

Sounds were coming from her mouth but he could hear no words amongst them.

“So ... wha-.”

Karon did not finish the sentence as a force slammed into him and sent him skidding along the dust covered ground. Celestia had recovered and she looked to have abandoned all thought on settling this peacefully.

“You will not hurt my sister!”

“You're sister is the one that started this!”

“Luna was only trying to protect her subjects!”

“They did not need protection you idiot! I had done nothing to harm them, but your fucking sister didn't care about that did she!”

“I agree that Luna may have acted rashly when attacking you, but that is no reason for letting things go this far.”

“I don't care if she attacked me!”

“But then why....?”

“SHE RUINED MY ROBE!”

“What?”

“SHE RUINED MY FUCKING ROBE!”

Karon was beginning to slip, the half bottle of Applejack's daniels was beginning to lose effect and his anger was fading. He suddenly felt very tired and didn't want to do this any more. Maybe he should just give up?

He fell down on his knees and in his hands was suddenly the robe, its weathered look and the strong fabric just like the day he had received it. He knew it was only a mental copy but it felt so good holding it again he didn't care.

His entire home world was lost to him. His body had been broken down and changed to suit the whims of a selfish god. He had a new name. That robe was all that was left. His one single tie back to Varsif. As long as he wore it he knew he was still the same person.

Now even that was gone.

He cradled the robe to his chest and wept, tears ran down his cheek and fell down on the robe. Staining it with the sadness brought forth from knowing Karon could now never truly go back. He was someone else now. The young man that had left Varsif's house that rainy afternoon was gone, and there was no way to bring him back.

The young man whose name had been Erik was dead and Karon had been born in his stead.

He sobbed as tears came more forcefully and he started shaking.

Why did the universe hate him so much? Why did it keep taking everything from him no matter what he did?

He knew why. It was because he deserved it.

His sorrow overcame him and he clutched the robe to him like it was the most precious thing in the world. He knew why he would never truly be allowed to feel happiness or relief, it was the same understanding that had forced him away from Varsif.

It was the understanding that he could never truly forgive himself for what he had done in the past. He did not want to be forgiven.

He just wanted to forget....

That thought stopped him ... If Erik was dead, then perhaps Karon one day could find a way to leave the past behind. Varsif had demanded that he faced his pain if he wanted to become a wizard, but Erik couldn't.

What if Karon could?

No, he wasn't ready to think like that yet. In just a few days he had become someone else entirely. He had felt happier and more at peace here then he ever had after.....

Don't think about it.

There was something else growing inside of Karon now, it was slowly pushing his sorrow aside and made him feel something else. It was iron hard and pushed forward like the glacier ice that once covered Earth. It didn't burn with a fire or bring forth some kind of cold crystal clarity, it was solid and made him turn up his head as he realized what he was feeling.

Determination.

Erik had died. Loki had killed him in order to transform the slowly rotting carcass into a new being, someone that might gain the strength and determination that the former self had lacked.

So be it. He would not make the same mistake that Erik had made with Varsif. Loki had manipulated him yes, but he would use it still. If Loki for some reason wanted to help him, then he would use his help, he would use everything he could to become ... more.

Karon wiped the tears from his face and looked down on the robe in his hands. Erik would never return to Varsif, so the robe wouldn't either. It was just another piece of cloth now, worth absolutely nothing.

Karon stroked his hand along the fabric one last time then let go of it, and as it left his hands it vanished. Destroyed now not only in the physical world but also within his mind.

He looked at Celestia standing at his right, looking upon him with uncertainty in her eyes. No, not just uncertainty.

“Why would you feel pity for me Celestia? I let my anger get the best of me and attacked both you and your sister, and had my anger not faded I would have killed you both in some horrible way.”

She looked at him still uncertain, but the pity remained despite his words.

“I would not wish suffering on any creature, human. I only do what I must to protect the ponies of Equestria and maintain it's peace.”

“That must get lonely.”

She looked away for a second, her eyes sad.

“Sometimes, but I always remind myself that as the princess of the sun I must always think of more then myself.”

Karon looked at the princess with a curious face. His new found determination had left him with a sense of humility.

“If you wish, I could keep you company if you ever decide to visit the dungeons.”

She looked at him a little surprised at the response. “Why would you be in the dungeons?”

Karon spread out both his hands with the palms up and answered in a solemn and serene tone.

“I attacked you and you sister. You are the ruler of the land that is my new home. Hence I attacked my own princesses. You are rightfully my ruler and I will accept punishment for this if you wish it. But I will NOT accept the same kind that you have brought upon beings like Discord or you sister. Incarceration for a few years is acceptable, a thousand years on the moon or as a statue in your gardens is not!”

Celestia looked pained at the mention of what she'd done in the past, maybe she and Karon were not entirely different after all.

“You mean that you will return us to the library in Ponyville?”

Karon laughed a little and walked over to the unconscious form on Luna lying on the ground. She was breathing steadily and didn't have any damage on her that could cause pain.

He turned back facing Celestia and asked with a smile.

“You can't see the matrix can you?”

She looked confused at his question and merely responded. “No, I guess not.”

“We are still in the library, we are just dreaming.”

Celestia looked around herself before turning back to Karon, she opened her mouth as if to say something but before she could Karon blinked.

                                                  **********************************

And opened his eyes...

He was lying on the floor, still a little groggy from the booze and his foot hurt. He must have hurt it after falling down from Celestia's little magic air suspension. He pushed off the floor and got up on his feet, Celestia and Luna were doing the same.

Both looked confused but Luna quickly fell down in some kind of pony battle ready stance and glared at him. Celestia held out a hoof before she had time to do anything else and looked at her sternly before facing Karon.

“Had you not told us that it was but a dream I do not believe we would ever have realized it.”

“Perhaps not, but it was time to get out of there. I was angry and wasn't thinking clearly.”

“While inside this dream, you said that the reason behind your outrage was that ... my sister had ruined your ... robe?”

It sounded like a statement but Karon could hear the question beneath it.

“It is complicated. Suffice to say that it is no longer an issue on my part. I can forgive your sister for what she did.”

Karon turned his head so he was facing Luna. She still looked angry but it's not like that wasn't understandable.

“Luna, I forgive you for destroying the last token I had of my former life ... and I also thank you for it. If you had not done so I do not know how long it would have taken for me to realize the things I have realized today.”

“I think forever sounds like a reasonable guess.”

“And I am trying to be calm and forgiving here, the bad jokes can wait until they're gone.”

The princess of the night looked a little less angry now but her face showed nothing but distrust for Karon, hopefully she would get over it with time.

He turned back to facing Celestia who was looking at him now with a little more understanding.

“If you wish princess, I am ready to go to your dungeons or whatever punishment you see fit for my actions.”

Princess Celestia opened her mouth and was about to say something when she was interrupted by a flash of pink that appeared before Karon.

“What!? You can't arrest Karon! He throws the bestest parties EVER! I should know right? Because honestly last night was sooooooo crazy that I had to go and make a few changes to the rules of party making,” Pinkie Pie said while standing on her back legs and holding out her arms wide as if showing the princesses just how much craziness there had been at the party.

Luna looked confused at the pink pony's intervention, but Celestia was wearing a smile as she listened to the pony explaining just how amazing the party had been and why they should totally come to the next one.

Karon interrupted her by putting a hand on her should and said.

“I'm sorry Pinkie, I might not be around for another party for a while.”

“But why? You didn't do anything wrong, well unless you count kissing Rarity because that was just yuck. Why did you do that? Aaaaaanyway so like I was saying, if you just stop fighting for a moment and agree to come to the next party then I'm sure everything will be okay.”

“ARE THOU SAYING THAT THE CHAOS AROUND US IS MERELY THE RESULT OF A NIGHT OF REVELRY?” Luna asked the pink pony who's hair was blowing backwards from the force of Luna's voice.

“Well duh, what did you think? That all of this was Karon's fault? Don't be silly, that over there was me. And that over there was Applejack I think, oh no wait that was me.” She moved her hoof around the room pointing out areas of disaster and attributing them to either a particular pony or simply everyone.

“I always knew there would be some mysteries which I would never be able to understand in this universe. One of them is how Pinkie manage to act like her usual self despite the massive hangover she must be having.”

“Do you think we should try and weasel out of Celestia's punishment. New found humility and all is good but spending several years in prison will not help us achieve our new found goal.”

“I am trying to start fresh here. That means I will have to submit for this one tiny moment. After that we'll see.”

Pinkie had just finished with her brief recapture of the previous nights events and was wearing a huge grin as she finished with.

“...and that's how General Pinkie won the battle and saved castle bookworm!”

Princess Luna was standing with her mouth open and eyes wide in shock at the tale of all that had happened. Maybe Karon should have listened? It would have been very amusing to hear Pinkie's own experience of the night before.

“WELL, EVEN IF THOU HAST CHOSEN TO PERFORM ALL THESE DEEDS BY YOUR OWN FREE WILL, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE HUMAN HAS NOT BEEN INFLUENCING YOUR ACTIONS. WE CAN NOT ALLOW THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY TO BE COMPROMISED BY A CREATURE LIKE HIM! THE EVIDENCE OF HIS INFLUENCE IS CLEAR AS WE HEAR THY SPEECH AS IF WITHOUT REGRET OF THE PREVIOUS NIGHT.”

At the last part Celestia's face became sly and she turned to her sister and said.

“Ooh Luna, after that night at Trottingham's founding, I don't think you're in a position to lecture anypony for having a little too much fun.”

Luna gasped when Celestia said it and her cheeks turned a shade darker then the rest of her as she blushed.

“TIA, you promised you would never mention that night again.”

Luna's voice had taken on a far more normal speaking tone when she spoke to her sister, maybe the yelling thing was just an act.

“Wait, she called Celestia 'Tia' ... seems we found that nickname we were looking for. Now all that's left is one for Luna.”

“How about little miss Lunatic?”

“That will do, I like the word play.”

“No Luna, it is clear to me that all of this has just been a misunderstanding. The human named Karon has not hurt anypony, and it is clear that some of these ponies care for him, as was shown by Pinkie Pie when she defended him. I think it is best if we simply start over from the beginning.”

She turned her head and looked Karon deeply in the eyes. Tia's eyes were a light purple and had a soft caring glow in them.

Karon was not one that cared much for divinities, especially not after Loki, but he concluded that despite her somewhat shaky status as a sun goddess, he liked her.

“Karon, I want you and the elements of harmony to journey to Canterlot tomorrow morning. We will hold audience with you and the elements and formally decide what shall become of you.”

She looked at Luna and brought her horn down so it touched her sister's. There was a brief flash and a poofing sound and then they were gone.

Karon didn't move. Much would be decided at Canterlot tomorrow, and he wanted to prepare for it. If there was even a slim chance of him being forgiven for his actions and perhaps be deemed a citizen of Equestria, then he would do everything he could to make sure it happened.

He thought back to his little epiphany and imagined the different ways in which he could achieve his goal. He needed to learn what it really meant to be a trickster and perhaps master it. He also needed to continue his magical studies, and this land had plenty of it. Finally, he needed to understand exactly where he stood in his relationship with the ponies around him.

He had a lot of work to do.

Chapter 9: A piece of the world

Karon was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Come morning, he and the elements of harmony would take the train to Canterlot where the princesses would lay down judgement upon him. He had spent the day cleaning up the mess that was Ponyville's library with the help of Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Fluttershy had needed to go home so she could take care of the animals since they once more had missed breakfast, and Rarity....

Well, when she had seen Karon in the remains of what was once his robe, she had been in shock, and when he told her that he had been called to visit the royal sisters and had nothing else to wear, she had almost fainted, and then ran home to finish making his new clothes.

Twilight had still been in a state of shock, and Spike had spoon-feed her soup before putting her to bed, which might be fortunate. If she had come out of her room and seen the state the library was in, she might have died from a heart attack.

Before she had left, Fluttershy had asked Karon to try and find out if Rainbow Dash was okay.

After a little divination and a very unpleasant ordeal with possessing a seagull he had established that she was somewhere on the eastern shore of the continent, but that she was unhurt and would be able to make it home by herself.

The cleaning had taken most of the day, and when it was done, Karon had spent the rest of the day next to Twilight trying to comfort her to the best of his abilities. She had started hyperventilating when he told her that they all had been ordered to Canterlot and refused to calm down. Had it not been for Spike, Karon would most likely have started panicking himself.

Spike had managed to get Twilight to sleep and promised Karon that she would be better in the morning before bidding him goodnight.

So now, Karon was in his bed, staring at the ceiling wondering if he had any chance at all. Pinkie Pie might have defended him but that was Pinkie. Twilight would be someone whose opinion Celestia would value, but if she continued like this, and also found out about all the other things that had happened at that party, she might start blaming him.

Technically, it was his fault.

But there was nothing he could do about that now. Hopefully, Twilight would have recovered when she woke up and he could talk with her about all that had happened. He had a sense of direction and meaning now, and he was not about to let that slip away from him.

“Have you considered that perhaps you ARE a bad influence on these innocent little ponies?”

“I have, but I don't think I am. Sure, last night might have gotten a little out of hand, but what do you expect. From what I could figure out, all of them had never been drunk before. It happens. If Celestia and Luna are as experienced and wise as Twilight has made them out to be, then they shouldn't actually care that much about the party.”

“So what do they care about?”

“What I might do in the future. They will probably listen to the elements' account of what I have done since I got here, then start questioning me in order to discern what kind of pon- ... person I am.”

“You will have to be careful there. As far as we know, Discord is the closest thing to a true trickster that the sisters have encountered, and we know how that ended.”

“Yes, but I am not planning on doing the things he did. I doubt total honesty will work in my favor this time.”

“Yes, a true trickster is a scary thing to have around for anypony in a position of authority. A trickster that also happens to have been trained in advanced magical arts are even worse.”

“I think we should learn something from Loki in this.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“He went on about not breaking but bending rules, so how about we don't tell lies but instead bend the truth a little bit.”

“It might work, if we are really careful about it.”

“I wasn't planning to be anything else.”

There wasn't much else left to be said. He closed his eyes and relaxed as much as possible. He would need to be as rested for tomorrow as possible.

He felt as if he had barely closed his eyes before he opened them again and found the sunrise spreading it's light across the room. He sat up in the bed and looked over at Twilight. She was still sleeping and he decided it would be best to give her a little time. The train would not leave until nine for the two and a half hour journey to Canterlot.

He silently got out of bed and put on his clothes. He had no shirt or anything else to use to cover his upper body, so he went out of the room barechested.

“You have to admit that our ego is getting quite a boost walking around showing off these new muscles of ours.”

“It would probably work better if ponies had a frame of reference for human fitness. They probably think this is how humans normally look.”

“Let's ignore that fact and pretend that every pony that sees us is secretly drooling at the sight of our abs....”

“You are in a good mood this morning. Anyway, we should head over to Rarity's first of all. I hope she has finished my clothes so I can look presentable when being questioned by Celestia.”

“You are really taking this whole new goody two-shoes image seriously.”

“As Loki said, we tricksters must act with charm and grace in our goings. No one would put up with our behaviour if they did not find us amusing or desirable in some way.”

“If you say so.”

Karon walked down the library stairs and looked around. The books were back in place thanks to Spike who had helped him find the right places for them. It was as if the crazy night had never happened in the first place.

Karon walked into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge in search of food. He took out some carrots and an apple before he sat down and ate his breakfast. He missed the taste of meat, but he knew he would eventually learn to live with the strict vegetarian diet.

He looked over at the clock on the wall. It was a little beyond half past seven, so Rarity might still be in bed. Karon did not want to wake her if so, but he needed to make sure he would have something to wear for the audience.

He took one last bite of the apple, then went outside, threw it into a nearby bush and started walking towards Rarity's boutique. There were hardly any ponies outside this early, and those that were looked a little sleepy and gave Karon weary looks as they trotted by. He guessed rumours about the little incident with Celestia and Luna had spread. Hopefully, it would not last for long.

He arrived at the Carousel Boutique and knocked on the door. He waited for a minute before trying again. No answer. He gently pushed on the door and it swung open.

Ponies are very trusting.

He entered the store and walked by the mannequins. It was strange seeing this place so early. What was normally a place of brightness and colours was now silent and slow, as if the store itself had not woken and was quietly sleeping.

Karon could not see any human shaped clothes anywhere, so either Rarity had not finished his clothes, or they were in her inspiration room.

Which also happened to be her bedroom.

“My, my. You two ARE moving fast aren't you.”

“You know that keeping at it this much will just make it old.”

“Then stop handing me so much material to work with.”

Karon ignored himself like he usually did and went up the stairs leading to Rarity's bedroom. He stopped outside the door and thought what the best way to deal with this was.

He could knock, but if she was sleeping that meant he would wake her up and he really needed everyone to be in a good mood today. But if he sneaked in to search for his new clothes and she woke up, that would definitely raise a few eyebrows.

“You already know what you are going to do.”

“I do?”

“We're the same, and since I know that you are going to sneak in, you know that too.”

“Sometimes I forget that I am actually talking to myself instead of some random spirit that decided to make a home in my mind.”

“And what kind of spirit would I be?”

“I don't know. A spirit of annoyance perhaps.”

“There is no such thing!”

“That is exactly what a spirit of annoyance would say to keep it's existence a secret.”

But he was right as usual. Karon knew he would sneak inside simply because it was the more amusing thing to do. Trying to get along a little better with the local authorities did not mean he suddenly wasn't a trickster any more.

He gently pushed open the door and peeked inside. Rarity was lying in her bed with a sleep mask on, and Karon was not surprised to find that it was pink and had laces on it's sides.

He carefully moved into the room and looked around. On the desk was the robe she had been making for him, and it looked complete. It was dark red in colour and opened up in the middle. Along the opening, a forest green strip of fabric had been sewn on with golden buttons following it downwards, and he could see a pair of dark grey boots standing beside it. He had no idea where Rarity had gotten them since she wasn't a shoe maker. Hell, why would any pony become a shoe maker when they don't use them.

He couldn't see a hat though which kinda of made him sad. It might be a huge cliché, but he had always wanted one of those hats. Mostly because he knew it would have pissed of Varsif to no end seeing him play up to a stereotype like that.

He sneaked forward and made sure he didn't trip on all the stuff lying scattered on the floor. He brought the robe up in front of himself and looked it up and down.

“This will do nicely. You can't be a trickster without being stylish.”

“Explains why you haven't gotten anywhere so far.”

He was about to put it on and grab the boots when he froze and realized something.

It had been demonstrated over and over again that the universe seemed to posses some kind of twisted humour. Whenever a situation arose where there was a perfect opportunity for grand failure, then it usually happened. Which meant that when he tried so sneak out again then he would either trip on something at the last step, or that Rarity would wake up and find him mid stride beside her bed.

“So what do you suggest?”

“I don't know, let me think.”

But the universe must have been aware of his planned escape from situational comedy because Rarity suddenly gave off a huge yawn and stretched her hooves up in the air before sitting up.

“What do we do!?”

Rarity moved her right hoof up as if to remove the sleep mask and Karon panicked. He put the robe back on the table and dove in under it, hiding behind the robe reaching down to the floor.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Hiding of course.”

“Yes I understand that, but why? You realize that you could have simply explained the situation or perhaps manage to silently run out of here. But no, instead you hide under a desk. You just made this situation ten times worse than it was a second ago.”

“I ... didn't think about that.”

Karon quieted his inner self and listened as Rarity got out of bed and headed towards the door, if she was heading to the bathroom, then he would have ample time to disappear. Instead he heard the sound of hooves stopping then turning around and walking towards him.

“Oh I do hope that he will be pleased with my work,” he heard her say before a bluish glow enveloped the robe and it levitated into the air. Karon's heart almost stopped as the robe moved away and his position could clearly been seen by any pony looking at the table.

Fortunately for him, Rarity's back was turned, and she was trotting to the door with the robe floating after her. She went through the door and disappeared out of sight with the robe soon following.

Karon let out all the air he'd been holding and climbed out from under the desk. He would have never thought he would fit under there now that he looked at it. He shook his head, walked to the door and looked down the hallway.

He could hear Rarity humming to herself downstairs. If he could manage to sneak by her, then perhaps he could pretend to walk in from the outside.

He moved down the stairs, gingerly making sure he didn't cause any sound, and pressed himself against the wall. He quickly took a look at the room. Rarity had her back turned still and was busy trying to set up the robe so it would be displayed nicely. Problem was that her head was still turned halfway and there was no way he would be able to make it to the front door.

“How about you simply sneak up behind her and say good morning.”

“How would that help me make sure she doesn't get frightened by me being here?”

“It probably wont.”

“Then why would I do that?”

“It would be really fun.”

“...I hate when you're right.”

“I'm always right.”

Karon smiled. Things had been getting serious lately. It was about time he did something stupid purely for the sake of having fun. He waited until Rarity tilted her head and looked at the robe hanging from a standing mirror, then moved quickly behind her before she could spot him.

He had trouble keeping himself from laughing. Perhaps this wasn't so gentlecoltly, but he couldn't keep up appearances all the time with Rarity. He needed to mix it a little with his usual self, though he had to admit it was amusing coming up with new ways of flattering her.

He waited until Rarity made a pleased sound and took a few steps back and admired her work before he moved in close enough to touch her and said.

“Absolutely gorgeous.”

Rarity screamed loudly and twisted around so fast she went up on her back hooves and fell down. She was breathing heavily lying on her back when she saw that it was Karon standing behind her laughing.

“I am terribly sorry lady Rarity, did I scare you?”

Her eyes became like slits and her mouth was drawn. “You did that on purpose, didn't you.”

“Why lady Rarity, would I ever do such a thing?”

“I am not quite sure what you are capable of I'm afraid.”

Karon frowned at this. He had expected a not so happy reaction at first but Rarity looked ... nervous.

Karon got down on one knee and extended a hand towards Rarity. She put her hoof in it, but before helping her stand up he said with a serious look on his face.

“Rarity, I don't know what you heard happened between me and the princesses, but it was nothing but a misunderstanding and a mistake. You need never fear me, and there is nothing you could do that would ever make me want to hurt you.”

With Karon's help, Rarity got back up on her hooves and looked a little ashamed at what he'd said. She bit her lower lip and looked at him uncertainly. As if she didn't know what to really think of him.

“Well ... You have acted like a perfect gentlecolt to me so far, and I have never before argued with someone that felt as strongly about fashion as me. I am just not sure what to make of all this.”

“You don't need to make it into anything. I am still new here, so I think it's best if we just let this form naturally into whatever it becomes.”

“Well that certainly sounds fine and all, but I can't help but wonder exactly what ... this ... is?”

Karon sighed and rubbed his face, he knew what she was thinking about.

“I take it you are referring to me kissing you at the party?”

She blushed and only nodded in response.

“At first I did not remember much of what happened at the party, but I did have some memory return to me while I was working on your clothes and....”

She bit her lip again and seemed at a loss for words.

“Rarity, what happened was my fault. I did not expect things to get quite as out of hand – I mean hoof – as it had that night. You were begging me on your knees to forgive you for arguing with me, and I just ... wanted to reassure you.”

“Oh, that sounds....”

“Not so good, no. Do you think you can forgive me ... lady Rarity.” Karon smiled at the last part.

“Well I guess I can try, but I think you will have to work hard to earn it. I believe you promised to educate me in human fashion.” She smiled back at him, and so, everything between them was settled.

She looked behind her at the robe and then back at Karon with a satisfied face. “But I am pleased that you find your new clothes ... uhrm ... 'absolutely gorgeous.'”

Karon leaned in a little and said, “It was not the robe I was speaking of,” before going over to said article and taking it down.

“But it is beautiful.” He opened the robe and put it on, feeling how the soft fabric slid across his skin like water. It fit perfectly.

Rarity was watching him intently. She obviously cared about the reaction ponies had when trying out the clothes she had created.

Karon did not want to disappoint her, so he walked forward and did a little spin. The robe followed his body effortlessly and made a pleasant swooshing sound as it drifted through the air.

“Oh yeah, this will be awesome for some dramatic entry or exit later on.”

“Rarity I can honestly say that I have never before worn clothes of such elegance. You deserve all the praise I can possibly give for this.”

“I'm so glad you liked it, but I'm afraid I did not have enough time to properly begin work on that hat you wanted so badly.”

Karon shrugged in reply. Yes he wanted that hat, but he was certainly in no position to complain at the moment. He buttoned the robe and it closed perfectly. The robe fit snugly on him and would allow him to move around without any tight spots restricting manoeuvrability.

But Karon had not forgotten why he had come to pick up the robe in the first place. He looked around and spotted a watch hanging on the wall, the train would leave in a little more than an hour. He needed to get back to Twilight. The rest of the elements were supposed to meet them at the train station.

“Rarity, I don't think I can properly thank you enough for this, but I will try and find a way in the future. But at the moment, I need to return to Twilight and make sure she is ready for the journey to Canterlot.”

At the mention of the capital city's name Rarity's eyes began to glitter twice as much as they regularly did, and she let out a dreamy sound.

“I understand completely. Just remember to meet us at the station on time. None of us can afford to miss this train.”

“No, too much depends on it.”

The gravity of the situation had settled in, and Karon lifted Rarity's hoof and gave it a light peck as a goodbye and remembered to exchange his worn leather shoes for the new boots before he left.

They felt nice as he walked back to the library, and the robe was admittedly a pleasant change to his otherwise all black attire. More ponies had come out now and while most of them gave him a wide berth, some of them gave him a wave instead.

Most likely, they were the ones that had enjoyed the party and chosen to ignore the rumours going around about what had happened between Karon and the royal sisters.

The library was quiet as he stepped inside, but he could hear Spike in the kitchen, probably making some food for the trip. Karon walked up the stairs and entered into Twilight's room. She was sitting on her bed staring out the window.

“She does not look happy. We should try and improve her mood before arriving in Canterlot.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Yes, she loves knowledge, I'm sure there is a secret or two I could tell her that might conjure a smile. Or maybe just cuddling, who doesn't like cuddling.”

He walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. The window offered a nice view of the east and the rising sun climbing over the rooftops of Ponyville. Karon looked down at Twilight. She looked like she had swallowed something very sour and couldn't get it out. Her face was outlined in the sunlight and made it very easy to see the contorted lips and the barely noticeable trembling of her eyes. Her right hoof was slowly stroking her left in a typical display of self comfort.

She looked so small there on the bed lying on her stomach, she almost looked delicate. Karon placed his right hand on her back and began stroking it, and as he did Twilight stopped moving her hooves, allowing him to be the one to comfort her.

Time was beginning to run out, but he felt like it was important that he did this. It was important Twilight knew that he was willing to be there for her when she needed it. He had saved her yes, but that had been a one time deal to get her home.

What he was doing now was, in a way, much more significant. He was showing her that he could be more than just a saviour who stepped in only when needed. He was showing that he could be a friend, a friend that could comfort her, laugh with her and live life side by side with her.

It felt good.

It wasn't just for her though, it was something he did for himself as well. This was new to him and he had no idea if he was capable of it, but what he was doing now was almost a sign. An event that marked the beginning of something.

They remained there for a little while, Karon was enjoying the warming sunshine and the soft coat beneath his hand. It had not taken long before he had began to feel Twilight's heartbeat as he moved his hand up and down.

But they needed to go, so he moved his hand up to Twilight's face and stroked her mane then moved on to her face. He let his hand remain on her cheek for a few seconds and she pressed against it, grateful for the contact.

“You must think I'm overreacting.”

“Well you are. It's not like it's you whose fate is hanging in the balance.”

“No, but yours is. Applejack didn't say much about what happened, but she said you and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had been fighting each other. I don't know why you would do that. Why did you do that?”

She turned her head and looked Karon in his eyes as she spoke, hers had begun to shine, and he knew that tears might soon follow.

He sighed deeply but did not break eye contact.

“It was stupid. I was still a bit under the effect from the alcohol and thought that considering the results my interference in your life has caused, they would banish me somewhere or even lock me up. So I drank some more and prepared for the worst, and then Luna started acting a little hot headed as well. I think she came here looking to fight me, but I can't be sure about that right now. She ... destroyed my robe with a spell.”

He shook his head angrily and continued while looking at the sunrise instead.

“That robe meant something to me. It was the last anchor to my old life, and when even that was taken from me ... It was like staring at your own tombstone. So I got angry and fought back. I have a lot of past issues I don't think I will ever manage to deal with, and they have left wounds. Most of the time I can't feel them, but when something like that happens, something that shakes you to the core, it's hard to avoid stirring up the old pain.”

He turned back to face Twilight. Her eyes no longer shone but instead had a clear focus as she listened intently to what he was saying.

“It didn't last though. My pain is the result of my own mistakes, and projecting that on others only works for a short time before you realize it's just you. There is no one to blame but yourself.”

She looked at him with that intense stare and put both her hooves around his neck and pulled him down into a hug. She held him there for a minute or two then let go and said.

“I'm not afraid because of that stupid report I sent. Yes, I panicked when I first found out about it but ... What I am really afraid of is that I will have to choose between you and princess Celestia. I can't make that choice. I could never turn against the princess but you ... saved me from that place. Please, please don't fight her. You are my friend and I don't want anything bad to happen to you.”

“Can you feel that pleasant sensation of being made of nothing but butterflies and sunshine?”

“Normal people call it joy.”

“Yes, but we do not belong to that category.”

“Twilight, I promise you that I no longer have any intention to fight against Celestia or Luna unless they try and turn me into stone or something else equally horrible, but I will say that unless we go to the train station now then they will not be happy with us.”

Twilight looked at the rising sun one last time before she stood up on the bed and jumped down. She trotted over to the ladder without any further speeches and moved out into the main library.

Karon lingered for a second, still enjoying the scent of her mane from when she hugged him, then he got up and followed the unicorn downstairs.

She stood at the front door with a saddlebag on her back, most likely filled with food and drink prepared by Spike. The little dragon stood next to her and was whispering, but he shut up when he glanced over and saw Karon watching them.

“Okay, see you later tonight Twilight,” he added hastily and retreated into the kitchen. Karon felt a little sad that the recent events had distanced even the dragon from him. He had liked the little guy.

“Ready to go. Unless we hurry, we're going to miss the train.”

“I said that already. You were the one that needed coaching not me.”

She looked up at him smiling once more. It felt good making her smile. Her eyes were a little quirky as if challenging him to say something else.

“Those eyes...”

“Stop saying that!”

Karon didn't answer, instead he walked by her and held up the door for her. She passed him by with a suspicious glance and continued walking for a few paces before turning around and asked.

“Why are you just standing there?”

“Oh sorry, I was just busy staring at that mesmerizing flank of yours. Did you know it jiggles a little when you walk?”

“It does not! And stop talking about my flank already!”

“As you wish,” he answered in return and made a very obvious glance at her flank and widened his eyes as if seeing something he liked.

She just turned around and groaned in frustration as she began walking towards the train station with a smirking Karon in tow.

They arrived about ten minutes before the train did. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood there waiting for them, while an extremely tired looking Rainbow Dash was sleeping on a bench nearby.

She must have been tired after flying back from such a long distance. Karon made a mental note to ask her about what she had seen so far off. Though the irony of the situation for her was that she had passed over Canterlot on her way back here, one night's sleep did not look to have been enough for her to have recovered.

They all stood waiting on the platform in silence, every one of them deep in their own thoughts about how all of this might turn out. Well, Pinkie Pie and the sleeping Rainbow Dash perhaps being the exceptions.

The clanging of a loud bell interrupted their inner musings as the train stopped on the track in front of them and they climbed on board. Karon thought it looked like an old style steam driven train, but he couldn't be sure. Equestria and Earth might be similar, but there were still plenty of differences.

Inside the waggon was an assortment of cushioned benches of some kind, obviously designed for ponies, but they proved comfortable enough for a human too.

The trip would take about two and a half hours, during which Karon had no idea if he should let the ponies talk amongst themselves, or if he should speak to the group instead. Or maybe speak with them one by one.

Looking at them he decided one by one would be best. Most had remained quiet as before, but Pinkie Pie had dragged Fluttershy into some kind of guessing game using the passing scenery. He spotted a lone bench at the far end and rose from his seat.

He walked over to where Applejack was sitting next to the snoring Rainbow Dash and asked her.

“Applejack, could I talk to you alone for a minute?”

She looked over at the sleeping pegasus then around at the others, then she nodded briskly and Karon went over to the empty seat on the other side of the waggon. Of course, almost every seat in the train was empty, only two other ponies were riding it besides themselves, but he wanted privacy for these conversations.

Applejack sat down next to him and looked at him with those green rock hard eyes of hers.

“Ah know what yer thinking, and no ah'm not about to interfere with whatever princess Celestia decides. Ah know ya saved Twilight and all, and ah'm sure they will be thinking about that. But whatever the princess says is what it is.”

Karon was a little unnerved by the earth pony next to him. Her spirit was that of the honest and stoic kind. The one not given into flights of fancy or easily deceived.

A tricksters bane.

He only looked back at her and nodded once, after he did she got up from the seat and went back to her old spot and woke up Rainbow Dash. The pegasus looked very irritated at first but Applejack pointed at Karon and said something to her. She kept quiet after that and walked over and took the seat next to him.

“So, whatcha wanna talk about?”

“Just wondering how you feel about me and if you will be willing to speak up to Celestia on my behalf?”

“Well, I guess you're alright, I don't know you that well so I don't know what I could say that might change the princesses' minds.”

“It's okay, I just wanted to know where you stand is all. Which reminds me, you owe me unlimited sparring sessions whenever I wish it.”

“Hey, that wasn't a fair bet! I had no idea what I was saying!”

“How about one session per week and we call it even.”

“Fine, just don't start crying when you can't handle me.”

He smiled at her and simply said, “I'll try my best.”

She snorted softly and went back to her seat where she promptly laid down and went back to sleep. Now for Rarity, he waved at her until she noticed him and pointed at the seat next to him. She got up and moved over to the seat he'd been pointing at.

“So lady Rarity, will you speak on my behalf before the princesses, so that I might find that opportunity to earn your forgiveness?”

“Oh darling stop acting like this. You already know that I will do all I can to make sure that you can stay with us.”

“Thank you, I would hate to leave you all now that I have grown so attached to you.”

“Why that is of course completely understandable, it is not often I get the chance to spend time with a gentlecolt like yourself, and I am certain that you have enjoyed our time as well.”

“Of course. I think there is no sight I would miss more than that of you glaring at me in white hot fury as you explain to me why gold must never be mixed with black.”

“You just had to bring that up ... I was an absolute disgrace that day and I am terribly sorry for arguing.”

“Don't be. I found it oddly pleasing to see you so ... passionate.”

She smiled a little and touched his hand with her hoof briefly before she got up.

“I will go tell Fluttershy that you want to speak with her.”

“Thank you.”

She walked over to Fluttershy and on her way there Karon suddenly realized that he was staring at her flank unironically.

“Don't you dare say a word....”

“About what? I have no idea what you are talking about. Seems to me that whatever you are talking about is so blatantly obvious I don't even need to comment about it.”

Karon groaned. It was just like his subconscious to comment about something while not commenting about it at all.

While he had been discussing that with himself Fluttershy had made her way over and was waiting patiently for him to start talking.

“Fluttershy ... I know we didn't exactly have the best start, but I had been hoping that I could rectify that later. I wanted to talk to you about whether or not you are willing to speak up on my behalf before the princesses.”

“Me? What should I say?”

“Whatever you want to say about me. They will be trying to figure out what kind of per ... creature I am. Simply tell them your impression of me.”

“I could do that, if there is just us I mean ... and not a lot of ponies watching me.”

“It's a private meeting.”

“Oh, okay then.” She smiled that wonderful smile of hers that could make the sun itself shed tears.

“Would you mind telling Pinkie Pie I want to talk to her.”

“You wanna talk to me? About what?” The pony in question asked as she popped up from behind the seat Karon and Fluttershy were sitting on.

“How the hell did she get over there?”

“Uh well Pinkie, I was just wondering if you are going to say anything about me to the princesses. I don't think they would have called you all there with me unless they had planned to question you about me.”

“Hmmmm, that sounds kinda obvious when you say it. I thought they just wanted you to have company.”

“Might have been a motivation as well. So, Pinkie ... Will you speak on my behalf?”

“Of course I will! You're my friend and you know what they say about friends....”

She leaned in closely and whispered in his left ear.

“...they're much more fun when they talk.”

Karon resisted the urge to shake his head and just patted Pinkie on the head.

“Thank you Pinkie. I looked forward to hearing what you will say.”

“Okey dokey,” she said and bounced away followed by Fluttershy making worried sounds.

Karon sat back and relaxed. He had already said everything that could be said with Twilight. All he could do now was try and enjoy the ride and convince himself that everything was going to be fine.

Time is funny. If you have fun it passes quickly, and if you are bored it will drag itself forward with painful laziness. It seems that if you are heading for your potential doom, then time passes even faster than when you have fun.

The landscape had shifted from rolling hills and grassland to rocky mountains and small valleys. Eventually a large city with tall spires came into view. It was nested beside a large mountain, situated so that one could see almost all of the plain grassland stretching from there to the Everfree forest.

The wheels of the train started screeching and it began to slow down. The other ponies rose up and went to the doors, waiting for the train to stop entirely.

When it did, all the elements and Karon rose up and stepped off the train. The sun was higher in the sky now and the spring air was pleasantly warm.

They all followed Twilight's lead as she walked toward the castle. To say that Karon caused a scene would be an understatement. Some ponies stopped and stared at the strange creatures with glowing amber eyes and stylish robe the colour of blood.

Others became afraid and hastily trotted off into all kinds of directions, just as long as it was away from him. There was even a few screams of terror as he passed by.

He had no idea how this would have gone had he not had the elements of harmony with him, their presence lent a certain atmosphere of importance. As if daring the common citizen to interfere in the business of the country's guardians.

Karon doubted it was intentional. He was extremely sensitive to magical energies and he didn't think the elements were actually aware they were giving off that kind of vibe. Not that it did matter at the moment.

Karon had more important things to consider than the reactions of the townsfolk.

They arrived unopposed at the castle's guarded, gilded gates, and two white pegasus guards dressed up in golden armour allowed them passage. The castle was certainly grand. It was almost ridiculously large and Karon had a sneaking suspicion that there were tunnels dug deep into that mountain, housing all manners of artifacts and treasures.

But that kind of thing would also have to wait until after this business was resolved ... one way or another.

They were let in through a large double door almost as big as the outer gates had been. Once inside, they walked trough a magnificent hall where sculptures had been carved into the marble stone and drapes hung from the wall.

Looking at them, Karon saw clearly that the age and theme of them varied greatly, and he reasoned that they must be things that Celestia had picked up during all her years.

They were stopped outside another heavy double door, one that looked like oak if Karon's eyes weren't mistaken.

One of the two guards stationed outside went through the door and said something. The words were muffled, but a lighter feminine voice responded to him.

The guard came back outside and opened both the doors, and the six ponies and one human went inside. The throne room wasn't quite as regal as he had expected from the outside of the palace. A single throne stood at the far end of the room on a slightly raised section of the floor with a few small steps leading up to it.

A red carpet framed in by thick golden thread lead up to it from the entrance. Celestia and Luna stood beside the throne, one on each side. They stepped forward a little as the ponies walked towards them. Karon had stopped for a brief moment and took in his surroundings.

Twilight loudly clearing her throat brought him back, and he hurried after them.

When they reached the first of the steps leading up to the throne, they all fell down on one knee each and gave a bow.

Karon put on hand behind his back and the other across his chest and gave a deep bow as well.

Being polite couldn't exactly hurt his chances.

Celestia was the first one to speak after they all had risen while Luna remained stoic beside the throne, staring at Karon with distrust evident in her eyes.

“My faithful subjects, I thank you all for coming here on such short notice. I know that you must be feeling confused by this turn of events, but I feel it is best if we resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”

She looked down at Twilight and smiled benevolently.

“Twilight Sparkle, my beloved pupil. It is you that this human chose to save and help bring back to our home, but there are still some parts of your story missing, such as why he followed with you.”

She held out a hoof to stop any possible interruptions.

“I know that you said it was an accident caused by some kind of spirit named Loki, but I need to understand why he would do such a thing and if he poses a threat to Equestria.”

Karon cleared his throat and said.

“I think it might be best if I explain that part. There are certain things that Twilight would not be able to properly explain herself, and you will be free to ask me any other questions you might come up with.”

Celestia gave a nod to show he could speak.

“Well, first of all, I need you to understand that when you say spirit, that doesn't really work to categorize a being like Loki. He is a god, a dark trickster god whose very nature is to remain unexplainable and seemingly without any far reaching plans, but this is the ruse. A trickster's power lies in his ability to distract and captivate while subtly guiding others as they see fit.”

Karon rubbed his neck a little. That definition encompassed all tricksters, including himself.

“Loki wanted to play with the rules of existence, and he chose me and Twilight as the tools to perform this deed. I do not believe that he was behind the unfortunate effect of Twilight's spell. She was simply overeager and did not have all the information needed to safely travel outside her body. I think Loki became aware of the situation as soon as she showed up in the void, and he simply saw the potential and seized it. The reason for me being here is that Loki tampered with my ritual, the one designed to bring Twilight back home.”

Celestia was listening carefully and even Luna looked to be curious about what happened.

“So instead of just transporting Twilight's mind it also transported the unmade energy that had been my body before Loki shifted it. So, when I arrived here, that energy formed a new body for me to house my soul and mind.”

Karon was looking into Celestia's violet eyes as he spoke.

“And to answer your other question, no Loki is not a threat to Equestria. He is a god, but he is a god of my home world. He is limited to it, and the amount of influence he could wield here is minuscule.”

Celestia looked at Luna. Luna in turn looked away, a little angry, but she said nothing.

“My sister and I have looked into the matter, and we have arrived at a verdict for what is to happen to the human named Karon, but first, I would like to give any pony here the chance to say something on his behalf if they think it will help us determine if he should be allowed to remain here or not.”

Twilight immediately spoke up as soon as Celestia was finished.

“Princess Celestia, please, I know Karon has only been in Equestria for short time, during which several things have happened that might have made you think he's not a good po-... human, but I promise it is all just a misunderstanding.”

Celestia held up her hoof once more and Twilight fell silent despite looking like she had wanted to say so much more.

“My dear Twilight, with the exception of the conflict between Karon and my sister and I, there is nothing that Karon has done here since he arrived which could be called dangerous and give us reason to banish him. A little irresponsible maybe, but not dangerous.”

She looked at Karon with compassion and continued.

“It is not what he has done that we are as much concerned with, as what he might do in the future. Humans have been here before, and they left scars behind that might never fully heal. We want to be certain that will not happen again.”

She turned and looked at the other ponies gathered.

“Does anypony else wish to speak for Karon?”

Rarity stepped forward and her sophisticated tone rang out and echoed off the hard marble surrounding them.

“If you excuse my words, princess I feel I must say something in Karon's defense. Ever since Karon arrived here, he has been faced with nothing but change and new things, and never once did he let this affect the way he treated the ponies around him. Ever since the first time I spoke with him, Karon has acted like a complete gentlecolt, and I know several ponies who are more deserving of a banishment than him.”

She didn't need to say it out loud, but Celestia knew Rarity was referring to prince Blue blood, who had acted rather rude towards her during the grand galloping gala.

“Thank you for your words Rarity. Are there any others?”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack kept quiet but Pinkie Pie bounced up and raised her hoof into the air and waved it while shouting. “Pick me! Pick me!”

Even Luna cracked a smile at the antics of the pink pony and Celestia motioned with her hoof that it was okay for her to talk.

“Well first of all Karon isn't a meanie. I know that because after I had thrown a surprise party for him and Twilight, when they got back he threw a surprise party for ME! And nopony does that if they're not nice, and I don't think humans do either. Besides, he kissed Rarity and I don't think he would do that if he didn't like ponies.”

Karon swore he could hear someone cough all the way back in Ponyville.

It was deathly quiet and he could see how suddenly every head inside the room turned and looked at him with wide eyes, then they slowly turned on Rarity.

The poor unicorn looked like she was trying to melt into the floor. She was lying down and her face ... Well it can't really be described, let's just say it was bad.

“You did what!?” Twilight shouted at Karon and looked very, very angry.

Karon briefly considered trying to lie, but decided truth would work best.

“I was drunk and she was drunk. She was upset and I wanted to comfort her. I am sorry if you find that offensive, but really, I thought ponies around here were the hugs and kisses kind anyway.”

“I think that description might be a bit misleading concerning our cultural norms,” Celestia replied.

“I know, I was just making a joke,” Karon answered back before thinking.

The six ponies drew their breath in shock and Celestia looked surprised, but the most interesting reaction came from Luna. It had barely lasted for a heartbeat, but Karon had clearly seen her mouth turn up into a smile before being quickly turned down again.

“So she has humour ... I can work with that.”

“Later, deal with current crisis first before going off making a new one.”

“I think it might be best if we move on now. Does anypony else wish to speak for Karon?”

At first no pony said anything, but then Fluttershy strode forward gently. Her hooves barely made a sound despite the floor being marble as well.

“Well uhm, I ... was a little scared when I first meet Karon. Actually I was very scared of him because he looked so big and frightening, but then when he put his hands around me and started talking I didn't feel so scared any more. And then later, he tried to make me into a tree because I have always wanted to know how it would be like, and I had the most amazing dream of being a tree so I ... uhm ... I think he's ... nice.”

And that marked the end of every speech in Karon's defense.

“Oh we are so fucked. Should I begin charging power for some kind of distraction so we can escape or hit them hard and run?”

“Neither, all is not lost yet. We'll listen to what they will say first.”

Celestia and Luna exchanged a glance again and Celestia spoke, her voice ringing loud and clear with a heavy tone of authority.

“After the ... misunderstanding with Karon yesterday, Luna and I travelled to the Whitetail woods where Karon first arrived to investigate, and we discovered something unexpected.”

She looked at Karon with an enigmatic look on her face.

“Do you remember something unusual when you arrived?”

“Besides new body and a whole new world? ... Yeah one thing, there was a circle around me of dead grass.”

“Yes, we found that as well, and we know what it is. From your explanation earlier, you said your body was destroyed back in your home world and the energy from it was used to form a new one here, correct?”

“Yes.”

“That's not entirely true.”

Karon blinked.

“You see when you first arrived here, and your body was being reformed, we think that the world of Equestria itself noticed you. It understood what was happening and so it tried to help you ... by giving you a piece of itself.”

Karon was a hard man to truly surprise or shock, but right now, his eyes were practically about to pop out of his skull.

“That is why the grass around you died, because the life force that sustained the grass and connected it to the world itself was gone, given to you instead. After Luna and I understood this, it was obvious we could no longer banish you.”

She walked down the steps and stood before Karon. Luna had followed at her side and they both flanked him.

“How could we try and deny your place here when Equestria herself deemed you worthy of a part of her. This is not a strange new world and you are not a stranger in it, you are as much as part of it as the mountains, rivers and forests themselves.”

Celestia placed a hoof on his right shoulder and Luna placed one on his left.

“As the rulers of all of Equestria, and the rulers of the court of sun and moon, we hereby name you a citizen of our lands and bestow upon you all the privileges and duties that follow.”

Karon looked around at the ponies and the two royal sisters. They all looked to be happy at having him there. Even Luna looked less like she wanted to kill him.

Celestia smiled at him and simply said.

“Welcome home.”

Chapter 10: First steps

The group of ponies and Karon had been in an excellent mood after Celestia had announced her decision to make him a citizen of Equestria and leave all thoughts of punishment behind. After they had been dismissed, they had all gone out for lunch at the best restaurant in Canterlot.

Karon couldn't help but laugh when he saw it was named “The Prancing Pony”.

They had eaten all kinds of strange vegetables and fruits that Karon couldn't name, but they turned out to be quite delicious. He had been in such a good mood after the royal deceleration that he had been happily ignoring all the stares he had been given by the Canterlot ponies.

He even smiled at the waiter when he dropped the tray of food after seeing Karon for the first time.

After lunch, they had decided to head back to Ponyville despite Rarity protesting. Pinkie had tried to comfort her by suggesting a party to celebrate how well the day had gone but everypony had shouted that idea down immediately. Even Karon, after the last party, had thought it best to wait for a while before daring to unleash the beast that was a drunk Pinkie Pie.

He had a feeling booze was going to become a permanent addition to Pinkie's parties hereafter.

The train arrived on time and they boarded it with a sort of relief. With all problems taken care of, they could now all go home and relax.

“It is a strange thing. I haven't been here for even a week yet and still ... When I think of going to Ponyville as going back home, it feels ... perfectly natural.”

“Considering all that's happened, it's not that hard to find it perfectly reasonable. I think you're just trying to be dramatic.”

“If I am trying to be dramatic, then so are you.”

“Yes but I am the part of us that freely admits to be being a drama queen that rivals Rarity.”

Karon was in too good a mood to let himself be annoyed by ... himself.

Instead, he looked out the window and enjoyed the beautiful view stretching out before him. There was an entire world here he hardly knew anything about, and he desperately wanted to explore it.

“One thing at a time. How about we try and contain ourselves to Ponyville and the surrounding area for the moment. There is no rush and don't forget that there still are plenty of dangers that can get us killed.”

Karon thought about this. He definitely needed to do some of that research in Twilight's library. He also still owed Applejack for all that booze and he had promised to help her improve her distillery.

And then there was the Everfree forest.

There was something important awaiting discovery inside those dark mysterious woods, he could feel it. He was going to search trough Twilight's library for any information concerning the forest hoping that something would stand out.

He could try and randomly search around in it, but that would take years to complete, and he didn't have the patience for that.

The way it had been cut off from the rest of Equestria was significant, he knew that, and if he could learn what secrets the forest was hiding then he might also understand Equestria. If you know the opposite of one thing then you also understand it.

If you can heal then you can harm.

Understand the Everfree and then he would understand Equestria. At least that was what Karon hoped.

Then there were the ponies themselves. He needed to spend time with Rarity and explain human fashion as far as his understanding of it extended. Twilight, he would see all the time since he lived with her. Applejack he would see during the work on her distillery and Rainbow Dash would have to train with him. That left Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy ... Oh and Lyra.

He would have to find a reason to spend some time with them. Not that Lyra would need an excuse to seek his company. She would probably seek it out entirely on her own sooner or later anyway.

Perhaps he could ask Fluttershy to teach him about the local fauna. He would need that knowledge anyway if he ever planned to travel Equestria. Pinkie Pie ... he had a feeling he could just ask if she wanted to hang out with him and do something random.

As he was sitting there looking out the window and the country side passing by, Twilight made her way to him and sat down at his side.

“You know that you don't have to sit alone.”

He turned around to the unicorn and gave her a small smile.

“Force of habit I guess. I'm used to seeking solitude when I want to think.”

“I know what you mean. I do the same thing myself.”

Karon looked at her a little more carefully. Sure, he had only known her for a few days, but he was beginning to map out all her tells.

“There is something else on your mind you want to tell me.”

She frowned at him and asked.

“Did you just read my mind, because I know you can do that.”

“No I just read your face. Reading minds is too easy to get used to doing constantly, so I hold off on it until I really need to utilize it.”

“Well the thing is ... it's about Rarity.”

“Oh shit, brace yourself.”

Twilight's appearance didn't change noticeably, but a strain had come over her as if she was trying to control her anger.

“I want to know what exactly you intend with her and why you did it. She refuses to speak to me about it so that's why I'm asking you now.”

“How can we explain this without sounding like an asshole?”

“I think our best chance is playing to her sympathies. She still feels a bit responsible for me being here.”

“It's a cheap shot, but this has the potential to end badly otherwise. Go for it.”

“Twilight you have to understand that I did that when I was so drunk I tried to turn Fluttershy into a tree. YOU tried to turn Fluttershy into a tree as well, so you know how little control we had during the time.”

Karon went quiet for a moment, searching for the right words.

“That being said I don't really know if I have any intentions towards Rarity at all besides those of a friend. Yes I like he,r but I am not sure I like her that way, I certainly don't think so. But I am the only human in Equestria and so long as I remain here I will never have a human partner, soooo ... I don't know.”

Karon sighed and rubbed his face gingerly.

“I am just feeling a bit lonely that's all. It will pass and things will go back to normal, whatever that means.”

Twilight still looked a bit angry but she couldn't really refute any of what he was saying.

“Fine, but just so you know, I don't like it. I know that you must be feeling lonely, but that is no reason to use Rarity like that. Don't do it again.”

She got up from her seat and returned to sitting next to Fluttershy a few seats away.

“You do know that there is a possibility here we haven't considered.”

“And what would that be?”

“That Twilight is jealous.”

“I don't even know if I should dignify that with an answer.”

“Hear me out. You listened to what she had to say, but you heard how she sounded when she said it. She didn't have a hint of protectiveness in her tone. She said it like she was angry about something else.”

“Which would be?”

“That you kissed Rarity instead of her.”

“How about we properly analyse this so we can put it behind us. First of all, yes I have saved Twilight from a horrible fate and helped her repeatedly, which would definitely make her feel gratitude towards me, but we are also very different, and personality wise, I don't think we are a match. Then there is also the whole other species thing, so no I do not think so. I think she is angry because I did something stupid with her friend and she is getting tired of me doing stupid things.”

“Please, doing stupid things is the only thing that's charming about you. But I'm telling you, it's jealousy. You just wait and see.”

“I seriously doubt it.”

“Two things. One, we are the same and if I think so, it's because you do as well, and two, you lied when you said you have no intentions towards Rarity.”

“No I didn't. She's a pony, I'm a human. End of story.”

“She is a pony with sharp wit and gets extremely passionate about what she does, and despite that she is a pony, she also happens to be beautiful to the point that even we can not deny her level of attractiveness.”

“Everything here is beautiful in some way. There's not a pony here that does not fit the definition of cutesy-wutesy.”

“Don't ever use those words again. Stop being so stubborn. You like her and there is no reason why you should not. I know us, if we don't get to experience intimate physical contact for a while we go crazy from all the pent up sexual energy. Just go with the flow and don't deny your feelings no matter what they are.”

“Whatever you say. You're still wrong.”

Karon ended the conversation he had with himself and went back to looking out the window when he realized something. Something he had overlooked during these hectic days, something so utterly horrible he didn't know if he dared even think about it.

He was the only human in Equestria, which means that unless he gets the chance to leave, he will never again see another human female.

He might never see a pair of boobs again.

Karon sank down in his seat and buried his face in his hands, and he felt despair overtake him as the future suddenly looked a lot bleaker than it had a moment ago.

The train continued on the track towards Ponyville, and the landscape turned from rocky mountains to rolling hills and idyllic farmland. Karon did not move from his seat the entire time. He was busy feeling sorry for himself and going over the mental images of all the women he had ever been with naked.

He felt the train grind to a halt eventually and a hoof poked him in the shoulder. He turned his face and saw Fluttershy standing at his side looking concerned.

“Are you okay? You look really sad.”

“I just realized something absolutely horrible.”

“Oh no! What is it?”

Karon got up and gave Fluttershy a pat on the head and forced himself to smile at her. She was far too nice for her own good.

“I will tell you some other time, nothing I can do about it now.”

“How about we never ever even consider explaining this to her?”

“Like there was ever any question about it.”

“Oh okay,” she said and smiled in a way that made Karon feel a little better. That smile could probably cure any disease in the world if used properly.

He jumped off the train and walked over to where Twilight was standing waiting for him. She looked to have calmed down during the journey. Neither of them said a word as they began walking towards the library.

This time walking through Ponyville, Karon couldn't help but notice similarities with the first time he had done so. Every pony they walked by stared at him, but at least this time they tried to be discreet and gave him a lot of half concealed glances.

He guessed rumour must have spread saying he had been called to Canterlot by the princesses. Karon being back in Ponyville clearly meant he had been forgiven in some way.

Twilight, on the other hand, stared back at every pony whose eyes she could catch and gave them a disapproving glare.

But nothing else happened during their walk, and they stepped inside the library with relief, glad to be out of the public eye so to speak. As soon as the front door had creaked while opening, Spike had heard and came running down the stairs from Twilight's room.

He stopped in front of the pair and asked them.

“So, what happened? Did they forgive him! Will Karon be punished?”

“Dude, I'm standing right here.”

“Uhh, sorry about that. I just....”

“Yes Spike, Celestia decided to forgive Karon and made him a citizen of Equestria, so he will be staying with us for a while now.”

“Sounds great. Is there something you want me to do Twilight?”

“Yes, could you grab me all the books you can find on legends of otherworldly beings. I want to know if there have been any other creatures from other worlds in Equestria before and what happened to them.”

She turned to Karon and asked, “Is there something that you want to research?”

“Actually, yes Twilight, there is. Spike, could you get whatever you can find on the Everfree Forest.”

“Right on it,” the little dragon said and ran off towards the bookshelves.

Twilight looked on Karon a little surprised at the subject he had chosen.

“Why did you pick that? There must be hundreds of different subjects you'd want to research now that you're going to be staying here.”

“I think there is more to the Everfree Forest than most ponies think Twilight.”

She looked skeptical. “If you say so, just be careful if you ever go in there. It's very dangerous.”

Karon briefly considered telling her about his previous visit, and that he had earned the forest's blessing, but changed his mind. It would take too long to properly explain and she would most likely become very worried at the thought that the forest was sentient in a way.

“I wonder how she would react if we told her there wasn't a plant in existence that isn't sentient.”

“She would come to realize that the difference between a carnivore and herbivore isn't that one kills and the other doesn't. It's just what manner of life they chose to kill and consume. She wouldn't be able to handle it I think. They might not be as naïve as I first thought, but they are still far too innocent for a lot of things.”

“I agree on this.”

So instead of explaining further, Karon went and sat down on the stairs and waited for Spike to collect all the books he could find on the subject. He went to Twilight first and put a number of books on her desk before going back to collecting books from the shelves.

Twilight had become enraptured in her reading, and Karon wondered if she was doing this research solely for her own curiosity, or if she also had something in mind for him.

It didn't matter at the moment.

Spike came out from the little library carrying a total of five books in his arms, balancing them on top of each other. Karon reached down and grabbed the books, and with a thank you to Spike, headed up towards the bedroom.

He went in and climbed up to his bed. He put the books on the bed then threw himself down on it with a loud moan. All the recent incidents with the royal sisters and then the party before that, and the whole new world thing had put him through a lot. Physical, emotional and mental strain was starting to take it's toll on him.

Right now, Karon was really happy he didn't need to think about anything other than lying down, relaxing, then reading a few books.

He put his arm over his face and began breathing deeply, pushing the air deep down into his diaphragm then pushed it all out again. He continued until he had become hot from the exertion and his fingers were tingling from the blood flow.

He propped himself up against the wall the bed stood against, picked up the first book and looked it over. It's title read The Geography of Equestria, and by it's appearance, was relatively new or very well taken care of.

Karon opened the book and looked through the index. It mentioned several places within Equestria's borders and also had a chapter dedicated to the neighbouring lands.

There was a chapter that looked very interesting though, more so then the others. It simply said Ancient magical places, and within the subsections, the Everfree Forest was named.

He flipped the pages to said section and began reading. It was short and not very detailed, but there was a strange note right next to the map marking out the forest's location. It said that the location of the Everfree forest marked on the map was only temporary and that it could move at any given point in time.

Karon frowned at this and wondered what exactly that meant, but nothing else was really mentioned about it. The book only repeated general knowledge like the fact that it was home to many dangerous creatures and that the nature of the place refused to submit to pony authority and care.

Karon closed the book and put it down on the floor next to the bed. He moved over and looked through the remaining books. Three of them were books dealing with grand subjects where the Everfree Forest was merely included amongst many other topics, but one book was different.

It read, The Everfree Forest and Its History. It's title might not have been that spectacular, but it was a book dealing solely with the forest and was exactly what Karon wanted.

He opened it and began reading. It did not take long before the book had him completely under it's spell and Karon took no notice of time passing by. It must have been many hours because Spike eventually entered the room carrying a tray with food and drink on it.

Karon didn't notice him until he put down the tray on the bed in front of him. The smell of the cooked vegetables made his stomach growl in anticipation.

“Geez dude, you're almost as bad as Twilight.”

“I will chose to take that as a compliment little Spyro.”

“Whatever, I'll be downstairs napping if you need anything.”

Karon nodded and ate the food before him in a rush. He didn't want to waste any time not reading that book. It was too damn interesting.

Unfortunately, the book consisted of a lot of eye witness accounts and old tales the author had tracked down. Very little of it could be taken as fact, but there were also investigations undertaken by several prominent unicorn mages.

After having eaten all the food and going back to reading, Karon spent the next half hour reading the final part of the book. At the end, there was a summary.

“Much of what is written in this book is based purely on hearsay and local tales passed down in old families, but there are a few inarguable facts concerning the Everfree Forest. One is that it is outside of pony ability to control and nurture. The animals within it's borders care for themselves, and the weather moves on its own, driven by forces we ponies have yet to understand. There is not a single life within the Everfree Forest that does not care for itself and reject pony authority.

The second fact is that the Everfree Forest is ancient and that it moves around. The Everfree forest has been around Equestria for millennia. Most likely, it has existed since before Equestria's founding.

And it moves.

Over the centuries, detailed maps of Equestria have shown that the Everfree forest appears at different places during different times, and that the forest does not always appear within the borders of what is today's Equestria. After having spoken with the griffon lords and having gained their permission to search through their royal archives, I discovered that the forest has been inside their own lands on three separate points in time!

I am entirely convinced that if somepony were to travel to other far off lands and research their history, they would discover that the Everfree forest has moved unhindered around our entire world for longer than even the oldest dragon would remember.

These accounts are spread out over different time periods, but what they have in common is that all of these periods were those of great turmoil, or that there was the presence of ponies or other creatures who would go on to becoming important figures in their nation's history.

How the forest moves is beyond the knowledge of anypony, anywhere. There have been a few stories that tell of a great mist that would fall down on a certain part of a land. When that happened, all creatures who found themselves within the mist would stumble out confused, and when the mist finally cleared, they would find that a forest had appeared out of nowhere and taken over the land.

Sometimes this lead to an attack on the forest by the locals, but never did this strategy end well.

The current position of the Everfree forest is at the site of the old capitol of Equestria, the Palace of the Sun and Moon, which fell during the battle between Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon.

After the battle was over, Princess Celestia declared that a new capitol was to be built, and Canterlot began construction soon after. The day that Princess Celestia moved into her new home at Canterlot Palace, was the same day a mist fell over the site that had been the Castle of the Sun and Moon, and the Everfree Forest claimed its land for itself. It has since remained there for almost a thousand years at the date of this writing. For what reasons, I can only speculate, but given the nature of the forest, I can only guess that it's waiting for something, or somepony, to appear.”

Karon closed the book and thought about all of this.

“There is obviously a purpose to the forest. I want to find out what that is exactly.”

“If what was written in this book is as far as anypony has ever researched the forest, then we wont be able to find much more here.”

“Which leaves the direct approach as our only option. I will need to go into the forest until I manage to find something that could tell me what I want to know.”

“Could be dangerous. The forest has liked us so far, but that was a quick visit. If we start digging in this further, it might decide that we should become food for the animals within it.”

“We will have to be careful not to step on anyone’s toes then ... or roots or whatever.”

“When should we do it?”

“In a few days. Let's take it slow for now and make sure we are prepared. We might have to remain in that forest for days and I want to make sure my skills aren't so rusty they will get me killed.”

“You also want to spend a little time with the ponies correct?”

“Yes ... something wrong with that?”

“Just checking.”

Karon had made his decision and looked out the window. From the looks of the little light still shining, the sun would go down any moment now.

He got up and went in search of Twilight.

She was still standing by her reading table in the main library. On the table next to the books stood an empty plate from when Spike brought her some food. Karon walked up to her and put a hand on her flank, gently bringing her out of her reading.

She blinked a couple of times and turned around.

“Oh, do you want something? I was just about to finish reading and ask if you wanted anything to eat.”

“Spike brought me something a while ago. I wanted to tell you something before going out.”

“You're going out? Where?”

“Right now I was planning on visiting Fluttershy, but I am also planning on heading into the Everfree forest in a few days.”

She shook her head confused as if she hadn't heard him right, then she just stared at him.

“Why in the world would you want to do that?”

“It is complicated. Let's just say that I think there is a lot of potential magical discoveries to be made in there for someone with my particular talents.”

“I don't doubt that your talented, but I can't imagine what you possibly think you can find in there.”

“Again, complicated. I doubt I could explain it to someone that didn't specialize in my kind of magic.”

“If you say so ... How long do you think it will take?”

“I hope no more then two or three days but it might last an entire week or more.”

“A WEEK! Are you crazy? You know the kind of things that live in that forest, and you want to spend an entire WEEK with them!?”

“I can take care of myself Twilight, and I will make sure that I have done all I can to prepare.”

“I still don't like it. What if something happens to you and you need our help?”

Karon bent down a little and stroked her mane, she looked so worried for him. It felt good to have someone ... Well somepony, care for you that much.

“If something happens I will simply send you a telepathic message and you'll know where to find me.”

“Can you do that? Just ... send a message no matter where you are? What if you're hurt?”

“My physical state is irrelevant, as long as I can still think I could send it. I could even contact you in my sleep if I needed to. Don't worry Twilight, I will be fine.”

She still looked worried, but now she also had a look of curiosity mixed in.

“You know one day you will have to tell me all about how your magic works. It sounds really interesting and could help a lot of ponies.”

“I don't think it is something you could use like that. My magic is the kind only those truly dedicated will ever get, those that are born for it simply.”

“I don't know about that, you should at least try.”

Karon got down on his knees and looked the unicorn in her eyes and smiled at her. He stroked her mane again and she seemed uncertain on how she should react.

“Anything for you Twilight.”

“Even if you don't believe that Twilight has a thing for you you should be careful. Keeping up doing stuff like this WILL make her fall for you sooner or later.”

“Stop reading romance into everything!”

She smiled at him happily and looked pleased.

“Good, I look forward to hearing what you have to say about your magic ... Uhm, could you take your hand off my mane now.”

Karon let his hand drop and he rose up. He gave Twilight a quick wave goodbye before heading out the door and said, “I'm going to Fluttershy's, see you later tonight.”

He closed the door behind himself and breathed in the clean spring air. It filled his chest with a smooth pleasant feeling and he began walking. Fluttershy lived in a cottage north west of Ponyville, north of the Apple family farm.

Karon walked slowly, enjoying the air and setting sun. It was barely visible above the Everfree forest, shining in orange and causing the white clouds above to explode in colors from soft purple to raging pink.

He walked over many small hills and entered what looked like a small forest bordering the larger Everfree one. The road he had walked on stretched into it and he continued on his path. He could hear birds singing a head and took it as a sign he was close.

The trees spread out thinner and thinner the further he walked, and he could see what must be Fluttershy's cottage at the end of the road. It looked to reflect the owner of the humble abode perfectly. It had a spirit of serene calm about itself, and nothing outside looked to be set up purely for sake of beauty or showing off. It was simple, unassuming and exactly as it should be.

Yet it still looked beautiful, just like the owner.

“Please don't fall for her too.”

“I am not. I am quite sure that doing anything to even come close to corrupting Fluttershy's innocence is a cardinal sin.”

“According to what power?”

“Every single one. Can you honestly say that after having looked in Fluttershy's eyes, that if I were to seduce her, the universe itself wouldn't spit me out in disgust?”

“...You might have a point.”

“Damn right I do.”

He passed by several critters and random animals hiding as the big scary human walked up to Fluttershy's cottage and knocked on her door. He heard movement coming from inside and waited for her to respond.

The door creaked opened and Fluttershy peaked out from the tiny gap. When she saw Karon standing there she opened the door wide and looked up at him.

“Oh, hi Karon, what are you doing here?”

“Hello Fluttershy. I just thought I should come and visit. I hope I'm not disturbing you with anything.”

“Not at all, please come inside.”

Karon stepped inside and looked around, there were several tiny homes made for various animals inside and he saw bowls and other food stuff spread around for the critter's benefit. It was decorated with a lot of warm colours and it looked, as Fluttershy would have put it, nice.

“So you live here alone with all the animals?”

“Yes, and I absolutely love it here where I can take care of all the little animals.”

“Are you not worried about the Everfree forest?”

“Well yes, a little, but nothing ever comes out of there. If you just stay away from it nothing scary will come after you.”

“Good to know.”

“So the forest is passive in regards to the land around it. That means that the purpose it has is to house something, to wait for something to come to it.”

“Fluttershy I was thinking ... you must know a lot about animals since you love them so much.”

“Well I know about many different animals, but I don't know if that is a lot....”

“I was wondering if you could teach me about all the animals you know of, what they eat and how the behave and so on .... and if they are dangerous.”

“Oh I would love to tell you. Please, just let me put Angel bunny to bed first.”

Karon looked around and on the floor a bit away from him stood the bunny, they locked gazes with each other. Both of their faces turned as hard as stone and their eyes squinted as a staring match commenced.

It was a primal thing, two males who had faced each other in combat before. Both of them regarded the other with suspicion and inside of them pure animal power roared at the sight of the other, but nothing of it could be seen outside of their eyes.

It was primal, it was the contest of male strength and determination of will. It was the pounding on chest and the lions roar, the eagles scree and the wolves growl.

It was very manly.

Of course, to Fluttershy the two males looked to be squinting at each other with determined faces as if they couldn't properly see one another. She shifted her eyes uncertainly between the two before interrupting.

“Uhm, Angel bunny it's time for bed now.”

But Angel bunny was busy. He was busy testing the strength of his little bunny heart in a contest of will, and so he didn't even flinch when Fluttershy called to him.

She looked at the two of them for a few more seconds before she flew over and picked Angel up, breaking his staring with Karon. She flew him over to a little basket that obviously functioned as his bed and put him in.

Karon smirked arrogantly at the little bunny, He had won the contest since Angel was the first to break away. That Fluttershy had done it to him was irrelevant. Angel glared daggers at him in anger and did a little motion where he pointed at his own eyes then pointed at Karon with a meaningful look.

“I will be watching you,” it said.

Fluttershy's back was turned to Karon so he answered with a hand gesture of his own. He didn't know if they used it in this world, but it's meaning was clear as something rude.

Fluttershy tucked the little rodent in tight and sang a little song that made the bunny promptly fall asleep. Even Karon was beginning to feel a little tired after the song. Fluttershy sure was a good singer.

She flew over and settled down on the floor. Karon looked around for something to sit down on, but he couldn't see anything so he followed her lead and sat down on the floor cross legged. Fluttershy looked a bit curious at the way he had folded his legs together, but she didn't say anything about it.

“So uhm, what do you want to know?”

Karon smiled greedily.

“Everything.”

They spent the next several hours talking about all the animals Fluttershy knew of. Fortunately, most of it was information that Karon knew of already, but there were some exceptions. There existed several creatures that were either pure mythology or long extinct in physical form in his home world, like a manticore or hydra.

The more she talked, the more convinced Karon became that the world of Equestria and Earth were intertwined with each other. He would need to put down his theory on paper and look it over, but he was beginning to get fairly certain he had information Lyra would give her soul to possess.

He would give it to her freely of course, but that was after he toyed with the idea of having a unicorn soul to play with. Plenty of high magic rituals could be performed if one had an extra soul for use.

When they were finished talking and Fluttershy had answered all Karon's questions to the best of her ability, the sun had set long ago and it was dark outside.

As dark as Equestria gets in any case.

“Fluttershy, I can't thank you enough for all the information you've given me. If you ever need help with anything just ask and I will do all I can.”

“Well, I don't think there is anything right now, but if there is I promise I will tell you.”

“Good. Well then Fluttershy, I think it's time for me to head home.”

“Oh, Okay.”

Karon got up from the floor and stretched his limbs. They cracked a lot and he got needles all over his legs as the blood started to flow back into them properly. He grimaced and walked unsteadily towards the door. Before he went through, he turned around to Fluttershy.

“Good night Fluttershy, I hope you have sweet dreams.”

“Thank you. I hope you have sweet dreams to ... if you want them to be that is.”

Karon couldn't stop himself from actually giggling a little. The pegasus was too adorable not to.

He closed the door behind himself and started walking back to the library. The sky above had a few clouds, but the waning moon was still very visible. A wind blew past him and made the trees about him rustle as the leaves moved about.

His legs returned to normal soon as he walked and he increased his pace. Hopefully there would be some food he could eat before going to sleep. Other than carrots that is. He was getting tired of nothing but non-stop vegetables.

Not that he had a choice.

But despite the diet, he still felt better in Equestria than he had ever before. Maybe it was the new body and the ridiculously clean environment, something else entirely, or maybe all of it. Really, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he was here and aimed to stay for a long time, and that this day had been the first of many.

He had resolved every outstanding issue concerning his presence, and had also been granted citizenship in the process. He had a place to stay and friends to keep him company.

He also had a mystery waiting for him within those dark, mist filled confines of the Everfree Forest. Life was simply good, and he knew that today he had taken the first of many steps on a long road stretching forth ahead of him.

Chapter 12: Don't wake a sleeping...

“I'm not Santa Claus, that's for sure.”

“But ... Where am I?”

“Still in whatever place you were when you fell asleep. Took me a while, but I finally managed to call your dream self over here.”

Karon looked around himself once more and took in all the details of the surrounding landscape.

“We're in the forest you live in?”

“Close. I'm here, but you are merely dreaming. Your understanding of spatial dimensions are not advanced enough to get it, but for the moment let's just say that we are talking with each other without actually talking.”

Like he had done so many times before Karon just rubbed his face with his hands and held back a headache. It didn't matter how much he learned, Varsif could always drop the tiniest comment and suddenly everything he thought he knew was questioned.

“Fine whatever, why did you call me?”

“Why do you think? You managed to muck up so badly this time the powers themselves are displeased.”

Karon felt a chill travel down his spine and dread clutched his heart tightly. If there is one thing any creature should fear above all else, it is to anger the powers. Their power is ultimate and their judgement is final.

“What have they said?”

“They are upset that you managed to screw around with a very fundamental rule of theirs, but they are of course aware of the circumstances and told me. Really Erik? You listened to Loki?”

Varisf sighed deeply and shook his head, as a teacher does when a student refuses to understand something completely obvious.

“Did you for a second think he wouldn't screw you over? That his plan didn't have layers upon layers of scheming? I know I taught you far better than that, and even a blockhead like you should have known that it would end badly.”

“I didn't have much choice.”

“Yes you did. You could have come to me and asked for advice; you could have contacted a number of entities and explained the situation. Instead you threw yourself like a willing lamb to the slaughter into Loki's plan, and now you've upset the most powerful beings in existence.”

“Then why haven't they done anything?”

“Times lines are being analysed and consequences are taken into consideration, and then there's me. I hold some sway in the higher circles and managed to make a convincing case for you. Loki is the one being blamed for it really, and I have done my best to make sure you are considered a victim instead of a collaborator.”

“Well I ... Thank you ... I guess, but what does it mean?”

“Don't know yet. The powers will not stand for this, but they can't really punish Loki and punishing you wouldn't give the desired result, but one way or another, the results of Loki's scheming will be reversed, the decision how is ongoing.”

“But what does it mean for me?”

“Still not sure boy, but I have convinced them that tearing you out from existence, and leaving you to disperse in the void won't solve anything at least. That fate is never bestowed lightly on anything, because there are none worse, so I managed to steer it off, but at the moment, the possibilities are still being considered so I can't answer with certainty. But whatever will be done, will be done towards you that I am sure of. Loki broke no rules since you were his proxy, and that little unicorn they said you helped was only a helpless victim. That leaves you, and I just hope I can manage to make sure the punishment is made so it hurts Loki instead of you somehow.”

“Varsif ... I know I was not the best apprentice but ... I am grateful for your help.”

“Then repay me by listening close. You are in this mess because you continue to be too thick-headed to face your own short comings. You still think you can handle everything the world throws at you on your own. You are arrogant. The reason you left me is because you can't even handle yourself, and that is why you will never be allowed to achieve true power. You need to first achieve a wisdom that will elude you for as long as you keep this meaningless game up. If you ever wonder why your life continues to be a tragic one, just know it is because you still cling to the idea that it should be. Stop being such a self-obsessed moron and admit you need help to get over yourself. I would hate for you to end up as another cliché villain full of self-pity and hate. I have killed enough of those and need not know I helped create one.”

“Perhaps you're right.”

“Did you for once actually admit I am right and you were wrong?”

“I have changed from this ordeal Varisf, and I am still changing. I don't really know into what but I think it is ... as it should be.”

Varsif only huffed in return and looked up at the stars.

“Glad to know you're finally getting somewhere.”

“Me too.”

They stood there, both of them looking up at the stars in silence. Karon did not know why he could feel the winter cold seep into his bones despite that fact that he was sleeping, but the cold was refreshing. After all that warm spring air, it was nice to be bitten by the winter night's chill once more.

“You think I am up there somewhere, on a planet orbiting one of those stars?”

“You're not. You are in one dimension jump up. From what I could tell, you're in a parallel world that runs right next to this one. If you look around, you'll probably see a lot of things in common between them.”

“I had begun to suspect so. I know one unicorn that will be thrilled to get the explanation for what that means.”

“The thing you saved?”

“Her name is Twilight and she is no thing Varsif, and no, I was referring to another unicorn, one obsessed with humans despite us being no more than legends in this world. I think she managed to connect her dream self to Earth after she started obsessing about our kind.”

“She wouldn't be the first one jumping over to a close dimension while asleep. Many events that occur in one echoes out and is caught up in other places as thoughts, dreams and ideas. If something especially great or epic in scale happened where you're at, it would probably be picked up on by some humans here and there.”

Karon snorted. “Judging by what I have seen so far, that thought or idea would most likely have become a cartoon for children or something similar.”

Varsif laughed a little at the thought. “Now that would be truly ridiculous.”

“Agreed.”

They looked upon each other with a hint of sadness on both their faces. It had been three years since they last spoke, three years since Karon had shared a laugh or annoyed groan with the old man. He found himself missing it, he had left before he was meant to.

But he had needed it.

“I will contact you once more when a decision has been made, until then ... Stay out of trouble, if you can that is.”

“I will try.”

“Do or do not, there is no try,” Varsif said and released Karon's dream self from the clutches of his magic and allowed it to drift free.

                                   ***********************************

His head was pounding relentlessly with every beat his heart made. Long journeys outside the body always made it uncomfortable to return and once more clad oneself in heavy, slowly dying flesh constantly struggling to generate and preserve its life.

He really missed aspirin right now.

He began a deep breathing exercise to ease the ache and considered trying to go back to sleep, but after what must have been at least half an hour of breathing in and out, he realized he wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the night.

Karon opened his eyes and scanned the room, it was still very dark by Equestria standards. He turned his head and looked at the clock to his left on the bookcase, it said midnight had just passed by.

He carefully got out of bed and put on his clothes, trying to make as little sound as humanly possible. On the opposite side of the platform, Twilight's sleeping form was breathing gently. Karon could hear her perfectly despite the snoring emanating from Spike sleeping in his little basket.

Night time was always peaceful, and that held true especially here in Equestria. There were no real threats lurking in the dark, so the primal fear of what one could not see was needed. Such things were banished from the land of ponies. Such things did not belong here.

Did Karon really belong here?

“We are not predator by nature. If we hunt, we do it because we chose not because we are compelled to.”

“You're right, I think I might have turned into more of a drama queen than usual.”

“It's understandable after all we have been through, and we've begun taking things a bit too seriously I think.”

“You think we should do something reckless and irresponsible to cure that?”

“Exactly, any ideas?”

“How about we devote the rest of the night to going through survival plans for our trip into the Everfree, then spend some time with Twilight in the morning like she wanted to.”

“How is that reckless and irresponsible?”

“And after having satisfied all Twilight's need for companionship, we leave for the Everfree Forest and throw safety to the wind.”

“Hehehehe, satisfying all of Twilight's needs....”

“Not what I was thinking of.”

“Yes it was, I'm you so I would know.”

“Whatever, but I am unsure if it would be wise. The risk of dying is pretty steep as it is.”

“It's either that or remain here in Ponyville until Rarity decides she should talk with us about what happened.”

“I'll leave as soon as I'm done with Twilight.”

Karon sneaked down the ladder and out into the main library, carefully opening and closing the door without making a sound. It was dark, but the stairs were still visible enough not to present a problem. It would have been stupid if he'd tripped and woken everypony up with by falling down the stairs and breaking his neck.

When he reached the bottom floor, Karon stretched out his right hand with his palm up and let a flicker of energy produce a ball of white light. Heat and light were natural forms that energy took and were easy to produce. He normally did not like doing it because of the attention such things attracted in dark places.

But he doubted any hungry shadows were lurking in Twilight's library.

He let the light ascend through the air and hung high up towards the top of the hollowed out tree, spreading enough light to make everything clear as day.

“So, where do we begin?”

The rest of the night was devoted to finding ways he could survive within the boundaries of the Everfree Forest. He read up on edible plants and those that were poisonous, and also those that apparently ate stupid mammals like him.

There was plenty to learn, but he felt he had gathered enough to improve his chances by the time the sun was beginning to light up the horizon. It had taken a lot of energy to constantly feed the mage light hanging above him and it was with a sense of relief that he let it die as he cut the link to it.

He felt drained, both from the mental exhaustion of memorizing almost 200 different plants in just a few hours and keeping the mage light alive. His body might still ache terribly, but at the moment Karon was just too tired to notice, so he walked up the stairs with heavy legs and headed for his bed.

He climbed up the ladder and looked over at Twilight's bed. She had tossed off her blanket in her sleep and looked to be shivering a little from the cool morning temperature. Karon walked over and tucked the blanket firmly around her. In response Twilight merely wriggled about a little and made a pleased sound as warmth enveloped her once more.

All things considered, it would be difficult for any person to deny that she looked absolutely adorable lying there on the bed, her eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

Looking down at her Karon found himself wondering how it would feel if he crawled in next to her, how it would feel to cradle her in his arms as she slept.

“Bad idea. She's upset enough as it is about the thing with Rarity. If she wakes up with you next to her she will draw a very large number of unpleasant conclusions.”

“I know, but look at her.”

“I am, doesn't change the facts. Control yourself.”

“Fine, one thing though.”

Karon bent down over the bed and looked closely at Twilight's face, he studied the shape of her muzzle. The shape of her jawline, her mouth, the way her ears stood out and all else he could see.

He then leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek before he walked over to his bed and took off his clothes. Twilight hadn't moved at all so he assumed she was still asleep. He felt a certain contentedness as he slipped in under his covers and relaxed.

Her skin ... coat...? Whatever it was felt just as warm and smooth to his lips as it had been under his hands. Though he was glad it hadn't woken Twilight up. Innocent or not that might have been difficult to explain.

But Karon's inner musings on the subject had made him fail to realize that after he had tucked her in Twilight's breathing pattern had changed, and her unmoving form after his gentle kiss had not been that of a sleeping person, but of somepony that held themselves frozen purposefully.

His eyelids closed shut and his mind quickly descended into sleep, pleased with himself.

                                                 ********************************

Twilight on the other hoof had trouble processing just what had happened. Had the kiss merely been that off a friend kissing someone good night or had it been ... more?

Thoughts shifted inside her confused mind and gave her no real answer. No matter how she put it, there was no obvious, discernible truth from his actions. Karon had been hard to read from the start, but lately it had gotten worse. One moment he seems polite and caring then that changes and he does something selfish without regard to how it affects others.

Twilight had at first believed it was simply how humans acted, that they were impulsive creatures, but from what she read inside Karon's mind, he did not fit the usual human profile. He was different and she could not decide if it was a good or bad thing.

Then again, there was so much he knew, so much he understood that she didn't. She had been inside his mind and seen all it contained, and she did not think her own inner library would be so grand despite having always been considered very intelligent by her tutors.

More than intelligent. She was princess Celestia's top student and personal protégée!

So how could this one human make her feel so ... insignificant? It was as if every time they spoke she could see a glint in his eyes telling her he was holding back, that he knew things he didn't think she would understand if he told her.

It upset her very much.

Sometimes perhaps it had taken her time to accept something, but she had always in the end learned her lesson and taken it to heart. She felt angry that Karon did not even give her the chance to try.

She wanted to know what he knew. She wanted to go back into that wonderful library and read every single book there was. All his knowledge and he didn't even try sharing it, and she needed to know all of it. She wanted to know his magic, she wanted to know his people, she wanted to know...

Him.

She facehoofed and suppressed a groan, what was she doing? He was not the kind of pony or person she should feel about in that way, he was just too different. He was arrogant and he did things without thinking about the ponies around him, but at the same time he seemed to be trying to do the right things.

Besides, he had kissed Rarity.

That made her even angrier. She didn't know what he was up to, but she did not like it at all. Maybe they were both drunk at the time but it still wouldn't have happened without a reason. After all, he hadn't kissed her ... or anypony else.

She would have to talk with Rarity again and ask if anything was going on.

Spike's snoring distracted her from her thoughts and she looked out the window and sighed. The sun was rising so she might as well get up. She wanted to have a little time for herself before Karon woke up again.

He had promised her he would spend time with her today, and there were plenty of questions she wanted to ask him. She could only hope that Karon would start opening up soon. She felt bad that he still looked sad despite reassuring her that he wasn't. He had saved her, she wanted to return the favour in some way.

She threw her blanket off and got out of bed. It might be early but that only meant she had time to properly construct a schedule for the day. She also wanted to make a list of topics for the conversation with Karon, that way she could be sure she would get some answers.

She walked over to the basket where Spike slept, still snoring loudly. One day he would grow up to become an adult dragon and his snoring would bring with it clouds of smoke, but not now. He was still just a baby and he would remain so for a very long time if something didn't speed up his growth.

She smiled as she looked down on him. He had grown fast the first few years, but after he had reached the first stage of the dragon's maturation process, he had suddenly stopped and remained that way. He would remain like this, a baby, until he had passed his first century. Then he would grow again until he reached the second stage, and so it would go on until finally at the age of a thousand years he would become an adult.

It made her sad thinking Spike would have to live on without her. That one day, she would be old and frail. And before she closed her eyes for the last time Spike would be next to her, just as little as he was now.

She shook her head to get rid of the unpleasant thought and poked Spike to wake him up. His only response was to snore louder and curl himself. He had put his tail in his mouth and was gently sucking on it.

Twilight decided to leave him alone and take care of herself. She didn't have the heart to wake him up when he looked so happy lying there.

She walked over to the ladder and climbed down. She never could understand why somepony hadn't made a staircase instead. Walking silently is hard with hoofs but she tried her best. She wanted neither of the sleeping males to wake up from the noise she made.

Twilight walked down into the library and went over to her writing desk. Her horn glowed as a parchment and quill levitated in front of her. The quill moved with practised precision as it began writing the list of things she wanted to ask of Karon, well ... all but the one question she truly wanted to ask him.

                                     **********************************

Karon opened his eyes and stretched out his arms. His back cracked a little as it arched itself, but it felt good. He felt well rested despite the few hours of sleep he got, most likely owed to that hidden smug satisfaction that he got to kiss Twilight. Sure it was just on the cheek, but it was the playful nature of the deed that gave him this great feeling of vitality.

He was beginning to really grow into the trickster role, to let his nature as such guide him instead of reason or intuition. It might sound reckless, and it was, but it was also right. It was playfulness and the joy of the complicated games of power that were the driving force behind those like him. This feeling of satisfaction and boundless energy was merely him doing what he was supposed to.

Sure it was baby steps and all, but it was better than nothing.

He saw that both Twilight and Spike had woken up while he was sleeping, and were probably downstairs doing whatever they usually did in the morning. Eating hay or whatever.

“Which reminds me, what are we supposed to hunt with inside the forest?”

“I can make a spear or some other kind of improvised weaponry. I don't really need it since I can put any of the animals in trance as long as they don't spot me.”

“And then what? Beat them over the head with a rock?”

“I will try and avoid making a mess. How about we try and kill it with just magic.”

“That will demand your full attention and could become dangerous depending on the situation.”

“I'll make a big stick I can crack necks with if need be. It will have to do.”

“Let's hope so. Personally, I think we should consider the big-rock-to-head strategy. You can't go wrong with that. Doesn't matter how tough the bastard is, if it's head goes splat, it's down for good.”

He got out of bed and put on his clothes. He really wanted to see if Rarity had finished his hat. If it started to rain, a hat would be invaluable ... But it wasn't worth having to see her again so soon to get it.

He jumped down from the platform and walked out into the main library. Twilight stood at her writing desk going over some sheets of paper levitated in the air before her. Karon walked down the stairs and she turned around at the sound of his footsteps.

“Crap she knows.”

“Knows what?”

“That little peck on the cheek, she knows.”

“What! How do you know that she knows?”

“I know and you know because we can read people ... and ponies. You can feel it, she knows.”

“Damn it! Do you know if she knows that we know?”

“I don't know if you know, but I know that she knows that we know that she knows if she knows how to read people. We are basically staring at her in shock right now you know.”

“What?...I?.....You?...fuck!”

“Uhh, morning Twilight. Slept well?”

“Yeah, I had a terrific sleep. So I was wondering, do you have time for that talk you promised me last night?”

“Yes I was planning on doing that early anyway.”

“Oh ok, I gave Spike the morning off, so he's probably over at Rarity's right now. I thought it would give us some privacy.”

“So the little dragon with a crush on the unicorn we were very close to getting intimate with last night is talking with her right now....”

“Keep cool, I doubt she would mention anything of it to Spike.”

“He's in love with her. I doubt there is a single detail about her that escapes him. He will know something is wrong.”

“And she will tell him nothing. She knows how he feels and how much it would hurt him.”

“Why does it feel like I involuntarily make all these ponies become more corrupt and deceiving.”

“That's only in your head. They were like this before we got here, you just happen to be a very suitable scapegoat.”

“Let's hope then that they don't try and give me all their sins before ritually sacrificing me.”

“Is there ... something you wish to discuss in private with me Twilight?”

She blushed a little, but did not look away. “No, I just thought that you might open up a little bit if we are alone. I know you well enough to recognize the fact that there is alot that you don't want to tell me. I want to know why!”

Her voice had climbed as she spoke and the last part was almost shouted in an irritated voice, hut he knew why, she was like him. They were both the kind of people blessed with a thirst for knowledge and they couldn't let a source of it remain untouched. To deny Twilight the chance at learning something new was like denying a thirsting man in the desert water. She would eventually go crazy.

“Because I don't think you are ready for it.”

Oh she was really angry now. What he had just said to her was more or less the ultimate insult in her eyes.

“And what makes you think that?” she asked in a dangerously low voice, even Karon felt a little nervous from it. Colourful little pony or not he shouldn't underestimate Twilight.

“Let me explain it properly,” he said and put his hands behind his back and started pacing around the library floor. Deciding exactly how much he should tell her, too much too fast could ruin her.

In magic, Twilight was like a farmer who through great skill and experience had learned how to nourish and grow almost any food. She had learned the how the soil interacted with weather and the cycle of nature through interaction and hard work.

Karon on the other hand was someone with greater understanding of geology, meteorology, biology, chemistry and so forth. He could see the greater cycles. Twilight was a practical knower of the how, but Karon also had the greater understanding of the why.

And once you understand the why behind anything, it changes your perception of it, and if you know the why behind the universe ... then that changes everything.

“Twilight ... I know that you are not ready because you are still young. Not just in the sense of age but in the maturity of your mind and soul. You still want to be happy, you still want the joyful life of an innocent and good little unicorn.”

“Well ... Of course I want that. What kind of pony wouldn't?”

“That's what I mean, what pony wouldn't? But it doesn't work like that ... let me give you an example.”

Karon stopped pacing and looked over at the unicorn, she looked annoyed at what he'd said. She didn't get it yet, but she would.

“Have you ever seen Celestia or Luna happy?”

“Of course I have.”

“No you haven't.” Karon sighed and considered what to say for a moment before continuing.

“You have seen them at peace, in harmony with their surroundings, but never have they been truly happy, not for a very long time at least, and never again shall they be.”

She looked to be about to protest so he held up his hand to silence her.

“Let me finish. Neither of your princesses will feel true happiness again because it requires ignorance. Because true happiness is a state of utter completion and lack of conflict within themselves, and such a state is denied to all who have passed beyond the carefree days of youth.”

She looked at him carefully now, at least he had managed to get her attention.

“Knowledge and power. Neither comes before the other. They support one another and together they grow in unison, but the more you know, and the more power you gain, the less of yourself you become. Well, that's not true actually, you become more, but what I mean is that you become less and less your own. As you grow, you must choose where you belong in the universe. To what power you hold loyalty and servitude. Because make no mistake, you do not reach the upper stages of development all by yourself. No one is allowed to roam free at their own pleasure and whim there. There is no true happiness because the more you grow, the more you take within yourself, and the greater the friction within you becomes.”

She looked at him enraptured. Before her Karon was now putting pieces of a very grand puzzle into full view. It was not even close to all the pieces, but it was more than she had thought.

“Your princesses are no different. I have an idea to where they owe their allegiance, but that is not for me to openly say. But one must always choose a role. The sage, the mage, the protector, the guardian, the ruler, the wizard, the messenger...

“The trickster.”

“...and so forth. And this is where the worst of the burden comes in. If you want to understand the universe, then you must open up to it and allow it to fill you, allow ALL of it to take shape within you. Not just the light and happy parts. If you wish to understand the life, then you must know death. To know joy, you must know suffering and so on. That is why we cannot be happy, because we have as much suffering as joy within us. If these forces are balanced we feel harmony and can be at peace with ourselves and that around us. If not, we become the monsters from the nightmares you are too afraid to even remember.”

The unicorn looked to be struggling with herself. There was so much she wanted to ask, but she knew he would only answer a few questions before shutting the doors to his knowledge again.

“How do you know all this? What if it's wrong?”

“I know this because it is the reason I couldn't finish my training. I am not at peace with myself, and those that are not cannot be allowed to wield that much power and influence. The struggle and disharmony within them will spread and cause pain and suffering for all those around them. I know this because it is the knowledge that has been dangled before me, the knowledge used to try and goad me into giving in and ... facing things I can't face.”

“What is it you are so afraid of?” She put her hoof in the air as if to add something but put it down again, she was obviously considering asking something.

And she did, with a careful tender voice. As if she were afraid that speaking to harshly would scare him away.

“Does it ... does it have anything to do with that ... black door inside your mind?”

Karon's eyes instantly turned from a light ember glow to a burning orange inferno that could have rivalled the flames of hell.

“I told you to stay away from that part! I told you you were forbidden to go up there!”

Twilight shrank back in fear of Karon for the first time. She knew he was dangerous, but before her stood something she could hardly recognize. It looked like Karon, but the aura of pure hatred that surrounded him was nothing like his usual self.

“I d-didn't. I was just sitting there reading ... and ... I ... I smelled something burning, and I ... I was worried something might catch on fire. I don't know how it works inside a mind so I ... I looked around and I couldn't find anything, but then ... I smelled it coming from the top floor and I know you said I wasn't allowed up there, but I was so worried, so I just went upstairs and looked through those big gates you had put up and....”

She looked terrified as she spoke. Karon had not moved at all but he didn't need to. Anger was rolling out from him in almost visible waves, so strong no pony around could not feel them.

“And then I saw ... I saw a black door ... at the end of an empty hallway and ... there was smoke coming out from it ... and it smelled like something was burning ... and ... I think I could ... hear somepony...screaming.”

Twilight was on the verge of tears. She had not wanted to see it. She had just been worried something might happen to all those books, all that knowledge.

“And there were ... chains on the door, big chains, so I thought it would be safe. That they would keep whatever was inside from coming out ... I'm so sorry.”

Karon barely heard the last part, it was spoken so quietly. He felt anger fuel himself and he wanted to hurt Twilight, wanted to make her suffer for daring to go up there. For seeing what he had spent years burying and forgetting. He had buried that thing so deeply he couldn't even access the memory anymore, but he knew it was there, always in the back of his mind constantly reminding him that he could forget ... but he could never change what had happened.

It was a pointless anger. Twilight had never meant any harm, and all the pain and anger he was feeling did not rightfully belong to her. It was his own doing and he should not let others suffer for his weaknesses.

“Twilight...”

“Y-yes?”

“I will forgive you, but only if you swear to never again mention what you have seen. EVER!”

She flinched as he shouted the last part, but she nodded.

“I promise.”

Karon felt a twinge of guilt disperse the anger as he looked down on the unicorn, she looked devastated. Tears were pouring out of her eyes and her face was scrounged up as if she was in deep pain.

Karon swallowed and forced himself to walk to her. She let out a fearful squeak when he fell down and pulled her into a hug. It wasn't a gentle one and it probably hurt her a little, but he needed to hold her, to feel her emotions so he could let his own calm down.

He felt her fear, but most of all she felt sadness. She felt sad because she knew she had done something to hurt him. It wasn't on purpose, but that didn't matter to Twilight. She had some other strange emotions he couldn't really place, and he just chalked it up to the fact she was a pony.

But the important thing was that he could feel her heart was without any malice or desire to hurt him. She had just wanted to protect his mind. The idea that it could burn down was ridiculous and stupid, but he couldn't blame her, it wouldn't be right.

His mind was calming down in unison with his hearth and he held the unicorn pressed close. He felt her fear abate and give room only to the guilt and the desire to comfort him, and it did. Feeling her unclouded desire to ease his pain, to make good on what she had caused him was enough for him.

“I'm sorry I got so angry Twilight, but you don't understand what you did, and I don't want you to. Leave it alone and never speak of it again and we will be fine.”

She nodded her head against his shoulder, despite the thick fabric of his robe he felt how it had gotten wet from tears. He rubbed the top of her head and stroked her mane, she allowed him to continue for a few minutes before stepping back. She had regained some of her usual look of scholarly detachment and sarcastic demeanour, but there were still traces of her guilt visible in her eyes.

“Those eyes...”

“Well, I hope we are done with that area of questioning.”

She laughed a nervous laugh in response and her face showed great relief as Karon had allowed her mistake to slide.

“Well I did have a few more questions ... If you don't mind.”

“I demand one thing in return first.”

“What?” she asked looking a little worried again.

“She won't be expecting this.”

He went down on both knees and put both his hands around Twilight's face and pulled her close. She looked surprised at what he did, and after he leaned in and gave her a very loud kiss on the cheek she looked absolutely shocked.

“What! Why did you do that?”

He let her go and rose to his feet before cackling with glee at the little unicorns indignant face.

“Because if I had done it under normal circumstances you would have slapped me with one of those hoofs, and I don't think that would be pleasant.”

She threw her head backwards and let out a loud annoyed sound before turning back to looking at Karon with a disapproving glare.

“Is there ever a time where you can be serious for five minutes?”

“Perhaps, but I must have lost those somewhere.”

“That doesn't make any sense at all!”

“Of course it does, but no matter, no matter. Are you going to ask some more questions of me or are you done?”

She rolled her eyes, but her horn glowed as the parchment where she had written down her questions floated up from her desk and came to hang suspended before her. She followed it down a bit with her gaze before she began throwing a lot of questions at him in quick succession.

They spent perhaps an additional hour or two discussing more general topics of magic. After the emotional moment earlier, Karon was feeling a need to make peace so he answered more than he had first intended. He explained the basic functioning and workings of the mind and how one could use magic to affect it.

Almost all of Twilight's magic was based around spells. Karon's was built upon psychic skills and abilities as much as it was on structured spells and rituals. She had a hard time accepting that one could use magic without any of the guidelines offered by a spell.

In magic, Twilight appeared to be a nitpicker. Unless she could organize and put it within a template, she felt uneasy with it, but she also had the hunger to learn, so she would eventually get over it Karon reasoned.

Twilight was writing down everything he told her. No doubt she would go over it carefully multiple times after he left.

“That reminds me.”

“Twilight I almost forgot to tell you. I will be making my journey into the Everfree Forest a little earlier than first planned.”

“If you really think it's a good idea I guess I can't stop you. When are you planning on leaving?”

“After we're done talking and I've packed a bit of dried fruit for provisions.”

She looked surprised first, but then her face turned sceptical as she peered at him closely.

“Why? Have you done something you're trying to run away from?”

“Okay, she is starting to get a bit too perceptive. She must under no circumstances master telepathy.”

“I don't plan on giving her lessons.”

“If you thought it would get you into her pants you would.”

“She doesn't even wear pants...”

“See. Halfway there already.”

“Just be quiet.”

“No I'm not, I just don't see the point of postponing it more than I need to.”

“If you say so,” she answered, her face showing she was far from convinced.

“Yeah so ... Do you have any dried fruit stashed somewhere?”

She looked at him with maintained scepticism before she got up and went to the kitchen, motioning him to follow her with her hoof.

He stood at the counter as her horn glowed and a cupboard opened, inside was a sack that came floating out. Twilight turned around and put it down on the counter next to Karon, he opened it and looked inside. It was filled with dried apples, most likely from the Apple family farm.

“Is it okay for me to take these Twilight?”

She just waved her hoof in front of her and said. “It's no problem, I just keep them around in case we would run out of food for some reason. I needed to replace that soon anyway.”

Karon nodded and knotted the rope tightly, leaving enough lose to form a noose he could carry it around from. He inserted his arm and slung it over his shoulder, uncomfortable but functional. It would do.

“Well ... I wasn't planning on making any elaborate goodbyes. I will most likely only be gone for a few days. Would you mind telling Applejack where I am if she stops by. I still owe her for that booze she provided and hopefully I will find some plants I could work with to repay that debt.”

“How exactly would you do that?”

“Helping her expand and improve her business.”

“Uhuh.”

“Twilight, if you keep giving me that disapproving frown you're going to start getting wrinkles.”

“How weird, saying that didn't make it go away.”

“Oh you are just full of keen observations today aren't you.”

“Aren't you?”

“What?”

“Exactly.”

“Anyway, I will get going. So ... I'll see you in a few days.”

Her glare disappeared and she looked at him hesitantly.

“Wait! How am I supposed to know if something has happened to you?”

“If something does, I will contact you. If I don't then I'm either alright or dead. In either case you shouldn't go inside looking for me. Only come if I call you, okay?”

“Fine, but I still think it's a bad idea.”

“Duly noted. Well then, Twilight ... see ya.”

Before she could say anything else, he headed out into the main library and walked out the front door. It was childish, but he didn't want any of the ponies to catch him and ask what he was doing, and he was in luck, only a few ponies saw him as he walked through the little hamlet and he knew none of them.

There were several clouds above him, and had he been on Earth, he would have been worried about the weather, but this was Equestria, and the weather here and that inside the forest were separate and had no effect on each other.

He took the same route he had taken the first time he had come across the Everfree Forest, straight west. He could have walked south first and taken the route leading to that road he had found, but he did not think that the mysteries of the Everfree was accessible by road. No, they would be deep within the forest, somewhere close to its heart probably.

Which made this endeavour very difficult. The maps he had seen hadn't been that specific, but one thing that was certain was that the forest was big, really big, and with that perpetual gloom surrounding it, he wouldn't be able to make out any stars for navigation.

He could still try and get a feel for the magnetic fields surrounding the planet, They should travel from south to north, but he was not used to them in this world, and he could easily be mistaken.

This meant he would be relying entirely on his connection to the forest to keep him safe, and when he started hunting for meat, that could go wrong. Either the forest would relish his decision to participate in the everlasting game of the hunt ... Or it would take his use of the connection as an unfair advantage and leave him vulnerable.

There was no real way of knowing which it would be.

Karon did not pay any attention to the grassy hills or trees he passed by, and it was not until he had reached that invisible border between Equestria and the Everfree Forest that he chose to leave thinking and planning behind.

As soon as he crossed that boundary it would be time for action.

And all he would bring with him was the clothes he was wearing, a sack of dried apples and his magic. Ordinarily, he would have brought a knife and a tinderbox with him, but he had a feeling that asking for any of those from Twilight would have been the height of stupidity.

So he would go in as he was.

He looked at the forest and took in all it's dark majestic beauty. The mist clinging to all the open space it could find, the trees with their massive trunks and roots. The way the crowns on some trees swayed lightly beneath a wind that would never cross over into Equestria.

For some weird reason he found the sight welcoming.

So without any further delays he made sure the sack of apples was still tightly sealed and walked over to the forest. As soon as he walked in beneath the shadows of the trees and the mist touched his skin he felt the connection to the forest return, and it felt that he had come back.

There was no emotion behind it, merely an acknowledgement of right. Like a guard who silently opens a door to a well known VIP without him ever needing to say anything. But Karon was no VIP, he had merely gained a pass, and that could be taken away at any moment.

He walked underneath the dark and foreboding trees, silently travelling through the constant shadow that surrounded the forest. The mist was not unpleasantly moist or cold but pleasantly chill. Like the light caressing of a ghost's hand, and maybe that was what the mist was. The lingering spirits of all that which had died within the borders of the ancient seat of power. Those spirits who had not yet had the chance to be reborn.

Karon felt humbled. To walk within the Everfree Forest was like walking through a place where time gathered in force. A place where the present, past and future came together. It was a nexus of energy, and Karon began to understand as he walked by trees that had lived for centuries untold. This was a place of trial and testing, this was a place where the most primal and powerful forces rested, waiting for creatures like him to be called.

Maybe he hadn't come here by choice after all, maybe something had called him.

Twilight had told him of the times she had been in here, and it struck him then. He could walk within this place for the rest of his life and still never find that which he desired, it was the forest that decided that.

And it's lessons were simple, like all primal lessons are.

Either you adapted to it's demands and learned what you needed to, or you died.

It did not care either way, it's purpose was to house mysteries and trials unlimited. It was the seekers that came here that needed to take care of the rest.

He stretched out his senses into the forests mind and asked it if he was right in his insight. It didn't give a response in an ordinary sense, there was no active message of the truthfulness of his statement. But there was no denying it either, it accepted his understanding without resistance. Which meant that it was true in some way, maybe it wasn't the entire truth. But at least he wasn't wrong.

“But where does that leave us?”

“Well I guess it means we can't just stroll around and look under every rock we find. The forest will lead us to whatever it will allow us to find when it wants to.”

“So what should we do in the mean time?”

“Still craving some meat?”

                               **********************************************

THREE DAYS! It had been three whole days since Karon had left Twilight with that awful attempt at a goodbye. Since then Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had stopped by and asked about him. All of them had wanted to go in after him after hearing about where he was, but Twilight had managed to dissuade them.

Fluttershy had been scared, Pinkie Pie had been worried and Applejack had been angry. She had been convinced he was trying to get away from repaying his debt. And if Karon hadn't told Twilight to inform Applejack that he was gathering ingredients for whatever he was going to do, she would have ran in after him immediately.

Twilight had been busy during those three days though. The information Karon had given her on his kind of magic was very exciting, but what he had said about what eventually happened to everyone that sought knowledge had left her feeling uneasy about it all.

She wanted to send a message to princess Celestia asking her if it was true, after all, he had said she was no different from him in that regard, but she was afraid. What is she returned the message and told her it was true? What if princess Celestia told her that no matter what she did she would never again be happy if she continued to learn and study.

What would she do?

She couldn't just give up her advanced studies, they meant so much to her. But if they meant she could never be happy ... it didn't make sense. She was happy, here in Ponyville. With her friends and studies and everything they did together.

And after three days of investigating her books in search of a truth she was unsure if she wanted to know, she had had enough. She had learned the hard way that true magic was not something one could find in just books, which is why it was time to go out and spend time together with her friends.

And perhaps put another questions burning in her mind to rest.

She was going to talk to Rarity.

“Spike! I am going to go and visit Rarity. Could you reshelve all the books I've been reading these last days?”

The little dragon came out from inside her bedroom and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He had obviously decided to take another nap.

“Oh sure, Twilight. Hey could you say hello to Rarity for me? I haven't seen her in days now.”

“I know, me too. That's why I'm going to see her. I will be back in a couple of hours, could you make sure everything is cleaned up by then?”

“Sure thing Twilight. I'll get right on it.”

The little dragon made his way over to her table and began piling books on top of each other. Twilight was satisfied everything would be taken care of in her absence and walked out into bright spring day and started her walk toward Rarity's boutique.

She hoped that she wouldn't be too busy with her dressmaking to maybe have lunch with her friend. If she was, it would be a lot harder to ask her if there was something going on between her and Karon.

It had been strange that she hadn't visited the library in the three days since he left. She had always acted like she was enjoying the kind of gentlecoltly way Karon treated her. Twilight knew he was just playing it, but didn't want to ruin something Rarity looked to be enjoying so much.

Especially after that fiasco at the gala.

Twilight passed by ponies buying apples from Applejack's cart and gave her a wave in passing when she saw she was how busy she was. Despite being swamped by several ponies in a line looking to buy her apples, she said something to Applebloom standing beside her before trotting over to Twilight.

“Hi there Twilight, watcha out doing? Ah thought ya were busy with yer books.”

“Hehe, I guess I have been a bit distracted lately. I'm sorry I haven't come to see you girls in a while, it's just that Karon said some pretty ... interesting things before he left that I needed to research.”

At the mention of Karon's name Applejack's face became a little darker and her tone turned serious.

“Now Twilight, Ah don't mean to tell ya your business, but there's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. Ah don't think it's terribly smart of ya to trust him like ya do is all.”

“Well Applejack, I know it's hard to get used to him. He's not like other ponies, but he still saved me when he didn't have to, and he is stuck here because I didn't research the spell I used carefully enough.”

“Ah know that, but ah don't think that's reason ta just let him do whatever he wants.”

“Applejack, Princess Celestia herself said that Karon could stay and was to be treated like any other regular pony. Do you think she would have done that if she thought he might become a danger to us?”

“Ah can't argue with that, but ah know he's hiding something. Ah'n whatever it is it ain't pretty.”

For a brief moment Twilight had a flashback of a black door surrounding by heavy chains. The smell of burning wood thick in the air and smoke seeping out between the cracks.

She shuddered. “I know Applejack, but we can't force him to tell us everything. He's still only been here for a week. We have to be patient and show him that there is nothing you can't share with your friends.”

“Ah guess yer right. Ah just can't shake the feeling something bad is gonna happen 'cause of him.”

“Well, we just have to make sure that doesn't come true then.”

“Yeah, Ah guess yer right. Where're you heading anyway?”

“I'm going over to Rarity's. I haven't seen her in a while and thought I'd stop by and say hello.”

“Alrighty then. Say hello to her from me.”

She walked back to her cart and tried to calm down some of the customers who were less than happy with the service provided by Applebloom. Twilight smiled at the scene before resuming her walk towards Rarity's boutique and began wondered how Karon was doing inside the forest.

                                           ********************************

Karon was running for his dear life.

He still had the connection to the forest, and without it he would have been dead already. Unfortunately, the protection offered by it had been lifted the second he had taken upon himself the mantel of predator.

Apparently the Everfree forest did not like to play favourites.

But the connection allowed him to feel the forest around him, every root, every hole and every tree. His feet automatically found their way through the uneven terrain without slowing him down for one second.

The giant timber wolves behind him did not have that advantage. They might have lived their entire lives within the forest, but even they had to spend a lot of focus making sure they did not trip and break something.

So both predator and prey had managed to stay at an even pace. It had been a definite mistake to try and steal a kill from the timber wolf pack, but he had been desperate.

There were few herbivorous animals within the forest, mostly it was a game of hunting the smaller predator while avoiding the bigger ones. So when the wolves had managed to bring down a large heavy plated rhinoceros looking creature, Karon had tried to steal some of it's meat.

How could he have known the wolves had left a hidden pack member to guard it?

Worst of all was that he had dropped his half full sack of dried apples while running, so now he wasn't only at risk of becoming food, he had also lost all of his own.

He ran like a madman dodging low hanging branches and jumping over small pits leading down into whatever dark abysses the forest covered. He could feel the forest stretching far in front of him, which was the reason he was completely shocked when he suddenly had to stop as a large mountain rose up before him.

“How the hell did we miss this!”

“Ignore that. Just fucking run idiot!”

Karon took off towards his left but one of the timber wolves jumped out from behind a tree and blocked his path with a vicious snarl.

For a moment, Karon stood paralysed with fear at the sight of the huge fangs, saliva dripping from the hungry jaws, waiting for the right moment to plunge and tear him apart.

With a whimper Karon turned around and ran in the opposite direction, the mountain at his left and the forest at his right. Behind him the wolves were howling as if calling an ancient hunting horn, telling all who listened that the prey was close.

Feeling his panic rising to new levels, where all he experienced was pure animal instinct, Karon ran faster than his body rightfully should be able to. The snapping jaws of the enraged pack of wolves closing in behind him while the passive forest only watched the chase take place.

His heart almost gave out in fear as another timber wolf jumped out before him.

He was trapped.

Eyes so wide it hurt Karon felt tears forming in his eyes. It couldn't end like this. It was ridiculous. Eaten by a pack of wolves, Varsif would laugh himself stupid when he got the news.

Not daring to take his eyes of either wolf for a second, Karon backed up against the steep mountain side. He expected his back to press up against hard cold rock any moment. But it didn't, instead he went into it.

At first he didn't register what had happened, but then he looked at the corner of his vision. Still making sure both wolves were in plain sight.

He was backing into a cave, but it had been so dark he had thought it was just another part of the almost blackened mountain. He backed further into the cave with small careful steps. He didn't dare to turn his back to the wolves and run. If he did they would surely run in after him.

But they didn't approach the cave opening, they just stood outside and growled at him angrily. They were soon joined by the rest of the pack, in the centre stood a huge specimen of their kind. A true monster.

The alpha looked Karon straight in the eyes and gave off a loud howl, sending vibrations coursing into Karon's body. He knew what it meant, the alpha had just given him a message.

Either go in or come out.

Karon stood undecided for a moment, but the sight of an entire pack of hungry hateful yellow eyes can work as effective motivation for most things. So summoning all his courage Karon turned his back on the wolves waiting outside and walked blindly into the gigantic cave.

If he had listened closely he would have heard the alpha give off a malicious barking laughter before turning around and leading his pack back to their feast.

Inside of the cave Karon had tried all his techniques to calm down. It had been enough to make some of his rational mind return and with all of his effort he had managed to summon a mage light to illuminate his path.

The cave was truly enormous, the ceiling so high above the light could not reach it, but he could see that before him the cave curved to the right. As he walked closer to the turn, he was beginning to notice that there was a glow coming from something beyond it.

Carefully, Karon sneaked as best he could while his entire body was still shaking from adrenaline and pressed himself against the cave wall beside the turn. He took a few deep breaths as quietly as he could before slowly peeking behind the corner at whatever was producing the glow.

The sight before him turned his legs watery and he felt a certain detached knowledge that now he was truly doomed. Because within the large cavern was a gigantic pile of treasure, gleaming gemstones and rich metals of all kinds shone in the dark of the cavern.

And on top of it was the sleeping form of a huge red dragon.

Chapter 13: Crime against fashion

(Authors note:  Yay for pony creation mythology)

“Stand perfectly still! It reacts on movement.”

“That's from Jurassic park!”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He didn't.

He could barely think at the moment. The dragon was just so enormous! How could a creature so large even exist? It didn't make any sense, Karon was barely as big as one of it's talons. What did it eat? How could it keep itself from collapsing under gravity? And what kind of fucked up loopholes in the laws of physics existed for such a creature to be able to fly?

“You could always ask it.”

“If that thing wakes up we will die.”

“I am already awake stranger.”

The thought rumbled within Karon's mind with the grinding sound of an earthquake and the power of an exploding volcano, and with the timeless presence of a mind that had seen mountains form and fall into dust as if they were nothing more than spring time flowers.

“Holy shit...!”

“I would question thee so that I might understand what forces have decided to bring thee here to my home, but gleamed from thy mind I have seen the deceit of the trickster god thou was fooled so skilfully by. Before my inner eye, visions of thy adventures and struggles have played out, and the purpose of thy visit is clear to me.”

The power behind the dragon’s thoughts was so immense that Karon was stunned beyond belief. Celestia and Luna had been like fire and ice, the power of the sun and moon behind them, but it had been limited. They could only wield as much power as they could channel, like a dam only letting a small amount of water through.

This dragon had no such petty weakness, he was the water. He was POWER.

The dragon's sleeping form had remained the same and not moved at all. It didn't even open its eyes, not that it needed to. Karon was convinced it could see him either way.

“Then please tell me, why am I here. Because I swear to you that I had no intentions of disturbing your rest.”

“Thou has not disturbed my rest. If I were to allow myself to fully wake thy, mind would quiver in true fear.”

Karon did not dare try and imagine what it would be like to see the dragon wake if it was only sleeping now. It already felt like there was nothing in the world that could stop this creature from doing whatever it pleased.

“But that is not my will. Upon thy soul and mind I can feel the mark of this world and its ancient predecessor.”

What the dragon had just said made Karon so curious he forgot he was supposed to be terrified for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“Thou has upon thy soul and mind received a blessing. One is a blessing of life, and the other is a blessing of validation. Both are signs, omens, for what is to come. Tis the reason I have not yet greeted thee as an uninvited guest should be greeted.”

Karon swallowed a lump in his throat.

“You are speaking of the Everfree Forest and Equestria.”

“Those are names for them yes, very fitting ones. The world of the ponies, the world ruled by the powers of harmony, has bestowed upon thee its gift of life, but beware the meaning of this, never has it done so unless it needed the services of the blessed. I can see it now, thy arrival here was met with hope. Equestria marked you as it's own, for in thy future I behold a time to come where thou shall serve it.”

“Why would Equestria need me? It already has plenty of protectors, and a protector is not my role to play.”

“Thy ignorance is plain in the words that thou speak. Equestria knows its future, and if it has chosen thee to act on it's behalf, tis because the protectors thou speak of will fail.”

“So what about the Everfree Forest? What do you mean it blessed me with validation?”

“That which thou has named the Everfree Forest is the remaining cradle of this world. Tis what came before the rule and birth of the ponies, when its forest stretched from sea to sea without end. It was a time so distant from the now that only those dragons who were born of the sun remember it.”

“I mean no offence by my words, but could you explain perhaps in clearer terms? I feel there is much that I am missing.”

From the dragon came the sound of a landslide. But it was nothing more than the grumbling of an ancient being displaying its disappointment in the inability of the lowly creature before it to understand what it said.

“I shall explain to thee all thou need to know, and then I shall give to thee what thou need the most ... power.”

                             ********************************************

Twilight raised her hoof and knocked on Carousel Boutique's front door. After a few seconds she heard a singing voice call out to her.

“It's open.”

She stepped inside and saw Rarity standing at her desk. She wore her glasses and looked to be drawing up some new designs. She looked up from them and she smiled nervously when she saw it was Twilight visiting.

“Twilight!...I wasn't expecting you. I am terribly sorry I have been too busy to say hello lately, but I received an order for an entire collection due this week.”

“It's all right Rarity, I know how important your work is. I was just wondering if you had time for lunch with a friend.”

“Well ... There is so much left to do.”

“You still have to eat right?”

Seeing no escape from Twilight's logic she levitated the glasses off her nose and turned to her friend.

“I guess it can't hurt for me to take a little break. You can't rush inspiration after all.”

“Great, how about we go to café Bucking Stars?”

“Sounds delightful.” Rarity responded carefully. She had been avoiding both Twilight and Karon for three day's now and suspected Twilight knew something had happened. She really hoped Karon had said nothing to her. Then again he was a gentlecolt, and a gentlecolt does not gossip about private matters.

Both unicorns walked in silence towards the popular café, with Twilight considering which conversation starter to use. She had found several in a book on social interaction Spike had given her for her birthday, hinting in not so subtle a manner she might have use of it.

The really infuriating part was that he was right, it had proven to be very useful.

Rarity was occupied with similar thoughts, but they moved in the direction on how to dodge Twilight's questions without arousing suspicion. She would act casual and as her usual self, she would comment on what the other ponies were wearing and complain about the seats. Twilight would have no reason to suspect a thing.

They passed by several ponies on the way, giving them polite greetings. Ponyville was a small community and even though Twilight and Rarity did not know everypony, that did not mean that everypony did not know of them.

Being a wielder of an element of harmony comes at a heavy price towards one's anonymity.

When they arrived at Bucking Stars, they sat down at an outside table and both ordered the salad special and coffee. Rarity pretended to be busy observing the other ponies around them, while Twilight was still trying to decide upon a smooth ice breaker.

“Did something happen between you and Karon?”

The question slipped out before she could stop herself, but when she saw the reaction it had gotten from Rarity she decided to wait for a response before saying anything else.

Rarity had frozen after Twilight's question and her eyes darted from side to side in furious consideration of what to answer with.

“Twilight I have no idea what you are talking about. Aside from making him those marvellous clothes, we hardly spoke. Why, has he said anything?”

“No, but he didn't need to. Rarity, I know you're hiding something and Karon practically fled out into the forest the morning after he came home early looking upset. So just tell me, did he do something to you?”

Rarity squirmed a little in her seat. She didn't think she could stand the embarrassment of admitting what had happened would bring.

“No Twilight he did absolutely nothing at all ... that's the problem. Oh I can't believe I'm saying this!”

Rarity took a dramatic look around as if checking for eavesdroppers before she leaned in a little closer to Twilight and whispered loudly.

“You see, Karon and I were talking and it was really pleasant. He knows a lot more about fashion than anypony could have expected from his first appearance, but then I asked him something very personal and he said something so horrible I couldn't help but feel guilty and....”

“...Twilight I want you to know that I don't know why I acted like this. It's almost like he can see right through me. I have never meet another pony that understand me the same way Karon does. I know he is not like us, but I can't really help it. He is better than any stallion I have ever met before.”

“Rarity ... are you sure you're not overreacting? I know Karon can be a bit hard to read and you might have gotten the wrong impression of him.”

“Twilight I am no foal. I know very well much of his gentlecolty manner is just him being nice to me, but I can't see anything wrong with that when no other stallion even tries.”

“So this is just about prince Blueblood then.”

“It is most certainly not! All I am saying is that besides Karon, only Spike has ever treated me like a lady should be treated, and he is not a pony either, so I see nothing wrong with feeling a little attracted to Karon since all stallions are acting like nothing more then colts!”

Twilight sighed quietly. Rarity had decided what she thought about all of this and wouldn't be swayed. Twilight had been inside Karon's mind and seen how it looked. He was more like her than like Rarity. She just couldn't imagine what they could have in common. Karon must be playing a game of some kind.

“Rarity ... what was it that happened between you two?”

Rarity didn't respond at first since the waiter had arrived with their orders. She looked down at her salad with a tiny frown.

“If you really want to know ,then I guess I will have to start at the beginning.”

                             *****************************************

“My birth was the same birth as that of our sun. Uncountable millennia ago, the sun and all around it was a spinning disk of rock, metal and ice, but as it grew heavier and that around it collected closer to it, it also grew in heat. Until finally it ignited in a brilliant explosion of power, and a wave of its new born power swept out shaping a large rock into the egg that would one day become the world thou now stand upon.”

“It was in those brilliant flames of a new born star that my brethren and I came to be. As the wave of power swept out, songs could be heard all around, and it was in these songs we took shape and gained our names. As the great celestial powers began shaping this world, we rested upon its fiery being. Dancing upon it's charred surface and swam along the currents of the molten blood of the planet.”

“The time it took for the planet to shape into a world that could support the life of lesser creatures is beyond your capacity to imagine, but we waited patiently and grew in power and awareness of our selves. It began ever so slowly and in the tiniest forms, but life as you know of it took form and began its growth. We watched as the earliest creatures grew, some were created and others came to be all by themselves. Most did not last long, and those that did were young and foolish, they craved our power and understanding.”

It was hard to judge, but Karon thought that the dragon’s telepathic voice sounded sad, regretful. As if mourning the creatures that had looked upon them with envy and greed.

“It was a tale with its end already written in stone, but they brought war upon us still. At first we attempted to reason with them, but they would close their minds to our wisdom. They chose to be blind, and because of our hesitation the world burned, but she was not ready to die yet. She had barely had time to breathe life into herself. So a decision was made.”

“The great forest burned, but from it's ashes new life would grow to be. But this time it would be different, for many great powers from places even I cannot comprehend came to us in aid, and they shaped the new life so that our mistake would not repeat itself. Many species were birthed, but one in particular was special. They were the origins of what you know today as ponies.”

“Five kinds were created, the earth bound, the sky bound, the star bound, the sea bound and also the life bound. Today thou call them the earth ponies, the pegasi, the unicorns, the sea horses and the alicorns. The earth ponies were given reign over the ground, and upon them the task to care for the life and nourishment it provided fell. The pegasi were given reign over the sky, and upon them the task to shape the weather to aid the earth ponies in supporting life fell. The unicorns were given reign over the unseen current of magic and energy, and were to use this power to aid both the pegasi and earth ponies in maintaining life. The sea horses began as the water ponies, and they were given reign over the seas. Upon them the task to support all life beneath the ocean surfaces fell, but they soon grew tired of the surface world and withdrew to the depths. There they still maintain their duties, but in isolation from their kin. And lastly, the alicorns were given reign over all the ponies. And upon them the task of guiding and aiding their lesser brothers and sisters fell.”

“This was so decreed by the world itself, and what you know as Equestria took shape. But it wore a different name then. Harmony would be the force that guided the ponies in their work, and although there were times where they forgot their kinship, they always returned to their rightful places in the harmonic cycles of this world.”

“But not all of the ancient forest had burned and not all creatures before the ponies had died. Those that remained were banished to the forest remains and it was dictated that it would remain upon the land as a lesson of what had come before, but it would not be ruled by the ponies. It was not of this new world. Merely an echo of the past, so it remains the forest of the Everfree. Separate, yet still connected to the world of Equestria.”

“We dragons remained as well, giving aid at times to the ponies, but most of all we sleep. Waiting for a time we are called in service once more.”

Karon had barely noticed how he had moved into the cave and sat down before the still sleeping dragon. His legs folded beneath him as he had listened with rapt attention as the dragon told of the founding of this world. It explained so much Karon could only have guessed at, and he would have guessed wrong.

“So what does it mean then when the forest has blessed me with a validation?”

“The forest of the Everfree remains as a place where the lessons of old are kept. The lessons that stretch beyond the casual boundaries that pony harmony can reach, may be learned. To have been blessed by the forest means that thou have come here to learn, and since thy path brought thee here, it can only mean I am to be thy teacher.”

Karon could not hide the fact that having the ancient and powerful dragon as a teacher was an exhilarating thought. The things he could learn and master....

“What am I to learn?”

“All that thou need to learn, lessons of power they shall be. But beware, I am no gentle teacher. And thou shall either master my lessons or forfeit your life in failure.”

“Seems a bit ... harsh.”

“No choice has been left to thee.”

“Very well then ... Let's get started.”

                                               ***********************************

Twilight had been paying close attention to Rarity as she had started to tell Twilight of all the times she and Karon had been spending time together. It was not as bad as she first thought, that was until the very end.

“I don't know what came over me really Twilight, I just wanted to give him a comforting hug, but the way he had those long arms around me, oh and his smell. It was all just so very strange, so very different. I couldn't help but feel a little excited as I began thinking about how it would be if Karon and I would ... you know. And then I think ... he was thinking of the same thing, but all we had done was some harmless flirting. Surely there could be no harm in seeing if there could be more between us.”

Rarity gave of a nondescript sound of wounded pride and continued.

“But no, instead he ran out on me before anything could happen. Oh the nerve of that human, to leave me in such an undignified way. He didn't even try to make up a proper excuse.”

For some reason Twilight felt very relieved to hear that Karon had been the one to break the situation and walk away. It must be because now she knew he wasn't planning anything nefarious towards Rarity.

Yes, that must be it.

“I think he made the right choice. You barely know each other Rarity. What if he turns out to be completely different from how you think he is?”

“I know it is very rash of me, but I simply can't help it. Karon has spoken and acted in a way I would have thought only a dream stallion would. Even better, before meeting him I would never have thought that the dark and mysterious type would suit me, but I was wrong. I have seen absolutely nothing that says Karon and I would not fit together. Oh Twilight, please help me decide what to do, I feel so torn.”

Rarity put a hoof to her forehead to demonstrate how terribly unbearable the situation. Her voice had grown increasingly dramatic as she spoke and at the finish sounded more like something that belonged in a play at the theatre.

“Rarity what were you thinking? What ARE you thinking? He's not even a pony, there's just no way things would work for you two. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do.”

“But you must! Where else could a pony turn in her time of need if not to a friend?”

“Rarity I keep telling you, it is a really bad idea.”

“But he knows me so well Twilight. He understands me in a way I never thought a stallion would. Please tell me what I should do, please, please, please.”

Rarity's melodrama had kicked into overdrive and she was waving her hooves around in grand gestures as she spoke. Twilight didn't know if Rarity had noticed all the other customers staring at them.

“Rarity, I don't have any answers. I certainly don't know anything about romance between two different species. I don't even know anything about romance between ponies!”

“Whatever shall I do? I'm lost to those perfectly symmetrical amber eyes. A slave to my uncontrolled feelings and urges. Oh the shame, the disgrace! If any pony would discover the truth I would be ruined, RUINED!”

“Uhm, Rarity ... You know you've been kinda shouting for the last couple of minutes right?”

Rarity froze in the middle of her dramatic pose meant to conjure an image of utter despair and looked around. Every single customer, and even some ponies outside of the café, were staring at her.

“Maybe this would be a good time to leave,” Twilight offered and put a few bits on the table.

“Quick, before they hear anything else!” Rarity responded and moved as fast as she could without losing her image of dignity and poise.

Twilight went after her and they both began walking back towards Rarity's boutique.

“Twilight, I understand that you think this is very strange and I can't blame you, but besides the fact that he isn't a stallion, Karon has turned out to be almost perfect. He cares just as much as I do about keeping himself fabulous, I mean he wears cloth every single day! And they look stunning, not surprising since I made them, but still ... and the way he arranged that party for Pinkie Pie just because he felt bad about not enjoying the first one. And the way he rescued you. Honestly Twilight, I am surprised you haven't developed some feelings for him as well.”

“Rarity, all of this makes no sense at all. Karon is just too different.”

“Twilight one day you will meet a stallion that can make you feel like Karon makes me feel and you will understand perfectly then.”

Rarity pouted. This whole conversation with Twilight had been mostly her admitting her feelings, but now that she had, she was at a loss at what to do, especially after Karon had reacted so badly to her advances.

“Twilight, do you think I could perhaps walk with you to the library instead. I think I will need to speak to Karon about this.”

“Didn't I tell you? He went into the Everfree Forest three days ago.”

“WHAT! You mean that when you said he fled out into the forest he actually went out into the Everfree Forest? He must absolutely hate me to do such a thing.”

“Actually he had been planning to do it for several days, I just think he did it earlier than planned after ... he came back from your store.”

“What would ever possess somepony to spend several days within that dreadful place?”

“He said something about there being some kind of mystery or hidden magic in the forest. I think he wanted to explore and see if he could find it.”

“Now that is strange. I wonder what could be worth so much trouble?”

                         **************************************************

It was impossible to gauge time within the caverns, but since he had collapsed into sleep three times by now Karon reckoned that it must have been around two or three days since he had entered. The dragon had been merciless in his training of the poor human. Karon had thought Varsif was tough when it came to teaching, but the old man was outclassed by the dragon.

The first time training had been spent solely on enhancing Karon's ability to memorize things, pay attention to detail and similar mentally focused practise.

When Karon had finally been unable to continue, he had been allowed to sleep. For how long he didn't know, but it had felt like it was not nearly enough. The hard stone he had slept on might have contributed to that.

And hunger had asserted itself strongly. At first he had been worried about that, but the dragon had dismissed him.

“Thy life shall not be relinquished to starvation or thirst by a few days of fasting. Mastering thy hunger is but another step to mastery of power. To control the world, thou need first control thyself.”

Karon had been told the same thing by Varsif and he hadn't liked it any more then, but it was not like he had any choice in the matter. Either he obeyed the dragon or he died. He had briefly considered fighting the dragon but it was not a serious thought, he would have died almost instantly.

The rest of the time had been spent on more mental enhancement, but then the dragon had thrown in physical exercise as well. The most painful ones combined the two.

“Master first thy mind, then thy heart, then thy body. Thou are a lesser creature and easily broken, thou must make thyself as strong as thou can be.”

Finally, after two or three days now, the dragon told him he was done with that part of the training.

“I do not consider thee powerful, but thou came here to learn from me. This is enough to show thee just how small and weak thou are. The rest thou will continue on thy own. You are no warrior, despite thy former masters attempt at making thee one. I shall not fail in this. The game of power is violent. If thou cannot bring or take violence then thy life will be stolen. I shall summon to thee food and drink. Thy stomach shall be full and then thou shall fight.”

Karon had no time to ask what he meant by fighting before a table appeared before him, laden with fruit and vegetables of all kinds. A large bowl of a dark drink stood in the centre.

He threw himself at it all and devoured all he could put his hands on with ravenous appetite. He shoved handfuls into his mouth and it tasted so good his mouth screamed in pain from all the flavour. He ignored it until he picked up the large bowl of liquid and drank, but he promptly spat it out as soon as he tasted it.

“What is this!?”

“Tis the blood of the beast the wolf pack thou fled from brought down. Blood is all that remains of it, the rest has been devoured by the pack.”

“Why? Why not water?”

“Tis thy lesson. The wolves chased thee from the feast and now blood is all that remains. Had thou fought, thy table could now be strewn with the flesh of the beasts.”

“I would have died!”

“Then a pack of wolves are thy superiors, I shall train no such pathetic creature. Thy next task is simple, return out to the forest and hunt the hunters. Slay the beasts and return to me, I shall bring their still warm corpses here and then thou shall feast upon them.”

“You can't be serious!”

“I am, but thy kind has moved away from thy animal past. So I will not deny thee a boon. There are many treasures within my home, and many of them are remnants of wars long past. Take with thee one weapon of thy own choosing. Then hunt, armed with thy magic and weapon, mind and body thou shall bring down thy foes or die.”

Karon could not argue, he had no say in this. The forest would not allow him to escape back to Equestria. Perhaps he could have managed it if it was just the forest opposing him, but he knew the dragon would be watching him. He would have no chance at escape.

He would have to succeed.

His appetite had fled after having received his next task. The thought of ending up as food could quell the strongest of hungers. So he walked around the table and approached the dragon, it was still hard to comprehend just how big the thing was.

Underneath it was a bed made out of the most beautiful treasures imaginable. Gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and things he couldn't even name were just lying there. Here and there he could see a sword, a shield, and other weird weaponry. He would have thought it strange there were no weapons that looked to be made specifically for pony use, but after having heard the dragon's story he wasn't surprised.

Ponies were not made for war, and the thought of making tools designed for nothing other than killing would probably be so outlandish and horrible to them they would never even consider doing it.

No, these weapons were made by other species, and they would work perfectly for Karon.

He stepped uneasily over the treasure and searched closer. He dismissed all shields and heavy weapons like maces or clubs. A sword might do, but he had received little training with those.

Then he spotted something. It stuck out from the pile of treasure, and it looked like a staff or cane of some kind. He climbed over to the pile of treasure and looked at it closely.

It seemed to be made out of some kind of dark grey metal, a curving pattern followed it from the tip and down. He grasped it and felt satisfied at its heaviness, it would work well for breaking bones.

He pulled it out of the pile and blinked in surprise, it wasn't a staff it was a spear. He had been holding the lower end when he pulled it out. At it's end there was a spear tip as black as midnight attached. It didn't look like it could be removed so he asked the dragon.

“What is this spear made of?”

Karon received a rumbling sound in response, it sounded like the dragon was laughing.

“That was forged 1600 years ago by a jackal tribe to slay me. They coveted my treasure when my lair was upon their lands, located to the far east where the deserts lie. The tip is of black diamond, though how they made tis beyond my understanding. The jackals have never been a skilled or intelligent kind, but they managed it anyway. They thought rightly that it could pierce my scales, but they neglected to consider that tis still only a small stick with a pointy end. It would hurt me no more then a small needle would hurt you. I killed them all, then ate their remaining tribe.”

“......................”

“You won't mind me taking it then?”

The dragon laughed again inside Karon's mind.

“Take it and may it serve thee better then it served those fools.”

Karon gulped nervously and walked towards the cave entrance. He had no idea how he could possibly pull this off but he needed to.

He steeled his resolve as he stood at the opening leading into the forest. Once he walked out there, he would be fair game for the wolves and all else.

“But so will they.”

The thought actually did much to calm his nerves. He was a hunter now too. The wolves were just as easy to kill as he was. Well, maybe a little less but still. What would separate the winner from the loser in this chase would be skill.

He stepped out from the safety of the cave and looked around. There was no sign of the wolves, but that was to be expected.

He stretched out his senses and carefully felt if his connection to the forest remained. It did, which was very fortunate for him. It would give an additional edge that could make all the difference.

The forest allowed him to search through it awareness of everything within it. He felt the trees and plants, and between them he felt the life forces of the breathing creatures moving around. In one location he could feel a pack of wolves.

At first he was unsure if it was the same that had hunted him, but then he felt the alpha and he was certain it was them. It would be impossible to mistake that creature for anything other than what it was, a beast. A terrifying beast dwarfing its brethren in strength and size ... and viciousness.

It was not that far off, maybe an hour's walk. He could see no point in prolonging this more than what was needed, so Karon set off towards them. Moving as silently as he could beneath the massive trees, he split his attention between moving forward and using the forest's awareness to scout for danger.

It was incredibly difficult, and had the dragon not spent so much time on training Karon's mental faculties he would not have been able to do it. Had the dragon known he would need it all along?

His feet were carefully placed as he moved forward, making sure he avoided all twigs and weird looking plants as he moved through the dark forest.

It definitely took more than an hour, but eventually he had closed in on the pack. This part of the forest was sparser with the trees, and several outcrops of rock were strewn around. He circled around the wolves' location so the wind wouldn't carry his scent. He felt nine in all, most of them must be sleeping, but that was hard to tell.

All he could sense was that they were lying down and weren't moving.

He stopped behind a tree when he felt they were less than a hundred meters in front of him and considered what kind of tactics to use.

“The wolves' greatest strength are their numbers. We have to separate the individuals, otherwise they will only do what they always do, distract your front then attack your haunches.”

“It won't work to try and lead them astray with conventional means. I will have to use magic somehow.”

“What kind? Manipulating their emotions will do nothing. Their perception is a different matter though.”

“Perhaps we could turn them against each other? Create confusion then pick them off one by one before they can recover.”

“Worth a shot. Which one should we begin with?”

“The alpha.”

Karon breathed deeply and summoned a bit of energy from his core, he weaved a simplistic pattern meant to make the alpha hear what he would think was a challenging howl from two of his pack mates. If the alpha was as cruel and merciless as Karon thought he would react with violence without hesitation.

He finished the spell and released it. He could sense the alpha twitch as the spell hit and then spring up at the imagined howl, believing two of his pack mates had just challenged his position as alpha.

It went perfectly.

Karon smiled as he sensed a confused pair of wolves barely having time to react before the leader of their pack charged at them. He bit into the throat of the first one and tore it out with a powerful twist of his jaws.

All the other wolves had woken up and watched as the alpha tore into the other one, quickly dispatching the imagined foe.

Karon almost laughed with glee before he constructed the same spell again and sent it to the alpha once more. This time the angry beast believed that three more of the pack were challenging him and with a snarl so loud even Karon could hear it he tore into his pack mates.

He ignored their questioning whines and had already killed one of them before several of the other wolves attacked their leader, thinking he had gone mad.

But those that did not instead attacked what they perceived as traitors for attacking the alpha, no matter how strange his behaviour. It took only a few moments before the entire pack was tearing into itself, wolves slaughtering wolves. Chaos reigned in the small clearing and all other sounds were drowned out in the cacophony of howls, snarls and whimpers coming from it.

Karon felt a certain joy at hearing the pitiful cries of the creatures that just a few days ago tried to kill him. Vengeance is sweet indeed.

But all his joy disappeared instantly when he realised he had laughed out loud with malicious glee.

And the joy was replaced with fear when he felt that three wolves remained standing, but they didn't move.

Then he heard the alpha howl. It was a hateful howl of pure rage that echoed far into the forest. He knew he had been duped, and now he was coming for Karon.

Wolves can run really fast.

Barely a few seconds had passed after the remaining wolves had charged at him before they were standing exactly where Karon had been hiding, but it had been enough for him to climb up into the tree, clutching a branch like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

He still had his spear in his right hand, but it would not be enough

He shakily constructed the spell again for the third time and flung it at the alpha, but he didn't move. He didn't take his hateful glowing yellow eyes off Karon for a moment. He knew it was Karon's doing, and he would not fall for it again.

Sitting on top of that branch, looking down at three pairs of yellow eyes filled with hunger and hate was a memory that would never leave Karon for the rest of his life ... Nor would the memory of what he did next.

The branch he sat on was a large sturdy one, so he sent out a bit of energy designed to weaken its integrity where it connected with the tree.

The he stood up and jumped down on it.

Right below him one of the wolves gave off a tiny whimper before both the human and branch crashed down on her, breaking her neck. Instantly the second wolf threw itself at him as Karon knew it would.

He brought up his spear and the wolf impaled itself on it, blood trickled down along the handle.

The alpha was smarter.

It had waited for the human to use his spear, making sure he would not have time to pull it back out. The alpha dodged around his impaled kin and opened his jaws wide to tear out the foolish humans throat.

Karon dropped the spear and threw up his arms in pure reflex and the alpha bit down on it. He screamed a horrible scream of pain and fear as he felt its long sharp fangs break through his skin and enter his shoulder. Biting down on his flesh, his muscle, his body.

It was a shock, having something ravage your body always is. Philosophy could argue all it wanted about humans being more then just flesh, but the body was still an important part of who you are. Breathing, eating, sleeping, mating, all things we do with it and so much more.

And now a hateful beast was trying to tear it to pieces.

Karon's fear turned to anger and the pain only heightened it. He roared as the great wolf lifted him up in the air and threw him away. He landed badly on his side at the foot of a large rock. A burst of pain in his leg told him something was either sprained or broken.

The alpha didn't care, it walked towards him in a slow pace. Savouring the sight of the helpless creature before him. Karon looked deep into the eyes of the beast. He could feel its hate and its animal power, but most of all its defiance. Uncountable generations had been born and died since the time before the ponies, but the defiance of those that came before remained ever as strong, always defiant to all that would deny them power.

Ever free.

Karon knew what would happen. Varsif had hammered much information into his skull during his tutelage. One piece of that information was simple, Felidae go for the neck. Canidae go for the throat.

He summoned power and constructed a hasty spell. Power was the important factor here not intricacy. He released it as the wolf tensed up readying itself for the kill.

Nothing seemed to happen to it.

The wolf jumped at him and opened it's jaws a final time for the kill, only to pass right through Karon and smash into the unyielding rock behind him.

The spell released its hold of the wolves mind and its altered perception and Karon disappeared.

Because the real Karon was standing behind the wolf with a large rock held above it's head.

The dazed wolf didn't have time to move despite it's instincts screaming at it before the rock came down. With a sickening crunch its head caved in and it gave of a final whimper before its legs started twitching.

Karon didn't stop. He brought the rock up and down again and again accompanied by splatting sounds. Turning the wolf's entire body into nothing more then a mush of blood, bone, flesh and fur.

His red robe was splattered with his own blood as well as the wolves, there was even some brain matter at his sleeves. Seeing this, Karon fell down on his back and laughed from hysteria, it was just so ridiculous.

“Rarity is going to be furious when she sees this. It is a crime against fashion!”

“So take it off ... preferably right in front of her. Then the rest, tell her she should punish you for being such a bad boy. Ruining her beautiful creation like this.”

“Ooooh I can't stop laughing. Why can't I stop laughing?”

“Does it matter, we've earned a little laughing time.”

“You're right ... Oh holy fuck I didn't think that would actually work.”

“Well I'm glad you took my advice so it did.”

“Advice?”

“Yeah, as I said before. It doesn't matter how tough the bastard is, if its head goes splat it's down for good.”

Chapter 14: The power to kill

Karon clutched his stomach. It had started hurting a while ago from all the laughing. At the moment the laughter had trickled down to a steady giggling, but the threat of it returning was still there. He had nearly passed out from the difficulty of getting any new air in to his lungs, but it had not worried him.

He had just killed an entire pack of monster wolves, nothing could hurt him now.

Never mind the fact that he had instantly gone quiet when he thought he heard creaking in the bushes.

During the bouts of laughter the sky had managed to become darker and Karon realized that the semi-gloom that had shrouded the forest had actually been its version of daytime. So with a final piece of giggling he let go off his stomach and stood up, surveying the area.

Next to him was the remains of the alpha he had turned into a pile of unidentifiable mush, and it had already started to smell ... a lot. Of course, it was a little hard to distinguish between the sources of the decaying smell since there were dead wolves strewn around the entire area.

Most of the wolf corpses were intact, with the exception of one unlucky member of the pack who'd gotten both his front legs torn off.

“Must have gotten teamed up on.”

“Looks that way. So what do we do now?”

“Head back to the cave, what other choice do we have?”

“That might get complicated. If you haven't noticed we are more or less covered in blood, we will attract some unwanted attention unless we hurry.”

Karon looked down at his robe. It was hard to tell with it being crimson, but there were definitely a lot of darker spots on it. Not counting the small pieces of brain still clinging to it here and there.

He tried to brush them off with a disgusted look on his face. Once the heat of the moment passes, it's hard to look down on the clothes you're wearing and not feel a little sick when there's splattered brain all over it.

He winced when he put weight on his left ankle and bent down to examine it. Judging from the swelling it was definitely sprained but not broken, which was good news. Slayer of wolves or not, with both his left leg and arm wounded, he would be screaming helpless prey to whatever came across him.

Time to get moving.

Karon limped over as best he could to the wolf that had impaled itself on his spear. It easily dislodged from the beast's chest but it was drenched in blood making it slick and hard to hold. He put his sleeve over his hand and tried to hold on to it as tight as he could, it would be a very long and arduous walk back to the cave. He would need it for support.

He moved through the dense forest clumsily. Any sign of his previous stealth washed away by pain and fatigue. The thick blanket of mist offered him a little relief with its cooling touch, but it was far from enough. Now that the fight was over and the steady stream of adrenaline had gone with it, he could no longer ignore his injuries.

His left upper arm and shoulder had been ravaged by the alpha's fangs and a stab of pain went through him with every step he took. His breathing was getting raspier as the toll on his body increased with the distance he covered. Sweat covered his skin making the mist feel even colder than before.

To top it all off, it was becoming darker by the minute and Karon had difficulty making out the details around him, by sight in any case. His hearing was still clear despite the pounding in his head. The lack of proper sight and the pain made him very aware of all that he heard, something he was not happy about.

All around him there was the sound of creaking branches, snapping twigs and rustling of leaves. Often followed by the sniffing sound of an animal catching the scent of blood trailing after the wounded Karon.

But despite the sounds around him nothing happened. Plenty of hungry growls could be heard from time to time but the beasts remained out of sight, close by but out of sight. Even when he stumbled and fell down after failing to spot a large root nothing happened, no roar of triumph followed by swift death.

It was odd to say the least. The predators of the forest were there, and they knew he was wounded and vulnerable, so why wouldn't they attack him?

The clouded mind belonging to Karon pondered this in an attempt to distract himself.

“Why don't they kill me? I am, for the moment, the very idea of an easy kill.”

“I am not sure, I don't sense the forest or the dragons hand in this.”

“Whatever it is, let's just hope it lasts. It is not that far to the cave now and I don't want to die.”

He tried his utmost to quell his rising panic by distinctly not thinking about the thousand and one ways he could die during the last part on the way back to the safety of the dragons home. It was difficult, especially since he had to use the forests mind to guide his way back, but that also meant he not only sensed the right way but also all the creatures surrounding him, keeping him under constant watch with hungry eyes.

Cursing silently he increased his wobbling pace and continued onwards, passing by the dark shadows hiding his unseen audience. The sky above was clear of the usual dark grey clouds and was instead graced with an indigo heaven. No stars were visible, but a bright silver moon shone, it's waxing stage almost over.

He stepped out from a cluster of trees and almost walked into the black mountain, so skilfully hidden by the looming darkness of the forest night. Karon let out a sound of relief as he sensed that the stalking beasts would not come any closer to it. They knew what slept within it's depths and dared not disturb the dragon's sanctified sleep.

Without the beasts to occupy a part of his mind, Karon's pain intensified and he grimaced as he walked up to the cave and stepped inside it. He felt his feet step on the hard stone floor, and the jolts going through his shoulder with each step worsened.

It was always the little things.

He moved on deeper into the mountain's hold and had to rely entirely on sense to guide him. It is hard to understand without experiencing for yourself, but there is an infinite difference between regular darkness and cave darkness.

But soon, his eyes picked up on the small golden light coming from the dragon's treasure. He walked up to the bend and rounded it. The dragon was still lying on his bed of all things shiny and precious. His body undisturbed and unmoved, as it had been for a long time. How long, Karon did not even try and guess. The forest had been in these parts for a thousand years. For all he knew the dragon had moved here with it.

“Thou has returned. I can smell the blood of thy slain enemies upon thee.”

“The wolves are dead, all of them. I have finished the task you put before me.”

“Thou speak the truth, and much did I learn from thy encounter with the beasts, but I spoke of a reward for the task and so shall it be.”

Karon felt something akin to a tidal wave sweep past him out towards the forest, it vanished only to appear again, this time heading into the cave. Its power focused upon a section of the floor in front of the still sleeping dragon.

There the corpses of the dead wolves materialized, with some exceptions. No fur or bone had come with it and the remaining collection of meat and organs had certainly not been smoking the last time Karon saw them.

He limped on over to the pile of roasted wolves and looked down on it. The smell was certainly enticing, especially since it had been so long since he last tasted meat.

No wait, it had barely been more than a week.

Time relativity, it felt like he had been in Equestria for an eternity already.

Karon dropped the spear and fell down on his knees before stretching out his right hand and touched the smoking meat of his fallen foes. It was warm, juicy and oh so appetizing.

He tore of a large chunk and shoved it in his mouth.

It tasted like victory. As he chewed the delicious meat, he imagined he could feel the wolf in it. Its life of hunting, killing and devouring, and now it had come full circle and the wolf was devoured by Karon. It was nature’s way.

Is just a happy surprise to find that wolves were so tasty. Or maybe it was just the fact that these wolves had tried to kill him that added to the flavour. Vengeance isn't to be served cold, it should be served at medium heat and with a sprinkle of salt.

“Do not forget to taste of their hearts, it is the centre of the body and it should not be wasted.”

That made Karon pause....

Their hearts? That was a strange notion, certainly not unheard of in hunter cultures but nothing Karon had ever tried before. But then again, he had done a lot of new things lately.

He squinted a little as he gently pressed his hand into the chest of the wolf and searched around, it would probably have been a lot harder had the ribcage still remained. But it didn't, and it was easy to find the heart and grip it tightly. It was a little disturbing that it had the same temperature and juicy texture as the meat.

He pulled out his hand and the heart with it, it was smaller than Karon had expected and a lot heavier despite it's roasted state. He held it up before his eyes and looked at it intently, there was nothing dangerous about eating it. But the thought was still ... strange.

He shrugged and brought it up to his lips, his teeth bit down on the heart and he began carefully eating it piece by piece. At first the bizarre situation made it hard for him to consider anything else than the fact that he was eating a heart.

But after the initial shock he found himself actually liking it, it tasted just as good as the meat had. Although it was a lot harder to chew.

After he was was done, Karon made a satisfied sound and patted his stomach and looked down on the pile of meat with a glint in his eyes. There was a lot left.

“Thou has yet to eat of all the hearts.”

“...All?”

“All. Never waste the spoils of a kill. It brings dishonour to their sacrifice and thine own triumph. The reason the beasts of the forest left thee alone on thy way back here is because even though they know not of sympathy or mercy. They understand fear and respect, which thou has earned from them with thy deeds.”

So Karon got to work and ate of all the eleven wolf hearts, though he only took one bite out of each one this time. By the end of it his stomach was full and he felt utterly content, conveniently choosing to ignore the pain from his wounds.

“Has thy craving been satisfied?”

“Oh yeah, more than enough.”

“Then it is time for me to question thee about all that occurred and why.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thy tricks of the mind was thy primary weapon in this fight, but illusions and deceit only work for as long as the victim remains unaware. When the leader of the beasts realized his mistake, you were in danger. Thou survived in no small part because of luck. Had the opponents been anything but dimwitted beasts, thou would have perished.”

“I am not particularly skilled in the baser forms of the arts. My strength lies in the subtle bending and shaping of thought and emotions.”

“Thou believes thy lack of skill is a lack of strength. In truth it is a presence of weakness. Why is it that thou lack skill in the heavy forms of the arts?”

“Personal potential I guess.”

“I asked thee for an answer not a guess.”

“Because I don't like it.”

“I can sense thy fear behind thy thoughts. Thou fear the pain you believe it brings. Tell me ... What does thou fear most.”

Karon remained silent, struggling with himself on what to say. He could not lie to the dragon, it would know.

“Fire.”

“Few things are worthy of fear, but fire is amongst them, but it has become more than thou should feel, a sickness weakening thy resolve and strength. Thou will need to deal with thy fear before it consumes thee entirely, but that requires more time than thou has with me. Thou will do this on thine own.”

“...I know.”

“But fire is far from the only kind of magic found in the heavy forms. Before thou leave, I shall instruct thee in the use of two heavy forms. Thou shall learn the power of lightning and force fields.”

“You mean electro and telekinesis.”

“Name it what thou wish, the skills remain the same.”

“Varsif spent almost an entire year trying to get me to properly master the psychic skills without success. I lack the potential for it. It would be a waste of time.”

“The rule of my training stands, succeed or die.”

“...When you put it that way I could give it another try.”

Karon would regret those words.

The dragon's idea of training wasn't overly complicated. It was based on fast results, and the fastest way to learn is through pain.

By the dragon's order, Karon had taken off all his clothes and lied down naked on the cold stone floor. It was uneven and far from comfortable. From the sleeping dragons nostril's a warm wind swept out, and as it passed over Karon, he felt how his wounds were mended and his body was healed.

But the deep gratitude he felt towards the ancient being disappeared entirely when he saw that several small rocks were levitated above him.

“What is this?”

“Thy training. Thou already possess the power needed to move the stones. What is lacking is the focus and determination. This should motivate thee.”

One of the stones dropped from the air and fell down on his chest, making a soft thud sound as it impacted.

“That hurt!”

“It was barely as large as thy fist and will not damage thee beyond repair. Thy task is simple: stop the stones from falling.”

Karon did not have time to whimper before the next stone was released from the invisible hold of the dragon and fell down on his stomach.

The training went on and on for hours upon hours. Time had stopped mattering, as all of Karon's concentration was on the looming rocks hanging above him. The human ability to adapt to almost anything is a great asset, but that ability obviously did not stretch to having rocks dropped on you by a sadistic dragon.

The hundredth rock hurt just as much as the first.

The dragon's breath kept wafting over him from to time, making sure his body remained undamaged by the brutal training. At first Karon's attempts had no effect at all, but ever so slightly he began slowing down their fall.

He couldn't see well enough to judge by sight alone, but he felt the rock's impacts becoming less and less painful, as if there was another force trying to keep them from falling at all. The strain that he was forced to put on his mind was awful, and between the pain in his body and the mental exhaustion, things were getting a bit blurry.

But it was when he began to really feel tired, that he noticed he was getting better. Maybe it was the lack of conscious meddling that did it, but he was growing in skill. He no longer had the strength of mind to put together thoughts or ideas and analyse the situation. He just did it.

And it was working.

The rocks fell at half speed and with each one he slowed down the next fell even slower. The dragon must have considered it progress enough because the rocks moved away from their position above Karon.

“Good enough, one more final test.”

Karon heard a scraping noise coming from one of the cave walls and into his view came a rock as big as his head, and it stopped right above it. Hovering two meters above his very wide, very fearful eyes.

“What are you doing!? That will kill me!”

“If it falls without interference it will indeed. In ten second I will let it fall, prepare yourself.”

Karon immediately tried to rise up from the floor but found himself frozen, unable to move at all. Screaming inside he threw all of his concentration and power against the rock above him, willing it to stay there with all his might.

He thought he had succeeded at first, but then the dragon released his hold and down it came.

There was no single part of Karon's mind that did not push against the rock, energy coursed through his mind in a powerful stream. But it was all promptly interrupted when pain beyond anything Karon had ever felt before smashed into his skull.

The hold on his body lifted and he screamed in shock and fear. The rock had crashed down right on his face. He felt his teeth had shattered, and as he screamed pieces of them fell out of his mouth. He started coughing loudly in fear of breathing down any of the shards.

His head was on fire. His right eye was not working and he could feel the blood pouring out of it's socket, mixing with the steady stream coming from his broken nose. He shuddered and felt around his face with his hand. He was close to sobbing when he felt naked bone underneath his fingertips.

His face was ruined.

He couldn't help but cry, the salty tears stinging his open wounds, it was unbelievable that he could think straight. His face was burning but it did not feel like pain, it was the emotions that really hurt. The despair and loss he felt tore at his heart and all he could see before him was a dark future where he would be shunned by those feeling revulsion or fear at the sight of him.

Or even worse, pity.

“Thou are indeed melodramatic.”

“YOU HAVE RUINED ME!”

He gasped before turning on his side and vomiting, the acid remains of the wolf meat mixing with the blood from his ruined face.

“Thou still lives, the task was completed. Had thou not channelled enough power thou would have perished. Rejoice, thou has begun the path to mastery of the first skill.”

“Your fucking insane!”

“My mind is whole and unbroken, and thy wounds are easily repaired. Thou still acts like a common creature and not a player of the game of power. If a simple falling rock can destroy thy features then thou does not belong in the grand arena.”

“You mean you ... can fix this?”

The dragon's breath wafted over Karon once more, stronger this time. The heat increased, but it did not feel like it. To Karon it was a breeze of pure joy, the feeling of cool water upon and within you after having spent a day in hell.

It cleansed and healed him, his face knitting itself back together. His eye reformed and he blinked happily as sight was returned to him in full. His nose straightened and with a crack set itself right. He had not even been aware of the brain damage until he felt the dragons breath fix it, returning the centre of his mind to perfect condition.

It took no more than a minute before there was no sign of the horrible event but the drying blood on his face. Karon got up and walked on shaky legs towards his clothes, wiping off the blood before putting them back on again.

The dragon remained silent and seemed to be waiting for Karon to speak. Truth be told Karon had no idea how to read the dragon, it was still sleeping. Lying on its pile of treasure, having never moved a single muscle during all of this.

Karon felt his face again, reassured by its undamaged smoothness, but there was a difference now.

“Why did you remove my beard?”

The dragon mentally snorted, the sound as loud as a breaking glacier.

“Thou are far from belonging to the folds of the wise ones. There is no reason for thou to take on their appearance.”

Honestly, the beard had been there mostly for the sake of it being wizardly, giving an impression of at least belonging to something mystical. But the dragon was right, it was an image he did not belong to ... yet.

“So ... what's next?”

“A harder task, but less painful.”

The relief Karon felt at those words cannot be described.

“Thou has begun the path to mastery of moving matter. But one skill remain before thou has gained the power thou need to have before leaving.”

“What power?”

“The power to kill. Thy skirmish with the wolves has demonstrated your lack of combat skill. A player of the game of power must be able to bring death upon others. That is the power thou must begin to learn, and in all the shapes and forms thou can find.”

Karon could not deny that things would have been a lot easier if he could just have thrown a huge boulder at the wolf pack with his mind, but the aptitude for such things had never been there. He was meant for softer more delicate ways of achieving power.

The dragon obviously did not agree.

Two large spears of steel floated up in the air and with powerful thrusts slammed down into the stone floor and stood there. Between and behind them a cup made out of gold was placed.

“The gathering of what thou call electricity is easy, thou generate it constantly. Thou will need to increase this generation and focus it to the palm of your hand. There you will form a nexus of its energy, keeping it charging but held firm. If thou release it without thought it will seek to discharge itself along the quickest path, through the metal spears before thee. Thou must isolate a single path the line of power will follow, leave it only one path it may take. Make it strike the cup of gold and not the spears and thy training will be finished.”

That was all the motivation he needed. Karon was far gone from the excitement of being trained by the ancient dragon. Now he just wanted to go home to the library and eat more of those stupid apples and sleep in his too small bed.

He did as the dragon asked. He felt his palm begin tingling as a small vortex of energy gathered, urging for release. He lifted the hand and pointed his open palm towards the cup of gold, willing a invisible line for the power to follow straight at it.

It was far more difficult than he had anticipated. Every time the line was formed it snapped or disintegrated. It was not until he focused on the cup first that the line was properly formed and held firm.

He breathed in slowly and released the gathered energy together with his breath. It struck instantly and the image was burned into Karon's retina in the brief millisecond it had lasted. Unfortunately it had struck one of the spears and not the cup.

Karon clenched his jaw and tried again.

His frustration increased with each failure, but with it his focus followed. On the eleventh try the power discharged and went straight into the cup, it tinkled as it fell over and the sound echoed in the large cave. A small but sure tone announcing Karon's success.

He was finally done.

“Thou has completed thy tasks. Thy training here is over for the time, but my duty remains the same. Whenever thou has need for counsel or knowledge, come to my cave and receive it.”

“You know, you never told me your name.”

“Names have power, and a dragon name is a song telling of its birth, life and final death. Thou has not earned such a gift yet, but thou may call me Eldros. It is an old name I have used when dealing with lesser creatures like thee, in thine own tongue it means 'rose of fire'.”

Karon was about to thank the dragon when he was blinded by a bright light and instinctively shielding his eyes. When he dropped his arm he saw that he was no longer in the cave, he was standing at the edge of the Everfree forest with the Equestrian sun shining above him.

“Whatever.”

He shrugged and started walking towards Ponyville, briefly contemplating if he should visit Fluttershy on the way or not but ultimately deciding against it. His robe was half caked in dried blood and he knew he would make grand enough a scene walking into Ponyville like this. Poor Fluttershy might just have heart attack if she saw him.

Judging from the sun's position it was early afternoon, which meant that plenty of ponies would be up and about.  As he passed through the small collections of trees and over the hills he thought about all that had happened.

“I am unsure of what to think of all of this.”

“To be honest, I am mostly suspicious of what Eldros said about Equestria putting some kind of blessing as a future guardian on us. I don't know about you, but the thought of being forced into the role of a hero doesn't seem that attractive to me.”

“I agree. Blessing or not, if I ever get called to serve I might just say no and leave.”

“We can't. Not for as long as Loki keeps us here or until the powers say we can go.”

“Do we want to go? We are not here by choice, but if we were, would we remain?”

“We can't say for sure until that choice is available to us.”

“So all we can do really is stick around and hope no crisis threatening Equestria that apparently nopony else can handle comes knocking?”

“That pretty much summarizes it.”

“That is a terrible plan, but since I've got nothing else, it will have to do.”

“You know we have a lot more to discuss.”

“Such as?”

“What to tell Twilight about what happened in there for one, and also the whole Rarity thing in case you have forgotten.”

Karon groaned, he had forgotten all about his situation with Rarity. Mostly he had been occupied with thoughts about ancient powers and immediate survival, but now that he was in the clear, so to speak ... he would have to deal with it.

“I think telling Twilight the truth about what happened in the Everfree forest is a good idea. It's not like we did something bad ... per say, but leaving out the part about eating the wolf hearts is probably for the best.”

“Undoubtedly. So Rarity then?”

“I have no idea what to do with her.”

“I meant what to tell Twilight. You know that she is way too inquisitive not to have realized something happened between us and Rarity, and if she managed to get Rarity to confess she will definitely launch a full blown interrogation when we get back.”

“Splendid. I have an idea, let's lie until our tongue turns black.”

“That's the default escape plan we use, but it might work. What do we lie about specifically?”

“Until I have figured out what I really want from Rarity, I think it's best to deny any and all feelings for her. We tell Twilight it was all a misunderstanding and that I have no desires for her at all.”

“Risky, but I can see no better option. If we tell the truth, I can't help but feel we will be in trouble.”

“We will be in trouble when she understand we were lying as well.”

“Only IF she catches the lie. Don't get caught and everything will be fine.”

“Spoken like a true trickster.”

During his internal conversation he had come closer to Ponyville with every step and as he walked by the first house he straightened his back and tried to act just like any innocent blood drenched creature would.

His entry into Ponyville reminded his a lot about his first time, minus the waving and painful smile he had been wearing. All the ponies stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Karon as he walked by. This time though, most of them backed away from him a little after the first shock. He couldn't blame them.

He would have been very nervous too if Pinkie Pie had come into town one day covered in dried blood.

He kept on walking towards the library in the most relaxed manner he could pull off. Had he not been so tired, he might have considered casting a glamour over himself to hide the blood, but the last days painful trials had left him so tired he didn't think he would be able to fall asleep.

No one tried to stop him as he walked by. Not surprising since most of them knew he had picked a fight with both of the royal sisters and lived. But it was a shame really, despite his attempts otherwise the town must think of him as dangerous and potentially evil.

“Oh well, could be worse.”

He walked up to the library entrance and pushed it open. The inside was exactly as he had left it. The windows allowed enough sunlight to pass through to allow reading, but not enough to bleach the books. He heard someone rummaging around in the kitchen and guessed it was Spike. The little dragon was always hungry.

Karon waited for somepony to come greet him since the door had made it's usual squealing sound when opened but none came. Maybe they hadn't heard it?

He walked up the stairs and entered the bedroom, Twilight was not on the floor, but he could hear gentle breathing coming from the platform above. He climbed up the ladder and saw Twilight in her bed, still sleeping.

No doubt she had spent another night meant for sleep reading books. He smiled a little and thanked whatever gods that still found him amusing enough to watch over him. Now he could take off his clothes and hopefully get them cleaned before she woke up. Saving himself from having to explain what had happened.

He turned around and began unbuttoning his robe.

“Karon?”

“What was that about the universe loving to mess things up for laughs and giggles now again?”

“Shut up!”

He sighed and turned around to the newly awoken unicorn, She took a long look at his robes before rubbing her eyes and looking again. When she realized that she was indeed seeing Karon caked in dried blood she jumped out of her bed and ran to him.

“What happened?! Are you hurt!?”

“Don't worry Twilight, no wounds remain.”

“You're covered in blood! You can't tell me everything’s all right!”

“I have been completely healed from all damage, besides not all is mine.”

She took a step back at his words and looked at him unsure of what to say. Karon beat her to it and sat down on the bed. Too tired to think of anything clever to say besides telling her everything.

“Let me start at the beginning.”

He told her about all that had happened, with the exception of the meat eating. She looked afraid when he told her about being chased by the wolves, surprised at his discovery of the dragon and shocked when he told her all he had told him. It's not every day you get a first hand account on the creation of one's own species.

But when he told her of the dragon's tasks, how he had sent him into the forest after the wolves she looked equally concerned and disgusted. If it was for the dragon ordering it or that Karon had obeyed, he didn't know and didn't want to either.

Finally he told her of the lasts task the dragon had put before him and all disgust was wiped clean from her face. She only looked at him with great sympathy and worry when he told of the rock that had almost crushed his head, her hoof at his thigh and her eyes full of tender care.

“Those eyes...”

He finished the story and noticed his voice had grown hoarse by the end of it. Not just from having spoken for so long, but also because after having to think back to all that had happened he noticed how worn out he was. He had barely eaten anything for almost five days now and only drunk a few bowls of water during his stay in the cave. He had been beaten, bitten, starved and close to tortured and it had left him worn out beyond what he had previously felt.

He didn't say anything after he had finished and only looked at Twilight instead. Her eyes had grown a little shiny and he guessed she might start crying again.

He didn't like crying.

“I told you it was dangerous.”

She jumped up on the bed and put her hooves around him, giving him a firm hug as she positioned herself on his lap. Her horn was scratching the side of his head, but he didn't mind it. Right now, the warmth and softness that was Twilight was exactly what he needed.

He fell down on his back and Twilight followed, lying next to him with her hooves still wrapped around him. They remained that way for a time and Karon felt himself drifting close to sleep after all, but before he let it overtake him he heard Twilight ask.

“Karon ... are you in love with Rarity?”

His mind was begging him to ignore the question and fall asleep. Thoughts drifted inside his mind without direction or purpose. Groggily he answered her, instinctively reverting back to his originally planned response.

“No Twilight, just a misunderstanding. I will tell Rarity tomorrow that I want nothing else but friendship.”

From the way she sounded and hugged him a little tighter he could only guess that she was relived for some reason, but his mind was getting foggier by the second. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was a quiet conversation in the back of his mind.

“You lied to her.”

“I did, I can only hope that she will forgive me when she finds out the truth.”

“And what truth is that.”

“That I, however strange it sounds, have fallen in love with Rarity.”

Chapter 15: Debt, alcoholism and funny plants

Karon woke up in the soft glow of early morning. He could feel the still form of Twilight lying next to him sleeping. He must have slept at least 18 hours from the looks of it, but he still felt tired. He turned over his way too heavy body and observed the peacefully resting unicorn.

Her mouth was slightly open and air pushed through the gap as she breathed. Her stomach expanding a little with each turn. Had she been next to him the entire time he was sleeping?

He gently poked her ribs to wake her up. She didn't react so he poked her again a little harder. She grumbled in displeasure before her eyes fluttered open looking confused.

“Good morning sleepy-head.”

“Says the human that slept through the entire day and night.”

“You're still in my bed so I assumed you did as well.”

“No, I went downstairs for supper and most of the time I was reading.”

“Then why are you in my bed now?”

She looked down a little uncertain before facing him again, a tone of scholarly detachment forced into her speech.

“I didn't want you to feel lonely after all that you've been through. I thought you might be in shock and needed support.”

“No pony should try and lie to an expert liar; even you can't deny that is nothing but a bad excuse.”

“First of all, it sounds exactly like the usual path of reasoning Twilight would follow, and secondly, what the hell do you mean not even I? I thought you were the dry witted amoral part wanting instant gratification while I was the main character.”

“Really? I thought I was the centre figure and you the secret insecurity somewhere in the back of my mind.”

“No way, I am clearly the good hearted protagonist figure between the two of us, while you are the snarky observer meant to give questionable advice and spontaneous comic relief.”

“That's absolute nonsense, I am clearly the world-wise savvy part while you are the socially awkward part meant as comic relief and dispelling tension concerning our otherwise dastardly behaviour.”

“Impossible, that scenario does not compute with our already established form of behaviour and judgement calls.”

“Does too!”

“Does not!”

“Okay, I might not know which part you are but I still know what part I am.”

“Then who are you?”

“The sexy one.”

The very confusing internal conversation must have lasted longer than Karon had thought because Twilight was staring at him nervously. She put a hoof on his forehead and looked inquisitively in his eyes, expecting a response of some kind.

“Sorry, got lost in thought. Well thank you for ... that, but nothing is wrong with me. If I were to go into shock every time a new magical training bent and twisted my being to suit it, I wouldn't have lasted this long.”

“Why do you keep acting like horrible things are supposed to happen to you? You don't have to continue doing things that hurt you.”

“Pain is a part of life. I will not be intimidated by it.”

“I don't think I will ever understand how you humans can talk about bad things like they aren't bad at all.”

“We humans?”

“I read about your history remember? I don't think anypony else around here would even understand if I tried telling them about the things I read that you've done to yourselves.”

“Twilight, I told you yesterday about how ponies were created and what came before them. You think that the Everfree forest is a terrible place, but do consider that it was how your world worked before your existence, and it is how most worlds work. You were created specifically to be too connected to your world and each other to be capable of such deeds, but we are not.”

“Most creatures are not given that privilege. We are simply given free will and then allowed to learn by ourselves through trial and error. Through the mistakes made from our own frailty of spirit and heart, and through the regrets or pride we carry with us. You can perhaps spurn pain Twilight, but we cannot. It's the only way we truly learn.”

She didn't like what she was hearing, that was clear. He was describing an existence outside of the bubble of innocence ponies had been born into, and Karon wondered if perhaps the beings that had created the ponies had made a mistake. The ponies might be sweet and genuinely caring, but by making their entire world into one grand picture of childlike naivety and innocence, they had robbed them of the chance to truly grow.

“Bah, it's not my place to judge such things. It's beyond my scope, all things considered.”

It was at that point he decided not to push things with Twilight any more. He might hate when any creature made a willing decision to live in ignorance because truth hurt, but it was different here. They had been made to be such, maybe their souls would move onto another place when they had enough of the sugar coating or something. It didn't matter, if he forced his own awareness and the knowledge therein on Twilight, it would break her.

Besides, maybe there were truths to be learned here as well.

“Sorry Twilight, I get carried away at times, and I give way too much of a one sided picture of myself, I think. So how about we talk about something a little more ... casual.”

She had been about to rise up from the bed before he spoke the last part. She lied down again and looked a little surprised.

“Like what?”

“How are you holding up?”

“Uhm, fine I guess,” she laughed a little nervously.

“You can do better than that. It's not like things have been uneventful since I got here.”

“Well, to be honest I don't know. I mean I'm very happy you're here and decided to make a home, but I still feel like it's my fault.”

“That is getting annoying. I like it here so get over it and take the credit.”

“You can't deny that without me you would still be back in your own world in your own home.”

“This is my home. Besides, if I was still be back on Earth I'd probably be extremely bored. This last week has been quite exciting.”

“Well, there always that,” she agreed with a smile.

They lied there, face to face staring into each other’s eyes, both wearing smiles as they enjoyed the moment.

“So anything else on your mind?” she asked after a few minutes of silence broken by the awakening birds outside in the tree.

“How about we discuss the future?”

“That sounds interesting. What did you have in mind.”

“Simple, you tell me something you want to do in the future then I tell you something. I'll match the level of embarrassment what you say produces.”

“That sounds less appealing, but still it seems like a great idea.”

It had certainly been.

They spent the entire morning together there on the bed, slowly opening themselves up to each other. This was a bit ironic since Twilight had been temporarily housed within Karon’s mind, but this was different. There was no magic or life threatening danger involved, just two friends confiding in each other. Revealing their hopes and dreams on a beautiful morning, it was ... nice.

“Fluttershy's influence is beginning to show.”

“It's only fair they have some influence on me considering how much I must have had on them.”

“Have, present tense. You still influence them and they you.”

More than nice, it was pretty damn funny too. During their talk he told Twilight about his dreams of one day becoming a wizard, learning the secrets of the universe. He told her of his desire to walk on a path leading him through the unknown mysteries and hearing their whispered voices, of his need to walk that road. Through darkness and light, between worlds and distant stars, he wanted it more than anything.

But he also told her about how he hoped he one day might learn how to sing properly and play the lute. How he secretly wished he would get the chance to smack a goddess on the ass, and perhaps worst of all, he told her he wanted a kitten he would name master Purrlin.

She didn't get the reference.

Twilight on the other hoof was slow in at the start, keeping it strictly to her academic hopes. Like wanting to write a book about the magic of friendship and all that she has learned during her time in Ponyville. Or how she one day perhaps would go back to princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and take up teaching.

But after Karon revealed he wanted to learn how to sing and she forced him to demonstrate his talent so far she had fallen down into a fit of hysterical giggling and opened up more. Telling him she wanted to learn how to be as skilled with other ponies as Rarity was and learn how to bake as well as Pinkie Pie.

She also told him of her worries for Spike's future once she was gone, at this point even Karon had enough sense to move closer and hold her for comfort. It might be nice to actually get some time with Twilight, especially in such an intimate manner, but he couldn’t relax completely and enjoy it.

He had lied to her.

And he couldn't blame it on severe exhaustion and sleep deprivation either. He had been planning on lying to her before even entering the library. While they laid there, the conversation drifted into more and more ridiculous topics, like how weird it would be if Karon grew a unicorn horn because he could do magic. But most of his attention was focused inwards, at the internal struggle this one tiny little lie had brought.

“The amount of time and energy you spend on these little conversations is silly. You don't need to second guess every single choice you make; stress will wear at this brand new body you know. Well it's not so brand new anymore I guess since that whole squashing our face incident.”

“You do love the sound of your own voice don't you?”

“We both do, it's why we talk so much.”

“Not going anywhere close to that, let's stay on topic. Did we make a mistake in lying to her?”

“Nope, definitely not. It was the best choice we could make considering the situation, Twilight might have warmed up to us a lot, but she would most likely turn on us in a second if she knew what was really happening between us and Rarity.”

“I doubt she is capable of doing that. I am more concerned about her misinterpreting it as something sinister or doomed to bring misery upon Rarity.”

“First of all, you are forgetting that quote about a woman scorned and her fury. You know she has a thing for you in some way, maybe it's just a sort of academic curiosity and she has fallen for the idea of a male that can best her in pure intellect. Doesn't matter, it has happened. And secondly, it is very possible that us and Rarity will end in misery, but cowardice has never been a valid excuse for anything.”

“It still feels wrong, we owe it to Twilight to be truthful.”

“We are a trickster you idiot. We can't have a guilty conscience whenever we decide to lie or manipulate someone or somepony. Just make sure it's for a worthwhile cause and then let things go as they go.”

“You're right, I've set my path. Might as well go through it to the end.”

He had been diverting his attention between his inner musings and Twilight's somewhat humorous description of how Karon would look as a pony. For some reason she had decided he should have a green mane instead of charcoal since that would be the colour of his coat.

“I am having trouble understanding the reasons behind why my hypothetical mane would look like seaweed, but I'm sure they are perfectly sound.”

“Of course they are, but it's not like I expect a human to be able to understand the complexity of a pony's life,” she said it with a mocking tone and one eyebrow raised up in challenge.

“I think I understand perfectly.”

“Sure you do.”

“You have always felt an inner attraction to the colour green, and so you project it onto my hypothetical pony body. It's a mental Freudian slip, really.”

“I do not! Green is an awful colour for a mane!”

The window was open and down on the street below it a certain pony heard everything and gave off an indignant “humph”, before discreetly hurrying towards the spa for more orange hair dye.

“Are you sure, you don't find it tantalizing?”

Karon moved her face closer to Twilight's.

“Invigorating?”

Twilight looked at him with a face that said he wasn't as funny as he thought.

“Exhilarating...?”

He was mere inches from from her lips now, but her eyes had the same scepticism still.

“Maybe I would be more impressed if your breath didn't smell like dog for some reason.”

Karon right hand slipped, and since he had been supporting most of his weight on it his head followed after and he banged it into the bed frame.

“Ouch! ... Uh, no reason. No reason at all ... hehe, uhh.”

He rubbed his sore spot and winced a little. “Well, this was nice, but I really should get going now. Lots of things to do, fixing my debt with Applejack and talking with Rarity. Oh and visiting Zecora, you know, busy busy. Anyway gotta go!”

Before Twilight could respond Karon grabbed his tattered clothes and jumped down from the platform and ran out the door. She listened as he quickly grabbed breakfast in the kitchen before the front door opened and closed with a bang followed by the distant sound of the human cursing as he realized what he'd just done.

He had ran out stark naked into the middle of Ponyville with his clothes and breakfast in his arms.

Twilight shook her head and mumbled to herself as she opened her book once more and began reading.

“Why can't I ever met a pony that isn't crazy?”

                               **********************************

Applejack had been out bucking apples with her usual gusto, never stopping for more than a few seconds to catch her breath. She smiled up at the tree with its bountiful yield of apples before spinning around on her front hooves and delivering a swift firmly planted kick on the tree.

The entire thing shook and every single apple on the tree fell down into the carefully positioned baskets with satisfying precision. Not a single apple fell outside, but that wasn't surprising. Applejack had been doing this for many years now and knew how her trees liked to drop their fruit.

She wiped her forehead with one of her hooves before speaking out loud to no pony special.

“Whew! That sun is mighty hot today, wonder if princess Celestia would mind if ah asked her ta turn it down a notch.” She chuckled a little at her own joke. The sun might be strong today, but it was nothing the sturdy farm pony hadn't faced before.

She was about to buck the next apple tree when she heard hoofsteps coming from the road behind the hill, but they sounded a tad bit strange, not like ponies usually did. She had a sneaking suspicion about who it might be and she crept between the apple trees until she had a clear view of the road.

Yup, as sure as rain, it was Karon the human, but for some reason he was not wearing the robe Rarity had made him. Instead he was walking around with his upper body unclothed. Applejack wasn't sure how a human was supposed to look like without clothes but he sure looked strange.

All his muscles looked really weird, starkly contrasted beneath the flimsiest of skins and shaped in lots of odd patterns around his arms and stomach, but despite the bizarre sight she could see clearly that he had a lot more physical strength than she first thought he'd have.

Being a magic user and book worm like Twilight had made her think he would be just as out of shape as the unicorn. Not that there was anything wrong with Twilight's physical condition, she just wasn't the athletic type. Karon obviously was, or maybe all humans were like that?

“There's definitely something fishy about all this, ah better keep a close eye on that one. Make sure he ain't trying any funny business.”

Applejack did not like sneaking, so she decided for a more direct approach.

“Hey there! Coming ta work off ya debt or are ye thinking of running back inta the forest?”

Karon stopped and turned around, watching as the earth pony walked over to him in a determined manner.

“It will be a long time before I want to go back in there. So yeah, I'm here to settle my debt.”

“Well that's dandy and all but Ah'm fraid ah can't just leave mah work like that, ya need to find Big Mac and ask him ta help ya out with whatever you're planning.”

“Sounds good, where can I find him?”

“Ah reckon he's in the barn, working.” She nudged her head in the direction of the large red structure.

“I'll get to work then. It shouldn't take that long but you'll notice a definitive improvement.”

“Ah hope so, otherwise ya'll be repainting the house instead.”

Karon gulped a little at the rock hard gaze of the farm pony. Of every pony he had met so far, Applejack was the greatest threat to him. Not that there was anything he was planning that she might mess up, but the risk was still there. She would see through his usual methods and smoke screens with ease, best if he simply tried to avoid her as much as he could.

He turned around as respectfully as he could and began walking towards the barn. He could feel Applejack's focused stare the entire way. The barn door was ajar and he knocked loudly on it before stepping inside.

“Big Mac, you here? Applejack said you could help me out with improving your distillery.”

There was a rustling coming from the pile of hay at the far end of the open space, after a few moments of movement a large block of a head belonging to a red coloured pony with a mane matching the hay popped up.

Judging from the hazy expression and blank eyes he had most likely been taking a nap.

“Were you sleeping back there?”

“Nope,” the stallion responded with a slow drawl, his facial expression not changing.

“Okay ... Anyway I could probably use some assistance, so if you're not too busy could you lend me a han-, I mean hoof?”

“Eeyup.”

Taking that as an affirmative, Karon walked out from the barn towards the house and its cellar. He heard the big stallion following right behind him, his walk somehow having the same slow drawl as his speech.

They both went down the stairs to the cellar and its improvised distillery. The unicorns that had set it up certainly had only the most rudimentary knowledge about making alcohol. Though there were some very good side effects of having unicorns designing the still, it worked completely by magic. The entire thing was enchanted, but unfortunately the Apple family didn't know how to use it properly.

It was a reflux still, which was good. It meant there could be some very fine products being made there in the future.

“Okay Big Mac, I'm going to teach you how to work this thing properly, then we will make a batch. First, let's get the yeast and sugar, it's important to get the right measurement, and making sure the water is pure is also a priority.”

Karon spent the remainder of the morning instructing the large stallion in making high quality whiskey. Thankfully, they had a ready supply of all the ingredients needed, including malt, so Karon demonstrated by doing.

“So you see it's important to control the temperature. By doing that, we can separate the more desirable components from the less desirable ones. Anyway, usually you should let the fermentation take place for at least a week, preferably a few more days besides that, but since I can do magic and the still is enchanted we can cheat this one time, but it's best if you let it happen naturally.”

Karon manipulated the flow of time a little within the steel barrel they had mixed it all in, and what normally took seven days, instead only took seven minutes. With Big Mac's help, he then dumped it all into the still and activated it by touching a crystal, then they sat back and relaxed while keeping a check on the temperature.

“From what I could taste of the batch you gave me, you like adding some apple essence for taste right?”

The pony responded with a sagely nod and only said, “That's right.”

“Well we can do that, but I will be heading out to ask the zebra Zecora to teach me about the local flora. Given time, I might come up with a few herbs that could be added for flavour or effect to the drink.”

“Eeyup,” was the only answer Karon received, so they spent the rest of the time in silence until the crystal shone red and gave off a light chiming sound to inform them it was done.

They went over to a tap that had been thoughtfully placed in and each poured a mug. Karon took a sip and made a pleased sound. It was far from the work of art that Varsif produced, but it was still far better than what Applejack had given him before.

“Now that's some mighty fine daniels you made here.”

The stallions eyes had been ignited with a spark and he was slowly pouring the content of his mug down his throat, making a pleased sound before going over for a refill. Feeling happy to have found a potential drinking buddy, Karon followed suit and refilled as well.

“This particular sort is called whiskey Big Mac, and it is too fine to be enjoyed in a dank and dark basement. Let's go upstairs and find a nice spot to lie down and enjoy the sun and drink on.”

“Sounds good ta me,” the stallion responded and headed up the stairs with a happy Karon in tow. They both found a secluded spot on a hill under an apple tree and sat down, enjoying the warming sun and whiskey.

There is always a certain joy in drinking, but when you have made it yourself, there also a large measure of pride and the feeling of hard work well done mixed in.

Maybe it was the excellent whiskey that was to blame, or maybe the stoic calming presence the large pony emanated. Either way Karon closed his eyes and leaned his face towards the sun before he told the pony.

“I'm in trouble Big Mac.”

“How's so?”

“I think I might have fallen in love with Rarity, and I think she might have fallen for me too.”

The stallion only responded with a wisened hum, so Karon went on.

“It was not something I planned and I still have difficulty actually believing it. I'm used to having control, over myself and others, so finding myself unable to do anything but respond to a feeling I didn't expect in any way is ... disturbing. It's extremely cliché I know, but when you dedicate yourself to the life of a manipulating bastard with some kind of obscure future in the wise folds of magic, you can't let emotions sneak up on you.”

“Sounds like yer being afraid to me.”

“Of course I am, but unlike most regular folk that have nothing else to worry about besides a broken heart, the consequences of me losing control and giving in are far worse. We can't be allow ourselves to be left at the mercy of our desires, they can only fuel us not guide us.”

“So what's ta problem?”

“Well, I don't think the emotional part is that bad, it was just unexpected. The real bad is that Twilight might have got a thing for me to, but I doubt it's serious. Most likely just a feeling of intense gratitude because I saved her that's she's mistaken for love or something. It's not like I expect Twilight to have all the thousand nuances that are the intricacy of our hearts pinned down. She barely has any social skills at all as far as I can judge. But I lied to her, she managed to find out about me and Rarity's growing feelings and confronted me about it. First I told her I wasn't sure, which was true, but yesterday I lied and told her I had no such feelings at all and was going to tell Rarity that today ... Which I won't.”

“That doesn't sound right.”

“Tell me about it. I don't want to hurt anypony, but I can't see any other options. Either I confess to Twilight and she will hate me for it, or I deny all feelings for Rarity and tell her off. In which case she will most likely hate me since she knows I do have feelings for her.”

“Hmmm, Well ah think it's a simple situation is all.”

“Oh really,” Karon said with a look of extreme disbelief and scepticism.

“Since ya haven't done anything with Rarity, an' ya don't know fer sure if it will even work with ya two, Ah think ya should just go ahead and see if things will happen. If it does, ya can just tell Twilight ya were wrong, but didn't tell her until you weren't sure ‘bout it. Because ya do wanna be with Rarity right?”

Karon could just stare at the pony who's appearance screamed uneducated hill billy. Yet here he was, putting Karon's difficult situation in the most simple way with an equally simple solution.

“You know what Big Mac ... you might be the wisest of us all.”

“Eeyup.”

They both fell silent after that and simply enjoyed the beginning of the afternoon and the pleasant spring day. That is until they heard a shout followed by some sort of commotion from the farm.

They looked at each other before rising up and hurrying towards it, but despite their quick pace, Big Mac managed to maintain that slow drawl in his walk.

“How does he do that?”

“I'm not sure, but I think we might have just met the ultimate Zen master.”

“Huh, now that you mention it he does remind me a little of Hong Ma.”

When they arrived at the farm, they saw Applejack standing at the porch facehoofing as Pinkie Pie zoomed around the outside lifting up and looking underneath every possible object she could find.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?”

“Hi Karon! Hey Big Mac! So I was talking to Applejack about maybe getting some more of that yummy drink you brought for the last party, but then I heard her whisper something about losing all her marbles so I decided to help her look for them!”

She thoughtfully lifted a basket of apples and locked underneath it.

“Not there either,” she said sounding surprised while Applejack just shook her head, hoof still on her face.

“Sweetie ah haven't lost any marbles, is just ah'n old saying s'all.”

“But I heard you-”

“What Applejack is saying...” Karon said as he kneeled down next to Pinkie, his hand on her head and large grin unseen by her, ”...is that she never had any marbles to lose in the first place.”

Big Mac gave off a good natured snort while Applejack glared daggers at the grinning human. Pinkie Pie on the other hand just sounded more confused than she had been a moment ago.

“But, why did she say she lost her marbles if she didn't have any? *Gasp* Were they imaginary marbles!?”

“No I just think Applejack must have been confused when she said that. Maybe she overworked herself. The sun is very strong today after all, and she might not have drunk enough water for today.”

The party pony shot forward in a pink blur and grabbed Applejacks face, squeezing her cheeks together. “Oh no Applejack you should get inside quick and lie down! I know, I can stay with you and sing get better songs!”

Applejacks eyes grew considerably bigger at the suggestion and a sweat began to noticeably shine on her forehead. She stepped back from Pinkie's hooves and quickly said.

“That won't be necessary Pinkie, ah'm not sick, ah was just uh...”

“Could you imagine a life like hers? Hard working and honest, not willing to tell a lie.”

“I'd rather not, it will give me nightmares.”

“I'm sure Applejack was just mumbling to herself Pinkie, but she has certainly earned some rest just to be safe. You can take over for the rest of the day right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.”

The orange earth pony looked to be struggling with herself if this counted as something dishonest but didn't appear to find any fault in it. She was about to respond when her eyes turned to slits and she gave Karon a look of suspicion.

“Now hold on just a minute, did ya finish working off yer debt?”

Karon turned his head towards Big Mac and asked with a self satisfied smile.

“Well Big Mac, did I help improve your product?”

“Eeyup!”

Applejack didn't lose her suspicious look at that, so Big Mac gave a tiny sigh and gave Applejack his half full mug of the whiskey. Pinkie sniffed the air loudly as she looked on the mug with glowing eyes.

Applejack sniffed the whiskey too before taking a careful sip of it. She looked down on it surprised, afterwards before she turned it upside down and drank the rest in one big gulp.

“Oh my, ah don't like to admit it, but this is better than mah old stuff.”

Pinkie's ears had sloped down when Applejack drank all of it but smiled again when she remembered Applejack was supposed to have the rest of the day off for resting.

“This is gonna be the bestest day ever! I can tell you stories, and bake cupcakes and tell jokes and bake stories, no wait I can tell stories while baking! Or maybe I can tell joking stories that are about baking. That’s guaranteed to make you laugh.”

Applejack's eyes flitted back and forth in an animal gesture of panic. Karon considered leaving her hanging but decided he needed to get some points after that marble joke.

“That's a shame Pinkie, because I was hoping you would help guide me to Zecora's place, you know since I was hoping she could teach me about the local herbs so I could expand Applejack's inventory. Maybe I will be able to come up with tens or hundreds of new kinds of booze.”

Pinkie looked almost like she was having an orgasm at the thought, her tongue hanging outside her mouth and panting heavily at the possibility.

“Are we the one that's going to be responsible for introducing alcoholism into pony society?”

“Looks that way.”

“Yupp, we're definitely going straight to pony hell.”

“Doesn't matter since we will be greeted as heroes down there. After we are done with Equestria, I have a feeling they will be receiving a lot more newcomers than usual down there.”

“Mwhehehe, I'm pretty sure they have no pony hell, but it would be kinda funny though.”

“You think you can manage without her Applejack?”

“Ah'm certain, you go help him out sugercube. Ah'll be just fine on mah own.”

She flashed Karon a grateful look before heading inside the house. Big Mac remained standing where he was and waited for Karon to add something.

“Well then Big Mac, it's been nice meeting you. I'll see you again sometime soon.”

“Eeyup,” was his only response before heading out towards the apple trees to continue his sister's work.

“So Pinkie, you ready to go?” Karon asked before finishing his whiskey as fast as he could. Pinkie was eyeing the mug greedily and he was very sure that a drunk Pinkie was something he did not want to have to handle unless he was drunk too.

“Yuppie duppie guppie!”

“Well then, lead on.”

“Ooooh, we can play follow the pony!”

Before he could interject and suggest something else she had bounced away faster than should be possible. Karon was forced to follow after her on an extremely unconventional route, under fences and over rocks, one time she bounced up into an apple tree before jumping down. Stopping to make sure he did the same.

Which was the reason the one hour walk turned into a two and a half hour chase, Karon trying as best he could to keep up with the hyperactive pony. The first hour was fairly easy all things considered, but once Pinkie entered the forest that quickly changed. He had no idea how she could act just as carefree and silly inside of it as she did in Equestria but she did. Giggling every now and then while bouncing between the trees and occasionally bursting into songs whenever she came across something noteworthy.

Eventually Karon stumbled out of a thick cluster of bushes and found himself in front of a hollowed out tree, not entirely unlike the Ponyville library. It had a few windows in the sides of the tree and a front door made out of wood.

Pinkie stood in front of the very naturalistic home and waved at him happily.

“We're here!”

“Yes I can see that Pinkie, is Zecora home?”

“I don't know, I haven't knocked yet silly, I was waiting for you to finish the game.”

“How thoughtful.”

“That was ... considerate of you,” he said before going over to the door and knocking on it respectfully. If he was going to ask the zebra to teach him about this worlds version of herbology with no bits to pay her for it, he would need to act carefully.

There was half a minute of silence before the door creaked open slightly and a zebra head became visible in the gap. Well this worlds version of a zebra anyway. Besides the colouring and the stylish hair her, head didn't look that different from regular ponies.

Her eyes went up until they meet Karon's and widened slightly.

“One such as you I have never seen, from your appearance no name I can gleam.”

“Hi Zecora! This is Karon, he's a human that's decided to live with Twilight and he wanted to come see you. I'm sure you'll become the best of friends because he's super duper nice.”

The zebra relaxed visibly when the pink pony popped up in front of Karon and she opened the door fully, letting the two of them inside. Pinkie trotted inside as happy as ever, while Karon adopted a more solemn approach and gave the zebra a respectful nod as he passed her by.

“What is it that you came here to seek? I am asking only if you know how to speak?”

“I came to ask for your guidance and teaching in learning more about this world's flora and its herbological uses. From the accounts of Twilight and other ponies, you are a true master of the art.”

The zebra looked a little surprised. “You came here to learn of plant and potion? I do admit I find this an interesting notion. Perhaps I shall do what I can to teach, but first your help I must beseech. In this forest I live next to many a beast, and on me they would very much like to feast. For my help I require this, help make the beasts, my presence miss. Only when my home is safe from harm, will I succumb to your charm.”

Karon considered this and found it very reasonable. He would be worried about all the predators too if he lived inside the forest. The question was how?

“Deal, I will find a way to do this.”

“How much time do you need, before you are ready to perform the deed?”

“Give me half an hour to figure something out, and a genius plan that will knock your socks off I will bring about,” Karon responded, slipping into a tacky rhyme without thinking.

The zebra raised an eyebrow at this, but it looked to be more out of surprise and amusement than from insult, which was good. He sat down on the floor and began thinking deeply about the possible solutions to the zebra's problem.

He might have been a bit optimistic about the time frame. It took almost an hour before he had sketched out a working plan. During that time, Zecora had gone back to her potion mixing with the pink bundle of sugar and randomness hanging over, and sometimes on, her shoulder. Constantly asking questions and suggesting she maybe should add a little sugar since sugar made everything better.

It was while she was in the middle of one of these grand tributes to the many functions of sugar that Karon got up and interrupted them both.

“Okay, I think I might have figured something out.”

The zebra stopped stirring in her large pot for a moment and Pinkie Pie temporarily ceased with her chatter. “I might be able to cloak your house with a glamour. It's a bit of magic originally from the fairies of my home world, but it should work here too.”

“From your looks I would never have guessed, that to you the gift of magic has been blessed.”

“I know, both the looks and the brains. I have absolutely no shame at all. But to stay on topic, it should be fairly simple to perform, and I will also bind the spell to an object so that you can either have a unicorn keep it charged or have it lie out underneath the sun or moon. Do you have any object that you are sure to keep?”

The zebra didn't respond, she turned around and began rummaging through a large chest before taking a small pot of some kind and placing it on the table next to Karon.

“In this pot my first potion I did brew, do you think for your work it will do?”

Karon checked it over carefully. It was some kind of steel alloy with unknown components in it as well, but what was important is that it would be able to hold the enchantment, and it could.

“This will work nicely, if you want I can start right away.”

Zecora nodded in response and Karon walked over to the centre of the hollowed out tree and sat down cross legged. He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, slowly stretching out his senses and began waving a beautiful pattern of energies, invisible to all but him.

It was in truth not that complicated. He would cloak the large tree in an illusion making it appear like it originally had been. Just a regular, normal tree, no scent, sound, taste, sight or feeling would ever reveal that there was something more to it.

The lines of energy sank into the bark of the tree and surrounded it in a dome, with all the lines travelling downwards from the top and upwards from the bottom to meet in the centre. Joining together in the small pot Karon held in his hand. With a kind of clinking sound the lines connected and the magic took hold. For a moment the world felt like it had taken one step to the side then hastily stepped back. It was a normal experience where illusion magic took place and meant it had worked perfectly.

Karon took the pot and placed it on top of the chest Zecora had brought it out from before motioning with his hand towards the entrance. The zebra and pony took the hint and walked out from the house, curious to see what he had done.

Karon followed after and stood next to them outside as they surveyed the illusion, it was perfect. They couldn't even see the open front door, all they saw was a grand tree. Untouched by any attempts to civilize it.

“This is good work indeed, and I think all beasts it will mislead. But how will I not be fooled the same, since I cannot even see the door from whence we came?”

Karon put his hand on the small zebras head and connected her mind to the illusion while doing the same for himself. Both he and Zecora got that same feeling of the world side stepping before the real hollowed out tree came into view once more.

“There, now you and I can see it. If you want anyone else to be able to see through it, have them touch that pot and they will connect to it.”

The zebra looked extremely pleased with his work and turned to him with a knowing smile.

“You have held your end of our deal, so my secrets of plant and stone I will now reveal.”

They both walked into the house again, Karon feeling very eager to finally get started on learning something that would be so useful. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof was just as eager, but it was eagerness for finding a way into the house since it appeared only as a normal big tree to her.

It took thirteen tries that ended with her running into a wall before she came through the open door, having refused help from Karon or Zecora, since that apparently would be cheating.

It was a little after four in the afternoon when they began the studying. Pinkie Pie jumping back and forth sniffing the samples as Zecora explained about the basic families and groups of flora that could be found in Equestria and beyond. She then went into the basic properties of each of her samples and how they could be mixed to produce a specific effect and in what manner the potion should be consumed. Either by an infusion, rubbing the coat or taken with food. Some plants, specifically different kinds of moss, should be burned and the smoke inhaled for example.

There was a lot to memorize, but Karon was already familiar with many names and families of the plants after his late night studying at the library, so he managed to keep up. The practical demonstration and work helped a lot too.

It was late and darkness had fallen upon the forest, more than it's usual gloom in any case, when Zecora stopped herself and searched through her many samples.

“It seems I must have forgotten to collect new flowers, I have now been distracted for many hours. Remain here and try out something new, I will collect the flowers and then mix a special brew.”

Karon nodded, his attention fully on the small bubbling pot in front of him. He was trying out mixing a potion meant to give clarity and help achieve insight into a problem. He could certainly need it for dealing with his troubles with Rarity and Twilight. Big Mac might have given reasonable advice, but it was still a bit complicated.

Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie had been mostly ignored during all those hours of teaching and she was running out of things to amuse herself with.

“Whatcha brewing there!” she loudly asked right next to Karon's ear, he yelped from the sudden assault on his eardrums and accidentally spilled the carefully prepared potion.

“Pinkie! I had been working on that for almost an hour!” he shouted angrily.

“I-I'm sorry....” She said while backing away carefully, looking very sad after his outburst. Her usually poofy hair becoming a bit straighter and clinging to her face as if to comfort her.

Karon felt a stab of guilt in his heart, making the normally overjoyed pony sad was almost as bad as making Fluttershy cry, and now he had done both in less than two weeks. He quickly got rid of his scowl and walked over to the pony and tilted her chin upwards so she looked into his eyes. Her pupils had dilated to an enormous size and she looked very fragile, hell all ponies looked fragile when in a vulnerable state. Maybe it was some kind of natural defence mechanism, making predators feel so ashamed for making them afraid or sad that they gave up and went away.

“It's no big deal Pinkie, I'm not mad at you. Do you want to help me mix up something else?”

“Are you sure you want me here?”

“Course I am. You're one of my best friends after all.”

After Karon had said that, Pinkie's hair immediately went back to its usual tangled mess like a lightning strike had hit it. Her eyes also went back to their usual sugary mania with a blink before she smiled a smile that looked to stretch out from her face.

“How is that possible?”

“Because it's Pinkie.”

“It can't be that simple.”

“Oh yes it can. What do you want instead, some elaborate plan and detailed operation for all of it?”

“No that would be-”

“Mission Impossible, Pinkie Pie style!”

“Don't you da-”

“DUN DUNDUN DUN DUNDUN DUN DUNDDUN DUN DUNDUN DUDUDUUUUN DUDUDUUUUN!!”

Happily going back to his work with an equally happy pony beside him, Karon kept on repeating the theme to mission impossible for a long while as he searched through Zecora's books for a replacement for the clarity potion.

Finally Pinkie Pie found something that might work.

“Yeah, I can see why you would notice this one.”

She held up an open book, displaying a page with a coloured illustration of a reddish pink moss, beneath the image a description called it Hermatite moss and praised it for it's ability to bring a crystal clarity and focus to the thoughts of whoever inhaled the smoke from the burning moss.

“Well it looks like it might work, and it doesn't require careful brewing. If Zecora has any we can just dump it on the fire and breath a bit of the smoke in.”

Karon barely had time to look around before the pink pony presented a hoof covered in a light pinkish moss. It looked almost like the image in the book. Maybe it was just a very young sample, or maybe it had gotten old and worn out, it felt very dry to the touch, but it was just a lot more pink than the image had been.

“Yeah this might work.” Karon said before removing the large cauldron and putting on a few more small logs. He looked at the small sample of the moss and doubted it be enough to have any noticeable effect.

“Hey Pinkie, was there any more of this stuff where found it.”

“Uhu.” She said and nodded before pointing to a large vase, Karon walked over to it and pulled of the stubborn lid. It was so tight and the air inside to stale he guessed it was completely airtight. Inside the vase, that was almost as big as Pinkie or Zecora, there was moss almost up to the brim.

Smiling, Karon took two fistfuls of it and walked over to the fire, carefully dumping it so the fire would filter all smoke through it while also eating at it.

The pony and human sat down next to it and watched as an oily white smoke began rising from the fire, it did not take long before the entire room was filled with the smoke to the point it was hard to distinguish everything in it.

Half an hour later of breathing in the smoke Karon began feeling a little strange.

“You know what's funny man?”

“No, what?”

“This feels exactly like the first time we smoked peyote, it also smells like Varif's weed used to.”

“Ooh yeah, that is funny!”

Karon started giggling while he considered that.

“Oh man that was some crazy times, remember whe-...Hey, look at that mask on the wall! It's so silly.”

“Bwhahahahaha, you're right. Hey wait a minute ... I think it's making faces at us!”

“No way! We can't have that. RETALIATION!”

Karon stood up and walked over to the mask hanging on the wall. He stared at it before he started making faces back at it.

“Blergh!”

“Blaaah!”

“Urghhhh!”

“Trrrrpt!”

The last was a contribution from Pinkie Pie, she must have noticed what he was doing and decided to help. She had her tongue out and flapping at it before stopping and curiously began poking it. Not the mask, her tongue.

“Heh, what are you doing Pinkie?”

“ma tnge fls fnny!”

“What?”

“MH TUNG FLS FNNY!”

“Oh....” he responded before carefully poking at it as well.

She was right, it felt really strange.

“Hey Pinkie!”

“Wfht?”

“You're a horse, I should totally try riding you!”

“Ofkie dofkie lofkie!” she responded with her tongue still out and waggling.

“Tshhhhhhh, I bet Pinkie likes to do most of the riding herself.”

“Hahaha, you are so depraved.”

“You would know.”

Karon carefully sat down on Pinkie's back, that was after he was done slowly running his hand over her coat. It felt ... really odd, good odd, but still REALLY odd.

Karon had never ridden a horse before, and no pony either. So he did what he thought was proper to get going.

“To eternity and beyond!” he shouted and smacked Pinkie's ass to get her going.

“HEY!”

“Oh sorry my mistake. I mean uhrm ... RUN LIKE THE WIND BULLSEYE!” he corrected himself and slapped her on the ass once more, and just like he had imagined she got back on her hind legs with a dramatic neighing sound.

Thing was, Karon was barely in a sitting position, and the soles of his feet were still firmly on the ground. So when it happened he was thrown off Pinkie Pie and landed on his back.

“What was that for!”

“No one smacks Pinkie Pie's ass without buying her dinner first!”

“Oh man I'm so hungry. What I wouldn't give for a cupcake from Sugercube Corner back in Ponyville right now.”

For a brief moment it was like the entire world held its breath in fear of what just happened. At first Karon didn't get why it did that, but then he looked at Pinkie Pie. It was like seeing the sun rise up in the morning, a realization slowly dawning. She whispered to herself.

“Ponyville....”

“...Subercube Corner...”

And finally, as her face lit up in the most primal and fierce power of all.

Hunger.

“CUPCAKES!!” she finally screamed triumphantly, and with a speed rivalling Rainbow Dash on her best day, shot out from the house in a pink blur. Heading straight towards Ponyville.

Right then Zecora stepped inside in the fume infested house and saw Karon lying on the ground giggling. She sniffed the air before giving him an enigmatic look.

“I fear I know what you have done, for that smell comes from the pink moss of fun.”

“Bwhahahahaha, you call it the moss of fun. That is some crafty thinking there.”

“But I see not what might cause, Pinkie Pie to run off without pause.”

Karon's giggling increased in volume and he muttered something between the giggling.

“What you just said I did not hear, please tell me what made Pinkie Pie disappear.”

Taking a deep breath of air Karon managed to get out before falling back into a fit of giggles.

“PINKIE GOT THE MUNCHIES!”

Chapter 16: Somepony think of the muffins!

Karon was still giggling for reasons beyond those discernible by a mortal mind. For such was the power of the pink moss of fun, or maybe he was just imagining that. Either way, giggling was the proper response.

Zecora had chosen to ignore Karon and was busy trying to get all the smoke out of her house. She had said something about Pinkie a while ago, but he couldn't remember what it was. He had been busy at the time admiring his fingers.

But even the deep thoughts provoked by the sight of the complex patterns in his palms weren't enough to distract him completely from the fact that he was very hungry.

“Pinkie had the right idea. Let's get to Ponyville and find ourselves a snack.”

Concealed in the still lingering thick smoke, Karon rose up from his position on the floor and went out the door. Before him stretched the large and suddenly VERY interesting Everfree forest. How could he have missed all these amazing things in his previous visits? Like all the funny patterns the trees made and the fact that all predators graced with fur were fuzzy!

Interesting things indeed, but Karon had a mission to complete. A mission ordered by his very own stomach, and by all the gods and funny moss in the world, he would not fail it.

He set upon his path towards Ponyville and marched forward. His face set in a mixture of stupid wonderment and determination which can only be found on someone looking for a snack within an ancient forest filled with savage beasts.

Karon took three steps behind a large set of bushes and promptly realized he was lost.

“Dude, didn't we like, just take one step forward and become lost. What if we like, take a step backwards, shouldn't we become unlost then?”

Karon tried, he took one carefully placed step backwards and looked around. Unfortunately, it looked almost exactly the same, the only difference was that he was one step back now. This spawned quite a lot of very complicated thoughts about the nature of being and stepping, but his stomach would not allow him to be diverted from his righteous quest and it growled in accusation.

“Well, if we are lost, we can just go anywhere. It's not like we can get double lost right?”

Karon can be an idiot sometimes.

He walked in a random pattern through the forest, giving off exclamations of amazement whenever he found something new in a color he didn't know existed. But it is a well known fact that the universe, besides enjoying irony, also looks out for fools and brave people. They make life all so much more interesting after all, and even though Karon's bravery was mostly chemical in nature for the moment, it still applied.

So perhaps that explains how Karon's seemingly random path led him almost straight out from the forest and into the cool air of a young Equestrian night. The sky still retained a dark blue color and the moon had barely begun its ascension into the heavens. It was a peaceful time when the creatures of day where readying themselves for a restful slumber until the sun returned.

Or it would be peaceful, if it weren't for that bell ringing and collection of screams echoing out from Ponyville.

They didn't sound like screams of horror. Karon knew screams of horror very well. He had inspired them a few times. These sounded like screams of confusion and fright but not outright terror.

“Maybe it's not something dangerous going on.”

“Do you think that it might have something to do with Pinkie?”

Karon let out a loud hum and considered the possibility.

“Naw, it's not like Pinkie would ... be ... capable ... of....”

“Oh crap.”

Deciding it might be best to investigate what all the commotion was about, and if it could possibly be tied to the abrupt departure of a certain sugar craving pony. He made his way into the little hamlet in uproar and stopped when he found a crowd gathered before the town hall.

Apparently the town hall also functioned as a bell tower of sorts, for the rhythmic ringing of a large bell could be heard coming from it. Karon thought it sounded pretty, but it also served other purposes. It was used to rouse the inhabitants of the town if disaster ever should strike in the dead of night.

And at the sound of the bell ringing, every single pony in Ponyville had come out of their homes, many of the running around in circles and screaming in confusion. Seeing the behavior displayed by their neighbors many ponies decided to join in, just to be safe.

“What's going on?!”

“What is happening?”

“The horror, the horror!”

“It's Pinkie Pie!” a very ruffled looking Lyra called out, a look of shock on her face.

“What!” many of the surrounding ponies shouted in unison, most of them confused by what the party pony might have pulled off that warranted this sort of reaction.

“She's gone absolutely crazy! She stormed our house and took a bite out of all the food we had.  Then she raided another four houses before Bon Bon went and started pulling the bell.”

“Why?” Most ponies seemed to have calmed down now. This didn't sound too bad in comparison to the things that the bell could have been signalling.

“I don't now! She shouted something about the food not being sugary enough and ran out. She looked to be heading for Sugercube Corner.”

After hearing this, a gray coated, blond pegasus with crossed eyes gasped loudly.

“Save the muffins!” she screamed before flying off towards Sugercube Corner with impressive speed, but not so impressive coordination.

“What should we do?”

“Has somepony contacted the mayor?”

The crowd began chattering loudly and questions were thrown around without getting any answers, but they were all silenced when a newcomer raised her voice....

“What is going on here!?” a very annoyed looking Twilight asked as stood at the edge of the crowd. Her usual tone of authority present, leaving no question that she knew best so they should all answer to her.

“Pinkie Pie's gone crazy! She's trying to eat all the food in Ponyville and is heading for Sugercube Corner,” Lyra answered. Twilight gave a long, annoyed groan, making her feelings very clear for eveypony around.

“Why would she....” Twilight trailed off when she saw Karon standing at the back of the crowd, his head cocked to the side and blinking like an owl. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits and her voice switched from annoyed to very angry in a split second.

“What did you do?”

Karon pointed at himself in a questioning gesture, trying his best to look like an innocent bystander.

“What. Did. You. DO!?”

“SHE KNOWS!”

“Knows what?”

“STUFF MAN, She knows stuff!”

“Keep it cool, she can't know.”

“Then say something, quickly!”

“It's Pinkie's fault!”

“Smooth.”

“Karon!”

He flinched at the sight of the furious unicorn. Her eyes had started to glow ominously and she looked ready to burst into flame. He thought it best to answer as truthfully as he dared before that actually happened. He just needed a way to put it that didn't make her incinerate him on the spot.

“Hey I was just chillin' out, maxin', relaxing all cool, mixing some potions with ma new tool, when a single Pinkie Pie who were up to no good, started making trouble out in the wood. She spilled one little potion, and the mare got scared, gave me some moss and said 'Here, burn this and breath in the air.'”

“Dude that sounds familiar, where did that come from?”

“I don't know, it was like, the universe inspired me or something.”

Karon hadn't even noticed he had saying it to a vaguely familiar tune. Most of the ponies were looking at him strangely though so they probably had. Twilight on the other hoof kept her angry look and tone of voice.

“This moss ... what kind was it?”

“Zecora said it was named *snort*, 'the pink moss of fun'.”

“Is that smoke rising from Twilight's mane?”

“So you weren't happy with just getting her drunk, now you also had to go and make Pinkie befuddled with pink moss!?”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on there ... you call getting high ... getting 'befuddled'?”

“Yes! But that's no-.”

The rest of Twilight's tirade was interrupted by Karon's hysterical laughter. He clutched his stomach and was in danger of falling down. Instead, he leaned against a nervous looking Lyra and kept on laughing.

“Hahaha, look at me everypony. I'm BEFUDDLED!”

“Karon this is serious! We don't know what Pinkie could-”

“Well befuddle me backwards and call me Sir Rothford! We have a mission it seems! Come on all ponies! There are pastries in need of saving! CHAAAARGE!”

Filled with pathos, Karon rushed towards the endangered store with absolutely no pony making a move to follow him. Twilight and Lyra looked at one another before they both took off after the running Karon, following the sound of his laughter. The rest of the gathered ponies began returning to their homes, content that the situation was being handled.

Karon was running towards Sugercube Corner, hoping that if he found and stopped Pinkie's rampage Twilight might decide to spare him whatever horrible fate she had in mind. He had been pushing her from the start and even in his *snort* befuddled state, he understood this had pushed her over the limit.

For some reason, an angry Twilight scared him far more than the princesses ever did.

But when he arrived at Sugercube Corner, he became witness to one of the most surreal scenes imaginable. In front of the store, a furious Pinkie was desperately trying to get in, darting forwards in lightning quick charges so fast that she was barely more than a pink blur, but she was repelled at every turn by the cross eyed pegasus he had seen earlier.

Somehow the pegasus managed to predict Pinkie's every move perfectly, barring her path to the store filled with the delicious pastries Pinkie so desired. Pinkie growled loudly in fury at having her craving denied and continued her furious attempts at making it past the stoic defender of the muffins.

Finally, the pink pony had had enough and retreated. She stopped about fifty meters back and hunched down, preparing to charge into the store no matter what blocked her path. One way or the other she would have her delicious treats and she would pour hot sauce over each and every one!

The pegasus noticed what she was planning and flew up in the air, tensing up as well. They both remained as such, staring into each others eyes, not flinching. Well it looked like they were staring into each others eyes anyway, it was hard to decide when one pony was crossed eyed and the other's eyes looked very glazed.

And of course, a tumbleweed lazily blew by between them, making it clear this was indeed a classical stand off. Both waiting for the other to make the first move. Pinkie Pie caved in first, driven to to the edge of desperation by her amplified love of all things sugary and sweet.

She darted forward with such speed the air around her looked distorted, a line of pink trailing after her as she roared a battle cry.

“CUPCAKES!”

The defending pegasus responded by turning around and launching herself, ass first, towards the incoming pink blur screaming a battle cry of her own.

“MUFFINS!”

It was definitely one of the strangest moments in Karon's life, watching as the pink pony defying the laws of physics shot towards the store while the blond pegasus shot towards pinkie like a living cannon ball on a perfect intercept course with her, ass first.

There was a brief second where the moment seemed frozen in time, just before the pegasus crashed into Pinkie, but it shattered as the loud explosion like sound that resulted on impact. Dust billowed out from it's center in a large cloud.

When the dust settled, Karon saw both Pinkie Pie and the unknown pegasus lying in an honest to goodness crater in the ground. Apparently the pegasus' ass was a force to be reckoned with. Pinkie weakly raised a hoof towards the prized store with all it's pastries, so close but so far away.

“Cuuuupcakes....” she tried shouting in a very strained voice.

“Muuuuuffins....” the pegasus answered with equal amounts of weariness and weakly slapped Pinkie's hoof down before they both passed out.

Karon had trouble getting his brain to process what the hell had just happened, and how it could be physically possible when he heard the sound of running hooves coming from behind him. He turned around and saw both Lyra and Twilight come around a corner, they both ran towards him but froze in their tracks when they noticed the large crater and the two ponies lying in it.

Twilight right eye began twitching, and Karon thought he heard something cracking. It looked like the poor unicorn had finally had more than she could handle and didn't move. Lyra looked almost as confused by the scene before her but noticed her companion's difficulty with handling the situation. In an attempt to ease Twilight's troubles she took it upon herself to clear everything up.

“What ... happened?”

Karon focused on the question and went through the events of the last minute trying to find some way he could explain what had taken place. After a few heartbeats of torturing his brain with the unreasonable request, he just threw up his arms in defeat and responded with the best explanation he could think of.

“God damn ponies is what happened!”

Lyra only looked more confused at his enigmatic response, but it snapped Twilight out of her stupor.

“No YOU'RE what happened. This didn't happen until YOU came here! You're what caused this! First you almost destroy my library when you decided to get everypony drunk and then you attacked the princesses just because they ruined your CLOTHES! And now you decide to befuddle Pinkie Pie's mind with the most potent psychoactive plant in all of Equestria! I know how you humans act in your own world and treat others, but that's not how you will act while you stay in Ponyville! Are we clear?”

Karon shrunk back a little, his bloodshot eyes showing serious fear of Twilight for the first time. He needed to remind himself that in pure power she still had an upper hand, well hoof, on him, and she was right, he had been doing a lot of things with little regard to how it would effect the ponies living here. But he didn't feel that bad about it, it was mostly harmless things in his own eyes. It could have been so much worse.

“I don't know man, that sounds like a, you know. Very bad excuse, I think.”

“I'm sorry,” he finally relented in a pitiful voice. In a way, the moss had done it's work. It made everything a little brighter, a little clearer and things looked a little bit different. Giving him a new perspective.

Twilight gave him one last look before going over to the two unconscious ponies and performed some kind of spell, a purple cloud of energy enveloped them as the unicorn's horn shone in the darkness that had fallen since Karon stumbled out of the forest.

Pinkie was the first one to open her eyes. It looked really weird when a pony's eyes were bloodshot because of their huge irises and pupils. Her eyes darted around for a second before settling on the structure that was Sugercube Corner. Karon stood several meters from her, but could still hear the loud rumbling that was Pinkie's stomach growling.

She began to rise, hungrily eyeing the door to the promised land of sugary goodness, but Twilight put out a hoof before her and gave her a stern expression.

“Twiiilight. A friend never stops a friend from eating delicious goodness!”

“I'm sorry Pinkie, but I can't let you eat the Cake's entire assortment.”

“I won't, I promise!”

“Do you Pinkie promise?” Twilight asked with a meaningful stare.

At first Pinkie Pie looked ready to do so, but she stopped herself halfway there and instead only gave off a sad whine.

Karon felt a little nervous speaking at all after that scolding he had received from Twilight, but he didn't feel like he could leave Pinkie hanging. He felt the same need for delicious pastries, though he doubted it was on the same level as Pinkie Pie did.

“Uhh, Pinkie isn't there like, some other place you could get snacks? Like, a stash somewhere you might have or know of?”

The pink pony perked up at this idea and put a hoof on her chin as she thoughtfully considered if she did. With a loud “Aha!” she suddenly bounced out of the crater and shot out into the dark, pink blur once more trailing after her.

“How does she do that?” Karon asked Twilight, letting the sight of somepony so carelessly breaking the laws of physics make him forget he was supposed to feel nervous about talking to her.

“I gave up on understanding Pinkie Pie a long time ago.”

“Yeah man, Pinkie's like, way mysterious and stuff.”

They both stood silent after that, staring in the direction Pinkie had disappeared to. It didn't take long before the pink bundle of mystery returned, her hooves laden with bags of some kind and her mouth full of something orange she was loudly chewing on.

“Are those ... Cheetos? And a bag of Doritos? Do they even make those in Equestria?”

“No, if they did they would have called them something else.”

“So where...?”

“Pinkie Pie man, just go with the flow.”

“Looks like some poor bastard got his stash of snacks raided and will never know it was done by a pink hyperactive pony high on an interdimensional drug able to apparently breach dimensional boundaries without repercussions from the powers.”

“Heh, dude ... Dude! What if, what if Pinkie Pie ... is one of the powers...?”

Karon found that thought so terrifying that he shut down all the mental activity he could and just focused on the surroundings. Twilight was eyeing Pinkie's payload suspiciously, but didn't say anything about it, wisely keeping to her previous statement.

“Are you happy now Pinkie? Can you promise you will eat ... whatever that is, then go to sleep without doing anything else?”

“Mmhmmm,” she said while nodding happily, her mouth full of the most delicious cheetos that have ever existed. Such a shame the human they rightfully belonged to would never get to enjoy them.

“Pinkie promise?”

She swallowed loudly and Pinkie promised, and Twilight was satisfied at that. Pinkie Pie would never break a Pinkie promise no matter how affected her mind might be by outside influence.

She looked over at Karon and Lyra before turning her gaze down towards the still unconscious form of the brave pegasus.

“I'm feeling tired after all of this and want to get back to my studies. Can you two make sure Ditzy gets home okay?”

Karon said nothing and allowed Lyra's nod to speak for the both of them. Twilight turned around after that, satisfied that the situation had been resolved and she could return to her reading.

Karon turned to the joyfully munching Pinkie and spoke.

“So I guess I owe you a dinner tomorrow.”

“Really? What for?”

“You know ... for me ...Uhm, smacking your ass,” he rubbed his neck, feeling a little embarrassed. Especially from the look he got from Lyra after saying that.

Pinkie Pie only giggled in response.

“Don't worry silly, I like it rough anyway. See you in the morning!”

And with that goodnight, she bounced forwards and into Sugercube Corner while simultaneously holding all of her conquered snacks, leaving a very disturbed Karon and Lyra in her wake.

“You think ... all of this is just a hallucination?”

“No, what kind of screwed up mind would it take to imagine all of this? Not even we are at that level.”

“So ... Pinkie actually just said....”

“Try not to think about it.”

Lyra seemed to be of the same mind and shook her head as if to shake out the disturbing thoughts Pinkie's comment must have conjured. She instead turned to Karon and cleared her throat before asking.

“Could you carry Derpy, we should probably get her home as soon as possible. Her daughter might be worried.”

Karon nodded, but before doing that he hastily sneaked inside the pastry shop and stole a muffin before returning outside and scooping up the pegasus in his arms. Like all pegasi, she was very light for her size, and Karon was once more amazed they could put so much pressure on their bones without breaking them during all those sharp turns when they flew around.

Lyra began walking down the street towards what Karon assumed to be the pegasus' home and followed beside her, putting the muffin in a pocket to save for later.

“I thought Twilight called her Ditzy?”

“She did, her name is Ditzy Doo, but everypony calls her Derpy since she's so clumsy.”

“So is she...?” Karon scrounged up his face and rolled his eyes around to indicate somepony with brain damage.

“No nothing like that, she's just a bit different. She's really clumsy and it's hard for her to understand some things like math, but she is really good at other stuff. No pony gets how she can deliver everypony's mail despite the fact that she can't even remember what the names of the streets are.”

“Ahh, I think I understand.”

They continued on the way to Ditzy's home with Karon feeling a little sorry for the pegasus. She couldn't have had it easy growing up. She probably didn't have it particularly easy at all, especially not if she also had to care for a child. He was wondering if the family relation between them was good. There weren't a lot of things Karon held sacred in the world, but family was one of them.

Not everyone had that blessing.

But his worries were put to rest when they arrived at a white house where a small unicorn with the same colors as her mother sat on the porch steps looking worried. When she saw Karon and Lyra coming towards her carrying her mother, she panicked and ran out to meet them.

“M-mommy?” she asked fearfully, not daring to look up at Karon and instead kept her eyes locked on her mother.

Karon sank down to his knees so they were on the same level, and Ditzy stirred at the sound of her daughter's voice. She opened her scrambled eyes and turned her head towards her daughter, giving her a large smile before she got out of Karon's arms and embraced her.

“Where were you mommy? I was waiting for you to come home after the bell went quiet, but you didn't come.”

Ditzy looked down on her daughter with a sad smile, speaking in a hushed reassuring tone revealing volumes of just how much she cared for her daughter.

“I know Dinky, but I had to keep Pinkie Pie from eating all the muffins in Sugercube Corner so you could have your morning muffin tomorrow.”

“But I love you more than I love my morning muffin!”

The little unicorn buried her face against her mother's chest and hugged her tight, making sure she wouldn't be going anywhere else. Ditzy's expression was harder to read than that of normal ponies because of her eyes, but Karon thought she looked very happy being together with her daughter again.

He put a hand gently on top of the little filly's head. She shrunk down a little when she noticed and carefully glanced up at him, face still pressed hard against her mother.

“Well, because your mother was brave and managed to stave off a crazy Pinkie Pie, you can now have both,” he said with what he hoped was a child friendly smile and presented his stolen muffin to the unicorn.

The filly gasped in surprise and took the muffin from him with both her hooves. She looked down at it with childish joy before looking up at her mother.

“What do you say Dinky?”

“Thank you,” the little unicorn said dutifully to Karon, “Mommy do you want to share with me?”

The pegasus nuzzled her daughter lovingly.

“I already have my little muffin, and you better get inside before I decide to eat you,” she finished playfully and made a few sounds suggesting she might do so right away.

Her daughter gasped before she ran inside giggling all the way, a muffin half the size of her head carefully held in her mouth.

Ditzy turned to face Karon and looked up at him with crossed eyes shining with happiness for what he'd just done. Happiness born out of a love for her daughter and being unused to kind gestures or words from other ponies, or humans.

Karon felt anger stirring in some deeper part of him, the part containing the better sides of him. The pegasus might be different, but it was not possible to call her anything but beautiful after seeing the way she acted towards her daughter or looking into those crossed golden eyes. Filled to the brim with gratitude at such a small gesture.

Lyra on the other hand looked ready to leave and gave Karon a nudge to make him understand that. He turned around to her with an annoyed scowl, but nodded and she turned around and began walking away from the house. Karon faced Ditzy again and tried his best to sound understanding.

“If you would ever need some help with anything, feel free to ask me whenever you want.”

“Thank you very much, but I try to solve as much as I can by myself.”

Karon nodded in understanding, but before he turned around and left he kneeled down and gave the pegasus a kiss on her forehead. Then he left her and joined Lyra waiting for him on the other side of the street.

“Do you kiss everypony you meet? Should I feel left out?”

“Sigh, I take it you've heard about Rarity then?”

“Everypony has. She was practically shouting about it over at a cafe a few days ago with Twilight, and the rumor spread fast.”

“Excellent. Like things weren't complicated enough.”

“So why did you kiss her?”

“I don't know, I was drunk and horny I guess.”

“Sounds like a real ponytale there.”

“Oh you are so clever. I need some more of that damn moss, it was the strongest stuff I've ever tried, but it doesn't seem to last for very long.”

“Really? From what little I've heard, the pink moss of fun is supposed to be the kind of thing that can last for days.”

“Hmmm, could be that humans react differently to it or that my mental training has kicked in, probably both.”

“Fascinating,” Lyra said and looked over at him like he was a huge test subject in a vat located in a secret underground lab somewhere.

“Don't get any funny ideas about cloning me for research.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“No tell me! Is it something humans use for researching?”

“It's complicated. Well actually it's pretty straight forward, but we can talk about it another time. I'm feeling a little too worn out for another hours long interrogation on humanity.”

She looked disappointed when he said it but Karon felt no guilt. There was plenty of time he could set aside for Lyra and her obsession. An obsession it would probably be good for her having denied from time to time. Which reminded him.

“Do you know what time it is?” he asked her.

Lyra briefly looked around before spotting a clock through a window.

“It's about a quarter past eleven, midnight should be here soon.”

“Damn.”

“What?”

“I was hoping I would have time to speak to Rarity. It's the only other thing I needed to do today, and I shouldn't postpone it any more than necessary. It's already been too long.”

“You could still go to talk to her, she usually works pretty late.”

“How do you know that?”

“Everypony knows that. More than one unfortunate pony has been chased out from her store in the early morning for daring to disturb her beauty sleep.”

“Hehe, yes she can get pretty feisty,” Karon said thinking back to their fight.

“So, are you going?”

“I can't think of a reason why not if she's still awake.”

“Okay, do you think we could talk tomorrow? I want to know all about this clomning research you mentioned.”

“Cloning, and yes I think I could find the time.”

“Perfect, stop by my house any time you want.”

She turned around and started heading towards her home, head already buzzing with the thousands of potential questions she could throw at Karon.

He on the other hand, headed towards Rarity's boutique, his head swimming with the thousands of potential ways this could end in disaster. He arrived at the boutique without having reached any conclusions and hesitantly knocked on the door. There was light shining through the windows so he guessed Lyra's assumption of Rarity being up was correct.

He waited patiently as Rarity came and opened up the door. She had been wondering who would be disturbing her at this hour, but froze when she opened and saw Karon standing outside. It only lasted for a few moments before she regained control over herself and stepped aside with as much grace as she could muster to invite him in.

He stepped through the doorway and walked over to the same table he had been leaning against the last time he was here. The gesture did not go unnoticed by Rarity. She cleared her throat delicately before she spoke to him in a carefully neutral voice.

“I see you've returned from your visit into the forest, I hope it went well?”

“Uhh....”

“As well as I should have expected it to go, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.”

“Oh then what brings you here so late?” she responded, carefully dancing around the issue.

“Do we really need to do pretend like this?”

“Pardon me Karon, I'm just not sure of what to say.”

“I'll talk then and you interject if you feel the need to add something, is that agreeable?”

She nodded and bit her lower lip in response. Karon took a deep breath to clear his head before going into the strangest and most awkward conversation about a relationship he had ever had so far.

“It's obvious you have some feelings for me and you must have noticed I have some for you as well. I'm having trouble understanding exactly what those feelings are, and I can imagine you might have the same problem ... This situation is hardly conventional for either of our kinds. So, I guess at this point the only thing I can do is ... ask for your permission to begin to cordially court you. If we are going to make an honest attempt at ... whatever this is, I might as well do it in a way that befits a lady like yourself.”

“Once more we seem to have struck gold.”

Whatever Rarity had been expecting him to say, this was not it. He had dropped the usual flowery speech he reserved for Rarity, so she hadn't believed he would try and keep up his usual gentlecoltly manner, but here he was instead, in an extremely awkward position that technically she was responsible for putting him in, and he did exactly what could be expected of a gentlecolt. Karon was no longer just acting, he WAS a gentlecolt.

What more could she ask for?

She didn't know how to respond at first, but got a little more time to consider everything when Karon continued speaking.

“I know I am supposed to ask permission from your father, but since I have no idea where he is and the fact that he might not approve of an other-worldly space monkey courting his daughter, I will let it be your decision. After all this is about ... us.”

“I....”

“Before you say anything let me just add that if you give me your permission this will not be simple. There are a lot of ponies that would not approve of this....”

“Like Twilight.”

“...so it will have to be discreet and secret until a later time. So as long as you understand that this will be nothing like an average relationship ... what do you say?”

Rarity smiled and walked up to him, her head held high and a glint in her eyes.

“Darling, I never settle for anything average.”

He smiled back at her. They were in agreement, and they were going to see if this might possibly lead somewhere. Karon honestly felt that the thought was quite exciting now that the awkward part was over. This might be fun.

That was until he remembered he was supposed to COURT her.

Brief flashes passed by of him standing beneath her window playing a lute off key and scaring away birds with his terrible singing. He had tights ... and they were yellow, and for some reason he was wearing a jester's outfit.

“I can't imagine where that association might come from.”

“I will need to find a book on pony courting and perhaps one of pony romance an- OH GOD I'm turning into Twilight! Damn these ponies and their freaky influence on me, I'm being ponyfied!”

“Eeyup!”

“That's not funny!”

The distracting thought made Karon miss how easily misinterpreted his next words were.

“So do you think I could sleep here tonight?”

He almost slapped himself when he saw the shocked expression Rarity had.

“W-well I-I don't know if that would be such a good idea....”

“No, no, nonononono. I meant just SLEEPING. I think Twilight might not be that happy to see me right now, and I need somewhere to stay for the night.”

“Why? What happened with Twilight?”

“A little mistake where me and Pinkie Pie ended up causing some trouble earlier tonight.”

“Hmmm, this wouldn't have had anything to do with that warning bell ringing now would it?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I guess it would be alright for you to spend one night with me, but I'm afraid Sweetie Bell's bed is far to small for somepony your size ... So you will just have to sleep in mine. There is room enough for both of us, and I trust you won't do anything ... untoward.”

“I will do nothing you don't want me to do, lady Rarity.”

She cleared her throat again and a small blush was apparent on her cheeks, once more making Karon wonder what kind of strange skin or coat the ponies had, but Rarity had just taken note of something else.

“Karon ... where is the robe I made you?”

“Shit.”

“Well ... The forest isn't kind towards humans or their clothes so ... I need to fix it up a little before I can wear it again.”

“Oh no! Please don't tell me it's ruined.”

“No, no. It's not ruined, just a few ripped stitches and holes ... and it's covered in blood. Nothing that can't be taken care off.”

“B-blood...? Goodness darling are you okay!? What happened in there?”

“I'm fine Rarity. Just had an encounter with a pack of wolves that ended badly. Mostly for them.”

“You mean you fought an entire pack of timber wolves and lived!? My, you must be quite ... strong.”

She said and eyed him carefully, taking note of the shapes and patterns of his displayed muscles. She looked ... pleased at the sight. It was different from ponies' usual musculature, but then again, if Karon could appreciate Rarity's beauty by her shining coat and sparkling eyes, it wasn't that far fetched to believe she could find him attractive in some non-pony ways.

“Rarity finds me sexy, lalalalalalala.”

“Most of it was with magic, but it's a long story that might be better suited for another time?”

“Oh yes, of course. Forgive me, this would be a good time for us to retire for the night. Please, come with me.”

She finished and turned around, gracefully walking up her stairs with an air of dignity befitting a queen. Karon shook his head, a little amused that the ponies could be so trusting that they didn't even lock their doors for the night, and followed.

They went into Rarity's bedchamber, for another word didn't truly fit, and Karon stood back and waited patiently as Rarity walked behind a screen. He heard the telltale shimmering sound of a unicorn's telekinesis and watched as a pair of silk pyjamas thrown over the screen came down to her.

Three seconds later she stepped out dressed in dark maroon silk, shining in perfect contrast to her shining purplish mane and pearly white coat. It looked....

Sexy.

She walked over to the bed and carefully scooted down in under the cover, not moving it an inch to either side. Karon raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything. He took off his boots and socks and crawled in the same way. He decided to keep his pants on, no need to push his luck any further than he had already.

Rarity's horn briefly flashed and the light's went out, leaving the room in the relative darkness of Equestria's night. Neither of them said anything, unsure if it would make the situation better or worse.

Finally Karon simply settled for the classic.

“Goodnight Rarity.”

“Goodnight Karon,” she replied and they both left it at that, waiting for sleep to take them.

All in all it hadn't been that terrible of a day. He got nice and hi- no, befuddled, and managed to sort out the problem with Rarity, and his settling of his debt with Applejack would bring an opportunity to earn some money, but the best part had undoubtedly been when he gave that muffin to Dinky. Both her and Ditzy were ponies that Karon felt deserved as much happiness as anyone could give them.

He was a little worried about the influence he had noticed the ponies around him seemed to be having on him. He hadn't even noticed the changes in his behavior until just recently, but they were just small things.

“It's not like they will really affect the way I think or feel anyway.”

And for once, the day didn't have a bad ending either. He was in bed together with the pony he had now decided to court without making a fool out of himself. It was ... nice.

“God damn it Fluttershy.”

Chapter 17: Mysterious mares and lost fillies

Karon woke up to the most predictable of situations. If a male goes to sleep with a female beside him, he WILL wake up spooning her, it's in the rules. But Karon was certainly not complaining, it was very comfortable to have the soft mare in his arms. Of course, there are other things a male usually wakes up with, with or without a female in his arms, and at the moment, that put Karon in an awkward position. He couldn't really help but notice that the current position they were in was perfect for....

“You're not exactly doing your best to control the situation are you?”

“I am! I haven't tried anything yet have I?”

“It's that 'yet' I find so worrying. This isn't one of the usual girls you've been with; she's a high class pony belonging to a culture that seems to have some very strange ideas regarding that part of a relationship. You're supposed to formally court her remember?”

“Sigh, fine. I'll try my best at the gentleman routine. If nothing else it might be entertaining.”

“For Rarity perhaps. I still remember that image of us in a jester’s suit.”

“I'm NOT putting on a jester’s suit!”

“Of course we're not, but weird pony influence on us aside, checking Twilight's library for books on pony courting is a good idea. It would also probably be good having a little talk with her about what happened yesterday, since we still live there and all.”

“Oh fuck...”

“What?”

“We forgot about Spike....”

“Oh fuck indeed.”

“What should we do?”

“Not say a single word about this. It's supposed to be a secret even from him, ESPECIALLY from him. It is but a youthful infatuation he has. I doubt he is old enough to properly understand real love, but still ... it will hurt him a lot if he finds out. So shut up and don't give any clue as to what's going on, hell avoid him all that you can just to be safe.”

“This will not end well....”

“Then we will have to make do with a brief time of enjoyment with Rarity before it all comes crashing down upon us.”

“Do we still have any second thoughts regarding the fact she isn't human?”

“Why would we? What does form mean to us, a trickster. Our own form is no longer what we were born into. Take what you can gain from whatever source it may be. Fuck humanity and its little self-deluded nonsense of right and wrong. Humanity is just a stage to grow out of anyway. I am Karon, the only trickster in all of Equestria and I am going to enjoy myself. If anyone has a problem with that, they can kiss my inhuman trickster ass.”

“Nice, now try saying it to Twilight's face.”

“...There's no rush.”

“Right.”

Karon went back to enjoying the soft presence that was the sleeping Rarity. He sat up on his elbow and looked her over with a critical eye, observing her shining white coat and the cutie mark upon her flank. Her glossy, almost liquid like mane, and the still long and dark eyelashes despite the lack of mascara.

Yes, despite not even being a primate, he could see no wrong with what he was doing, and even if he would have....

Trickster, he's allowed.

His hand began stroking Rarity all on its own, his fingers drawing lines down her side, her flank and neck. She didn't move at his touch and slept on peacefully, dead to the world around and the smiling human beside her.

He remained as such for a while, enjoying the warmth of her body and the softness underneath his fingertips. Outside, the sun was rising steadily and the world was waking up in its presence, and within the boutique so had also Rarity.

She had woken up moments ago, but found herself at a loss for what to do, so she did nothing. She pretended to still be asleep. Not knowing what was proper to say in a situation like this was enough to make her hesitate. The feeling of Karon's, fingers was it? Stroking her was strange, but not entirely unpleasant.

Her predicament was cut short when Karon decided to speak.

“Good morning Rarity.”

She opened her eyes and turned around. As she did so, Karon moved back a little to make some space between them.

“You knew I was awake?”

“Your breathing pattern changed.”

“Oh how, observant ... so, I hope you slept well.”

“I did, woke up a few times from you poking me with your horn, but otherwise it was fine.”

“I'm terribly sorry I didn't mean to do that, I'm just not used to ... uhrm, this kind of sleeping arrangement.”

“It is all right Rarity, waking up like this made up for it.”

She coughed delicately in her hoof .

“That is quite kind of you to say. Perhaps we should get out of bed now. It is morning after all.”

“If that is what you want us to do.”

“Yes, yes we should definitely get up now.”

She turned around and slipped out of the bed, leaving a bemused Karon as she walked behind her screen and took off the silk pyjamas. Why she felt a need to do it behind a screen was beyond Karon's ability to comprehend. She was naked most of the time after all.

Karon rose from the bed as well and put on his socks and boots. His robe was still in the library. There had been no point in bringing it since it would have scared the ponies half to death with the caked on blood all over it.

Never mind that he had walked right into town wearing it.

Rarity came out from behind her screen and looked him over, twisting her mouth a little when she was reminded of the abuse her creation had been put through.

“Karon, would you mind if I perhaps started working on some new designs for you? Since you insist on wearing clothes all the time, not that I am complaining, it would be good for you to have some alternatives to pick from.”

“I am flattered you would put down so much time for me Rarity, but just a regular shirt would suffice until I can get the robe fixed.”

“Darling, let me take care of that. Just bring it here and I will see what can be done.”

“As you wish, but Rarity, if you wouldn't mind me making a suggestion. I would prefer if you kept this shirt a little less flashy than the robe, I attract enough attention as it is.”

She sighed and sounded disappointed. “Well, I guess I can try and make something both fabulous and discreet. Oh I know, I would love to try out one of those human designs you spoke of, what did you call them? Asian? I will get to work right away!”

Karon didn't really hear what she said after that, Rarity had disappeared into her own little world of fabric and style. Chatting to herself as she went through the possibilities she had available before her.

“Please don't let her make me a kimono....”

“Who are you praying to?”

“Anyone, at this point I would pray to Celestia if it worked.”

He decided it might be best to leave her alone for this, their last discussion regarding designs for his clothes had not gone too well so this time he would just let her work and hope it turned out all right.

As long as it wasn't anything pink....

Karon went downstairs instead and looked around for the kitchen with the intent of at least being worried with a full stomach. The kitchen turned out to be very large and in the far back of the building, having enough space in it to contain several families if needed.

Karon rummaged through the fridge and, to his great surprise and joy, found an entire basked filled with eggs. His worry of having to wear a shirt belonging to an 80's glam rock band made room for the satisfaction of discovering ponies ate more than just vegetables and fruit.

He found a frying pan and some vegetable oil and happily began frying several eggs. He couldn't find any salt, but that didn't matter. If ponies could eat eggs, there were certainly other things they ate as well besides the usual vegan diet.

After frying five eggs in total, he decided it was enough and scooped it up onto a plate and sat down at the dinner table. It seemed ponies did use sitting implements besides piles of hay, but it was only in the forms of very low stools. Karon had to cross his legs when sitting on it, but at least it made him sit at the right height for the table.

Karon ate all the eggs greedily with a spoon he had located in a drawer, and in less than three minutes it clattered down on an empty plate. Karon dared to lean back a little on the stool and smacked his lips happily, it had hardly had any taste but it didn't matter. He was happy his palate had expanded with this discovery, especially since he was never ever going back into the forest with the intention of hunting anything.

He could hear the sound of a sewing machine at work coming from upstairs. Rarity must have figured out a design already, and Karon couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

But he had other things on his mind too, like money, or bits as it is called here.

He should visit Applejack and ask if she had a projected sales improvement. If she had, he could ask for a small advance on the other drinks he could teach them to make. If other ponies loved his whiskey as much as Big Mac had, then surely they would love Vodka or Gin as well.

“Karon the trickster, corrupting ponies one bottle at a time.”

“It wasn't like I introduced it entirely, I just made it better.”

He was getting a bit tired of acting like a charity case. Sure, ponies here didn't think much of showing this level of generosity to strangers, but it still irked him. The thought of being dependent on a bunch of small pastel ponies was ... irksome.

“Pride cometh before the fall.”

“You know, the real one is 'Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.'”

“Not improving your case.”

Shaking his head, he considered what else he should get done before the day's end.

“So, try and get some bits from Applejack ... and I promised Lyra a little time for another human 101 class.”

“Checking Twilight's library for books on pony courting.”

“Damn, there was that. Hope she isn't mad still.”

“We'll see when we get there. Something else?”

“We need to see Zecora. We kinda disappeared on her last night.”

“Crap, I hope she won't take this as reason to discontinue my lessons.”

“Daaw, wittle Karon scawed teacher is upset wif him?”

“Be quiet.”

“What is the first thing on the list then?”

“Twilight and the book searching. Might as well take the potentially most painful route first.”

“Your confidence in your new found friends is inspiring.”

“Like we wouldn't do some very nasty things to us if we were in their shoes.”

“True, but they're better than us.”

Karon didn't really have a reply to that.

Instead, he got up from his low seat and walked back upstairs to the hard working Rarity. He found her crouched over her desk, a couple of needles hovering above her and a very intense look on her face as she directed the fabric being sewed.

“Did you want something Karon?” she asked without taking her eyes of her work.

It was pretty damn impressive watching how Rarity could so easily divide her attention despite being so focused on what she was doing. She was definitely more than just an air headed diva no matter what impression she might at first give off.

“No, I was going to tell you I will be heading over to Twilight's now and to take care of some business after that.”

“Wonderful! That will give me just enough time to finish. Please make sure to stop by in a few hours when I'm done.”

She didn't see his nod before he turned around and walked down the stairs and out from the boutique. Outside it was just another sunny day in Equestria. A few stray clouds in the sky looked to have slipped by Rainbow Dash's attention. Most likely from laziness, but it didn't matter much since they wouldn't move on their own.

He began walking towards the library, and for once the ponies that saw him didn't find anything worthwhile to stare at from his appearance. Maybe he should paint himself green and put on a saddle just to make sure he didn't disappoint anypony?

Despite the lack of attention from the inhabitants, Karon found himself feeling a little nervous. Even if the ponies out and about didn't think last night’s incident worthwhile to gossip about, that didn't mean Twilight would take it any less serious. She had shouted him down once yes, but she had had plenty of time to think of something creative to make the lesson stick if she wanted.

After all what could he do? Attack her? Obviously not, so that left him at her mercy.

“Maybe we should have brought flowers or something?”

He came up to the library's front door and hesitated for a brief moment before stepping inside. The usual creaking of the door heralding his entrance. Inside, the library was illuminated by the sun shining through scattered windows as usual. Books were strewn around here and there and several new piles were present since the last time he had been there. Twilight had obviously kept herself busy.

The unicorn herself was on the floor, sleeping with her head resting on an open book. She must have fallen asleep last night studying, and for his own sake, Karon hoped it was more comfortable than it looked.

“How do you gently wake up a unicorn so she's in a good mood?”

Karon looked around himself looking for anything that might work. Of course, being a library all he could see was books, and the ways one could use those to wake somepony up was limited to mostly unpleasant kinds.

Instead, he settled for a very small illusion. He laid his hand on Twilight's head and shaped a tiny string of magic. It gently settled on her mind and for a few seconds the sound of birds chirping and the wind brushing the trees was all she could hear.

She stirred and opened her eyes, blinking a few times when the sound abruptly ceased as she woke up. She groaned when she rose up from her position on the floor and looked down on the book and then at Karon.

“Ugh, what time is it?”

“No idea, late morning.”

She groaned louder this time. “Why did you wake me up so early?”

“I ... uh....”

“Good question. Why didn't we let her sleep?”

“Well ... because I....”

“You want to ask for her help in looking for books on courting so you can use them to court Rarity?”

“No...”

“So you woke her up despite it being obvious she had been up late to ask her if she is feeling any kind of resentment or anger towards you?”

“No....”

“You're your own particular brand of stupid you know that?”

“I'm starting to realize it.”

“Wait, I know!”

“I came to apologize to you.”

Twilight blinked as if she must have heard wrong.

“Wait, you woke me up early in the morning just to say you're sorry?”

“Yeah uhm, I couldn't stop thinking about it and needed to apologize as soon as I could.”

“That's ... very thoughtful of you. I didn't expect that, thank you, and I'm sorry about what I said last night. This shows that you can be a lot more responsible and mature than I gave you credit for.”

“Wohoo! Am I good or what!?”

“Don't worry Twilight, we all make mistakes sometimes.”

“Don't push it.”

“I guess ... So was that all you wanted?”

“Yes, I am going to go through the books and see if I can find anything interesting.”

“Okay, just ask if you need any help. I'm going to go and wake up Spike. If I don't, he'll just sleep through the entire day.”

She left him standing on the library floor and walked up to their room. Karon waited until she walked through the door and quickly turned around and began looking through the bookshelves for anything regarding pony courting.

Thankfully, Twilight kept a constantly updated index of the contents of the library, and even though it didn't have any specific section for courting, it was easy to figure out where it should be. He looked around carefully before he came across a promising title.

The Art of the Gentlecolt - A Guide for the Aspiring Stallion by Sir Gentle Hooves of the Royal Canterlot Court.

Karon had just enough time to cloak the book in a hasty veil before he heard Twilight reappear from the bedroom with a very sleepy Spike in tow. The book now appeared to be one of the books on plants he had read before heading into the Everfree forest.

“Find anything useful?” Twilight asked him eyeing the book in his hands.

“Yes, since I am now taking lessons from Zecora in herbology, I thought it best to make some studies on my own as well.”

“So she agreed to help you? That's wonderful, just as long as you promise not to ignore your studies in magic. I still want to read anything you have to write on the subject.”

“Of course. I wouldn't dream of ignoring the possibility to write something new about magic that unicorns might learn from.”

“Never gonna happen.”

“Sounds great, do you want any breakfast? Spike can make you some if you'd like.”

“No, that's okay I already ate.”

“Oh, I thought you said you came downstairs to apologize as soon as you woke up?”

“Uh Twilight I'm pretty sure Karon never came home last night. His bed wasn't touched upstairs.”

“Is he subconsciously aware of what's going on and trying to sabotage for me?”

“He is a dragon, so who knows what he is really capable of?”

She looked surprised at what Spike had just said before she looked at Karon questioningly.

“Is that true? Where did you sleep?”

“LIE! LIE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER LIED BEFORE!”

“Outside ... it's spring and it was warm enough.”

“You didn't have to do that, you could have come home.”

“If you slept outside then why aren't you dirty?” Spike asked and pointed at the relatively clean Karon.

“The little traitor!”

“Grass is pretty easy to brush off Spike. Anyway, I need to speak to Applejack about her sales. See you later!” Karon said quickly before turning around and walking out the door, he gave Twilight a hasty wave before closing it behind him.

“Spike is going to be a problem.”

“Just avoid him as planned, and we should be fine.”

“I live in the same house as him.”

“We'll figure something out. Now let's get to the farm, we need to see if Applejack is willing to give us an advance on the sales.”

Karon walked until he reached said farm. His skin was beginning to feel very sensitive from all the exposure to the sun and he tried to stay in the shadows of the apple trees surrounding the farm house. Outside it he could see Big Mac carrying two large baskets of apple on his sides, held in place by a strap stretching across his back.

Karon walked towards him and shouted a hello as he got closer. The large farm pony turned his head towards the sound and saw Karon coming closer, he stopped and waited patiently until Karon had made his way to him.

“Morning Big Mac, have you seen Applejack around?”

“She's in the house helpin' granny with lunch.”

“Good, I need to talk to her, but ... afterwards, do you have time for a short break? I have some news regarding Rarity.”

“Eeyup, just come find me in the barn when yer done.”

“Thanks,” Karon replied and walked into the house. He could smell that they were cooking soup of some kind. He followed the smell into the kitchen and politely knocked on the door frame. Inside the kitchen, Applejack turned around to face him while Granny Smith kept on stirring the pot.

“Good morning Applejack.”

“Morning to yerself, what brings ya out here?”

“I was wondering if it would be possible for me to receive a small advance on the sales of the new alc-..booze I mean.”

“Normally Ah would never pay for somethin' that hasn't even been sold yet, but ... that new trick ya taught Big Macintosh for brewin' certainly helped out a lot. So, if ya promise me yer other stuff will be just as good, Ah can give ya a small advance.”

“If your clients will like the new stuff as much as you liked the improved whiskey, I can promise you they will like what else I can teach you to mix up.”

Applejack looked at him steadily, but could detect no trace of deception. He spoke the truth after all.

“Alright, hang on a second and Ah'll get yer bits.”

She walked out the other door and came back a few moments later, a small purse clinking in her mouth. She dropped it into Karon's outstretched hand and took a step back as he opened it and looked inside.

“Ah know it ain't much, but it's the best Ah can do until we get some new orders.”

“It's more than I could expect. I promise you your sales should increase when your customers get a taste for the new wares. If you wish, I could write down the new recipes and you can start brewing when you wish to.”

“Sounds just dandy to me.”

Karon did so, writing down recipes for making basic vodka, mead and gin on the note handed to him. He left it at the table and with a nod towards Applejack set off towards the barn, intent on finding Big Mac and hopefully receiving some good advice. The stallion hardly seemed the type to know much about courting, but something was better then nothing, even with the book Karon was still carrying.

He walked into the cool and shaded barn and found Big Mac in the back, piling apples into a large crater.

“Hey there, got a few minutes?”

The stallion nodded and took off the harnessed baskets and sat down on his back legs, looking somewhat like a very large puppy. Karon walked up beside him and allowed himself to fall into the pile of hay, making himself comfortable before beginning his update on the Rarity situation.

He explained what had happened and that he was now supposed to be formally courting Rarity without actually knowing what that entailed. He had a good idea of what that meant for a humans, but ponies were still different despite the similarities that could be found.

“And then there is the whole deal with Twilight. She has been acting really strange, at least I think it's strange compared to her normal behavior, and don't even get me started on Pinkie Pie ... Man, are all ponies this complicated? Is there something I missed?”

“S'not ponies that are complicated.”

“Please, enlighten me then. Why are they all so hard to understand.”

“They're mares.”

Karon went silent at the simple explanation, thinking hard at the implications and tried to pierce the depth of that simple tidbit of perspective.

“Mares ... Frigging mares,” Karon snorted, “You're right, I forgot that they're not only ponies, they're female ponies.”

“S'all right, happens to the best of us.”

“Well, that certainly put things into perspective, you should form your own little following Mac, spreading the teachings of a wise farm pony.”

“Nnnnope.”

“If you say so, well I guess there's not much else to say. Men have tried understanding females for centuries upon centuries and still haven't gotten anywhere, I might as well give up straight away.”

“Eeyup.”

“By the way do you know anything about courting a pony?”

“Nnnnope.”

“Yeah, that would have made it way too simple. Well, thanks for the help anyway.”

“Any time,” the stallion replied as he got up and went back to preparing a new shipment of apples.

Karon walked out from barn and cringed a little when he felt the sun's harsh glare upon him once more. His skin had begun reddening and he thought this was a good time to see if Rarity had finished his new shirt. If Equestria's sun remained as strong as this every day, he would need it.

He began his walk back to Ponyville and Rarity's boutique, darting from shadow to shadow in an attempt to remain outside of the sun's reach. It didn't really work, but it did decrease the time it took for him to return to the little town and the waiting sanctuary of the boutique. Karon half ran when he got closer to it and more or less stumbled inside in his haste to escape the sun. The novelty of walking around shirtless had worn off completely at this point.

Inside the boutique Rarity stood in the main room, admiring a dress on a mannequin.

“Uhrm, am I interrupting something?”

The unicorn turned around at his voice, and her face split into a huge smile and a very distinct squealing sound was heard from her.

“Oh your timing is just perfect, wait here!” she said and hurried up the stairs. She returned a mere heartbeat later with a bundle of cloth levitated before her. Karon took it from there and unfurled it, holding it up for scrutiny.

“So ... What do you think?”

It was certainly not what he had been expecting. For one, Rarity had actually used black as the main color, which surprised him. He thought she had some kind of principle against using it. He put down his book and pulled the shirt over his head and put it on. The sleeves went down to his elbow and he could see now that the front had been sewn so it crossed over his chest in a line from his right shoulder to his left hip. It had a strip of orange cloth sewn along it that continued to both his shoulders where it ended in two small shoulder pads.

It was quite nice actually, the fabric very smooth and...

“Is this silk?”

“Yes, yes it is. So ... what do you think?”

“It's lovely, though I admit I am surprised at your choice of color.”

“I admit I am a bit surprised myself, but it goes so well with your mane and eyes I just couldn't help myself.”

“Well I'm glad, this is perfect. I am almost disinclined to bring you my robe now.”

“Oh you're such a flatterer, but seriously now, you must promise to bring me your robe. I couldn't allow such a fabulous work of art to be forgotten.”

“I promise.”

She looked him over once before her eyes found the book he had put down on the floor.

“So what is that book you brought with you?”

Karon sputtered and hastily bent down and scooped the book up, pressing it tight against his chest. The veil he had cast had dissipated long ago and it's real cover was now visible to all who looked upon it.

“Oh nothing, just a book on plants for my studies with Zecora. Speaking of which I have an urgent appointment I need to keep. Thank you so very much Rarity. You truly are an artist of your field.”

He gave a quick bow to her and walked out the store, book still pressed tight against his chest.

“We are doing to many hasty exits lately. Ponies will begin to think we're rude, especially Rarity.”

But Rarity thought no such thing. She might not be a bookworm to the same degree as Twilight, but there was not a single book in the library regarding high society and proper mannerism she hadn't read, and she had recognized the cover of the book immediately when she saw it, but she had enjoyed Karon's reaction. He must be taking courting her seriously indeed if he was doing proper research on the subject. Oh how spectacular all of this was.

Karon on the other hand remained in darker thoughts, still grumbling over how difficult everything had to be, but regardless of how Rarity had reacted to his behavior, he still had two things left to do on his mental checklist, see Lyra and visit Zecora.

“Wait, mental checklist? DAMN YOU TWILIGHT!”

Never minding freaky pony influence, Karon decided to see Lyra first. She was closer and seeing her would probably be faster than the visit to Zecora. So he headed towards her house, book in his hand and a new shirt mercifully sparing his skin from further irritation from the sun.

He passed by many ponies on his way, giving him brief nods and looks as they saw he was wearing a new outfit. Black was uncommon for ponies to wear, so it attracted a bit of attention, but it was still better than going without anything or dressed in a blood drenched robe.

Lyra's house came into view as he rounded a corner, its yellow facade standing out next to the mostly white color of the houses around. He walked through the little gate in the white picket fence and knocked on the brown door.

This time, Lyra was the one who opened and immediately brightened up when she saw Karon standing before her.

“Oh you came by already. Come inside, I have tons of questions prepared.”

“Awesome...”

He stepped inside and looked around as he followed Lyra into her room. The house looked very normal in Karon's opinion. A few paintings hung on the walls and a large cupboard stood up against one wall.

But Lyra's room on the other hand looked exactly as anyone would expect from a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Books were strewn around everywhere, and diagrams and notes could be seen on practically every surface of the room. At the far corner of the room stood a lyre in pristine condition, bravely defying the entropy of the room around it.

Lyra motioned for him to take a seat on her bed as she collected a few seemingly random notes from around the room and levitated them before herself.

“So, could you first of all tell me about this clowning research you mentioned?”

Karon sighed and threw himself into another conversation of the things his race had managed to come up with. It lasted a little more than an hour and during that time Karon tried to explain such things as cloning, gene splicing, basic biology and evolutionary theory. Lyra in turn explained pony research into biology and the differences became apparent pretty quick.

Humans had taken a very dry, factual approach in the last few centuries towards the natural world, while ponies remained a species that lived within it instead of trying to pick apart and analyzing pieces of it. Nearly all of their research related to life was from an insider perspective and how it affected them as living creatures, keeping it on a practical plane.

It was interesting to hear and it showed ponies weren't so far behind or unaware as Karon had first thought, they just didn't feel the same need to tinker with everything as humans did. They wanted to know about the world in regards to how they lived within it. Humans preferred the approach of breaking down so they could make a useful tool out of whatever they were researching. Ponies were satisfied with knowing and living, but humans couldn't really be satisfied with just that. They also wanted to influence things the same way ponies naturally influenced and worked with nature, humans just sucked at it more.

“Wow, I never expected humans to be so ingenious. I knew you were smart and invented a lot of things but still, I don't think ponies ever would have survived if we lived in a world that worked entirely on its own.”

“Let's hope you will never have to find out. Are you satisfied for today?”

“Oh yes, but you have to promise that we can do this again soon. I will only stay satisfied for a day or two, nothing else really measures up against the way you satisfy me....”

“Was that innuendo intentional?” Karon asked with a suspicious look.

“Perhaps.”

“I thought ponies were supposed to be all innocent and painfully oblivious of such things.”

“No we just consider such things to be very private and special, but I think your human ways have rubbed off on me a little, especially since you got here.”

“Well if you want to know more ... while Twilight was in my world, she got the chance to read a lot of books written by humans on a lot of subjects. You should ask her about it sometime, be sure to make specific mention that you are interested to hear ALL about a book called the Kama Sutra....”

“Oh please by all the stars in heaven let me be present during that conversation!”

“That is so amazing! She was not only in your world, but also got to read books about humans. I'll be sure to ask her about it the next time I see her. What was it called again? The Kama Surta?”

“The k-a-m-a s-u-t-r-a,” Karon carefully said, making sure she remembered it.

“I can't wait. Can ponies die from embarrassment?”

“If they, could I think Twilight would have after she realized she had sent a letter to Princess Celestia explaining that very book.”

“You're right. Oh this will be awesome on so many levels.”

“Excellent, now make sure you don't forget it. Anyway I need to visit Zecora now so I should probably get going.”

“Okay that's fine. I have enough to go through for the rest of the day. Remember to come visit me whenever you want, if I'm not home Bon Bon will know where I am.”

“Sure, until next time then.”

Lyra walked Karon to the door and waved him off, waiting until he disappeared out of sight before going back to her new notes.

Karon walked straight out of Ponyville and towards the only road going into the Everfree forest. He was confident he would be able to find his way to Zecora's house, especially now that he could use the forests awareness to track down his enchantment.

He passed through the invisible line separating Equestria from the ancient forest and followed the dirt road. After about half an hour's walk it disappeared beneath the grass and he had to rely entirely on his memory and the forest to guide him right.

Fortunately, he managed to make his way to the zebra's home without any incidents and he knocked on her door. He heard a clinking of potion bottles before she opened the door wide and smiled as she saw the human outside.

“Have you come for more of the pink moss of fun, if you have I am afraid you will find none.”

Karon cleared his throat self-consciously. “No nothing like that. I just wanted to apologize for the way things went last night and wondered if our agreement still stands.”

“For as long as my house remains out of the beast's view, I will teach you how to make a wicked brew.”

Karon smiled back at the zebra and only replied. “So, what can you teach me today?”

He remained inside Zecora's home for the rest of the day, spending hour after hour going through recipes and new plants.

Under the careful supervision of Zecora he mixed several potions meant to produce a variety of effects. For example, a mixture of hacked Loto root and weeping tulip could be used to cure a pony from laughter that wouldn't stop, and applying a lotion from the sap of an ironshoe tree worked miraculously for sores and bruises.

Many tricky ways of using the bountiful nature of both Equestria and the Everfree forest were revealed to Karon and slowly he began seeing the patterns between them.

Judging time within the Everfree forest was very difficult, but from the purple looking sky above, Karon guesses that the Equestrian sun was beginning to set. He finished the potion he was working on and thanked Zecora for the lesson before he began his journey back to Ponyville. Even though he would have loved to go on for many more hours, he needed to find a quiet place where he could read through his book on courting.

He passed through the now familiar environment of the Everfree forest and found himself walking on the dirt road once more. It did not take long for him to reach the edge of the forest and he passed through the border without even making note of it anymore. As he had suspected, the sun had begun to set and had taken on a more orange tone.

Deciding that this was as private as it would get, he went towards the nearest tree and sat down against it, opened the book and began reading. It was pretty thick and the text was small and stylish, but there was an uncertain amount of daylight left, so he needed to go through as much of it as he could.

He had barely reached the tenth page when he heard somepony shout his name from afar. He looked up, annoyed and saw the whole pony gang as he had come to think of as the six friends coming towards him. With them, were also two of the little monster children that had attacked him a while ago.

He quickly cast a veil over the book again and laid it down on the ground before rising up and waiting for the group to reach him. They all had different looks upon their faces, but one thing they all had in common was the aura of fear and worry that clung to each one of them.

“What's the matter?” Karon asked as soon as they were within talking distance, the first one to respond was the small white unicorn child.

“It's Scootaloo! She's lost somewhere in the forest and we don't know how to find her!”

Chapter 18: Mist and shadow

”Scootaloo? That wouldn’t happen to be the third member of your little gang?” Karon asked, noting the lack of an orange little pegasus in the present company.

”Yeah that’s her. We were out crusading in the forest trying to earn our cutie marks when this fog appeared out of nowhere. We couldn’t see anything and when we tried to walk back the way we came, we got separated and couldn’t find Scoots anywhere. When we found a way out of the forest, we ran and told Rarity what had happened.”

The little filly had said it all without pausing for breath once, a feat that earned her an almost imperceptible nod of approval from Pinkie Pie. Karon raised an eyebrow at the filly and asked.

”What exactly did you say you were doing in the forest?”

”We were trying to earn our cutie marks, we-”

”Now hold it right there, we ain’t got time ta talk about all that now. We need ta get moving before something happen ta that girl,” Applejack intervened before the little filly could continue her explanation.

”I can understand your need for haste, but why exactly are you stopping to tell me all of this? If you want my help I’ll give it of course, but I don’t know how much help I can be.”

Karon added skeptically. Trying to find a child lost in the huge primal forest sounded like an almost impossible task to him. The denizens of the woods would not take kindly to a search party barging through looking for the little filly.

“Yes but uhm, couldn’t you do the same thing you did when you looked for Rainbow Dash after she tried to go around the world? If it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you I mean,” a worried looking Fluttershy asked her fear for the missing child too much to allow herself to be silent.

“When Rarity gathered all of us together and explained the situation, Fluttershy mentioned you had some way of checking up on Rainbow Dash despite the fact that you didn’t have any idea where she was. We were hoping you could do the same thing for Scootaloo and tell us where she is so we can go get her,” Twilight said, rescuing Fluttershy from having to explain further.

“You want me to divine the filly’s location?” Karon asked a little surprised, “I could in theory do it but it would require something that belonged to her since I haven’t seen enough of her to search just by her aura.”

“I don’t know what that means, but if you need something of hers, then we should hurry to the hospital,” Twilight replied and was already half on her way to running towards it.

“Wait, wait! Hospital? Why would we go to the hospital?”

“She lives there, all orphans do. Since they don’t really have a place to stay, nurse Redheart has set aside a few rooms they can live in together.”

“She doesn’t have a family?” Karon’s voice had a tone to it saying it was more than just a question.

“Well, yes but can’t this wait until after we’ve found her and brought her back safely?” Twilight asked him impatiently, not wanting to waste any more time.

“No need to go to the hospital then.”

“But you said you needed something that belonged to her!”

“I needed something I could use to form a connection to her, I don’t need to have something of hers now that I know we already have one.”

“So … can you do it?”

“Give me a minute.”

Karon walked away from the group of ponies, all staring at him with trepidation and fragile hope. Searching for Scootaloo in the forest without any way of tracking her would be very difficult, and if she had wandered in the wrong direction they might never find her.

He sat down next to his discarded book, his back turned to the ponies. He wanted a small measurement of privacy for this, not for the divinations sake, but for his own. This time it would require something personal from him, he would need to draw from his own loss of family and find whatever resonated to it. Hopefully it would be the little orphan filly, Karon couldn’t imagine there would be a lot of orphans in there. The Everfree Forest was a place where the children without a family to protect them were nothing but food for those that did.

In there, a small Pegasus child was nothing but food, she had no family to save her, but she had friends, hopefully that would be enough.

Well, she also got Karon, who would have just a minute ago reluctantly helped search for her, but given up soon because he would have assumed the forest had devoured her. Not now, not after knowing she was like him. He was going to help find that filly and drag her out of that forest even if he had to burn it down inch by inch.

The emotions stirring in him were good. They would provide ample energy to draw from, making sure he would not lose the link he was about to try and form. In a quieter, colder and far more logical place in his mind, a voice dryly noted that he had allowed the ponies around him to get to his emotions a lot, and unless he took care in how it affected his actions, he might end up in a very bad situation he would not be able to control.

But the sober tones of logic had never been a voice acknowledged by the feelings in Karon’s heart, and it was getting more difficult with time to ignore them in favor of cold rationality. However, at times like this one, the blind power of emotion was desirable. It would give a greater connection and make sure he did not simply abandon the filly when the search became statistically unreasonable.

He let his growing determination and will fuel him, warm him, light up his mind to the purpose he now possessed. From the power, a mental shape took form, a blob of invisible mental energy, but unlike Karon’s usual grey colored form, this one was scarlet. Formed not from his usual feelings of pride, contempt or fear, this temporary body for his mind was born out of something Karon rarely felt.

He had felt it when he decided to save Twilight from the void and bring her home, and now he felt it again as he thought of how easily a little pegasus without a family could be robbed of her life when inside a place like the Everfree Forest.

His mind made the switch between bodies easily, snapping into place and flying off towards the forest. As soon as he crossed the invisible line between the Everfree and Equestria he could feel the forest awareness once more. It expanded his senses and his mind suddenly flew across all across the forest’s vast expanse, feeling the life force of each and every thing that breathed.

The plants digging into every crevice they could find, the trees firmly rooted in the soil, and the creatures that walked within their shadows. They were uncountable in their diversity and numbers, and Karon realized how lucky he was to have only encountered that pack of timber wolves while within the forest. Had he travelled deeper inside it, he would have found himself facing far more dangerous creatures.

But he was searching for a specific life and needed to focus. Searching manually this way would be faster than doing it physically, but it would still take too long. By the time he had managed to track the filly down he would most likely have found her in some beast’s belly.

Instead, he drew upon his own memories as a focus. The many nights he had laid awake and thought of his family, never being able to be with them again. Perhaps this filly was different and had always been an orphan, never even given the chance to meet them. It didn’t matter, whether you think it is better to have had and lost than to have never had, they were both without family now.

And that leaves a hole in your heart, an empty space reminding you that there was supposed to be something present in your life that you’re missing. Karon focused on that empty space, letting it become a focus as his mind took in all of the forest. It echoed out from him in pulses, passing through all that which was not something sharing in the emptiness.

Until it reached a set of large rocky hills. Jagged rocks that had pierced the surface of the earth covered the area giving it a lot of natural protection. Within that cluster of stone, there was a small presence, a creature whose aura burned with fiery orange and sickly yellow. It had courage, but it was also afraid, very afraid.

It had to be the lost filly. When the echo reached her it did not pass over. Instead, it bounced back to Karon, bringing with it the sense of a similar empty ache where the love of a family should have been.

Karon could feel no other life forms near her, which was good. It meant no predator had managed to catch her scent yet. If the filly was smart, she would remain where she was for a little while, hidden and protected by the rocky area.

Unfortunately, she had managed to blunder quite deep into the forest. Karon had spent several days within it, but he had stuck no more than a day’s walk from its borders. This little filly had managed to head towards its center in almost a straight line, and if she continued on, her path she would move deeper into the forest than Karon had dared to thread. Perhaps she had mixed up her sense of direction and thought she was heading towards Ponyville, but regardless of the cause for her rush towards disaster, they needed to get to her soon before she passed too deep into the forest.

His mind stretched out and connected to the little filly’s. He tried to speak to her telepathically, to tell her to stay put and wait for rescue, but everything he tried to communicate to her was lost in the babble of flittering thoughts. Her mind was full of them, not stopping once, constantly bombarding the child with doubts, fears and what-ifs.

Within that torrent of thoughts and emotions, all Karon said went unheard and unnoticed. He cursed loudly, the mental voice going unheard by all but him. Perhaps he could try later when the filly would hopefully have calmed down, but he wouldn’t be able to physically move about while trying to speak to her.

So he did the best thing possible, Karon formed a link connecting the little filly’s aura to his own and a glowing line appeared between them. He wouldn’t be able to communicate with her through it alone, but at least it would allow him to track her presence.

Karon reluctantly cut off the syphoning of his emotions his temporary mental body used to keep itself alive, and gradually it began to fade away. With a feeling of being stretched out like a rubber band being torn apart, his mind was flung back into his original body.

It was always unpleasant to return this way. Between the small trauma of being flung across bodies and the discomfort of being caged within a slab of meat it took Karon a minute to properly recover.

When he did, he noticed a circle of ponies standing above him, looking down on him with concern on their faces. The two fillies were squashed between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, looking at him with more curiosity than concern.

“Well...?” Twilight asked, biting her lower lip waiting for an answer.

“I’ve found her,” Karon said, remaining still on the ground with the faces of the ponies above him, framed in perfectly by the sky above, graced with the last beams of sunlight as night was beginning to fall.

Which was why he got a perfect view as their faces turned into huge smiles, all of them relieved that the whereabouts of the lost filly was known. Now all that remained was going in after her….

Into the forest filled with the most terrifying predators on the planet … just as night was falling….

“Are you sure you are ready to do this? You might feel like you must save her just because she has no family like us, but I wonder how long that might last when we stand face to face with another pack of wolves … or something worse.”

“I’m not leaving her in there to fend for herself, and I am not letting Twilight and the rest of them go in after the filly alone either.”

“Why so heroic all of the sudden?”

“Must have been hanging around all these ponies for too long. Besides what else am I to do? Sit back and let Twilight, Rarity and everypony else run into danger without even trying to help them. I’m not a hero, but I am no coward either.”

“Well then, get your badass on because you’re going to need it.”

Karon rose up from the ground and looked at the ponies around him skeptically. He might no longer view them entirely as naïve little children, but still … if he had to pick a group of creatures to follow into a dangerous forest during nighttime in order to save a little child, then this one would not be his first choice.

Or tenth.

But he reminded himself that this group had faced dangers before, many dangers and they had still prevailed. And they had ventured into the forest before when needed and emerged very much alive. He would just have to make sure they did so again.

“So what are we waiting for, let’s go!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly and everypony gave murmurs of agreement, even the little fillies.

Which did not sit well with the rest of them.

“Ah’m sorry sugercube, but there’s just no way Ah’m letting ya come with us. Now ya head back to ta farm and stay there until Ah get back okay?”

The little yellow filly whined sadly while the little unicorn filly was trying her best to give her older sister puppy dog eyes, but Rarity remained unimpressed.

“I’m sorry Sweetie Bell, but I am with Applejack on this one. Now you go back to Ponyville and we will get Scootaloo and return her home.”

“You promise you will get her back?” she asked and her puppy dog eyes increased in size with the question.

“Of course we will, so don’t you worry about a thing. Tomorrow morning you will wake up and Scootaloo will be back where she belongs.”

Still disappointed that she and her friend wouldn’t be allowed to join them, the little filly at least took some comfort in her sister’s confidence. So while Sweetie Bell and Applebloom turned around and began their walk back to Ponyville, the rest of the ponies and Karon turned to face the forest.

Beyond the boundary of Equestria it waited, draped in mist and shadow, and home to the savage beasts Equestria could not house herself. A remnant from a far more violent and bloody time, and now one of Equestria’s own were lost within.

“Come on everypony, let’s get moving!” Twilight said loudly, trying her best to inspire courage in her companions. It had mixed results, but it did what it was supposed to and signalled the start of the rescue operation. Motioning for Karon to take the lead and guide them to Scootaloo, Twilight and the rest fell into line behind him.

The group passed through the boundary and into the Everfree Forest, nervously glancing around themselves looking for any sign of danger. The ponies did at least, Karon had connected with the forest's mind as soon as he had entered its fold and could feel that no predators were near ... for the moment.

He led the group deeper into the forest, using the forest’s awareness and his own link to Scootaloo to guide them towards her, while simultaneously keeping away from the path of any other creatures he could feel close by. It was getting harder to do the further they went as the number of predators increased deeper in.

And also because Karon’s fear was realized when he understood that the little filly was moving.

“Damn, I was hoping she would stay put for the rest of the night and wait for dawn.”

“Apparently not. She must think she is heading towards Ponyville and now that darkness has set, fear will motivate her even further. She will be moving fast and without thinking things through, easy prey for anything that comes across her.”

“Then we have to be faster.”

“Easier said than done. If we were alone, we might have been able to slip by undetected with enough haste to catch up to her, but with the rest of the ponies with me there is no chance to match her speed if we want to remain unknown, the group is too big and leaves too much of a trail to follow.”

“And it will be worse the further in we go … You know what the best solution is.”

“There is a difference in trying to do the right thing and doing something suicidal just to play hero.”

“Can you see any other options?”

Karon couldn’t, so he remained deep in thought trying to find any other way for them to succeed in rescuing the filly. Behind him, the ponies had struck up a nervous conversation in an attempt to defuse the tension a little. Karon would have liked to tell them to shut up and stop trying to attract attention, but it wouldn’t have mattered that much anyway. And at least it did give them something else to focus on.

“So, does anypony know what they were doing inside the forest to begin with?” Rarity asked while carefully avoiding a low hanging branch that threatened to mess up her mane.

“Weren’t ya the one they came running to in the first place?” Applejack asked back.

“Well yes, but all they did was shout about how they had been looking for ruins to earn their cutie marks and then got lost in a fog.”

“Oh hayballs!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed from her position over the rest of the group, lazily flying with their slow pace.

“”Now what was that for?” Applejack asked.

“Just yesterday I was telling Scootaloo about those Daring Do books I’ve been reading. She said she sounded awesome and I told her she should try and get a cutie mark in doing the stuff she does. Like exploring old ruins and discovering treasure or running away from a horde of mind controlled buffaloes. How was I supposed to know the squirt would take it seriously?” she finished a little defensively.

“Rainbow Dash, ya know how those girls are with their cutie marks, and ya also know how much that little filly admires ya.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault this happened! I didn’t tell them to go inside the forest and look for old ruins. You need to be a professional athlete to be able to handle things like that, like me,” she added and puffed up her chest a little.

“And ya know that little filly wants to be just like ya, so didn’t ya understand she would probably try and do something ya would do?”

“Well, I, uhhh.”

“Could you all try and stay quiet! I don’t want something to hear us and come investigating, and Karon also looks to be concentrating, so from now no talking!” Twilight said in a harsh voice, making it clear there would be no arguing with her.

“Good girl Twilight, keep this up and I might fall for you too.”

“Well actually I think you already h-“

“Not another word!”

The rest of the group fell silent after Twilight’s outburst and they walked in silence for a while, passing by thick clusters of trees as well as more open areas with grass and small collection of pools of water.

But the silence was broken when Karon abruptly stopped and sighed loudly, having found no alternative despite trying his utmost to do so. He turned around and faced the rest of the group, all looking at him and expecting an explanation for stopping.

“Why are we stopping? Is there something wrong?” Twilight asked worriedly and cast a few glances around, expecting a monster to come charging towards them any second.

“You could say that,” he said and looked at every pony in turn before holding his gaze on Twilight, “This won’t work.”

“Of course it will, you know where Scootaloo is so all we need to do is go get her, you do know where she is right?” The last part was voiced in great fear, without any way to track the filly her demise was all but certain and they all knew that.

“No, the problem is that I can, but she is moving away from us quickly, and at the pace we are keeping, we won’t be able to catch up to her in time. Sooner or later something will catch her scent….”

“So why are we wasting time standing here talking, let’s hurry up and save that filly!” Applejack said.

“Because we can’t move any faster if we want to remain undetected, and it will take even more of our time to deal with whatever comes across us if we don’t.”

“But, there has to be something we can do! I can fly faster than anypony else, if I go on ahead you can catch up to me,” Rainbow Dash added.

“And how are you going to find her? You would need to stay above the tree line to fly that fast and without my way of sensing her presence, it is only by luck you would be able to find her.”

“But … we can’t just abandon her!” the pegasus almost shouted, despair threatening to consume the group by Karon’s reasoning.

“No … we can’t….”

“Here we go.”

“…So I will have to continue on my own.”

Karon was instantly shouted down by a flood of angry protests as well as a polite request from Fluttershy to reconsider.

“Don’t think I like this, but it’s the only option we have. Alone I can move a lot faster and still stay undetected. Not to insult you, but ponies weren’t made for moving through dense forests. If we want to return the filly back home alive, this is how it will have to be.”

Everypony still looked incredibly uncomfortable with the idea, but they couldn’t argue with him. They all knew what he said was true, so they would just have to trust him.

“Maybe that’s why they’re so reluctant to allow this.”

“Karon could I speak with you for a moment … in private,” Twilight asked and walked away from the rest of the group, Karon followed after her and they both stopped behind a set of thick trees. Neither sight nor sound would reach the rest of the group from there.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed quietly to him, her eyes filled with anger and … fear.

“Something I didn’t really think through most likely.”

“I don’t think you are thinking at all. How do you expect to be able to do this on your own? What if she's hurt and needs help. Are you sure you can handle all that by yourself.”

“I will do what I can, but if I don’t do this, she will die without doubt. So tell me Twilight, because your moral compass is a lot more reliable than mine … What should I do?”

She didn’t answer. She just stared at him with her mouth half open as if she wanted to protest, but no words would come out. Instead she threw herself at him and hugged him hard, her horn sticking into his side quite painfully.

“Just make sure you make it back alright.”

“You do remember I spent nearly a week in here?”

“Yes and I also remember what you told me happened to you, so don’t act smart with me.”

He smiled down at the unicorn and the mixed message her glistening eyes but sarcastic tone gave.

“Are you crying?”

“No, you just smell and it’s making my eyes water.”

He laughed a little and the unicorn smiled back at him. They remained standing there, looking deep into one another’s eyes for a few moments. Then Twilight cleared her throat and gave a nervous little laugh.

“So I guess I will see you back in Ponyville then. Try not to take too much time in getting back. I still want you to write about your kind of magic.”

“I promise you that if I make it out of this unscathed, I will teach you something really cool.”

“I'll remember that,” she said and gave him one last encouraging smile before heading back to the group.

“Looks like we will be teaching her something after all.”

“I must say, after everything we put her through she has earned it.”

Karon would have continued the internal conversation but was interrupted when he heard creaking behind him. He cursed silently when he realized that he had allowed himself to let go of the forest's awareness.

But when he spun around he did not face a beast ready to leap at him, instead he found himself looking into the crystal blue eyes of Rarity.

“Rarity … you should be more careful about sneaking up on someone.”

“Perhaps I should tell you the same hmmmm.” she responded and lifted an eyebrow at him.

Karon didn’t fall for it. He could see that her attitude was nothing but a bad attempt at hiding her fear, and to be honest, Karon was glad she would be leaving the forest. He was glad they all would.

This was no place for ponies. For them, the Everfree Forest was an unnatural place. For Karon … it was nature at her finest, even if she could act like a complete bitch sometimes.

“You should probably return to the rest of the group before they get worried.”

“Oh don’t worry, I told them I needed to tell you not to dirty your new shirt,” she said it with a knowing little smile and Karon grinned at her explanation.

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely a bad influence.”

“And what did you really want to say to me?”

“I wanted to say that you better not ruin that as well or I am going to be very cross with you … and to take care. I don’t want to think that anything might happen to you, but please be careful.”

She walked up to him and gave him a similar hug as Twilight had, but a lot softer, tender and loving. He held her for a minute before letting go. She turned around about to leave when Karon kneeled down next to her and said.

“Hey Rarity…”

“Yes?” she asked and turned to face him, and as she did he brought his face down and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was slow at first, explorative, and neither of them dared to move.

But ever so gradually, they both sank deeper into it, their lips pressing harder against each other. Karon had been worried that kissing the pony would feel too alien to be enjoyable, but he found it very … pleasant. Their mouths might be a lot wider than a human's, but their lips were shaped so when puckered, they didn’t use any more muscles than what a human would.

The end result was lips that were a little bigger, a little wider and so very, very much softer than normal human lips, and Karon was enjoying them immensely. Their lips pressed hard together and moving in synchrony, he let his tongue slip through and briefly dragged it behind her upper lip, teasing her when she couldn’t catch it with her own.

She moaned, a little from excitement and a little from annoyance, and pressed herself hard against him. Both their breathing increased and as Karon’s pulse flared, he noticed he had unconsciously begun not only to explore her mouth but also the rest of her.

His hands had moved across her body, caressing her back while lazily dragging his nails across her flank. Without meaning to, his hands moved to her hips and were slowly making their way to her inner thighs.

When they did, Rarity placed her right hoof in his arm, whether to stop or encourage him he was not sure. Instead, she moaned into his mouth and Karon laid her down on the ground. Rarity didn’t even try and protest at having to lie down on something so dirty, instead she gasped loudly for air when Karon broke the kiss and began moving his tongue downwards.

He kissed her chest and stomach and traced a line with his tongue through the hollows and sensitive places he could find. His hand had moved away from her legs and were both placed on her flanks, gently dragging his nails over her cutie mark.

He moved himself further down and licked her inner thighs, dragging his tongue upwards with painful slowness. Rarity didn’t know what to do. Her was body giving off signals and filled with a desire beyond anything she had felt so far. Instead her body responded for her, lifting her hips up towards Karon, begging him to get on with it.

Karon smiled at her reaction, but pressed her hips down again firmly with his hand. Rarity looked down at him with misty eager eyes, nervousness present but giving way to desire as she let him take control. Karon’s amber eyes were burning with desire and he was just about to give into it when they were both interrupted by a loud squawking from a nearby tree.

Squawking is a misleading term. iIt sounded like something had hit a chain smoking crow with a crowbar and the sound was enough to wake both Karon and Rarity out of their stupor. They both blinked and tried to clear their heads, remembering suddenly were they were, and what Karon was supposed to be doing.

He looked down on Rarity, her cheeks flushed and eyes filled with a kind of hunger she had never experienced until mere moments ago. When she met his eyes, there was no doubt in Karon’s mind that he wanted her more than anything at the moment, to tear off his clothes and join with her there on the ground.

In such an ancient primal place like this, what could be more fitting than indulging in the fiercest of passions. Instead, he tore away his gaze and picked up a nearby rock, he turned around to the tree the bird had been heard from and threw it into it.

The bird in question squawked loudly once more and flew out of it indignantly, disappearing into the distance while Karon muttered quiet curses of the fate he hoped befell the little avian.

Behind him Rarity stood up from the ground and shook herself, trying to clear off the minuscule amount of dirt that had gotten on her pristine coat. When she was done, she walked up beside Karon who was still staring after the bird, letting all his frustration take shape in very explicit descriptions of the bird’s parentage.

It involved a dead goat.

“That was … different from how I expected it to be,” Rarity said, her voice still husky but also a confused note present in it.

“Still good I hope?”

“Oh yes, very … very good.”

They both went silent and contemplated what the hell had just happened and what it meant.

“I think it means we aren’t that far away from having some real fun with Rarity. Oh the things we could teach her….”

“For once, I’m actually inclined to agree with you.”

“You should get back to the rest of the group before they come looking for you.”

“You’re right. Just be careful while out there alone.”

“I will,” he said before leaving her where she stood, casting out his senses and heading towards the lost filly heading towards her doom.

Behind him, Rarity watched as Karon faded away into the surrounding mist and shadow, praying to Celestia to make sure he returned safely. Then she walked back to her still waiting friends, Twilight tapping her hoof impatiently when she saw Rarity emerge.

“What did you have to say that took so long?” she asked, making note of her flushed appearance.

“Why you know how I feel about fashion Twilight, and after that last dreadful turn of events with his robe, I needed to make sure he understood just HOW important it is he takes proper care of them.”

Four ponies nodded understandably, thinking she had spent the last fifteen minutes more or less shouting at Karon not to ruin the clothes she made him, but when they turned around and began walking back towards Ponyville, the fifth pony remained still. Applejack knew Rarity had lied about why it had taken so long, and that coupled with her flushed appearance….

For once Applejack wasn’t sure if she wanted the truth.

But she decided it might be best not to think about it and hurried after her friends, all of them eager to leave behind the mist drenched shadow land that was the Everfree Forest.

Karon, on the other hand, was heading in the opposite direction. While the ponies were leaving the dark forest behind, Karon was only entering deeper and deeper into its fold. He was moving fast, jogging forward unhindered by the terrain, his body naturally finding its way as the forest mind constantly fed it information on where it was. Every branch was dodged, every hole was avoided, every root jumped over as he hurried towards the lost pegasus.

All of this would have been far easier had she simply decided to fly, but if she could, she would have by now. This meant she should be very tired at this point, adrenaline and fear were most likely the only things that kept her moving.

The forest became a blur as Karon’s mind sank away from his physical environment, trusting his body to take care of itself while his mind focused on the life forces around him and the line of energy leading him towards Scootaloo.

It was becoming more and more dangerous as time passed, and his body began sending him messages, telling him to slow down and take it easier. His muscles still had a lot to give, but moving through a forest with heavy vegetation is different from running in a field. The constant contorting of his body and sharp turns were putting strains on his joints and ligaments, and they were making that fact well know to Karon.

He briefly stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Leaning against a tree, he did his best to steady his breathing. His mind was still only half aware of his physical state and surroundings, the other half was still busy feeling all the energy and life around him.

He could feel the hungry presences of several large predators in the close vicinity. Thankfully, they seemed to be very territorial because Karon couldn’t feel traces of them outside of the areas they were in. So if he could try and stay in the outskirts of each territory, then perhaps the predators would leave him alone, not wanting to attract the attention of their competition and cause a fight for prey.

Of course they might also team up and kill him first, and just share his savaged body for all he knew. Awareness of their presence did not include understanding of their nature. Karon just felt a very basic impression of their life force, and it was enough to tell if they were killers or not, but beyond that they remained a mystery.

He took a deep breath and pushed it out forcefully before setting off again. By now, the forest was so dark that nothing without low light vision could see properly, but Karon wasn’t using his eyes to find his way. However, the little filly should be, so why was she still going in an almost straight line away from him? She must have some other way of determining directions, but whatever it was, it was screwed up, and in just another hour or so she would be deeper than Karon had dared to go.

“So get going, faster now, ignore the trail you’ll be leaving. Doesn’t matter if something catches your scent, if we don’t increase our pace she’ll end up dead very soon.”

“I hate children….”

Karon abandoned all attempts at stealth and ran as fast as he could. His body was beginning to have trouble avoiding all the tangled roots and branches at this speed, but he made do. Every time he caught in something and fell, he simply stood and kept on going. As long as he didn’t sprain or break anything, he would make it.

He ran and ran, and until his clothes clung to him, drenched in sweat. His breath came out hard and harsh through his mouth, and came back in between clenched teeth. Luck would only last so far and the little filly had pushed hers for too long now. In front him, Karon felt the pony child stop her frantic running and collapse. She had crossed her limit and could do nothing now but wait for dawn and her strength to return. She was tired, defenseless and very much alone.

Easy prey.

She was maybe two or three hours ahead of him at the pace he was keeping, but he didn’t know how long he could keep it up. The healthy diet and regular running from danger had kept him in good enough shape, but there was a difference between sprints from ravenous wolves and steady running for hours on end.

He needed to slow down, pace himself so he wouldn’t be completely useless once he found the pegasus. It wouldn’t do to arrive just as helpless as she was, and have both of them end up as exotic food for whatever lucky beasts happened to find them.

He slowed down and returned to a jog, his racing heart thumping loudly against his chest. His head felt dizzy and he used the forest's awareness to sense the closest body of water. It was not far and barely diverted his course. Once he reached it, he fell down on his knees and greedily began quenching his thirst.

It didn’t taste all too bad, so Karon drank without fear. He had drunk from the Everfree Forest's water before and he had suffered no unfortunate consequences then. After he was finished and he could feel the water pressing to his stomach wall, he fell back and rested his head on the ground. The world was spinning a little oddly and he closed his eyes for just a minute, trying to regain his balance and sense.

But when he opened his eyes again, his eyelids felt a little too heavy and the sky above had taken on a much lighter tone, no longer black but a deep blue color that was the Everfree’s version of a sunny bright day.

“FUCK!” Karon screamed out loud and rose up from his position. He shook his head and forced it to connect back into the forest mind. With a mental cracking sound, his mind was flung away and he felt Scootaloo’s presence once more.

“She hasn’t moved yet.”

“What are you waiting for? RUN, RUN, RUN!”

Not wasting any more time, Karon broke out into a sprint. He had a little more than two hours of running ahead of him before reaching the little filly. He hoped she wouldn’t wake up until then.

By some miracle, no predator seemed to have stumbled upon her while she slept, so there was still time. Karon, he ran as fast as he could, his strength recovered from the involuntary nap and a clear goal in front of him.

“No excuses available this time. Are you regretting pulling out the hero mask now?”

“I’m actually not … this feels … good.”

“Until you arrive to find a few half chewed bones and the echoing screams of a dead child.”

“Will not happen.”

“Well look at that, you even have the stubborn naivety of a hero. You are certainly taking this seriously.”

“It will not happen,” Karon continued, repeating it silently to himself as a mantra. Using it as a focus, letting all doubt and fear melt away under the steady chanting of it.

Two hours passed and Karon’s pace had only slowed by a marginal degree. His clothes were drenched in sweat once more and his muscles were burning, but he had not pushed himself in vain. The filly hadn’t moved at all since he began running, and he was now no more than a few minutes away from her.

He stopped when he came upon a hill, trees growing in the few places not covered in rocks. He walked up the hill on heavy legs and felt each step taking him closer and closer to the lost pegasus. Just a few more steps and he would finally reach her.

He passed by a large rock and came upon the sight of a very small orange bundle of feathers and whatever strange fur that passed as the pony’s coats. Karon smiled a relieved smile and put his hand on his knees, finally letting his tension and fear completely melt away.

She looked very tiny lying there, pressed hard against the large rock in a vain attempt to make herself invisible; sadly enough orange, just doesn’t blend into the dark grey of stone, but even though she stood out like a burning flame against the background, no predator had found her. Whether it was through the grace of some higher power or by pure chance, Karon didn’t know or care. All that mattered was that she was safe.

“Woho the annoying child that attacked us previously is safe, way to go. Can we please get back to Ponyville now?

“As fast as we can, let me just try and wake her up carefully. If she wakes up and doesn’t remember us, she might run into the forest in fear and that would be….”

“If she does that, we turn around and go back home. We can tell everypony we found her dead and they shouldn’t bother looking for her half-eaten corpse.”

Karon stretched out his hand and gently shook the pegasus to wake her up. She remained unresponsive and he checked his link to her, worried she might have fallen ill, but her life force showed no sign of sickening or faltering; she was okay, just very tired.

He shook her again and again and kept on until he heard her grunt angrily and smack away his hand with her hoof. She rose up and shook her entire body and glared up at him defiantly. She remembered what had happened yet showed no fear at waking up in this way.

“Hey, if you think you can eat me I got news for you. Nothing as ugly as you will ever manage to get me!” she spat and swung around on her front hooves and bucked him hard in the chest. It hurt as all hell and he would have two very nasty bruises, but he still managed to grab the filly around the neck before she could run off.

“Wait, wait you stupid little featherball, wait,” Karon huffed for breath a few times before his chest would expand properly. The little Pegasus had stopped squirming when he began to speak, but still glared at him defiantly.

“You don’t remember me? Rarity’s boutique, you assaulted me from behind.”

She looked up and down at him skeptically before her eyes widened slightly.

“Ohh right, you were that thing skulking around outside. What are you doing here?”

“Saving you featherbrain. Now let’s go before something with big teeth finds us.”

The little pegasus was about to retort when a loud roar cut through the forest. Well, roar might be misleading since it sounded far more like a bird crowing than of a lion roaring. No matter how you classified it though, both the human and pegasus instantly fell silent and looked towards the direction it had come from in fright.

“Oh damn it!”

“What?”

“That came from the same path we came from. It must have caught our scent.”

“Maybe we should have taken a slower and more careful approach after all….”

“You think? At least it’s intelligent.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Come on, it made itself known just after you set it up with that line. It obviously has enough intelligence to make a dramatic entrance.”

“Technically, it hasn’t made an entrance yet.”

“Well when it does I am sure it will be….”

The shrill roar was heard again, and from behind the rock, a large bird shaped creature jumped out and locked its gaze on them. Its small stocky wings flapping hard and stirring up dust from the ground.

“….Something like that.”

The creature looked like a huge heavily muscled flamingo with an oversized beak. Its legs were thin but ended in three very sharp looking talons that dug into the ground. It was brown in color and two small eyes were staring at them with hunger and rage, but no real intelligence.

“So no chance at diplomacy.”

“Like that would have worked even if it could speak.”

“Maybe it would have worked well enough to allow us a chance to stab it in the back.”

“You can always throw the filly away and see if it will turn its back when trying to eat her.”

The bird thing screamed again at them and Karon got a good look at the sharp beak and the teeth inside it. It continued to flap its wings in some kind of challenge; they were very small and stocky and didn’t look to be able to support the massive creature.

“So it’s a carnivore but probably not capable of flight. Makes killing it a lot easier.”

“Not really, but we can pretend if it makes you feel better.”

“Scootaloo, get behind me and stay there. Whatever you do don’t move and don’t attract its attention.”

He didn’t look down at the filly as he said so but could still feel the resentment at having him order her to do anything, but she still complied. The bird thing noticed and understood he was protecting the filly and readying himself for battle. It was all the challenge it needed and with another shrill shriek, it lowered its head and stormed towards them.

Karon rushed towards it as well, hoping to draw it away from the pegasus child. When they met in the middle of their paths, Karon jumped to his right and rolled away from the bird. The bird was large and bulky and was not used to sharp turns, when it turned its head to follow after Karon the rest of its body continued forward and it tripped over itself.

It went down with an angry scream, but got up almost instantly as its deceptively weak looking legs lifted it up, the sharp talons giving it a perfect grip on the ground. It went towards Karon again and he raised his right hand, gathering an electric charge just as Eldros had taught him.

It was done in haste and under a lot of pressure but it gathered anyway, and with barely a few meters between them Karon let it loose. For a split second lightning struck out of his palm and left a burning imagine on his retina, unfortunately it wasn’t aimed very well. What should have been a decisive strike straight towards the birds head instead leapt into a tree to his side.

But the lightning at least served to distract the bird and instead of ending up between its sharp looking teeth he was brutally struck by its upper beak in his stomach. It knocked all of the air out from him and he fell down on the ground hard. He clutched his stomach with both his hands and his eyes almost popped out of his skull from fear when he felt the birds talons close around him.

It had him pinned and stared down at him with its beady eyes, anger shining out of them at the sight of the stupid creature that had dared to challenge it. Karon desperately gathered energy as he saw how the bird drew back its head to strike down at him.

But it was interrupted when a purple bolt of energy sizzled past it, barely missing its beak. It turned to face the new challenger and saw a purple unicorn standing in the same spot the bird had appeared on. She had a determined look on her face and her horn shone with a powerful purplish light. At the sight of their savior Scootaloo gave of a whoop and punched her hoof in the air.

Recognizing the unicorn as the more dangerous opponent, the bird thing let go of Karon and turned to face Twilight. The bird gave off its usual shrieking challenge before it ran towards the still unicorn.

When it was halfway there a bolt began forming at the tip of her horn and when it had grown to the size of her head it launched towards the incoming bird, but even though it lacked real intelligence, the bird creature possessed cunning and even it couldn’t miss what the growing bolt of energy on the unicorn’s horn had meant.

When the bolt launched from Twilight’s horn it had dug its talons into the ground and jumped to the side, so instead of hitting it in the chest the bolt of energy sizzled past as uselessly as the previous one had and the bird closed in on Twilight before she could do anything else.

Its beak opened and snapped shut with Twilight firmly held by its sharp teeth, it shook it’s head around and slammed the unicorn into the ground countless time. Behind it Scootaloo screamed in horror at the sight of what was happening, but fell silent when the bird bit down hard and the sound of a spine cracking could be heard all across the hill.

It dropped the broken form of Twilight and shrieked in triumph at its fallen foe, but the triumph turned to confusion when Twilight’s body was no longer there. The confusion had barely had time to set in before it was struck in the back with a lightning bolt, and the bird went down on the ground twitching as it screamed in pain and more confusion.

It lasted for no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to instill a bit of fear in the bird, it got up slowly and looked over behind it suspiciously. Karon stood there facing it, sparks dancing out of his palms and a smug smile on his lips despite the fact that he was shaking and sweat poured out of him in streams.

“Never faced a trickster before have you!? Did you really think an overgrown dodo bird was enough to kill me?”

The bird was more wary this time and remained still, only answering his insult with another shrill shriek. Karon looked to be on the verge of collapse and he fell down on his knees but still held both his palms towards the bird and sparks continued to dance on them.

“You see tricksters are all about distraction, we seem to be doing something and it’s very distracting while we are actually doing something else entirely. Sleight of hand really, but we can do far more interesting things than pull a rabbit out of a hat.”

The bird was losing its patience with every word Karon spoke, it could not understand speech but it still recognized the sounds Karon made as taunts. Its newfound fear of the opponent before it was not enough to entirely overcome its pride.

“That’s what I’ve learned so far anyway. Well that’s not entirely true, I’ve learned something else too…”

Karon was covered in perspiration and the bird could clearly see he was not far from being too weak to defend himself, but it didn’t understand what it was that had drained all his strength so suddenly, and it didn’t care.

That was a mistake.

“….I’ve also learned that having your head smashed in by a floating rock hurts like a motherfucker.”

He finished with a huge grin and pointed up with a shaking hand. The bird didn’t understand, but it turned its gaze upwards just in time to see a rock the same size as Scootaloo fall down on its head.

Huge bird or not, gravity is impartial and when the rock hit its head, the bird flopped down with a squelching sound and started twitching even more violently than it had before. Karon had to admit he was impressed that bird still lived; he thought he could actually see its brain for a moment.

It screamed in pain and terror and struck out its talons and beak at everything around it. It tore up huge lumps of earth in its frenzy and got up with half focused eyes and blood dripping from its head, it screamed at Karon in equal rage and fear.

Karon responded with raising both his palms and sparks flew out of them threateningly as he roared back at it. They remained that way for a brief moment, both staring at the other waiting for someone to make a move.

But the bird had had enough and shrieked towards them a final time before it turned around and half ran back the way it had come, passing by Scootaloo without even glancing at her.

"That was pretty good, I'm getting better at this badass thing."

"That last part with the speech was pretty cliche, but it worked so I'll let it slide this once."

Karon let his hands fall down and he groaned in relief. He had been faking that last bit, he was so exhausted that if he had tried firing of another lightning bolt, he would pushed himself too far and probably fainted.

But it wouldn’t do letting Scootaloo know that.

“Yeah you better run little chicken! What kind of pathetic creature has wings but can’t fly anyway?!”

“Hey!” an angry Scootaloo shouted at him, feeling enough insulted both for herself and the bird.

“Oh, right.”

“How about a little appreciation. I just saved your flank from being bird fodder.”

“Yeah and now you look like you can hardly walk. Besides, I was going to make it home by myself anyway.”

“No you weren’t, you were walking in the opposite direction.”

“Every pegasus can tell north from south, and Ponyville is east of the forest so I was going east.”

“Ah, they can feel the planet’s magnetic field, that explain it.”

“You were heading west. The Everfree isn’t connected to the outside world. It’s a place trapped in time and the outside world has gone through plenty of magnetic reversals since its time.”

“Huh?”

“Sigh, what feels like south is actually north in here and vice versa.”

“That’s just stupid.”

“Hey I didn’t make it so, but point is, I just saved you from going into the heart of the forest and ending up as food.”

The filly hesitated for a second at this when the situation finally began to sink in. When it did her heart dropped and she looked a little ashamed.

“I guess I should say thanks, but why are you here? And where are Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, are they okay!?”

She sounded worried when she mentioned her friends but calmed down when Karon explained everything that had happened. Once he was done, she looked to be back to her usual confident self.

“So are we going back now or what?”

“Yes, if we hurry we might make it before sundown.”

Without anything further to say, they began the walk back to Ponyville. The little filly walked beside him and tried to keep up with his long legs as best she could. After a few minutes of walking, Karon remembered something that had bothered him during the entire fight, something that had struck him as very disturbing.

“Hey … Do you really think I’m ugly?”

The filly hadn’t given any other answer, but a roll of her eyes and they had walked the rest of the way in relative silence, only interrupted occasionally when Scootaloo swore as she stumbled on something or at the end when Karon asked if he should carry her.

They had been able to keep a more leisurely pace than they had kept when running inwards, but the walk back to the outside was still long in uneven terrain, and the poor filly had become very tired. Karon had felt weariness settle in as well, but at the sight of the stumbling filly he had again offered to carry her the last of the way, and she begrudgingly accepted. She had quickly fallen asleep as he carried her on his back.

Karon came out of the forest nearly the exact same time as he had entered it the day before. The sun's last rays where shining over the horizon and his book laid untouched beneath the tree where he had left it. The difference was the picnic basket, the quilt on the ground and the six ponies lying on it.

Five of them were sleeping but when Karon came out of the forest with Scootaloo on his back an overjoyed Pinkie Pie bounced up from the ground and screamed loudly.

“Look everypony, they’re back! Hurry and wake up they’re back!” she shouted and bounced around to each pony in turn and gave them a shake, not that she really needed to. As soon as she had screamed the first time everypony had woken up and were now running towards Karon in joy with a cart-wheeling Pinkie Pie behind them whooping loudly.

Karon was too tired to distinguish words in the chatter that flooded his ears when they reached him and just gratefully handed over the sleeping filly to Fluttershy. After that he turned to face Twilight and just said. “Sleeeeeep?” in a pleading voice.

Twilight nodded in understanding and told the ponies to give him space, and that they should see them tomorrow at the library instead. They didn’t sound happy about it since they wanted to hear all about what had happened, but dispersed anyway. Rarity picked up the quilt and picnic basket, and they all went back home. Except for Fluttershy who headed towards the hospital with the still sleeping Scootaloo snuggled safely between her wings.

Karon marched over to the book he had left beneath the tree and picked it up, not caring to check if it looked like somepony had looked it over and seen what it was about. Twilight waited for him to join her and they both began walking towards the library, ignoring all the curious ponies that saw them walking through the town.

“Apparently rumor spreads fast. We were barely gone a day, but it still looks like everypony is aware of what has happened.”

“Maybe they have nothing else to do during the day. Hell, most of the time it looks like the ponies are just walking around the town aimlessly.”

When they reached the library, they entered wordlessly and Spike came running out from the kitchen and greeted them eagerly and immediately began prodding them with questions. Karon ignored them completely and went up the stairs and into the bedroom. He climbed up to the platform and dropped the book on the floor beside the bed which he fell down unto with a relieved grunt.

He burrowed his face into his pillow and waited for sleep to take him. He laid there for quite some time before he realized that his mind was too worked up to allow sleep to come. He flipped over onto his back angrily and stared up at the ceiling from between half closed eyelids.

He remained that way for a little while and waited for his mind to calm down, but it was still reeling from the events of the last day and wasn’t done processing all of it yet. So Karon did the only thing he could think of and reached down to the floor and picked up the discarded book. Maybe it would be so boring it would put him to sleep, it was about high society after all.

He opened the book and lazily began reading, not really paying attention to it. It went on about the importance of maintaining grace and bearing in everything a gentlecolt did and to never lose proper protocol.

After several pages of such nonsense, it finally went into ways of courting a lady and how a gentlecolt should act towards her. There was a lot of the usual stuff everyone would think of when hearing the word courting, but there was also some new information that actually sounded useful to Karon.

His mind was calming down as it became occupied with the new information and Karon felt himself becoming sleepier with each page. They mentioned ways in which a gentlecolt would prove the truthfulness of his love and intentions towards a lady, things like getting the parents’ permission to court their daughter or writing a song in her honor.

But chief among these methods was the one mentioned last.

”When a gentlecolt truly wish to prove his intentions and the value of his commitment, he should show this in what is commonly called the trial of valor. It is a dangerous trial and therefore shows that the gentlecolt is willing to risk his life to achieve his chosen lady’s favor. It also proves that the gentlecolt is no mere dandy and also possess martial skill with which he can protect and serve the lady in question. The trial is to venture into the infamous Everfree Forest and pick three flowers, each with a virtue the gentlecolt thinks represents that of his lady. He is then to leave one flower in front of the lady's front door for three days.

“On the fourth day, the gentlecolt should reveal that it was he that left the flowers and explain each virtue he associates with each flower and how they represent the lady he is courting. If the lady finds them suiting to her character and the gentlecolt to her tastes, she will inform him then and there. It is common for a courting to not need to extend further beyond a successful trial of valor since there are few ways as dangerous and sincere as it is to prove a gentlecolt's intentions. So if you, the prospective gentlecolt reading this, are considering courting a lady that has caught your fancy, then you should know that completing a trial of valor is almost always a sure way to show you are beyond what she can find in any other gentlecolt. Succeed in this trial, and you are sure to win your lady's heart.”

“Definitely sounds like something Rarity would love. Hell she might even be expecting this of us.”

“But … but … the flowers … they’re supposed to be picked in the Everfree forest … we just got out of there….”

Downstairs both Twilight and Spike jumped when they heard a loud scream come from upstairs, a scream telling a tale of just how terribly unfair life could be and of the irony the universe seemed to love so much.

Chapter 19: Teacher, mentor, flower-picker

Karon woke up in his bed wearing clothes cold from stale sweat, the gentle light of early morning illuminating the bedroom. His muscles ached terribly from the previous day of running and fighting, and were it not for the growling of his stomach, he would have remained where he was for the rest of the day.

He rose up and smelled his clothes cautiously, not surprised in the least when his nose told him they should either be washed or burned at his earliest convenience. Having such a deeply nested aversion to fire, he chose the first option and took off his clothes before going into the bathroom. Once in there, he dumped all the clothes he had, including his robe, into a batch of water and proceeded to wash it all by hand. It took time sure, but the easy movements helped limber up his muscles and made him feel a little less like he was made out of glass.

Once he considered them washed well enough, he hung them up to dry on a line that looked to be there for that very purpose. The thought of walking around naked in the library was amusing, Karon could not deny that, but since he was still trying to maintain a tiny shred of decency, he took a towel and put it around his waist instead.

When he exited the bathroom and came out into the bedroom, he saw that Twilight was still sleeping but Spike must have woken up. His basket empty of any snoring purple dragon.

Karon hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should make an attempt at avoiding the sharp clawed fire breathing thing whose crush he was in the process of stealing. But it would be unrealistic to expect that he would be able to dodge any form of contact with Spike for the remainder of his stay at the library. He would just have to keep it to a minimum.

“And what happens after the truth about us and Rarity gets out?”

“We’ll take care of that problem once it arrives. I can’t see anything we can do at this moment anyway.”

“That’s called denial.”

“It’s called fucking someone over and knowing there is nothing you can do to soften the blow … besides, I’m more worried about what Twilight will do.”

“Me too … me too.”

So, Karon walked down the stairs and into the kitchen in search of breakfast, and as expected, he found the purple dragon inside.  He stood on a stool and was busy chopping up vegetables and fruit for Twilight. He raised his head when Karon walked in and gave him a half smile when he saw what he was wearing.

“Hi Karon, like the new outfit. Did Rarity make it, or have you decided easy and breezy is your new thing?”

“The depth of your wit is without limits Spike. Tell me, when you were inside your egg, did you always dream of being the same color as a sickly sweet pony with a compulsive disorder?”

“That’s cold dude….”

“Where I’m from there is a saying, ‘When you choose to enter the game, you must also endure it’.”

“I was just making a joke,” the dragon grumbled to himself. Karon rubbed his head and continued in a little more diplomatic tone.

“Sorry, my body is aching all over and it’s putting me in a cranky mood. I’m also starving.”

“Why didn’t you just say so. What would you like?” Spike asked and jumped down from the stool and began rummaging through the fridge.

“We got apples, oranges, onions, lettuce, hay, tomatoes, clover leafs, carrots and, ugh, oatmeal.”

“Anything else?”

“Not in here. If you want something else, just tell Twilight and she’ll write it down on my next shopping list.”

“Thanks, just what Twilight is having will be fine.”

“Okay then, one Spike's special coming up.”

Karon leaned on the counter and watched as Spike scooped over some of the prepared breakfast into a new bowl before presenting it to him. Karon ate the mishmash of vegetables and fruit and was pleased to find it pretty tasty. Spike knew what he was doing at least.

And more importantly, Karon's fear of Spike figuring out what was going on with Rarity looked to be unfounded so far. The dragon appeared to be blissfully unaware.

“One less thing to worry about.”

“Indeed, now we can get back to planning this 'trial of valor' thing.”

“I really, really don't want to do that.”

“Come on, you know Rarity will be expecting something like this. You can bet she knows every single tradition like this one and since the trial of valor is supposed to be the ultimate proof of affection, it is what she will want from us.”

“But I just got out from that damn forest....”

“So what? Unless you are planning on giving up on Zecora's lessons, you will be going into it again.”

“Yeah, but that's the outskirts. Who knows how deep we will have to go to find the right kind of flowers.”

“Maybe we should find out.”

“Fine, but not now. I am tired of rushing into dangerous situations. I am going to relax and take it easy for at least a couple of days now.”

“Suit yourself.”

Karon continued eating his breakfast as he enjoyed the sudden silence in his mind and focused his attention on the taste and texture of each bite, but when he was finished and let the spoon fall into the empty bowl with a clink, he drew a deep breath and began considering his options for the day.

The most important thing that needed to be done was finding out what cultural meaning ponies put on flowers and what they represented. As far as such things go, it wasn't that terrible of a task to complete, but going into the forest and picking them perhaps would be. Then again if he was lucky, Zecora might have one or two of them already and he could spare him some trouble, otherwise he would just have to try and move fast.

“Wouldn't getting the flowers from Zecora count as cheating?”

“Trickster remember?”

“Oh right.”

Aside from that little quest, the only thing he needed to take care of at the present was teaching Twilight something about magic she didn't already know. There was probably a trick or two he could show her, but it needed to be something he had a firm grip on.

It wouldn't do to embarrass himself with mediocre skill.

Which meant mental or psychic based magic, not that that narrowed it down in any considerable way. ESP, divination, hypnosis, mental projection, illusions, dream wandering and a lot more were possible things Karon that had a fairly good hand at, but there was one skill that usually stood out and he knew for a fact that Twilight didn't possess while physically grounded in a body.

Telepathy.

That idea brought some risks with it though. Karon wouldn't be able to fool or lie to her if she could just read the truth in his mind, not as easily as he did now anyway. But true mastery of telepathy could take months or even years, and all indications pointed out that the purple unicorn seemed to have little to no experience in psychic magic. So he would probably be safe for a long while as she tried to master the skill, and even when she did, he could still just shield his mind from her.

Such things took effort though.

But everything considered, telepathy looked like the best option. Twilight would certainly appreciate the chance to learn it, that was something Karon was sure of.

“Spike do you know when Twilight is supposed to wake up?”

“I'm supposed to do that when I'm done making breakfast, so now.”

After he said it the dragon grabbed the large bowl with the mixed ingredients with both of his stubby little arms and jumped down from the stool. It looked heavy for him, but the baby dragon still walked on steady legs towards the door and Karon fell in behind him.

“I'll follow you upstairs then, I have some news for Twilight.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of news?”

“I have decided to teach Twilight telepathy.”

“Tel-, what now?”

“Sigh, I'm going to teach Twilight how to read minds.”

The dragon nearly tripped over his feet when Karon said it, and the human had to bend down and steady him so he wouldn't drop the carefully prepared breakfast.

“You can't do that! You have no idea how obsessed she can be when she learns something new. If she learns how to read minds, she's just going to run around and document every single pony's thoughts. No pony will be safe!”

“Relax Spike, it takes time to learn, and even then it's not something you leave yourself open to constantly. I haven't even tried reading a pony's mind since getting here and with good reason. I'll make sure she understands the complications that spying on somepony's thoughts can bring.”

“You better,” The dragon mumbled darkly, obviously fearing she would discover whatever secrets an infant dragon could hide inside of the confines of his mind. Karon doubted there was anything in particular the dragon should fear exposure of besides the occasional cookie theft before dinner, but he understood the fear anyway. The thought of somepony going through your inner most thoughts and secrets was ... disturbing, especially if those thoughts and secrets belonged to Karon.

But the decision was made. He would do his best to teach Twilight basic telepathy, and then things would turn out in whatever way they wanted to. At least it ruined any chances of things becoming boring.

Karon followed the dragon upstairs and into the bedroom, patiently waiting a few steps away from Twilight's bed as the dragon gingerly put the breakfast right next to the bed and carefully began poking Twilight. If this strategy was sound or not was a question for another time, but Karon still felt a little worried when he saw Spike's sharp talons gently dig into her coat. At least it didn't break her skin, but despite that, he couldn't imagine it was a nice way of waking up in the morning.

“Spike, please feel free to never wake me up for anything ... ever.”

“Huh?” the dragon asked but continued poking Twilight while trying to coax her out of sleep at the same time.

“Come on Twilight, it's almost nine and you told me to wake you up early today.”

His only response were a bunch of incoherent sounds that made their way out of Twilight's mouth and into her pillow, muffling whatever discernible words might have slipped out. After an additional five minutes of a relentless Spike poking her in the ribs Twilight finally had enough and slapped his hand the next time it came close to her.

“Go away Spike, I was up half the night studying and I want to sleep.”

“But you said-”

“GO!”

Spike relented and looked a little wounded at having his carefully prepared breakfast so willfully ignored, but shook it off and shrugged, obviously well accustomed to Twilight's usual manners.

Karon lacked Spike's patience and didn't really have anything to do while waiting for Twilight to return to the world of the waking, so instead he took Spike's place on the bed next to her and whispered.

“Hey Twilight, after a little bit of thinking I have decided it might be fun teaching you how to read minds, is that something you might feel interested in?”

She remained still for a moment before asking very suspiciously.

“Are you making a joke of some kind?”

“No.”

“You're serious about this?”

“Yes.”

She instantly shot out of bed and turned to him with a huge grin and eagerness shining out of her eyes, obviously she was interested. Before she could say anything though he held up a hand and added.

“But you have to eat breakfast first.”

Her ears dropped a little, but she dutifully took the bowl into her arms and began picking up the contents with her hoof and put it into her mouth, chewing it while looking at him with an annoyed expression. She didn't like being denied learning something, even if it was for just a few minutes of eating.

“So why did you suddenly decide to do this?” she asked while munching on a slice of lettuce.

“Well I did tell you I would teach you something about my magic, and this seemed like a good start. Besides, it's about time you and I go through the differences and similarities between our respective forms of magic.”

“I've been trying to tell you that ever since we met.”

“Hmmm did you say something?”

“Oh haha very funny,” she said and stuffed the last of her breakfast into her mouth and tried to talk through the wall of half chewed food. “So how do you want to do this?”

“I can begin with a theoretical description of how it works, and then you can enlighten me on the details of how unicorn magic works and is shaped. After that, I can go into human magic a bit more then move on to practical exercise and see how it works for you.”

“Sounds logical, do you want to do it here?”

“Might as well. Psychic and mental based magic is a lot easier to perform when your body is comfortable and not distracted.”

“But shouldn't I have waited to eat until afterward then? Won't my body be distracting now that it is busy digesting my breakfast.”

“Maybe....”

“Gah, Karon!”

“Sorry I forgot, but it won't be that bad. You should be able to manage fine anyway.”

“I hope you know what you are doing.”

“Have a little faith Twilight. I'm not some amateur dabbler. So, ready for the theoretical part?”

Twilight’s horn glowed with a purple aura and a notebook appeared out of thin air with a pencil hovering over it.

“Ready.”

“Okay, the theory behind telepathy is quite simple, and it is considered a basic skill for a reason. It works by connecting your mind to your subject's mental broadcast range within the mental dimension. Once there, your connection should allow information to be copied into your own aura and interpreted as different sensory perceptions, usually for telepathy it is auditory or visual. Olfactory, gustatory and kinetic sensations usually falls within the range of empathy and emotional reading, but both skills are interconnected to the point you usually don't get one without the other. What separates them is after all merely one spherical layer of the subjects personal aura.”

“So it's mostly a mentally based version of a biometric scan spell?”

“Yes I would say so, but telepathy is perpetual since it lasts as long as the connection is maintained and information is constantly feed and processed through it at the same pace as the subject experiences the thoughts. A biometric scan is usually done by pulses where the feedback from the echo is used to discern the subject's state.”

“Ah I see, so I need to consciously maintain the link or it falters and dissolves into the ethereal?”

“No, the connection is constant since it is generated by the energy of your aura, so once it's latched, it will remain open until you break it by will. Which is why it can be dangerous to use it too much since instead of forming a connection, your mind will begin to unconsciously copy data it picks up from its surroundings and you'll end up being constantly bombarded by the thoughts of everypony around you.”

“That does sound problematic. So, I should only maintain the link for a short duration of time before letting it go?”

“That would be best.”

“It does sound simple enough, do you think I could try it right away?”

“We were supposed to discuss the differences between our forms of magic first.”

“Alright, where do you want to begin?”

“How many dimensions can you access through your aura?”

“Six, you?”

“Seven, but I need to be asleep for me to be able to work trough the seventh, and the sixth is usually done while in a trance state since a human brain has some problems processing the information through it's usual cognitive faculties.”

“You seem to do a lot of your magic while asleep. Is that normal for humans?”

“Not really, it's just a personal habit I have. My old master Varsif could jump his mind between dimensions like it was nothing, and as far as I know he had access to all twelve of them.”

“There's twelve dimensions!? We only knew about nine.”

“Yeah, the last three are supposed to be real tricky. Apparently they are accessed by the use of the spatial ones, but I have no idea how. Something about going back to the beginning to get to the end or something like that. You know how incredibly frustrating the true masters can be about the really complicated stuff.”

“Urgh I know, Princess Celestia only spoke in riddles for five whole days when I first began studying the co-function of water content in a body and the electrical memory storage in it.”

“Yeah, they do that sometimes. They are just trying to use subjective interpretation in order to make sense of a larger objective truth, but it still hurts my head most of the time to listen to them.”

“The spell I mastered faster than all my others was a spell for curing headaches. I think it probably saved my life a few times during my study in the academy.”

Karon laughed at the thought. It felt nice discussing these things with someone, or somepony, able to keep pace with him. Back on earth, the number of practitioner he knew could be counted on one hand, and none of them had the same kind of happy innocent air about them that Twilight had ... And none of them were even close to being as cute as her.

“Careful, remember we are officially with Rarity now.”

“It was just an observation.”

“Uhuh...”

“So I was wondering, do you need to channel all your magic through your horn? And does it always take on that purple tinged glow when you do?”

“Yes and yes. Every unicorn's horn glows when they do magic. Speaking of which, how do you humans channel magic since you haven't got any horns?”

“We usually use either ethereal constructs or physical tools like wands, staffs, cups and so on. You saw some of my old tools back in my old home on Earth.”

“But I’ve seen you use magic without tools before, and you didn't shape any constructs as far as I was aware.”

“Well, we don't need to, it's merely to help direct and specify the type and flow of energy. You don't need to have specific objects to channel magic since everything is energy in one form or another. Usually, energy flows naturally along energy channels down from the higher realms within our aura.”

“That sounds strange, without a unicorn horn ponies can't do magic.”

“Of course you can. Magic is just a collection of structured educations and traditions used to manipulate energy. Your horns might give you a natural and very strong affinity to manipulate the higher forms of energy in different dimensional spectrums, but that doesn't mean you can't do without. It just takes a lot of work and forming of connection to different sources of energy.”

“That sounds incredible. So, do you think an earth pony like Applejack or a pegasus like Rainbow Dash could learn how to use magic?”

“I know they could. Rainbow Dash already use a form of magic in order to help her fly, and I suspect all pegasi do. But I told you about what Eldros told me about the origin of ponies, as far as I know each type of pony is specifically tailored to help maintain harmony in this world. You don't see Earth ponies or pegasi use what we would call conventional magic because you unicorns and also the alicorns already fulfill that purpose. What's left after that is personal desire I guess, but I find the thought of an earth pony or pegasus wanting to learn magic strange ... Have you ever heard of such a thing.?”

“No I haven't....”

“I thought so, but you haven't told me anything about the direction unicorn magic has taken in it's development.”

“Well, if you wanted to know everything, you would need to go to the Canterlot archives. There just to much for any pony to learn all of it. Maybe with princess Celestia as the exception, but I can give you a brief overview if you want.”

“I would like that very much.”

And so Twilight spent the next hour going through the history of unicorn magic and the impact it has had on pony society. Beginning with the rule of the Alicorn Kingdom and it's mysterious fall before progressing into the fractured pony tribal conflicts and finally ending up with the founding of Equestria.

“....So even though there are many spells and forms of magic that have been lost to time, much has been preserved by the princesses and by open learning by those unicorns that have demonstrated enough responsibility and talent, like me. But there have always been spells and magic all unicorns have been able to perform, like moving objects.”

“So from your description, there have been studies undertaken of the greater high forms of magic, but they have been limited to the unicorns who's special talent it magic, while the rest have merely developed magic use for practical purposes. I can see your society has been influenced by this, but I was wondering how much society and cultural influence has affected your magic?”

“Well, I guess that depends on where you were born. In places like Ponyville which was founded by Earth ponies, there is little research and education besides the most basic material. Most of what they learn, they learn in school or by natural talent.”

“Sounds odd. The only humans who really study magic are those who give their life and soul to it. Which by pony standards would be the ones whose special talent is magic. The human equivalent of unicorns who don't specialize in magic would be what we refer to as dabblers, and they are mostly looked down upon as flimsy psychics, mediums or other half talented magicians who have no real clue as to what they are doing.”

“Magic can't have as large a place in human societies as it does in Equestria then if you are so few.”

“It used to have. These days technology has taken magic's place for conventional, every-day use. Which is just as well, fewer complications that way if you ask me.”

“I did read a few books when I was inside your mind about your technology. I never knew you could do so many things with just a few pieces of metal and an electric charge.”

“It's ... a lot more complicated than that, but sure. Anyway, you ready to try telepathy?”

“Yes, I think....”

“You inspire such confidence.”

“Blame my teacher.”

“Ouch, fine, how about this. You unicorns seem to only use magic when it is shaped into a spell, which I consider is unnecessary, but breaking that pattern would take more than it's worth, so let's try something new. Do you think you could shift that biometric spell up a few notches from analyzing physical matter into the mental sphere of my aura?”

“Yes that might work, but I would need to increase the frequency of the pulses so it becomes a steady stream.”

“As long as it works, ready?”

Twilight didn't answer instead she just closed her eyes and clenched her jaw as her horn began to glow in it's usual purple color. Karon relaxed his mind and scanned her while she was working. She seemed to get the hang of it very fast. Already a mental bridge began forming between their minds, the mental energy focused by the reconstructed biometric spell.

He thought as hard as he could of her library, shaping an image of it in his mind. When the visual parts were done he added more into it to help solidify the thought, the way a book felt when he touched it. The smell of old parchment and the small particles of dust swirling around in the beams of sunlight.

He soon felt an intruding presence inside his mind and hastily buried his shock, how could she have done it so quickly!? He had expected maybe a shaky sphere taking in his thoughts for maybe a second or two before losing it, but instead he felt her inside his mind as a secure and firm presence.

Twilight opened her eyes and smiled at Karon, tiny beads of sweat began forming on her eyebrows.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes I can. How did you manage to master the spell so fast? I sense absolutely no difficulty in holding it up.”

“Oh it was easy, I've studied the biometric spell a long time and once I knew how to change it, I had no trouble casting it. I AM princess Celestia's top student for a reason you know.”

“I can see that, but I also see that your horn is still glowing. It will be very hard for you to read somepony's mind if it always does that. They'll know you're doing some kind of magic and might be on their guard.”

“That's fine, I don't want to pry anyway. I just thought it would be exciting in learning a kind of magic I have never heard about before.”

“I can understand that, though it wasn't so different since you just modified your spell.”

“Yes, but I have never heard of anypony ever thinking of constructing spells in the way I just did, most of our magic is used to affect physical matter not mental.”

“It's just a matter of shifting through dimensional spheres is all. Anyway, since you have already mastered it in five minutes, something I am incredibly jealous of, we might as well say we're done now.”

“You sure you don't want to continue? There are a tons of notes I want to write about this, and the more I do the more I can write.”

“You're starting to sound like Lyra, fine we'll talk some more. Maybe I can teach you direct information transfer.”

“Which is?”

“It is when you share raw sensory data or subjective awareness with someone you are linked to, like we are now. With it you could for example transfer the knowledge of an entire book as far as you understand it directly into my mind.”

“That's just amazing. You could learn so much in so little time like that.”

“Sure, but your brain still needs to process the information like it always does, and instead of reading a book over a few hours all that required processing will have to occur in seconds. If you transfer too much ,your neurological pathways will literally burn out and could cause brain damage.”

“Oh, sounds dangerous.”

“'All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous'.”

“That is a really strange way to think.”

“It's because it's a quote and not an original thought. What I mean by it, is that anything can be lethal if not properly balanced.”

“So how much information do you think is safe?”

“We can try with something relatively frivolous and without requiring a deeper thinking. How about hmmmm, the meaning you put on flowers and what they are supposed to represent?”

Karon had to use every ounce of his willpower to keep his other part from commenting on that since Twilight would have heard it.

“That sounds like something that might be easy to transfer. I don't know a lot about it, but I can try to transfer what I know. Are you sure it will be safe?”

“Yes, if I sense the information is beginning to overload my systems I can just cut our connection and block you out.”

“Oh, okay then.”

Karon did his best to cut out the smug sense of satisfaction he felt from his thoughts. He had just managed to make Twilight give him all the information he would, hopefully, need regarding flowers and she had no idea of the real reason why.

Tricksters can be tricky.

But that smugness was shattered when his mind felt like it was being drenched in ice water and electrical charges burst through his brain in chaotic patterns as it desperately tried to keep up with the sudden flood of information is was feed. It lasted only for a few seconds, but by the end of it Karon cut the connection with Twilight and fell back in the bed, cold sweat oozed out of him and the world spun as a throbbing pain took form inside his head.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked with concern in her voice, Karon shifted his eyes to her and gave a weak smile.

“Yeah I'm fine, just been a while since I last did that.”

She looked a little disbelieving of his statement as she took in the sweat and disoriented look in his eyes but didn't protest. Instead she merely asked. “So did it work?”

Karon didn't answer first. He tried to carefully pick through his still reeling mind and found the fresh information readily available. There wasn't a lot, just information about twenty four different plants and the common virtues or feelings they were thought to represent.

But it would be enough he thought as he carefully went through them, now he just had to pick three that he thought represented Rarity. That was the truly dangerous part, you didn't want to get that wrong and insult the lady.

“Yes, it worked.”

Twilight looked overjoyed at the news and bounced around the bed a few times in glee before she stopped and clapped her hooves together.

“So what should we do next?”

“I'm going to go out and do something extremely tedious and boring so my mind can rest.”

“But we can't there is still so much to learn. If you can't do it for me at least do it for SCIENCE!”

“Science won't be going anywhere. Besides, Spike told me he was supposed to wake you up early today. Doesn’t that mean there were things you were supposed to do?”

Twilight froze for a second and her eyes widened as realization struck her.

“Oh no! My yearly report to the Canterlot science foundation is due next week and I haven't even started yet! Spike! Spike get me the books on alchemical reagents and the astrometric tracking logs!”

She shouted as loud as she could as she ran out of the bedroom and into the library without even giving Karon a second glance, something he appreciated. He remained on the bed and relaxed a bit, going over the flowers again before picking three candidates that showed promise.

“Firelily representing passion, golden serafil for beauty and finally bluewings for a hidden depth.”

“Shouldn't something representing generosity be in there?”

“Too obvious. Besides, according to that book I was supposed to present these with an explanation for why they are suiting to her. I can come up with a romantic and fitting description that should contain all of her good qualities.”

“So where to next?”

Karon's stomach grumbled in response to the question, and he smiled in amusement as he rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom. The robe was still pretty wet, but the pants, socks and shirt were dry enough for him to wear. He put them on and walked out from the library and towards Lyra's home. Hopefully she wouldn't be busy so she could buy him another dinner in exchange for another lesson on humans. Sure, he had money now, but it was a very limited resource for the moment, no need to waste it.

For once, the sky wasn't clear with a shining sun. Instead there were clouds covering most of it with a few empty spaces here and there where the sun shone through. It was a nice relief from the usual blistering warmth and the clouds didn't look dark enough to threaten with rain. All in all it looked to be a very pleasant day.

It was during this time when he was heading towards Lyra's house with his eyes fixed on the sky that he nearly tripped over something in the middle of the street that squealed when he walked into it.

When he recovered his balance, he looked down he saw the familiar shape of an orange pegasus filly staring up at him with a reproachful look.

“Watch where you're going, you could have stepped on me!”

“Well hello to you too. It's so nice to see you've recovered from your adventure in the forest. It would have been so very sad if you had been eaten by a giant bird ... so, so very sad.”

Karon said with a tone contradictory to the words he spoke. In response the filly looked down and mumbled something incoherent.

“What was that?”

“I said thank you for saving me,” she mumbled a little louder, her tone also contradicting her words. She didn't sound grateful as much as annoyed.

“Why thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I am in dire need of lunch and somepony to pay for it.”

Karon stepped around the filly and resumed his walk towards Lyra's house when he heard the sound of tiny hooves running after him.

“Hey wait!”

Feeling irritated at having his stomach denied Karon turned around and spoke a little harsher than intended.

“Don't you have school or something? Or friends you can bother?”

The little pegasus stopped and looked down at the ground with an angry frown and answered.

“No, we don't have school today! And both Sweetie Bell and Applebloom are busy with their sisters.”

She finished the last part with the same angry tone, but underneath it there was a lot of hurt evident to even the most oblivious of listeners.

Something painful and yet soft tugged at Karon's heart.

Carefully he asked, “I've heard you're an orphan ... is that true?”

“So what, lot's of ponies are!”

“So it's common?”

“...No,” she answered, a few cracks beginning to shine through her mask of bravado.

Karon nodded in turn and did his best to sound understanding as he continued.

“I don't have a family either.”

The little filly looked up at him with sudden interest and didn't even try and hide it when she sniffled.

“Really? How come?”

“Something ... stupid happened, something very childish and they died. How about you?”

“I don't know ... my mom was still here until I was three, but I've never even heard of who my dad might be.”

“Sounds rough.”

“Yeah, but it takes more then a couple of crappy parents to make me a wuss!” she said with something close to a challenge in her voice, daring him to object.

Instead he just smiled and looked her in the eyes as he said, “Same here.”

She laughed the way a cocky child might and looked pleased at what he'd said.

“Hey you're pretty cool, wanna hang out?”

Normally Karon would have said no and briskly walked away without looking back once, but there was something about the litt- ... something about Scootaloo that made him hesitate. He checked the purse with his bits before sighing.

“Fine, I guess I'll have to have my free lunch some other day. You can come with me to some place where we can eat if you want.”

“Sounds awesome! Are you paying? I haven't eating anything else but school and hospital food in like ... forever.”

“You haven't had anything else but school and hospital food!? ...Okay yeah I'm buying, but only because I feel sorry for you after hearing that.”

“Whatever, can I have a large hayfries?! Oh and a large Bitterberry soda!? Oh and a....”

This went on for quite some time, with suggestions and desires that had been piling up after years of daydreaming about tasty and very unhealthy food finally getting a chance to be voiced, and perhaps, fulfilled.

                                       *************************************

Four days and three flowers later, Karon sat inside the library and stared out the bedroom window.  During these four days there were three significant things that had happened. The first was that Applejack had contacted him with good news; the sales of their alcohol and gone through the roof and they barely had time to keep up with the demand. So Karon had received quite a bit of ... bits, and there looked to be more heading his way if the sales kept up.

The second was that he had had the good fortune of being able to get all three flowers from Zecora, without having to go deeper into the woods in a quest for picking flowers, and dutifully, he had left one flower each day before Rarity's front door. They had continued to spend time together and like the book had said, neither of them mentioned anything about it. And today, on the fourth day, he was supposed to go to her and explain it had been him, despite it being rather obvious, and tell her why those flowers represented her the most.

The thought made him a little nervous. He needed to have a silver tongue tonight if he wished things to go well, but most of his nervousness sprang not from the coming evening, no, it was because of Scootaloo.

During the days since he had run into her, they had grown into a weird but functional ... friendship? No that didn't really describe what they had. Scootaloo seemed to admire him in a strange way. She listened to what he said and actually took it to heart, which was dangerous since he rarely sugarcoated anything. Her admiration of him was nothing compared to that of Rainbow Dash, which bordered close to the same degree as Lyra's obsession with humans, but there was something about the way she looked at him, spoke to him.

Karon would have guessed she had begun seeing him as some kind of father figure if it weren't for the fact that he lacked all forms of authority and responsibility. On the contrary, he was probably the only adult that not only allowed but actually encouraged Scootaloo's reckless behavior. But despite the confused form of relation she still came to him whenever she needed advice or help. They had grown a bond of some kind, and Karon should feel happy about that.

Instead, he felt unnerved. There was something about the way Scootaloo acted. Her casual almost careless attitude and lack of respect that reminded him of something. The way she spoke and behaved was like an echo of someone he used to know, at least he thought so since he couldn't remember who exactly. It was just there in the back of his mind, mocking him with it's position just out of reach.

And for once his mind had been silent of any snarky comments about it, which was the really odd part.

“What am I missing?”

“You'll get it when you're ready.”

“Gah this is so frustrating, I know it's there but I can't put my finger on it. I've gone through nearly every person I can ever remember meeting and none seem to match the same kind of person I see in Scootaloo.”

“God you're oblivious.”

“Just tell me already!”

“No, it will come in it's right time. And when it does, I think a lot of contemplation will follow, and we need a clear head for tonight. We've spent days now preparing for this while we have flirted some more with Rarity, but a few innocent kisses here and there doesn't have to mean anything and she knows it. What we do tonight will set the tone for how the rest of this relationship with her will work, so please, don't fuck up.”

“Oh ye of little faith....”

But he didn't say anything further. Instead, he watched as the sun set over the roofs of Ponyville and waited for it to disappear entirely. When it finally did he rose up from his seat on the bed, climbed down from the platform and walked down the stairs into the library.

There, he found Twilight reading a book while Spike was busy sorting books into the bookshelves while wearing an irritated look. Not that Karon blamed him, Twilight had run amok with her newly acquired telepathy spell for the last few days and it had made it nearly impossible for Spike to steal any cookies or ice cream when she wasn't looking.

Of course, the dragon didn't blame Twilight. He knew how fruitless it was to blame her for using a new spell. No, he blamed Karon and had made that very clear to him between gritted teeth every time his plans to abscond with a bunch of sweets had been thwarted.

Karon was beginning to get very worried about what would happen when the dragon would find out he was also not only ruining his chances to get his claws on cookies but also stealing what he considered to be his true love.

Especially now that Karon and Rarity where beginning to enter a more serious phase of their relationship instead of whatever they've had so far. After tonight, according to the book, she would either accept him as her mate or she would deny him and that would be that. So it was all or nothing. Either they would truly do this or she would back out, or find him lacking.

Whichever it would be tonight would determine a lot, and the consequences would most likely be both good and bad. The good part was a very sexy and charming unicorn, and the bad ... was a pissed off pony population with a very angry dragon at the front.

“Have you ever considered what an interesting life we lead?”

“No not really. I've become too jaded to strangeness. After a while it all just becomes ... normal.”

“Hey Twilight, I'm going out. I might be staying over at Lyra's if she keeps me around too long asking about humans, so don't get worried if I don't show up again.”

“Oh okay, say hi to her for me,” she said and turned around to face him, her horn flared up in it's purple aura and Karon felt the gentle pressure of her presence inside his mind. He quickly shielded his true thoughts and projected a false appearance of wanting to visit Lyra and speak to her. Twilight might have mastered basic telepathy unnaturally quick, but there was a thousand tiny tricks she still had no knowledge of, like the one he had just used.

“Don't trust me?”

She had the decency to blush and looked a little ashamed.

“Sorry, it's just that so little of what a pony really thinks and feels are understood by their words. You understand so much more if you can read their mind.”

“It's still incredibly rude.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't let it become a habit,” he said and walked out the door with a final nod goodbye.

“One day I might not catch on fast enough and then you will see through my lies.”

Besides Big Macintosh, Lyra was the only pony Karon had confided in about his situation with Rarity, and she had agreed to cover for him when needed. In exchange for additional information about humans of course, nothing in the world was free after all.

Karon had no idea what would happen tonight and he tried not to let his imagination get away from him, but it would probably take a while just talking.

When he arrived at the boutique, he stood silently for a few minutes in front of her door, calming his nerves with a few breathing techniques and mentally limbering up. He needed to be smooth, charming and very gentle with everything he said.

Everything he usually was not.

He pushed out all the air in his lungs one last time and knocked gently on the door. It was already opened and moved a few inches when his knuckles meet the wood. Karon took that as a planned invitation and stepped inside.

To say it was transformed might be a bit of an overstatement, but she had definitely done some work on the place. It could be best describe as tasteful yet romantic. The usual pearly white that dominated the room had been replaced with various golden and red drapes and clothes covering certain areas. Candles burned with small flickering flames, providing a dimly illuminated room that anyone would have trouble not feeling relaxed within.

In the middle of the room stood a table with a red cloth over it. Karon suspected she had done so to hide the fact it was just the regular kitchen table. Upon it stood two plates with some food Karon couldn't identify and a bottle that looked a lot like wine, probably was too. Surrounding the table were burgundy pillows meant to provide comfort for both of them despite the differences in anatomy.

She must have been planning it for quite some time.

Rarity herself remain out of sight, so Karon shut the door behind him loudly to make sure she knew he had arrived. When he did he heard some clamoring from upstairs and called out.

“Rarity it's Karon, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I'm fine, splendid, wonderful! I'll be done shortly.”

She sounded even more nervous than Karon felt which made him feel a lot better, if she screwed up worse than him than maybe she wouldn't notice.

“You are such a romantic.”

Karon stood in the middle of the room close to the table and waited patiently for Rarity to make her appearance. She obviously wanted to make an entrance, and he couldn't fault her for it. This was supposed to be a night for dramatics and emotional indulgence after all.

He didn't have to wait for long as the sound of hooves slowly walking down the stairs reached his ears. He looked over at the staircase and saw Rarity coming down, and he had to admit, he was impressed.

She wore a dress matching the surrounding decor, mostly deep red and gold but also dark green could be seen here and there in crevices and folds. Karon realized it was meant to match the robe he was now wearing as well as the decor, and yes, she had totally pulled it off.

The deep red and gold made her pearly white coat and purplish mane stand out clearly and almost shone in the setting.

She was indeed beautiful.

“Good evening lady Rarity, you look breathtaking.”

She smiled and looked very pleased at the comment, but she wanted more tonight.

“Oh, how breathtaking would you say I am exactly?”

“I imagine that the princesses are gnawing at their bedposts in a jealous rage right about now.”

Not that Karon considered either of them particularly beautiful, they reminded him a little too much about regular horses for him to be able to think of them like that, but ponies appeared to consider them the height of beauty and elegance so it would should work in this case.

It did.

She tried to keep a small lady like smile, but Karon saw how the sides of her mouth twitched like the smile wanted to go up to her ears.

Karon waited for her to make the first move. She had a lot more know-how about these kinds of things than he did, so he remained standing where he was and said nothing further.

She noticed his hesitance and took a seat at the table, indicating he should sit down as well. After he did she cleared her throat and asked in a overly formal tone.

“Would you like to dine with me tonight Karon?”

“I would lady Rarity,” he responded and played along.

The rest of the dinner went mostly in silence, interrupted only by the usual nonsense chitchat about how well tasting the food was and how her business had been going lately. Pretending neither of them knew what this night really was for. This was the night where Karon would show Rarity who she was to him. He had already demonstrated the strength of his feelings by venturing into the Everfree forest. But now was the time to reveal why he had done so, for who he had done so.

“Of course she has no idea we got the flowers from Zecora. Doesn't that count as cheating?”

“Her home is in the Everfree right, and we got them from her. So we got them from inside the Everfree forest.”

“Touche....”

But the food didn't last forever, and after Karon had carefully wiped his mouth with a napkin he looked into Rarity's eyes and steeled himself. He knew the protocol and what he was supposed to say now, it was ridiculous but traditions usually were.

“Lady Rarity, I have a confession to make.”

“Oh,” she said and tried to look unaware of what he spoke of, “Please continue, I am eager to hear all you may confide in me.”

“Oh for the love of...”

“I confess that my heart has been taken away by your beauty and grace, and I now desire to make myself worthy of becoming your mate. To prove the sincerity of my words and the truthfulness of my heart, I have for three days now left one flower each evening at your door. These flowers are you lady Rarity, and I gathered each from the dangerous depths of the Everfree forest. Tonight I reveal this to you in the hopes you will find me worthy of a pony such as yourself.”

“You have proven your bravery and sincerity with your actions, but how am I to know you will not only be true and brave for me, but also show understanding in times of need?”

“By the words I know speak. For these three flowers I brought to you are not chosen merely for their beauty, but for the virtues in you which they speak of.”

Karon really tried his best to sound solemn and proper, he really did, and if he accidentally slipped a little here and there Rarity gracefully ignored it. From the look on her face she was having the time of her life with all of this.

“To you I brought a firelily, for within you burns a fierce flame of passion that neither yields nor barters. It burns and never falters, and if you find me worthy, I shall share in this passion and give strength to yours as you give to mine.”

“To you I brought a golden serafil, for your beauty leaves all in awe and as you share in it, you make this world itself more beautiful, and if you find me worthy, your beauty will never fade in my eyes and I shall treasure it always.”

“To you I brought a bluewing, for within you hides a depth that hides even that which I think only I can see. I see the desire and passion to create and share, to make and give, and the sorrow as the world falters and forgets itself. I know your need to make all see the beauty outside the reaches of our eyes, but not outside the reaches of your heart. To bring forth the beauty that hides within all, and make them see what they dared not look for. I know you lady Rarity, I know your heart and if you find me worthy, I shall give you mine.”

“Wow, not bad really, especially since you came up with all of it yourself.”

“It could be better, but it worked.”

Rarity was sold, one look at her was enough to tell Karon that. Her eyes were wide and sparkling with held back tears of joy. She was overreacting a little perhaps, but even Karon felt a little touched by the tender moment. Even though he knew what most of what he had just said was a lie, nothing lasted forever and eventually everything withered and died, but at least they had moments like these, no matter how brief they may be.

“I find you worthy,” she in a shaky voice and walked to his side of the table and kissed him without saying anything further. He put his arms around her and held her, their lips never parting as he pulled her down on the pillows with him.

Soon he could taste salty tears as they streamed down Rarity's face and fell upon his lips. Rarity could taste them as well as their tongues met and parted. They pressed themselves against one another and felt how they sank deeper into each other, bodies tightly knitted together and lips firmly locked.

It wasn't enough.

They both wanted to be closer, deeper, more....

Rarity pulled back and looked at him, her cheeks blushed and eyes full of so many emotions Karon didn't even care to try and analyze them.

She gulped.

“Karon would you ... care to stay the night...?”

He knew what she meant, and he responded with a nod and a kiss.

They remained there for a while longer, enjoying the feeling as their lips met time and again before Rarity pulled back once more and rose up. She walked to the stairs and looked back at him, her eyes now having a mischievous glint in them he had never seen before.

“Coming?”

She didn't wait for a response and contained her slow walk up the stairs and towards her bedroom, leaving Karon with a stupid grin on his face. He rose from the cushions and with a flick of his hand all the lit candles went out, leaving the room in darkness save for the glow of a trickster's amber eyes.

He slowly climbed the stairs and entered into Rarity's bedroom. She was waiting for him on the bed. He looked at her and felt a hunger that began building inside of him, threatening to take over all control and blot out all sense left in him.

He liked it.

And with a final step he left all caution, doubts and fears behind and fell into Rarity's eager embrace.

Chapter 20: Mirror, mirror...

“That was ... marvellous.”

“Indeed, though more dangerous than I first anticipated. Maybe I should start wearing a helmet to bed just in case?”

Rarity only pushed the covers over her face to hide it in shame to which Karon responded with a laugh and pulled them away.

“Don't worry. Worse things have happened before and will again. It's just a scratch and will heal, you have nothing to feel ashamed for.”

“But tonight was meant as something special, a dazzling end to a wonderful courting but....”

“Bah don't fret. This was as you said, marvellous, and I don't regret anything.”

“Besides not wearing a helmet to bed.”

“Quiet you.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes I do, now go to sleep. Tomorrow is the first day we can wake up as mates, you will want to look your best no doubt.”

She smiled and gave him a kiss before going back to snuggling his chest, her horn as always unnervingly close to his throat.

“You now me so well, good night Karon, I ... love you.”

“Goodnight Rarity, I love you too.”

“Do you?”

“Almost, but she has earned hearing those words. Even if they are a tiny white lie.”

“Careful now or you'll turn into a decent person soon....”

Don't worry, I don't think I can.”

Strangely enough, Rarity was the one who fell asleep first. Her breathing became gentle and every now and then she would say something in her sleep. He was still holding her as before, not wanting to let go of the soft, warm presence. He was uncertain as to what he was supposed to be feeling. The sex had been nice for sure, it had been a while since the last time, but there was a nagging that ruined the serenity of the moment. To Rarity this had been more than sex, it had been some sort of ultimate expression of romance and love. To Rarity, it had been about the pleasures of the heart, to Karon...it had been about the flesh.

Not just, he felt something for her. But it was a far cry from the fantasy Rarity had cast herself as the star in, and he didn't know if it was wrong or not of him to feel that way. Was she naive and inexperienced, or was he simply a cynical bastard using her?

"Probably both."

However the question was not enough to completely ruin the moment, and no matter what weird games his heart and mind was playing, it couldn't be denied that it was nice having her next to him.

He fell asleep without ever reaching an answer.

                             ******************************************************

Karon's life settled into a nice rhythm after that night.

He would wake up in the library and begin studying Equestria, her creatures, history and all the things outside her borders. There were several nations outside of her fold apparently, though none embodied the same serenity and sophistication as Equestria. There was the otter kingdom to the northwest, and to the far south, one could find the swamp lands were the harpies's nests lied. To the east were the dragon mountains and contained mostly wilderness inhabited by a mix of creatures with no government save village elders, and if one continued over the sea to the east, they would find the small continent named Punda Milia, where the zebra empress ruled over the desert and jungle.

Karon studied these places and cultures in the morning and usually went out for lunch with either Pinkie Pie or Lyra, largely depending on what mood he was in. After that, he would visit Rarity in the afternoon and spend time with her, and later he would spend the evening with Scootaloo after school hours.

It was an ... idyllic life, Karon started living. He tried his best to maintain training in both magic and the martial arts when he could, but sedation had started to set in and he found himself enjoying his very uneventful life in Ponyville.

Days and night passed as rain, sunshine, storms and wind came and went. Spring blossomed and eventually moved into the hot summer period where the ponies spent most days out in the open fields. Enjoying picnics or games with their families and friends.

Karon was included in that, and it was on such a day, when the ponies had decided to throw a picnic outside the town, that he sat underneath a tree and watched three little fillies play.

“It is impossible infuriating. Months have passed now, MONTHS! And I still have no idea who Scoots remind me of.”

“You are either the dumbest or blindest person on this planet....”

“And you the most annoyingly enigmatic. Why not just tell me?”

“If I know then you already know as well, so it will come to you when you are ready to accept it.”

“I have gone through every single individual I know and still haven't found him or her. Scootaloo is irresponsible, quick to anger and has more than once shown that she is quite adapt at wriggling out of situations and coming up with excuses. She is childish, at times brave in a stupid way and refuses to acknowledge any type or authority and always finds ways to undermine said authorities' control. Who do we know that matches that?”

“....The dumbest person on this planet.”

“So very funny, why are we even talking if you won't give me an answer?”

“I did.”

“What?”

But the voice inside Karon's head had gone silent for once, and had left him even more confused. So Karon went back to watching Scootaloo play, observing the way she moved, talked and behaved and tried his best to find a match in his memories.

A little ways away from him sat the rest of the pony gang, Rarity predictably having brought a huge pillow that she was now lying on while carefully eating from a cluster of grapes that hung in the air above her. Applejack, on the other hoof, had brought with her food instead, which the rest of the ponies were busy devouring with ravenous appetite. Applejack smiled at the scene and when she saw Karon sitting underneath the tree without anything to eat she trotted over with a plate of apple pie to him.

“Wouldn't want ya to go hungry now would we,” she chuckled while presenting him the home made treat. He accepted it with a quirked smiled and began eating from it, still watching the fillies with a wondering look.

“Ah've heard that ya've taken ta spending time with Scootaloo over there. Would ya mind if Ah ask ya something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well ya see, Applebloom has gotten kinda concerned 'bout her. Say's she's a lot more distant now and even more rebellious than she usually is. She even got caught trying to cheat off of Sweetie Bell's test in school couple of days ago. Would ya know what's gotten into her?”

“I might, let me talk to her about it and I will see what I can do.”

“Thanks a lot, Ah wouldn't want Applebloom to lose one of her best friends.”

She tipped her hat in thanks and walked back to the rest of the ponies, all laughing now at something Pinkie Pie had said. Karon ate the rest of the pie and rose up from his seat underneath the tree and walked over to the fillies, who all stopped what they were doing when they saw Karon coming their way.

Applebloom and Sweetie Bell looked a bit uncertain while Scootaloo puffed up her chest and a defiant glint shone in her eyes. Both the mouths of the two uncertain fillies dropped open when the cocky pegasus spoke.

“I didn't know you liked little fillies Karon, you've been watching us for a while now.”

“Please, if I had tastes in that direction I could do far better than somepony as ugly as you.”

“Ugly? Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like a skinny diamond dog with a squashed face.”

“Whatever you say little chicken. Do you have a moment, I would like to talk in private?”

“See you later girls,” she said to the two other fillies still staring at her at having said such things, especially to an adult. She and Karon walked away until they got out of hearing distance and sat down on the grass, the wind gently blew by offering some relief from the heat of the sun.

“So what's up?”

“Applejack came to me mentioning Applebloom is worried about you. Apparently you've been running a little too wild lately and they've noticed.”

“So what? It's not like anypony knows what's it like to be me.”

“What a wonderfully stupid response. Of course they don't, but that is not a functional excuse they will accept for acting contrary to how they want you to act.”

“So I should just shut up and do what I'm told instead!? No way, no pony tells me what to do.”

“That's fine but you have to at least keep up appearance or you'll never be accepted and able to live with others.”

“What does it matter. I'm never going to be able to fly and everypony already looks at me like I'm a freak. I've heard how they whisper about me at the hospital. I might as well just go live in the forest with all the other things ponies don't like.”

“Ughh children ... Look Scoots I know I've been perhaps a little too loose with what I teach and tell you, but you can't live in isolation from other ponies just because you feel others don't get you and are still hurt over ... losing your ... family....”

“...No....”

“Finally! I thought you would never get it.”

“She's ... she's becoming like me....”

“Duh, so what are you going to do about it?”

“Scootaloo I want you to listen very carefully now,” he stared at her hard when he said it and she stared back in turn but nodded, realizing he was serious.

“You don't want that life. You don't want to go down that road. I KNOW you don't want that, nopony want that path. The only reason you take it is because you think that is all that's left for you. That's not true for you. You are still so young and you can choose whatever path or role that calls to you. You WILL learn how to fly and when you do, I think you will be so much stronger and faster than all the other pegasi just because you had to fight for so long and so hard to achieve it. Don't let the mistakes of your parents fool you into believing you don't deserve a good life. It was not your fault you no longer have a family. Don't push other ponies away, they won't abandon you if you don't abandon them okay.”

“But you said....”

“Forget everything I've said. What I've said only goes for me. You are not me, you will NOT become like me. You still have a lot of choices to make while I've already made all mine and they turned out to be mistakes, so learn from me Scoots. Learn from me what you shouldn't do, not what you should do.”

“But you're cool! You can do all these freaky magic things and your eyes glow in the dark and....”

“I am not a good role-model little chicken. If you want one of those stick to Dash. For the most part at least, you should probably try and become a little smarter than her.”

“But I can't just say sorry and act like nothing's wrong! It doesn't matter what I do, everypony's going to leave sooner or...”

“Oh for fuck's sake shut up!” Karon shouted and grabbed hold of Scootaloo, pressing her hard against his chest in a hug. She squirmed at first but eventually gave up and Karon heard her sniffing a few times.

“This is so lame.”

“Perhaps, but you just have to trust me when I say no pony is going to abandon you as long as you don't give them reason to.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

“But how do I know if I'm giving them reason to leave?”

“That's easy. As long as you don't try and hide your feelings and act like those Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bitches you'll be fine. Just be yourself and you'll do fine, do you know why?”

“Because ... I'm awesome?”

“Damn straight, and don't let anypony ever forget that. Sure, you had a couple of idiot parents that didn't realize what an awesome daughter they had. Just replace them with somepony better.”

“Karon ... do you think yo-”

“No, no and no. I told you Scoots, I'm not meant for any kind of real parental or care-taking role even if it would be just part time. You need to find somepony else.”

“Do you think ... Rainbow Dash might like to be my new family?”

“Perhaps, if you asked in the right way.”

“I'll make sure she does.”

“Karon....”

“Yes?”

“...Is it okay if we hug a little longer?”

“For as long as you want.”

                          **************************************

Despite the positive resolution to what Karon thought of as 'The Scootaloo incidence', the realization that he had been looking at a little miniature copy of himself was disturbing. Not only because the filly had nearly gone down the same path that he had, but also because she had been, well....

“So childish! Am I truly like that? So self assured and ignorant I can't see what's right in front of me?”

“Well, it did take you almost five months to realize you were looking in a mirror whenever you saw the pegasus.”

“You know what I mean. Am I like her? Because charming spunk or not, Scootaloo is not a particularly smart filly and always seem to mess up for herself. Am I like her in that way? Childish, stupid and ignorant?”

“Well ever since we got here, you haven't done much else but screw things up. It's only lately now that things have quieted down and that's because we lie about the situation with Rarity.”

“I haven't been that bad.”

“What? Just because you haven't manipulated ponies into a full scale war or acted like a psychopath everything is just fine? You have taken each day step by step and haven't really thought of what everything means, why you do anything. You have just reacted and reacted poorly for that matter.”

“Hey, I've done a lot better here than I did back at earth.”

“So? Loki sent you here to learn what it means to be a trickster, what it means to be US. Have we done that?”

“No ... not really.”

“Then maybe we should try that.”

The thought bothered Karon. Things had felt good lately and he didn't want to ruin it, but the questions and reason he was here in the first place remained and would not go away, so he would do the only thing he could do really.

He would ask for advice.

                             *****************************************

“Ah don't know if ah can give ya any advice here Karon,” Bic Mac said from his comfortable position in the pile of hay. The seemingly unshakable farm pony had been the first pony Karon had gone to after the picnic was done and he had just finished recounting what he realized about Scootaloo, how things were with Rarity and his own confusion about ... well everything.

“But I haven't even asked you a question yet!”

“Ah know, but it sounds to me like things are getting awfully complicated for ya. Ah don't know how much help ah can be.”

“You gotta give me something here Mac.”

“Well, it seems to me ya are just confused and don't know what yer supposed to do. Ah can tell you this, Ah do what Ah do because Ah love working at the farm and Ah love working with ma family, an' Ah love it not just because Ah like doing it, Ah love it because Ah know Ah'm doing it for the right reasons. So Ah think you're just confused because yer thinking so hard about how yer supposed to be a trickster fella and not why yer supposed to do what yer supposed to do.”

“That's ... awfully perceptive. Thank you once more Big Mac. Did you like the new mead recipe I gave you by the way?”

“Eeyup!”

“Nice to hear it. Well, I think I should get going. I still want to ask Lyra on her opinion on the matter.”

The red stallion simply nodded and went back to his nap in the comfortable hay while Karon went inside and collected his cut from the latest alcohol sales. After that, he headed straight to Ponyville and a certain human obsessed unicorn's home.

When he knocked on the door it was Bon Bon that opened. She and Karon had developed a very cold relationship between them. Ever since Karon had arrived in Equestria, Lyra's obsession had hit new levels each week it seemed, and it had turned from an obsession into something resembling an actual science ... a mad one though, and Bon Bon did not like it at all. To her it was all Karon's fault, since he existed and all.

Lyra herself couldn't be happier though and when Karon walked into her room she immediately dropped everything she was working on a grabbed a notebook.

“Not today Lyra. Today I will be asking you questions.”

“What? Why? Can't I have one question at least?”

“Because I find myself in need of some perspective and you weird ponies are all I have at the moment.”

“Okay ... What do you want to ask?”

So Karon explained what he'd realized about Scootaloo and how it had made him start questioning himself, Lyra was listening carefully at first but towards the end she looked a little bored.

“I don't know what to say to that, maybe you haven't thought about it carefully enough. I mean, I would never have learned this much about humans if I hadn't worked so hard to get it. If you don't know the answer, you should just investigate until you do, as long as you have the right questions to begin with.”

“Better than nothing I guess. As thanks, would you like for me to tell you about the Mongolian empire?”

And so what Karon had thought would be a brief stay, turned into an hour long presentation of the rise and fall of the Mongolian empire and all the important historical figures within it. Lyra had put up a huge time line on one wall detailing the part of human history she knew and the blanks still missing. When Karon announced he was done for today she thanked him hastily and began writing in the new details on her time line.

Karon left the house with a frosty nod to Bon Bon on his way out and headed towards Rarity's boutique. He wouldn't be spending any more time with Scootaloo today and he could use a pleasant distraction for the moment.

Above him, the Equestrian summer sun shone brightly and made the days almost unbearable in their heat in Karon's opinion. He hadn't worn his robe for a long time, favoring the shirt instead, and just this once he might admit that black wasn't the wisest option for clothes during this season.

He wiped the gathered sweat from his forehead and knocked on Rarity's door before walking inside. She was standing before a mirror and was admiring herself in a new dress, not taking her eyes off it once as they scanned critically for any mistakes. She made a self satisfied sound when she found none and spoke.

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the most fabulous pony of them all?....Why yes it is me! Don't you agree Karon?”

She turned towards him and fluttered her eyelashes suggestively, having grown far more bold with each night they spent with each other.

“I can't disagree. That dress suits you, brings out your eyes.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. We truly are meant for each other.”

“Indeed....” Karon replied and took a seat on his usual position on top of a table. Rarity glanced back in the mirror for a few seconds before she turned around to him again.

“I will go upstairs and undress, do you want to join me? Are you staying the night?”

“I'll be along, and no I'm not staying tonight. I am feeling exhausted and just need to rest.”

“Oh okay,” she replied a little disappointed and walked up the stairs and into her room.

Karon remained where he was and tried to gather his thoughts. When he was unsuccessful, he looked at the mirror and walked to it. Within it he saw himself looking back, those shining amber eyes leaving no doubt that whatever he was now, it wasn't human.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest deceiver of them all?”

He didn't hear any reply. There was just his reflection, looking back at him with an uncertain face.

“Screw this,” he muttered and went upstairs where Rarity was waiting for him. The rest of the evening they spent together in bed, holding each other while Rarity told Karon about all of her latest designs. Karon wasn't listening of course, his mind still occupied with all the questions swirling round in it.

“An identity crisis, how very original of you.”

“It's not an identity crisis. I just need to know what I am supposed to do exactly.”

“You'll find out eventually.”

That wasn't good enough, Karon hated not knowing the answer to a question. Especially when it concerned himself, he was supposed to know things, it was his only real advantage, but at least Rarity's presence calmed down the worst part of his mind, allowing for some more manageable contemplation.

“Rarity.”

“Hmmm, yes Karon what is it?”

“....Nothing, forget I said anything,” he leaned down and kissed her, stroking the back of her right ear at the same time. He had learned a lot about pony physiology ever since he and Rarity had begun having sex, and even though it was most likely different from mare to mare, Rarity herself had a weak spot in the form of her ears.

Outside the sun had set and Karon realized he had forgotten the time. He climbed out of bed and gave Rarity another kiss before heading towards the door.

“I should go, Twilight is expecting me to be back around now and I disappear enough as it is.”

Rarity looked very disappointed and just a tiny bit afraid.

“Karon ... are you happy with me?”

“...Yes, yes I am.”

“Then why can't we just tell everypony about us?”

“Several reasons why, please Rarity. Just have patience, one day we will tell them.”

She nodded in response but didn't look convinced. Instead, she looked out the window as he left trying to make sense of it all.

“So are you?”

“What?”

“Happy.”

“...Yes.”

And it was the truth. Odd or not, he had managed to scrounge up some kind of happiness in his life here in Ponyville, but it wouldn't last forever and Karon knew that. He just wished he didn't.

The walk to the library was a lot cooler since the sun had fallen and it improved his mood by a slight degree. Which is perhaps why Twilight didn't pick up on his feelings when he entered the library and greeted her. Instead she just greeted him back before returning to her latest project.

She was writing a study of telepathy and the different ways it could be utilized by ponies. Because of this, Twilight had begun using telepathy almost everywhere and on everypony. It had gone so far, her friends had joined together and put a ban on all use of telepathy on them or while they were in the close vicinity. Karon had playfully dared her to try and get to his mind though, and every time she did he just blanked it, leaving her very frustrated with her lack of success.

It was a demonstration of just how far their relationship had gone, that Karon was so comfortable and had gotten to know Twilight so well that he was confident he could predict whenever she would make an attempt, and Twilight had become more friendly as well, taking a liking to his new found studies, and they had spent many night up late discussing new finds either of them had made and fallen asleep next to each other.

Karon took a seat in a pile of pillows he had placed on the floor to act as his seat while reading and picked up a book from the closest pile. His back was turned away from Twilight and the rest of the library so she wouldn't notice that he wasn't reading the book. Just using it as a reason to sit down and think things through.

“So do we try and formulate some new plan?”

“I don't know, that's the point. We need guidance of some kind. Loki should have been the one to offer such things, but instead he opted for throwing me into the pool and either I learn how to swim or drown.”

“So we go to someone else.”

“Like who?”

How about Eldros?”

“That ... might work. But, there is a chance he will give an answer through some kind of elaborate and very painful demonstration meant to make me realize something.”

“It's worth the risk. We won't get anywhere if we continue like this.”

“I haven't done all too bad. I managed to acquire some friends and even a steady flow of bits, I even got Rarity and she is improving a lot with the sex, als-”

Karon's inner dialogue was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath from behind him, and he turned around with a cold dread gathering in the pit of his stomach. He saw Twilight standing on the other side of the room facing him. Her horn was glowing steadily with a purple light and her eyes....

“Those eyes..”

They screamed of the pain and loss she was feeling at that moment.

She had heard everything.

Chapter 21: The right thing to do

Karon dared not move, dared not think. All of his senses were completely focused on the unicorn facing him. The situation was so mind numbing that he couldn't comprehend what the hell had just happened. After all of his careful lying and scheming, it all shattered so easily?

And now, he was left where he was, not daring to blink as every cell of his being held its breath and waited for what was to come next.

Twilight looked at him very much the same way he looked at her, but where Karon's eyes held fear and shock Twilight's held pain and confusion. Her mouth was slightly open and moved, like she was trying to form words but found herself unable to understand what she had just heard within his mind.

Both of them remained as they were, waiting for themselves to wake up from the nightmarish turn of events the evening had taken.

Twilight got there first.

“You ... you did WHAT!?”

“Twilight ... please remain calm....”

“Calm ... calm ... How can I be calm! Why would you do this? You told me it was just a mistake, that you would fix it. I trusted you, everypony trusted you! And now I find out you've been going behind my back and manipulated Rarity into believing your lies ... Why would you do this? What else haven't you told me!?”

“Manipulated is a strong word, I'm not forcing her to do anythi-”

“NO! You're just lying and telling her what she wants to hear. Has anything you've ever said to her been true? No, no I can't let this happen. She doesn't understand what you are, she doesn't know you ... like I do.”

Twilight descended into incoherent mumbling to herself and Karon thought he heard her making a mental list again of all things. He took the opportunity to rise up from his seated position as subtly as he could but Twilight immediately noticed and her eyes snapped back to him.

“Where do you think you're going! Sit down, I'm not done talking!”

The pain and confusion in her eyes were gone without a trace, replaced instead with what looked like murderous rage and Karon began feeling very uneasy.

“Look Twilight I-”

“Sit down!”

“Hey, it's nothing worth getting upset about, the sex wasn't that good!”

Total silence reigned in the room, and from the confines of his mind, Karon heard the sound of someone slapping his own face.

“Mistake.”

Twilight's face began glowing with a dangerous red tone, and from her mane and tail, smoke began to rise like it had during his and Pinkie's munchies spree. Her teeth were grinding audibly and the usual purple color of her eyes were shifting into a glowing red as her face contorted into a grimace of pure rage.

“Whatever you do don't run, it will make you look guilty.”

With a final snap of her self restraint Twilight's mane and tail burst into actual flames and her coat shone with a harsh white color. Her now blood red eyes bored into him with a stare that spoke only of utter doom and destruction.

Karon whimpered.

“RUN! RUN AND NEVER STOP!”

No longer caring for appearances, Karon leapt from his half standing position and threw himself into the little library and slammed the door behind him. Just in time to hear the sound of what must have been a hundred books slamming into it with force enough to break bones.

Twilight meant business.

He pressed himself up against the door as hard as he could, but that could not stop Twilight as he found out. The telltale sound of a teleportation spell was heard and Twilight appeared in the middle of the room in a flash of purple. Karon may or may not have screamed like a little girl before running back out into the library with Twilight after him growling louder than any pony should be able to. She was back to her normal, flame-less self, but her mane and tail still carried black scorch marks on them.

He swerved to the left and raced up the stairs and had just barely been able to dodge into the bedroom before Twilight appeared right behind him, trying to cut off his escape. He practically jumped up to the platform in one leap and ran to the far end where he was forced to stop. He turned around and gulped as Twilight teleported again and came to stand before him. Behind him, the rising moon framed him in perfectly and made him an easy target.

“Twilight ... let's not do anything we will regret.”

“Regret, REGRET! I regret not listening to princess Luna when she told me to keep an eye on you, that you would trick us all and go behind our backs to plan something. So now you're going to stay right where you are and I'm going to contact princess Celestia and we will make sure you aren't hiding anything important.”

“We went through this already don't you remember?”

“THAT WAS BEFORE YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK AND SLEPT WITH RARITY!”

Karon did not wish to find out whatever she planned to do with him while she waited for the princesses to arrive, and seeing the enraged Twilight standing before him with her horn glowing with whatever spell she was preparing for containing him made it clear he only had one option left.

He turned around and threw himself out the window.

He had put his arms around his head to protect from the shards of glass, but it also kept him from seeing anything. Which was why he was completely caught off guard when he hit an enormous branch and flipped upside down. He continued travelling downwards in a semi-coherent state and kept hitting branches on the way, letting out screams and yelps every time something impacted on him.

With a final smack, his still shielded head bounced upwards then everything came to a halt. Karon groaned in self-pity and removed his arms, peering cautiously around himself in a daze. He was right beneath where the window should be, and a few late straggling ponies heading home had stopped to stare at the scene that had unfolded before them. No doubt confused as to why the library tree would be shouting in pain.

But he had barely time to stand up and commend himself on his daring escape before Twilight teleported down from the bedroom. She appeared before him and instantly locked on him the same way one might expect from a hawk looking down on a rabbit.

Neither of them moved for a moment and Karon did his utmost to think of something clever he could use to distract her.

“Hey look over there, it's Princess Celestia!”

On pure reflex, Twilight's neuroticism kicked in and she turned around, already preparing an apology for the terrible state she was in. It took only second for her to turn around, register that there was no Celestia there, and turn back to Karon, but by then he was already running like crazy with his arms waving in the air like he was trying to claw himself forward faster.

“Karon get back here!” Twilight shouted and set off after him while the ponies around continued to stare after the running pair.

“No way, you're crazy!” he shouted back to her and kept running at a speed that even surpassed the one he had kept when he was being chased by the timber wolves. Twilight was scarier.

”You're crazy! And you’re going back to the library even if I have to DRAG YOU BACK THERE MYSELF!” she screamed and fired off a purple bolt of magic with an unknown purpose. Karon heard the fizzling sound behind him and threw himself to the side and came up in a roll, watching the bolt sip past where he had been running just a heartbeat ago.

“CRAZY!” he shouted at her and flung his own piece of magic at her. She didn't expect it and it struck her. She blinked a few times as the effect took hold and suddenly she was seeing seven Karons all running in different directions.

“GARH!” she screamed and began flinging bolts of purple energy after all of them, teleporting herself into better vantage points and several of them disappeared when they were hit. But for each failure Twilight's patience dropped and she got closer and closer to a complete breakdown.

When the fifth false Karon was hit and vanished, she let out a noise that sounded like two tectonic plates grinding against each other and she closed her eyes in concentration. An enormous gathering of energy formed at the tip of her horn and suddenly exploded outwards, and both Karons were caught in the magical wave and vanished just like the rest.

When Twilight realized she had been duped, she let out a blood curling scream that made everypony within hearing distance curl up in fear, imagining that the gates of Tartarus had been opened and the horrors locked away were coming for them.

Karon heard it as well but kept on running, hiding underneath a veil of invisibility he had cast when Twilight was distracted by his illusion copies. He had no idea what that huge blast of dispelling magic had been, but he knew he didn't want to be near it if it happened again. His hasty veil wouldn't keep up against such a force tearing at it.

Instead, he kept running as fast as he could, his heart thumping painfully hard in his chest and his breath pushing through his throat raggedly. At first he had been running towards Rarity, but had changed his course as soon as a semblance of intelligence had returned to him. It would be the first place psycho Twilight would look.

So instead he ran towards the only other pony he trusted to help him, Lyra. The only other option would have been Big Mac, but he knew the stallion would never choose to actually turn against his sister and would side with her automatically. He was a family pony.

Lyra on other hand would protect Karon with her life. He was the one and only human she was likely to ever meet after all, blooming friendship aside. Bon Bon was another thing entirely, if Twilight came knocking she would sell him out in an instant, and Karon wanted to stay hidden until Twilight had time to calm down.

A year or two might do it.

So when he got close to Lyra's house, Karon dropped the veil and crept along the houses and alleys silently. He was feeling very tired after the run since he had expended a lot of energy at the same time holding up the veil. Which was why he opted for the easiest way to get to Lyra without alerting Bon Bon.

He sneaked up to her window and knocked on it.

He tried doing it as quietly as he could at first but when he got no response he knocked again, harder this time. He was just about to knock a third time when he heard shuffling from within the room and the window opened to reveal a very dishevelled Lyra rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Uuh, Karon is that you? What in Celestia's name are you doing here?”

Karon didn't answer, instead he waved his arm towards Ponyville's center and right on cue there was a large explosion and something resembling a mushroom cloud of purple magic could be seen above the nearby rooftops. Lyra gulped at the display but ushered Karon inside and closed the window, looking for any sign of danger approaching. Once inside he went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, letting go of the air he'd been holding.

“What happened? What was that?”

Karon took a deep breath and steadied his heart rate, the temporary hide out giving him a sense of security.

“Bitch be crazy!”

“What?”

“Twilight, she's gone insane. She managed to read the truth about me and Rarity from my mind and she's on the warpath. She thinks I tricked her into it and am plotting some nefarious scheme to seduce all the mares and take over Equestria or something.”

“Well aren't you?”

“This isn't funny Lyra. She said she would call the princesses to town to 'solve this'.”

“That is bad, but won't they discover that you aren't planning to end the world and make Twilight back off?”

“Maybe ... but the last time I had Twilight and the rest of the ponies on my side. Now it's different, and if Twilight tells them I'm doing something I shouldn't they will take it seriously at first.”

“It still sounds unlikely that they would do anything. Even if Twilight says you're bad, it's obvious this is personal to her. There is absolutely no real evidence suggesting your doing anything wrong. To me, it sounds a little like she's jealous.”

“You're not the first to suggest that.”

“Well who can blame her. Nopony can resist you after all,” Lyra purred and jumped on the bed next to him, giving him a smoldering look and leaned in as if to kiss him.

“Buh, gwah, huuh?” he responded and blinked repeatedly.

Lyra snorted and pushed him out of her bed. Brain still unresponsive Karon fell down on the floor and looked up at her confused.

“Remember what got you into this trouble in the first place?”

“You have a very nasty sense of humor Lyra.”

“It's your fault. I wasn't like this until you came along.”

“That's what you get for corrupting innocent little ponies.”

“You encouraged me!”

“You didn't have to actually listen to what I said.”

“Gaarh! How do I keep getting into these ridiculous situations!?”

“Is that a rhetorical question or...?”

“Never mind ... Can I stay here over the night? Judging by those massive releases of energy, I'm guessing Twilight is burning herself out pretty fast, she will have to go home and sleep soon.”

“What about the princesses? You can't hide from them and I don't think you should even try.”

“I'll wait until the morning and see if I can sense them anywhere near. If they are, I can find them. I doubt Twilight would lose her cool while in their presence. She wants their approval too much for that.”

He sighed and got back up on the bed where Lyra lied, watching him with a mixture of amusement and pity.

“You really don't have it easy huh, you know ... I only got one bed, and if you want to sleep here I think I can come up with something to distract you ... all night loooong.”

The same smoldering look was back with a devious smile, and Karon began to wonder if the unicorn wasn't a trickster herself.

“I'm not falling for that again Lyra....”

She leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“We can stay up all night and you can give me something I want ... something I really need....”

She jumped down from bed and gave him an enormous smile as her horn glowed and a notebook came hovering into view.

“You can give me answers to all the new questions I have about humans.”

“ I should have let Twilight kill me....”

                           *************************************************

Karon woke up feeling utterly drained. Lyra had obviously been saving up on questions for an opportunity like this to present itself, and he had spent almost the entire night scrounging his brain for information regarding the most ridiculous things.

Around and on the bed was a ton of notes Lyra had taken separately after she had filled out her notebook with god knows what mad scribble and ideas. The unicorn herself was sprawled over his legs with a piece of paper sticking out of her mouth which it sounded like she was sucking on.

Karon just shook his head at the sight and sat up, but before he could remove the lightly drooling pony somepony spoke from behind him and he froze when he recognized the voice.

It was Celestia's.

“Good morning Karon, I've heard you have gotten yourself into more trouble lately.”

He turned around and tried his best to look unfazed. The truth was he was just about ready to throw himself out another window but he couldn't give that away.

“That ... is one way to put it.”

“Twilight has informed me what has happened, but I wanted to also hear what you have to say.”

He sighed and rubbed his face gingerly.

“It's not that complicated. I got together with Rarity and kept it a secret since I was afraid the rest of the ponies, especially Twilight, wouldn't react that well.”

“Yes I heard. Twilight says there is a chance that you tricked the element of generosity into becoming your mate, and that you might be capable of planning something bigger and need to be investigated to be sure.”

“I didn't trick anypony. Rarity is herself and I'm not manipulating or controlling her.”

She looked him in the eyes for a moment and nodded.

“Is she happy with you?”

“She seems to be.”

“And are you happy with her.”

“Yes ... I am.”

“I believe you, but this must still be sorted out. I cannot leave Ponyville and the elements without knowing things are well with all of them.”

“So what do you propose?”

“My sister is waiting with the elements in Twilight's library. We will go there and talk things through until a solution can be reached with all of them.”

Karon nodded in turn and woke Lyra up with a few shakes. She grumbled and opened one bloodshot eye and stared at him.

“I need to go now Lyra, good luck with your notes,” he said and without thinking gave her a gentle hug. She mumbled something in response and hugged him back weakly. When he let go she promptly fell back asleep and Karon walked over to Celestia, who was looking at him with a benevolent smile.

“Don't tell anypony about that.”

She laughed delicately and flashed him a grin.

“I won't if you won't. Now put your hand on me and we will go.”

He did as she asked and with a flash of Celestias horn the world shifted momentarily, it was like looking at a shifting frame between one picture and the next. One second they were in Lyra's room, the next they were both standing in the library with six ponies and the lunar princess looking at them.

Luna stared at Karon with a blank face, hiding her inner thoughts from him well. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked angry and their eyes bore into him with open hostility. Fluttershy looked like her usual timid self while Pinkie looked a little sad and torn. Rarity and Twilight weren't looking at him, instead they were busy glaring at each other without blinking.

“Uhrm,” Princess Celestia gently cleared her throat and every eye turned to her, even Twilight and Rarity had broken off their contest to listen to the princess.

“I know everypony here has many feelings they would like to share right now, but we have to remember that we are all friends.” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked a little ashamed while Rarity and Twilight gave each other one more dirty look.

Celestia looked at them all in turn before she stopped and settled her eyes on her student.

“Twilight, you called me and my sister down here because you think that Karon might potentially pose a threat to Equestria and the ponies here in Ponyville. Could you please explain to everypony here why you think so.”

This time Twilight's glare focused unto Karon and she spoke in a calculated tone, obviously having gone over whatever data she thought supported her theory.

“It was last night that I decided to practice the ability to read minds, an ability that Karon taught me. Karon had invited me to use him for this goal and so I did, but he wasn't aware I was doing this at the time, and so he didn't know I was hearing everything he thought. That was how I found out that Karon has been having a secret relationship with Rarity behind our backs.”

“I can understand why learning of that might make you feel betrayed Twilight, but I can not see why this would make you think Karon could pose a threat.”

“But Princess Celestia, Karon has been keeping this a secret for months now, and he was the one who taught me to read minds. We don't know what else he can do and what he is hiding from us! He's clearly demonstrated that he is a good liar and he has considerable magical talent.”

“Twilight Sparkle, I never doubted that Karon can be dangerous and possesses a kind of magic we have very little experience with, but just because something can be dangerous and could hurt us doesn't mean we can do the same to them. Dragons are among the most powerful and dangerous creatures in existence, and yet you have raised one from birth and care for him like he is family.”

“But why would he lie if he didn't do anything wrong!? Why would he lie to me and do that. If he isn't evil, why would he hu-!”

Twilight turned red and looked away, the rest of the ponies mistook her color and silence for anger but Celestia, Luna and Karon had caught the look on her face. Luna looked at the unicorn with pity, Celestia with understanding and Karon ... did his best to pretend he hadn't seen it.

“I believe it has become clear that Karon poses no immediate threat, and he had no ill intent behind doing what he did. We cannot find any fault in his actions. Like always, he continues to act on the borders of right and wrong, but we cannot judge him for this. Twilight Sparkle, I thank you for informing me of the events that transpired here, but my final say is that Karon is no threat and is not to be harmed.”

Twilight didn't look at her mentor, she kept her gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

“As you say princess. Thank you for coming here.”

Her voice sounded hollow, all emotions kept away from it.

Celestia looked down at her with love and sadness for a few moments before she and Luna walked away from the gathered group, but before they disappeared they gestured for Karon to come over to them. When he did Celestia leaned down and spoke in quiet voice.

“We cannot allow this to jeopardize the elements of harmony Karon. Their friendship must not be compromised. Without it, the elements will not work and Equestria would be vulnerable to danger. You are the cause and at the center of this, and it is your responsibility to make sure this is resolved before it causes any damage.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Do whatever you must, but the elements must exist in a state of harmony and friendship. They can fight and bicker amongst themselves, but as long as they remain true friends the elements will work. However, I have never seen my student look this distraught before and I fear that what has happened here could pose a real danger. This is more important than just one pony or human, all of Equestria might depend on that you solve this. If you find yourself in need of help, come to us in Canterlot, but don't fail us, this is too important.”

And with that final ominous note of goodbye, both the princesses horns flashed and they disappeared.

“Great, now our soap opera of a life comes with a mission from royalty which the fate of Equestria may rest upon.”

“Don't remind me.”

He turned and watched the ponies. They were clearly divided into camps where Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight stood on the opposite end of the library from him. Pinkie Pie stood with Fluttershy in the middle and they both looked torn. Neither of them wished for this to be happening.

Rarity walked over and stood with Karon, giving him a loving smile before she turned to face Twilight.

“Come Karon, if they can't accept that we're in love then, they can just be that way and we won't bother them anymore,” she huffed and began walking out of the library. Seeing no better alternative, Karon followed her.

Behind him, he heard Pinkie shouting before the door closed and cut her off.

“Wait, everypony can't we fix this?! I'm sure if we just have some fun and play some games everything will be just f-”

Neither Karon nor Rarity spoke a word, Karon was busy trying to come up with a plan to fix this complete mess and Rarity just walked with her head held high as if to show her disdain for the indignity she had just been put through.

When they reached the boutique, Karon walked in first and Rarity slammed the door behind her. Immediately, everything she had kept in came pouring out.

“The nerve of those ponies! Just because I finally found true love and they didn't, they dare to claim it is all a trick. If that is how they want it, they can just be that way, we don't need them anymore!”

“Are you sure you aren't overreacting?”

The look Rarity gave him made a deathly chill travel down his spine.

“I NEVER overreact. I react perfectly well. It is those ponies, that know-it-all Twilight and that brute Rainbow Dash. Even Applejack told me there was something wrong with the two of us being together and we must end it. They are the ones overreacting! They are the ones who are wrong!”

“What about Pinkie and Fluttershy?”

“Oh the poor dears, they didn't say anything besides that we all should be friends. But I could NEVER be friends with somepony that would stand in the way of true love! It is just unthinkable that they would do this to me.”

“We are all a little upset right now. Let me think of something and I will try and make them come around.”

“I have to.”

“I wish that was true, but they are just to stubborn.”

“We will see. But Rarity this has changed some things and I need to go see ... someone.”

“What? Where are you going? And don't you mean somepony.”

“The forest, and no not a pony.”

“Hmm whatever do you ... Oh I understand, yes Zecora could perhaps help with this. She certainly seem to know a lot of strange things, perhaps she can make a potion to make those ponies see some sense.”

“Yes of course ... Zecora. I will move as fast as I can so it shouldn't take more than a day or two. Will you be fine without me?”

“Of course I will Karon. Just promise me you will be back as soon as you can.”

“I will.”

“Love you sweetie bear,” she said and stood up on her back hooves and kissed him.

“Love you too ... uh ... honey pie.”

“Eeeeeewww.”

                                   ***************************************

The journey had been quick. Between the aid of the forest mind and the familiarity Karon had gained of the forest, he managed to arrive at Eldros' cave somewhere close to sunset and without having encountered any dangerous beasts. The dragon had welcomed him back and readily listened to his explanation of what had transpired.

When Karon was finished the dragon remained silent for a while.

“Thine actions have caused much grief even though thou sought to do no harm, but now, thou has endangered the land of Equestria and it is thy duty to heal the rift thou has caused.”

“But how?”

“Has thou been practicing the powers I helped thee develop?”

“What? How is that relevant?”

“Has thou been practicing the powers I helped thee develop?”

“Well ... kinda. A little bit.”

“Has thou been studying and training in the magical arts thou old master taught thee?”

“Same there....a little bit.”

“Is it thy wish to leave behind your dedications to thine arts? To leave the path of the trickster and the path of the wise one?”

“No of course not!”

“Then why have thou not been studying, practicing, training or grown in thou skill and knowledge.”

“Well I ... I've just been...”

“Complacent...”

“Yes....”

“Thou and I are similar creatures, we are beings of transformation. Radical change and upheaval of the old to form something new. Thou has forgotten thy nature and dedication. The trickster is not complacent and the mage is nothing without study and practice.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Make a choice. Can thou leave thy chosen paths?”

“No I ... I can't....”

“Why?”

“Because it is what calls to me! I can't stop being what and who I am. It is like hearing a song in the distance and never being able to make out the words no matter how much you wish to. Then one day someone reveals it to you, and it is more beautiful and complex than you could ever imagine. I can not leave that, it is impossible. To let that beautiful song of magic, the song of both the trickster and the wizard to fade back into nothing but a distant dream ... I would die.”

“But thy nature is not compatible with that of the ponies around thee. They are not like thee, similar, but not of thy nature or energy. If thou remain on thy path, thou will change them, and it will be a change they perhaps are not ready for. A change they perhaps are not meant for.”

“But ... I love them.”

“Then thy choice is made, and only one option is left if thou wish to stay true to both thy self and them.”

“I know....”

Karon turned his back on the dragon and began walking towards the entrance of the cave, but before he could disappear into the forest again the dragon spoke inside his mind once more.

“Thou has proven thy nobility with this choice. Thy dedication remains strong despite the pain thou will suffer for it ... I grant thee the gift of my name, the complete story that is my past, present and future. The name that is a song telling of my birth, life and final death is thine. When thou will find thy self in need of me, when thou faces that which thou have no hope of besting. Call my name, and I will come to thee ... my friend.”

Rocks tumbled down and the entire mountain shook as a song echoed out from the deepest part of the dragons soul, it echoed out but only within Karon's mind was the song itself heard.

“Som solen föddes så tog jag flykt

dansade på sten, eld och blod av jord

då måne och stjärna var unga och rena

innan barnen av vår jord tog till vapen

med arga skrik av hat och advensjuka

då jag stod på de högsta bergens topp och grät

tårar i form av flammor medans våran moders

älskade jord brann och blev aska

och endast med ett sista beslut så

stoppades slutet och nytt liv kunde formas

med hjälp av varelser bortom våra stjärnor

och de nya barnen som skulle härska kom

till och under många långa cirklar av tid

kommer de möta hot och faror men harmoni

kommer regera och jag kommer vaka över detta

så som jag bidats av min moder sol till den slutgiltiga tid

då månen kommer se mig falla av ett dödligt sår

och mitt sista andetag ska jag ta i kalla havets vatten

innan jag slutligen sätts fri i ande och åter blir ett

med moder solen som födde mig.”

It was all so much. A million impressions of a life that stretched beyond that even comprehensible to Karon was suddenly stretched before him. He could feel what the dragon had felt and would feel. He felt his glorious birth, the life of power, freedom and wisdom that spanned millions upon millions of years, and he felt the dragon's end, the mortal wound that would rip upon his chest and expose his heart. Karon felt how the dragon would die, in a cold, frozen sea before his soul would take one last flight and his flame would become one with the fire of the sun once more.

When it was over, Karon said nothing at first, there were no words that could describe what he had just experienced. The honor that had just been bestowed on him. For the first time in many years Karon felt humbled.

He wanted to return the favor somehow, to give the dragon something of equal worth to show how much he ... simply felt from what it had given him. Thoughts and ideas fluttered by until finally one struck him as the best he could give. Something that was unselfish and showed just how much the dragon had given him with this single name.

“Eldros ... I have an idea....”

                                         ***********************************

When Karon finally stumbled out of the thicket of brushes and plants into Equestria, the sky had just began shifting from midnight blue to a brighter tone. He was incredibly tired but had managed to sate his hunger at least with fruit he had collected from within the forest, but he didn't have time to sleep. He needed to do what he had set out to do, but he just didn't know what to tell them.

His first stop was at Fluttershy's cottage and he had to knock loudly on her door for a long time before the pegasus finally opened the door with a frightful look on her face. When she saw who it was, she first looked relieved then confused and worried.

“Oh Karon ... I uhm ... Hi, I was just sleeping and ... Do you think you could come back a little later, that is if you want to.”

“I actually need to speak to you right away Fluttershy.”

“Oh no, has something happened? Is everypony okay?”

“They're fine Fluttershy. This is about me.”

“You? But I....”

“Could I come in?”

“If you really want to....” she answered and stepped out of the way, letting Karon in and closed the door behind him. He could hear several small animals snoring from inside their little houses, having returned to sleep when their caretaker had dealt with the noise.

Fluttershy put a hoof in front of her mouth to show he should be silent and tip hoofed to her room with Karon close behind.

She sat down on her bed and began fiddling with her hooves while Karon remained standing, watching her silently for a few minutes until the silence became uncomfortable.

“Fluttershy I just wanted to say ... you are a wonderful pony. Don't ever let the world or anything outside of it change you. Of all the things I have seen so far in my life, I think you are the most innocent and sweet.”

She blushed and fiddled with her hooves even more, but she gained enough courage to give him an angelic smile and said.

“Uhm, thank you ... you're really nice ... and uhm ... tall.”

Karon smiled back and put his hand on her head and ruffled it a little.

“Thank you, that was all I wanted to say. You should go back to sleep now, a lot of animals need you and I wouldn't want to keep you from your rest.”

“Oh it's no trouble, I hope everything will become better soon. I don't like it when my friends fight.”

“I promise you Fluttershy, if you go back to sleep everything will be taken care off when you wake up.”

She gave him another angelic smile with a hopeful spark in her eyes.

“Okay, good night Karon.”

“Sleep well Fluttershy.”

He turned around and walked down the stairs, but when he was about to go out the door he found his path blocked by a little bunny looking to be out for revenge. Before the furry little murder machine could do anything though Karon went down on one knee and whispered to him.

“Take care of Fluttershy Angel, you know that she needs you all as much as you need her.”

His ears twitched curiously for a few moments and he looked at Karon as if expecting a trap. When none became apparent the bunny looked him in the eyes with his head cocked sideways and considered what he had just said.

Then put his little bunny paw to his forehead in a salute and jumped back to the little basket serving as his bed. Karon opened the door and walked out from the house but before he could close it a half eaten apple came flying out of the darkness and struck him in the back of his head with a thud.

He didn't turn around, instead he smiled a crooked smile and closed the door behind him and admitted defeat. The bunny had won the war.

                                  *********************************

Next was Rainbow Dash. Problem was, she lived inside a cloud shaped like a house. So instead of trying to figure out some very complicated way of making himself able to fly Karon set up a second rate ritual area with the help of some twigs, rocks and drawn symbols in the dirt. He then performed a clumsy ritual meant to invade the pegasu's dreams and give her the message to come to him. It was done in such a way that would have had Varsif fuming with fury at seeing how sloppy it was. But Karon didn't actually care to do anything specific to Rainbow, he just needed her attention.

She wouldn't ignore it if someone decided to invade her dreams.

Predictably it took just a few minutes before a blur zipped out of the cloud house with a rainbow trailing behind her. When she spotted Karon she flew down to him and looked ready to fight.

“Okay who gave you permission to get into my dreams! I never wake up this early!”

“I just needed to talk.”

“Well I got nothing to say. You hurt Twilight and betrayed the rest of us, I don't care what Rarity says.”

“That will get taken care of before this day is over. I am here about something else.”

“Oh yeah, what makes you think I want to hear anything you got to say!?”

In an over dramatic gesture Karon snapped his fingers and cut of her connection to Equestria and the pegasus fell down to the ground, her wings unable to work anymore.

“You will listen to what I have to say.”

“Not before I buck you to Tartarus!”

“It's about Scootaloo.”

She hesitated when he said it, not understanding what she had to do with anything.

“What about her?”

“I've grown to care for her, and we had a talk recently because she was beginning to head down a very bad road. I don't want that for her and neither does she, but there isn't anypony there to help her. She has her friends and her place at the hospital, but what she needs is more, she needs a family. I ... I won't be able to give her what she needs. So she wants you.”

“Me! Uh, I don't know what you've hit your head with, but I am NOT ready to be anypony's mom.”

“Yes you are. You are exactly what she needs and you don't know just how much you need her. You are alike in so many ways Rainbow. I don't expect you to become a parent overnight, so take help from your friends all you want, but you will take care of Scootaloo and you will be there for here whenever she needs it.”

“Hey, I like the squirt and all but I don't th-”

Karon walked up to Rainbow Dash and fell down on one knee, his eyes were burning with something dangerous and entirely merciless as he spoke.

“Dash, you WILL take care of Scootaloo and you WILL help her learn how to fly. You WILL give her someplace to live and you WILL give her anything else she needs. You are going to grow to love that filly like your own Rainbow Dash. Fail me in this and I will find you ... and I will tear out your soul and rip it to pieces.”

She didn't dare to give a response first. When she looked into Karon's eyes, she knew he wasn't making idle threats.

He was serious.

“Fine ... I'll take care of her, but if you love her so much why the hay don't you do it yourself?”

“Because I won't be around to.”

“What is that supposed to ... You're leaving?”

“Yes.”

“So what, now that your game is up and everypony knows you're a liar, you're just gonna leave and forget about all of us!? I didn't think you were a coward.”

“I do this for you! As long as I remain here, nothing will be as it was for you. I will slowly change everything you have and love until nothing remains and you wished you had never met me. I do this because I love you all ... I do not belong here. I can't, not as I am now and maybe never. I want to stay. I feel ... good when I'm here. Don't think I do this for myself. I can't remain here and stay true to myself and all of you at the same time. Either way I would betray someone, so the only thing left for me to do is leave.”

“Because you're loyal....”

“I was hoping you would understand.”

“I do ... kinda.”

“So, do you promise to care for Scootaloo when I'm gone?”

“I promise, I'll teach that little squirt all I can.”

“More than that, she needs a family Rainbow.”

“Yeah yeah, that too. Don't worry I'll take care of it.”

Karon rose up and they both stood silent as they watched each other, a certain unwilling respect had begun taking form inside of the pegasus for Karon.

“Well ... Goodbye Karon.”

“Goodbye Rainbow Dash.”

Her wings unfurled once more and she took flight, but before she could fly out of his reach Karon grasped her tail and pulled her back down.

“What they hay!” she shouted as Karon pulled her down and into a hug. She remained hanging in his arms for a couple of seconds before she hugged him back. After a few moments she spoke and her voice had the slightest hint of tremor in it.

“Fine, now let me go before I start to get sappy too.”

He gave her a final squeeze and let go and she shot out his arms and disappeared back into the sky. A rainbow trailing behind her as she returned back home.

He trusted that she would keep her promise. She was the element of loyalty after all and wouldn't betray a promise.

But now it was turn for the pony who had always been able to see through him better than anypony else.

                            **********************************************

“APPLEJACK! YE GOT SOME COMPANY WAITING!” The frail old form of granny Smith shouted loudly enough to be heard over in Ponyville. When Karon had arrived, the withered old pony had been sitting in her old reclining chair on the porch and was busy watching the sunset. Farm ponies were early risers and she had insisted on getting Applejack when Karon told her he was there to see her.

She went back to her reclining chair after the shouting and spoke to him with an approving voice.

“Ever since ye got us going on making those fancy drinks of yers, we've gotten more bits than ever before. Soon we'll have enough to maybe send to the rest of the family and help 'em out.”

“Glad I could help.”

Karon heard creaking behind him and turned around, but instead of Applejack it was Big Macintosh that came out the front door and looked at him with the same unfazed expression as always. Something was slightly different this time though, Big Mac's eyes looked to be just a little bit more focused as he looked on Karon.

“Yer leaving.” It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

“How does he do that?”

“Yes.”

The stallion nodded sagely and walked up to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Ya do what you think ya gotta do.”

Karon nodded in response and Big Mac turned to walk away and begin working on the needed chores.

“Hey Big Mac!”

“Mmmm?”

“Remember that drinking game of Vodka we did? The one where I won all those bits?”

“Eeyup.”

“....I cheated, every second glass I drank was water.”

The stallion got a small smile and spoke back.

“Ah know, ah did too.”

“Wait, what? How?”

The big farm pony walked away after that and whistled to himself as he got to work on the farm he loved. Karon scratched his head and turned around and saw Applejack standing in the doorway with an unpleasant look on her face.

“What do ya want?”

“I won't be here long, I just came to tell you that I want my portion of the earnings of the alcohol sales to go to Rainbow Dash from now on. She will know what's it for.”

“Why would ya ever wanna do that for?”

“Doesn't matter, it will do more good with her than me, and Applejack ... it's been a pleasure working with you.”

“Ya don't mean that.”

“Fine you frustrating little lie detector, it's been okay working with you, but I still wish you the best. Maybe for a few apples to fall out of the tree and hit you on the head every now and then, but the rest should be good, hows that?”

She gave him an encouraging smile and her voice just dripped of infinite patience, the same way a teacher speaks to a very slow student.

“See, wasn't that just a heck of a lot easier, just to tell the truth?”

“Goodbye Applejack,” he said and turned around and walked away quickly before the sickeningly honest pony could infect him with her alien philosophy.

                                **********************************************

He was about halfway through the ponies he needed to see now and decided it was best to go see Pinkie Pie next. The sun had begun its ascent into the sky and he was getting a little nervous about the time. He wanted to get all of this done before everypony would be up and about on their regular schedules.

Karon had become something of a regular at Sugercube Corner lately, and the Cakes didn't object when he entered the shop despite that it technically wasn't open for business yet.

“Good morning Karon, in here for an early breakfast are you?”

“I actually came to see Pinkie Pie, is she up yet?”

“No I don't think so, she should be in her room sleeping.”

“Thank you.”

He headed up the stairs and into Pinkie Pie's room at the top where she was snoring loudly with her pet alligator gummy wrapped in her arms like a plushy. He walked up to her and poked her neck carefully, she mumbled something about sugar but didn't wake. He poked her again several time before she finally opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Oh, hey Karon. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yeah ... I wanted to talk.”

“Oh about what?” she asked and bounced up with more energy than should be allowed for anypony that had just woken up, while Gummy bounced of the bed and unto the floor.

“Pinkie, I wanted you to know that no matter what, you will always be my friend.”

“Oh no, something bad is going to happen,” she said and her usual happy face sunk a little in synch with her mane.

“Pinkie, you saw how they all behaved yesterday and I ... I can't stay. I need to leave.”

“You can't leave! All your best friends are here and if you leave you will be all lonely and no pony will be there to cheer you up!”

“I know Pinkie, and I will miss you.”

The pink pony bounced of the bed and launched herself at him, her hoofs wrapped around his legs in an iron grip and she exclaimed in triumph.

“AHA! No pony can escape from Pinkie Pie's patented hoof trap! Now you will have to stay or you will be stuck foreeeeeeeeveeer.”

“Really? What about all the rest of your friends? What if they get really sad and you won't be there to cheer them up? Or what if there is a new pony in town but they won't make any new friends because you won't be there to greet them and throw a party? “

“But, but....” she sank visibly and everything about her seemed to turn a few shades darker, as if Pinkie's entire being was tapped into her happiness and without it would collapse into darkness.

“I will be fine Pinkie, but it will be your job to make sure everypony get back to their normal happy lives when I am gone. I trust that you can fix whatever damage I might have done and make everypony friends again. It might take time, but if anypony can do it ... it is you.”

“But where will you go? What if there's no cupcakes or cakes or parties there?”

“I'm going to Canterlot. Celestia offered to help me if I would need it, and I think this constitutes a need, so don't worry Pinkie, I'll manage.”

“Hmmmm Canterlot ... I'm sure I could find a way to throw you a party there somehow....”

“...Maybe later, but if you really want to, you could come visit. The Cakes make deliveries there from time to time right?”

“Of course, all the time.”

“Then this isn't a good bye really. We will see each other again, don't worry.”

“Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Okey dokey lokey,” she said, perfectly satisfied and happy again now that she knew she would be seeing him again.

“Hey Pinkie.”

“Yes?” she asked but didn't have time to say anything else before Karon fell upon her in a furious tickling attack. The defenseless pony squirmed all she could and giggled during the entire assault. Karon relented when she began trying to tickle him back and grinned down at her.

“I guess I will be seeing you later then.”

“yuppy duppy guppy!”

He gave her a final tickle before he left her on the floor giggling and walked down to the shop where he waved the Cakes goodbye and left.

There was only three left he needed to see now. One was Rarity, the other was Scootaloo and finally ... he needed to see Spike.

                                          ***************************************

When he arrived at Rarity's boutique, it had just opened and Karon's heart was squirming inside his chest. What he was about to do would crush Rarity. There was no way around that and he felt his resolve beginning to crack ... After all he COULD stay if he really....

No! The decision had been made, and it had been the right one. He couldn't quit now just because it would hurt him ... and Rarity. In the end, he would have hurt her worse anyway, and he knew that.

So he walked into the boutique with a heavy heart and prepared himself for the worst.

As soon as Rarity heard the door open she turned around and her face lit up when she saw Karon enter the store.

“Karon you have absolutely the best timing! Close your eyes I have a surprise for you.”

“Rarity, I....”

“Shh later, now close your eyes.”

He didn't want to argue with her so he complied and closed his eyes. He heard how Rarity moved around a little and the small chiming sound of levitation magic before she spoke.

“Open your eyes now.”

He did and before him hovered the red crooked wizard hat he had wanted Rarity to make together with his robe. He had forgotten all about it long ago.

“Tadaaa! I was going through my old designs and found the one we made for this hat and decided to surprise you. I personally wouldn't have chosen it after that insufferable Trixie showed up wearing one like it, but I know you wanted it. So what do you think?”

Karon grasped the hat hard and his knuckles cracked as he pressed it against his chest. He was struggling as best he could to keep his emotions down, but it was so hard.

“Rarity ... I love you.”

“Well thank you Karon I love you too, but it is just a hat. Even though it is probably the most stylish one of it's kind.”

“No, I ... I'm so sorry Rare, I must go.”

“But you just got back? Where are you going now?”

“Away ... Canterlot. I can't stay here any more....”

“W-what do you mean?”

Karon's mind was struggling to find words that wouldn't hurt, that wouldn't make this so painful. He watched as Rarity began to understand what he was saying but didn't want to. She wanted to hear him say something to reassure her. She wanted him to say something that made her laugh at her rising fear and know everything was as it should be.

He couldn't, so instead he did what he had always done with Rarity. What he thought she had always wished from him, to act like a gentlecolt should. So he said what a gentlecolt was supposed to when in this situation.

“Lady Rarity, you once captured my heart and you will always have a place within it, but circumstance and fate has shown that we can no longer be as we were. It is my deepest wish that although we may no longer be mates, we can remain friends and confidantes ... I'm sorry ... I love you.”

He turned around and walked out the store, and behind him Rarity feel down on her knees as her perfect dream of love was crushed before her eyes. Once outside, Karon put on the hat and pulled the brim down over his eyes, hiding away the pain in them.

                            ***************************************************

His next stop was the Ponyville Library. It was late morning now, but Twilight usually slept in late. Which was good, she wouldn't want to see him. He was there to see someone else, someone he needed to apologize to.

A certain fire breathing, sharp clawed member of the dragon species.

Karon didn't knock, but opened the door and didn't try to limit the squealing sound the door made. Inside the library Spike, stood on a ladder in almost the exact same way as when Karon had first met him. The baby dragon turned around when he heard the sound, but when he saw that it was Karon that stood there his face darkened.

“What do you want?”

“I'm here to give you a chance.”

“A chance huh, a chance at what? You? Come on I'll show you what a dragon can do!”

The love struck dragon exclaimed and jumped down to the floor where he stood ready to charge at Karon.

“A chance with Rarity.”

“Gwhu, what did you say?”

“Let me explain.”

                                       *************************************

“An idea?”

“Yes, I think there is something I can do before I leave. But I can only do it with your help.”

“Explain.”

“There is a baby dragon living in Ponyville named Spike. He has been in love with the unicorn who is ... was, my mate, but he is still only a baby and she looks on him more as a little brother than a real potential lover. If you agree to help me, I wish to leave with you all the experience and knowledge I have with and of Rarity. I also want to leave everything I know about romance, seduction, females, mating, everything. Whatever it takes to give the little guy an edge. He is just a baby and it would take countless years for him to gather all the experience and knowledge I have right now, but with this, he might have an edge, a small one, but it might still make the difference. I have learned much about Rarity and know her in a way only someone who has been intimate with her could.”

“But he will still only remain a child, and his mind might reject much of thy knowledge because he has not reached maturity.”

“I know but ... I want to give him this chance. It's the only thing I can give.”

“I can fix this problem.”

“What?”

“A dragon does not age as thou lesser creatures do. We age in stages per century, but there are ways to speed up this process. We can morph and grow if we are lost to our passions of power, greed and hatred, but there are other ways, more controlled ways. If thy dragon friends truly loves the unicorn, then he can use that love to grow until he reaches a mature age.”

“But won't that ... make him really big? I mean he won't be able to ... you know, if he's too....”

“Dragons reach sexual maturity at their second century when they are slightly larger than a normal pony. He will be the size of a large stallion should he not lose himself to his emotions and grow to his stage completely.”

“How can he do this? Is there a way for me to....”

“I shall teach him, send him to me and I shall guide his process, and when he is ready I shall give to him thy knowledge and experience.”

“Thank you Eldros...”

“No, thank thee. After all, he is kin.”

                         ***********************************

“So wait you mean that...?”

“Yes, go to Eldros and he will help you grow to the point you would be a suitable mate for Rarity, and he will also give to you all that I have learned of her ... and some more. You'll appreciate it when your older.”

“But he lives in the forest, and it's fully of large scary monsters.”

“Eldros is ancient, one of the truly old dragons. He will know when you have entered the forest and make sure you find your way to him safely.”

“But what if-”

“Spike. This is the chance I will give to you, will you take it?”

The dragon struggled with himself for a few moments before he straightened his back and an iron hard look came over him.

“I will.”

“Good ... and Spike.”

“Yeah?”

“Tell Twilight ... I'm sorry.”

“No problem bro. Here, let me get your things.”

The dragon sneaked up the stairs and into the bedroom to get the few knick knacks and purse of bits Karon had managed to gather during his time in Ponyville. The dragon seemed to have forgiven Karon entirely now that he had been offered a real chance, a REAL chance, at Rarity. Not just remain as a hopeless childhood crush, but actually let it mature and become real love.

The dragon came down the stairs a few minutes later with a bundle made out of his spare shirt and all his things inside it. There wasn't much really, perhaps Karon had always known subconsciously that he wouldn't remain here, but the purse of bits would be needed and he accepted the bundle gratefully from the dragon.

“Thank you Spike, and goodbye.”

“Goodbye? Won't you stop by later? Where will you be staying?”

“No, I'm leaving Ponyville. My time here is over.”

“Ohhh....”

Karon didn't say anything else and turned around to leave, when he reached the door Spike spoke a final time.

“Hey Karon ... how does it feel to ... kiss Rarity?”

Karon gave him an encouraging smile.

“You'll know soon enough.”

                                           *************************************

Only one good bye remained, and it would be the hardest. Even breaking up with Rarity hadn't hurt as much as what he was about to do. He stood outside the schoolyard and waited for the foals to come outside for lunch. He watched the door from underneath the shadow of a tree and pondered if there was a way to do this without breaking her completely.

But if there was, he couldn't find it in time because the door was suddenly flung open and a stream of foals rushed outside to play, eat and relax. He watched as Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Applebloom came running outside and took a seat in the sun where they talked, laughed and ate their lunch.

“She looks so happy....”

“I don't deserve forgiveness for what I'm about to do.”

“There is a lot of things for which we don't deserve forgiveness....”

He walked slowly towards the group of fillies and all the foals that saw him went quiet and inched away. The aura that clung to Karon dampened the mood of anyone that looked at him.

When Scootaloo first saw him coming she smiled and waved at him, but when he didn't smile back hers faltered and her wave became hesitant. When he came to stand before them he looked from Applebloom to Sweetie Bell and avoided Scootaloo's eyes.

“Girls could you give us a minute to talk?”

“Sure thing. We'll be over there until yer done talking,” Applebloom replied and dragged Sweetie Bell with her.

Karon forced himself to face Scootaloo and despair threatened to seize him when he saw the unsure look she wore. She knew something bad was about to happen but didn't know just how bad.

“Scootaloo....”

“Yeah Karon, what's up?” she asked with forced cheerfulness.

“I ... I love you, I have never told you that before but I need to do that now.”

“Karon y-you're scaring me. You never talk like this.”

“Scoots ... I need to leave.”

“What? I thought you wanted to talk?”

“Scoots ... I need to leave Ponyville.”

“No. No, no, no, no. You're just making a joke.”

Karon's heart broke at seeing the filly come to realization of what was happening.

“I can't remain in Ponyville without destroying it. I was never meant to live in such an innocent place. I will corrupt it.”

“No, no, no, no. You can't leave me, take me with you! I can come with you and we can be together then and you can never leave me!”

“I can't. I must leave Ponyville and ... everypony here.”

“YOU CAN'T! You promised you wouldn't abandon me! You said I wouldn't be left again and you LIED! YOU PROMISED!”

“Scoots please,” Karon's voice cracked and he could no longer hold back the tears that now flowed down his cheeks freely.

“I thought you cared about me, I thought you loved me! And now you just abandon me like everypony else! I HATE YOU! I hate everypony, I hate everything!” The little filly shouted and ran away with tears streaming down her face. She ran out from the schoolyard with her wings flapping furiously as if she wanted to take off into the sky and disappear into it forever. But she didn't.

She couldn't fly....

Total silence reigned over the schoolyard and Karon stood unmoving with tears flowing and a heart that felt like thousand frozen daggers were tearing apart. The silence was broken when a voice spoke up behind him.

“Ugh Who cares about that blank flank. She's soooooo over dramatic.”

Karon slowly turned around and faced Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara that looked on him with haughty, uncaring expressions.

Cheerilee was inside her classroom cleaning up when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came rushing in wailing. She stood frozen in uncertainty at the sight before her, both the fillies had been turned into a bland gray. Coat, mane, even the eyes looked like they belonged to a raincloud.

But the most shocking of all were their cutie marks, they were gone.

Behind them Sweetie Bell and Applebloom came in and Cheeriliee turned to them.

“Girls explain what has happened!”

“Karon cursed them,” Sweetie Bell said and looked on the wailing fillies with pity and just a tiny hint of smugness.

“What!?”

"Karon cursed them. They made fun of Scootaloo after she ran away crying after he told her something and Karon turned to them and said....”

Sweetie Bell did her best to imitate the dark and pitiless tone Karon had spoken in.

“...You mock others pain and do not care for anypony. You do not deserve any future. Until such a time when you have learned what it truly is to care and love someone. What it means to give and sacrifice everything for them, you will have no future, no hope and no pony will ever look at you as if your are special. You will be bland and boring, nothing about you shall ever be worth noticing and no pony will lay eyes on you twice.”

Cheerilee could only look at the two hysterically crying fillies in horror when she realized just what Karon had done to them. He had taken away the only thing the two fillies loved.

Their pride.

                                    **********************************************

Karon stood outside the train station and waited for his train to arrive. He had bought a ticket for the first train to Canterlot and it was due to arrive within minutes. He didn't know what he felt at the moment. It was too much, everything was just ... numb.

He could hear the whistling of the train in the distance at the same time he heard somepony shout his name. He looked to his right and saw Pinkie Pie come running towards him with a wrapped package in her mouth. He turned to face her just as the train rolled into the station and stopped, it would wait for just a few minutes before going away.

He would be on it.

“Hey Karon! I wanted to give you this before you left.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“My Pinkie sense told me something really sad was about to happen on the train station and I was right. You're leaving and that's really sad.”

How she managed to speak with the package still in her mouth was beyond him, but he took it and looked it over.

“What is it?”

“That's a whole bunch of my super duper special I-am-sad-that-you're-leaving-but-we're-still-friends-and-will-see-each-other-again cupcakes!”

Despite the numb feeling in the center of his chest Karon managed to crack a small smile at the pony. Nothing would ever manage to keep her down for long.

“Thank you Pinkie. Could you do me favor and find Rainbow Dash. Tell her Scootaloo needs her right now and has run off somewhere.”

“You got it!” she said and gave Karon a final hug before disappearing in a pink blur to look for Rainbow Dash.

Karon got on the train and sat down next to a window, outside he saw the sunlit hamlet of Ponyville. Unmarred in its peacefulness by the things he had done there and he felt a little better at the sight. Yes, whatever he had done would heal, and things would return to normal for the inhabitants of the town.

Scootaloo would even find a family in Dash, and Spike would get his chance at Rarity. Perhaps he had even managed to leave the town a little better, a little more hopeful than he had found it.

The train began moving and for a brief instant Karon saw a flash of orange and thought he saw Scootaloo come towards the train, her wings pumping furiously as she flew through the air after him. Desperation to see him one last time giving her the final push she had needed.

But it lasted only for a brief second before the train gained in speed and left Ponyville behind.

Karon used his small bundle of things as a pillow and lied down in his seat. There was something at the back of his mind nagging at him, telling him there was something he had forgotten, but in the emotional turmoil Karon was in, it was hard to make sense of anything and he fell asleep from exhaustion.

It was only half way to Canterlot that he woke up and remembered he had forgotten to say good bye to Lyra.

Chapter 22: The jewel of Equestria

By the time the train arrived in Canterlot, the moon had risen to its peak in the heavens, and a serene quiet had enveloped the entire city. Karon had been sleeping for most of the journey and was woken from his rest inside the carriage by the shrill whistling sound the train made as it came to a halt.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before he sat up and looked out the window. There was no great view of the city unfortunately, merely the sight of a few closely standing buildings lit up by the street lights. Karon sighed deeply at the sight, it reminded him a little too much on what he had given up to be here.

Here, in the city of empty streets, boring non-Ponyvillian houses and no friends. No Rarity, no Pinkie Pie, no Lyra, no nothing. He remembered all too well how many snobbish condescending looks he had been given the last time he had been here, and he had been in the company of Equestria's greatest heroines back then. If that didn't impress the Canterlotians, he doubted anything would.

He missed Twilight.

She had been pedantic, organized and just incredibly rigid in general. All things Karon was not and hated in others, but Twilight had manage to pull it off without earning his ire anyway.

How could he have missed just how important she had become to him? During the time he had been lying about his relationship with Rarity, he had just thought about how important it was she didn't find out. He had never stopped to consider why, why it was so important she wouldn't look at him the way she had when she found out about it

He had certainly never given it a thought to what Applejack, Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash would think. Just Twilight, she was the important one.

“Too late now. It would be best just to forget about it. Concentrate on the moment and all that.”

“You know, I don't think anything you have ever said has helped me.”

“That's because you never really listened.”

Not willing to get into an argument about it, Karon put on his hat and grabbed his belongings. It's a funny feeling you get when you realize that all that you have can be fit inside one folded shirt.

Outside, the air was colder and far more brisk than he would have thought, and as soon as he stepped off the carriage, a strong wind nearly blew his hat off. He had forgotten that Canterlot sat on the outcrop of a mountain pretty high above sea level and was very grateful Rarity had made his robe resistant to wind.

Rarity....

“Don't think about it....”

He shook his head hard and pressed the hat further down his head to make sure it stayed on. Looking around himself, he didn't see anypony out besides one lonely train conductor further down the station. He adjusted his grip on the bundle and began walking down towards him.

The soft leather boots hardly made a sound on the hard rock surface and so when he spoke the pony was completely caught off guard.

“Excuse me, would you mind giving me directions to the castle?”

The poor pony jumped up in the air from fright and turned around wide eyed to reveal himself as an old gray maned stallion. When he saw Karon standing before him, his eyes widened even more and his legs  shook visibly.

Karon groaned, this would just be the beginning.

“I'm not as bad as I look. Now, could you give me some directions to Canterlot castle?”

“Y-yes of course sir. Just follow palace road, the very wide one, and you will eventually reach the castle....”

When Karon didn't take his eyes of him, the stallion swallowed nervously. Most of Karon's face was kept in shadow from his hat, but his eyes glowed as strong as ever.

“....T-there should be s-some guards at the gates outside. Talk to them! They will help you.”

The last part was said in such a way it couldn't quite hide that what the stallion had really wanted to say was, 'they will deal with you'.

But Karon thought nothing of it and nodded in thanks before heading off, leaving the relieved stallion and feeling vaguely annoyed at his spinelessness. Sure, his appearance didn't exactly inspire confidence, but even Fluttershy had managed to get over her fear of him once he started to talk.

Of course, she was used to dealing with strange and possibly dangerous creatures. Around here in 'civilized' land, ponies would most likely only deal with strange and possibly dangerous cuisine at the most.

He hated the place already.

“You thought the same thing when you arrived in this world for the first time.”

“Yeah well ... okay fine, I'll give the place a shot, but I swear, if just one snobby pony gives me an arrogant remark, I will do things that will make Loki's toes curl up in delight.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.”

Despite the rather shallow set of directions he had been given, Karon managed to make his way to the castle gates. He passed by several late night cafes and restaurants on his way and every single pony that had seen him had stopped and stared until he disappeared out of sight.

Well not entirely true, some ran away.

But the guards at the gate didn't even flinch when he came into view and made no move towards him. Instead they waited patiently as he approached them steadily. When he stood almost within touching distance both pair of eyes snapped to him in perfect synchrony and the one to the right spoke in an iron hard voice.

“State your business.”

“I am Karon, the human mage who has been residing in Ponyville as per princess Celestia's orders. She offered me passage to ask for her assistance if I would ever need it, and I have come to hold her to that promise.”

It might have been a bad choice of words because both pair of eyes narrowed dangerously when he finished, but they shifted their gazes momentarily to each other. The one to the right gave the left one a nod and he opened the gate but closed it behind him. Most likely getting somepony that could verify what Karon had just said.

So he took the time to study the remaining guard. His coat was of a light gray color and he wore a dark gray armor with what looked like a stylized saddle on his back. On his head he wore a helmet resembling those of a Greek hoplite with a white mane sticking out on top. If it was part of the helmet or his real mane was impossible to say.

His eyes were the color of sand, but there was a quality to them that reminded a lot more of granite or diamonds. Solid and very much unyielding.

Curiosity getting the better of him Karon carefully stretched out his mind and examined the guards aura. As soon as he made contact with it the guard flinched and looked at him hard, not knowing what had just happened, but suspecting it was him.

Karon took a few seconds to get an impression before he withdrew. He was quite frankly impressed. Not only had the guard instantly sensed that he was scanning him, something that could be likened to feeling when a single strand of hair landed on your skin, but from what little Karon had managed to make of him, the guard's mind was like a fortress. He was no unicorn and had no discernible magical potential to speak of, but his mental discipline was ... scary.

He was like a machine, but an organic machine that constantly investigated, built upon and reacted. This was a creature that knew and controlled himself so perfectly, he would have instantly known if he was being manipulated by magical means. And even if he would fall for a trick he would never fall for it twice.

Karon reexamined every assumption he had built regarding ponies and came to the conclusion that he had managed to underestimate them ... again. The princesses were no fools. They might rule a land overflowing with peace and prosperity, but they were still ready for war and destruction.

He spent the rest of the time thinking of ways he could perhaps manage to manipulate the guards without their knowledge, but his musings were interrupted when the second guard melted out of the dark shadows from beyond the gate soundlessly, and opened it once more. Karon remained still until the stallion nodded his head towards to castle to show he was free to enter.

“You are allowed passage. Welcome to Canterlot castle, the jewel of Equestria.”

With a respectful tilt of his head to the guard, he entered the castle grounds and began walking down the stone path. Just a short way in, another guard stood blocking his way, but this one wore a helmet with a plume twice in size of the previous guard's. Most likely, somepony of higher rank and skill since he was a unicorn.

“Karon the human?”

“No, I'm Steve the human. Karon should be right behind me.”

Not even a hint of a smile.

“Yes, I'm Karon.”

“I have orders to escort you to princess Celestia without any delay.”

“By all means, escort away.”

The guard snapped around and began marching up to the castle, not walking, marching. It unnerved Karon in ways that cannot be understood by those who does not look upon stability and order as disturbing.

But the surroundings were nice at least. Doing his best to ignore Sergeant Mcstiffypants, as he had named all guards for the moment, he drank in the sight of the castle bathed in moonlight and felt a calm settle over him. Involuntarily, his gaze shifted to the large mountain that dominated the view to the east, and he thought the same thing he thought when he had first looked upon it.

“That place must contain tons of vaults and tunnels housing whatever trinkets and artifacts the princesses have collected over the years.”

“You will not break into it.”

“But...”

“You will not break into it.”

“But what if there is a huge mountain of magical tools and tomes in there? Entire library's with secret knowledge not known to unicorns or us....”

“....You will not break into it without a detailed map and an escape plan.”

“And a patsy, can't go wrong if you can blame it on somepony else.”

“You are learning.”

The path they walked led them up to same two huge double doors Karon had passed through when summoned to face the princesses judgement. The guard's horn shone for a brief second and the doors swung open wide, allowing both of them to pass through before closing again.

The sound of the respective foot and hoofsteps echoed clearly through the large marble hall, and the walls were still draped with banners of all ages and forms. Memories and testaments to enemies and allies alike from times long gone.

They took a left through an archway and walked down a far more narrow hallway, allowing no more than maybe three or four ponies to walk beside one another. There were several doors lining the hallway, but they entered none of them. Instead, they continued to the very end were a circular stair rose up towards what Karon suspected was one of the towers.

The Guard didn't stop or say anything, so Karon remained quiet and swallowed whatever unfunny joke he would have thought of. They passed through several levels where doors appeared, but the guard remained in constant uninterrupted motion. And for every level they rose, Karon breathed a little heaver, and mutinous thoughts about tripping the guard and listening to him bounce down to the ground level came often.

So tempting....

But finally, they reached the top and a golden door with a symbolic sun etched into its center stood before them. The guard stopped before it and knocked very respectfully on the door before he turned around and faced Karon. He gave him a stone cold stare that Karon imagined was meant to intimidate him, or maybe it was just the guard's default expression.

“Beyond this door lies princess Celestia's personal chambers. Our instructions were very clear that we were to bring you here no matter the time. Please head inside and speak to her.”

“Sure sure, just a question though. Could you send something up here to eat? I couldn't find anything on the train and unless I get food and drink soon I might try and eat somepony.”

“I will send one of the servants. What do humans eat?”

“Fruit would be nice, also meat if you got some. Not raw though.”

Now the guard was definitely giving him a stare meant to intimidate.

“Could you repeat that?”

“Oh you thought I was joking about eating somepony. No, no, I'm an omnivore, I can all kinds of things. I actually spotted some very tasty looking ponies on the way here. Mmmmhmmmm nothing beats a grilled pony snob, but just fruit and maybe fish or chicken if you've got it.”

The guard looked halfway between attacking him and vomiting by now, but he didn't respond other than nodding. He turned around and began the walk down the stairs, his gray coat looking a little greener.

"Hey, if you've got any relatives you don't like, just send them my way!”

No response, but the sound of the guard's marching pace seemed to increase.

“That was a bit unnecessary.”

“He made me walk up a bagiljion flights of stairs.”

“He was just obeying orders.”

“Since when did you get so empathic?”

“He was a ranking member of the royal guard. You don't want them to see you as a potential threat or a nuisance.”

“Well I am a potential threat and I will be a nuisance for anypony wishing to impose the rule of law on me.”

“It would be easier if they don't know that.”

“Point taken.”

He put his hand on the golden door and pushed on it. The door swung open without a single squeak or sound and revealed a room full of small golden lights. Everywhere he looked there was the same thing, varying slightly in strength and size. They seemed to originate from something that was scattered a little everywhere in the large room, but aside from the strange lights, there was not much special about the room.

A huge window at the far end from which a balcony could be accessed and a large bed in front of it. Several long tables stood against the walls and two small set of stairs led up to a second floor where several bookcases stood, filled to the brim with books and manuscripts.

It actually wasn't that different from how Karon's old home had looked like, just a bit bigger and all contained in one room. On the bed was Celestia, her legs folded beneath her and her head resting on a large pillow. Not sure if he was supposed to disturb her or not Karon settled for exploring the room a little more instead.

He went over to the nearest table upon which several of those strange lights sat. When he looked closer, he could see that the light originated from within a crystal. He picked it up carefully and immediately he could feel the energy stored within it. It was constantly producing a small stream of the energy and it took the form of light in this case.

If it was intentional or not Karon didn't know, but it was certain that anyone or anypony with just a hint of magical talent would be able to use one for a lot of neat tricks.

And there were a lot of them.

He went through every one on the table and found all of them to contain a great storage of energy, some a little more than others, but it was enough to keep the light shining for several months if not perhaps a year before running out.

You could do a lot of things with that much in reserve.....

He was interrupted in his day dreaming by a delicate cough from behind him and he turned around to see Celestia awake, standing next to her bed.

“Karon ... What brings you to Canterlot?”

“I am in need of aid, and I have the distinct memory of you offering me that very thing if I would ever need it.”

“I did, and I will not go back on my word, but could you first explain what has happened and why you are in need of my help?”

So he did, leaving out the more painful details but still remaining entirely truthful in his account of what had transpired the previous day.

After he was done, Celestia's usually serene looking features had shifted into something resembling sadness, and if Karon didn't read her entirely wrong, she was also a little surprised to hear he had acted so ... selflessly, but then again, so was he.

“I am happy that the situation was resolved, but it brings me great sadness to hear to what lengths you had to go. You have my eternal gratitude and sympathy. I know all too well how it feels to sacrifice for the greater good.”

“I don't know if I would go that far ... I just took the only option I had left.”

She gave him a knowing smile that said she understood things far better than he thought, perhaps even better than he did himself.

“You had many options, but you still choose the right one. I could ask nothing else of my loyal subjects, but it pains me to know it cost you everything you have gained since arriving here. As a token of my appreciation, I will provide a room for you here at the castle and anything else you might need to make a life for yourself here in Canterlot.”

“That's very gracious of you. I wasn't expecting quite that much.”

“It is nothing really. There is plenty of room at the Castle, and it can get very lonely here at times.”

Celestia's voice had remained almost exactly the same during the few times he had spoken with her. With the exception of the time they had fought each other, her voice had a soft yet authoritative tone to it, like a parent gently instructing a child or telling a story.

Which is perhaps why the tremor at the end stood out so clearly, as if the usually calm demeanor she kept was not strong enough to keep her personal feelings in check.

“You should invite Pinkie Pie sometime. I swear, if you give her half an hour, she could have half the population of Equestria here ready to party.”

A soft trickling laughter erupted from between her lips, but even then the tremor remained a bone deep weariness that was becoming more apparent the more Karon studied her. He briefly considered reading her aura, but thought better of it. She would know, and he doubted she would like the intrusion.

“I do not doubt the element of laughter's abilities. I saw them demonstrated first hand when she was a guest at the grand galloping gala.”

She looked away and gave a practiced sigh, one she had given many times before.

“But there is a difference between two simple friends and a subject and ruler. Each and every day I meet with many ponies, mostly nobles but all ponies are welcome to my court, but no matter who they are, I am always their ruler. I am always the Princess Celestia to them, and I do not reject that. I love all my little ponies and care for them more than you can imagine, but no matter how much I consider all of them my friends, it will never be ... normal.”

“Not that I don't appreciate the whole sharing thing, but why are you telling me this?”

She turned back to him and faced him squarely and for just a brief moment Karon thought he saw the alicorn she had once been. Young, curious, caring and ever so eager to find adventure and see the world.

“Because from the first moment you saw us, you knew who we were. You could also sense us, all the power we possess and you still didn't react. You treated us as you would have treated any other being that you believed came to take you away, and even after it was over and you submitted to our judgment, you still didn't look at us like all ponies do. Even the griffons, otters, zebras, harpies and minotaurs look at us as if we were more than them.”

“You do know I was kinda half drunk when we first met?”

“The smell was hard to miss, yes.”

“Oh, hehe. Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize, but my point still stands. With the exception of Discord and a few dragons, you are the only being in two thousand years that has looked at me like you look at me now.”

“Uh am I staring or something?”

“No, but when you look at me you look at ME. Not the Princess Celestia just ... me.”

“Well honestly Tia, I've met things more impressive than you before.”

“...Only Luna calls me Tia.”

“Not anymore. 'Princess Celestia' is kind of a mouthful.”

She looked shocked at hearing the nickname her sister had given her long ago in their childhood be uttered from an alien being from another world, but not angered by it.

“Thank you, but I would ask of you to refrain using it out loud in public places.”

“Sure sure, but you still haven't really told me why you're revealing all of this?”

“I admit that I gave you a place here at the palace out of more than just gratefulness. Both Luna and I have a difficult position, and ruling Equestria demands much from us. I have had time to settle into my role, but Luna ... is having difficulty. There is a lot that has changed since she ruled by my side, and even then, it was harder for her than it was for me.”

“I think I see where this is going....”

“It is my hope that you will become a friend to my sister and I, somepon- ... someone we can rely upon in an unofficial capacity.”

“You are extremely trusting to offer me something like that.”

“Perhaps, but your entire existence within our borders is reliant on my whim, which has been known to be fickle at times.”

“...Point taken.”

“I am not threatening you Karon, but you are different, unique even, and that is something very unusual for me to say. I have lived for nearly three thousand years now and I have experienced most of what this world has to offer. I have shaped Equestria from the lessons I learned in my youth and have brought peace to every pony within it. Yet I have never encountered any creature quite like you, and after believing to have seen everything it is ... inspiring to see there are still surprises to be found.”

“I've heard similar things from other long lived beings.”

“I do not doubt it, but the question still stands. Will you become my confidante and friend, will you help me when I have need of help I could not ask of any other?”

“This seems pretty important to you? Why me?”

“I told you, you are different, and you also have proven to possess considerable skill when you challenged me and Luna. I have done all I can to make sure that Equestria remains in peace and prosperity, but not without effort. The Canterlot court is not as innocent and caring as it would appear, so take care around the nobles.”

“So basically your shanghaiing me into becoming some kind of secret asset with freaky powers to deal with stuff you can't?”

“Only if you agree to it, but it would be more than that ... Luna and I have always been close, but ever since she returned there has been ... a rift between us. She will need time to heal and it pains me to know I cannot alone be there for her.”

“She didn't seem to be much of a fan of me when I saw her.”

“Luna still resents humans because of something that happened a very long time ago. She always had trouble letting go.”

Before Karon could ask what exactly had happened a polite knock came from the door and Celestia opened it with her horn. A white unicorn with a short light blond mane walked inside with a tray hovering beside her. Her eyes widened when she saw Karon and she looked nervous. Maybe the guard has said something about him eating ponies? The guard had been fairly boring and Karon doubted he even knew what a joke was.

“H-hello, I was sent up with a tray of food for your guest your highness. I hope everything is alright?”

“It's fine Feather Touch, please put it on the table beside him.”

She looked ready to faint when Karon looked her straight in the eyes, but she managed to levitate the tray of food over to the table without dropping it. When it was put down she made a slow bow to Celestia before turning around and walking towards the door.

“Feather Touch, could you please prepare the guest room over in the east tower, the one beneath Luna's bedroom.”

“Of course your highness, is the guest staying long? Shall I take on the responsibility for the rooms state during their stay?”

“Yes he is and I would be very grateful if you did.”

“He?”

“Karon here is the guest. Please make sure you are available at all times if he needs your assistance with anything. I want you to act as his guide and assistant during his stay here at the castle. Provide him whatever he needs or asks for.”

“Oh dear.”

The poor unicorn turned so white she almost looked transparent as she slowly turned her head and looked at Karon. He couldn't resist, so he opened his mouth and closed it with a biting motion, his teeth clacking as they slammed together. She let out an “Eeep” that would have made Fluttershy proud and started trembling. She turned her eyes over to Celestia and pleaded with them soundlessly.

Celestia in turn looked over at Karon disapprovingly, and he rolled his eyes in return.

“Does it make you feel better if I tell you that I have never actually eaten a pony and don't really plan on it?”

The unicorn shook her head.

“How about this, as long as you make sure I am feed I won't eat you.”

The unicorn turned from terrified to insulted in a split second.

“I would never fail in my duties as a servant of the royal Canterlot court! If Princess Celestia herself has commanded me to provide for all your required needs then that is what I will do ... even if you eat me alive!”

“All my ... needs?”

“Of course, whatever you require I am here to serve.”

“So you will provide everything required to make sure my stay here is ... satisfactory?”

“I already told you, whatever you desire is my top priority as of now.”

“So you will cater to all of my needs?”

“Yes, I will be happy to serve under you.”

“I am sure I will be able to make you enjoy serving under me....”

“The joy of being a part of the honored tradition of castle servant is all the reward I need.”

“Dear lord, she is oblivious.”

Karon couldn't stop smiling at the unicorn. She would be fun, he could tell.

Celestia wasn't as oblivious as poor Feather Touch though and her mouth hung a little open as she stared a Karon. She blinked a few times and her gaze shifted to the unicorn.

“Thank you, please make sure the room is ready for when Karon arrives there.”

“Immediately your highness!” she said as if she had been bestowed the greatest honor in her life. The fear of Karon had apparently disappeared when her dutifulness had been questioned. She walked out of the room with her head held high and the bundle with his belongings hovering at her side. Leaving Karon very optimistic for his future entertainment.

“Are all humans as ... forward as you?”

“I was just having fun with her. I wasn't serious.”

“Even so, I would ask of you to treat her with utmost respect and kindness. She is a very valued member of the castle servants.”

“Perhaps.”

“That wasn't a suggestion.”

“Are you beginning to see the downside of our little arrangement?”

Celestia hesitated and her face grew a little darker as she understood what he was saying.

When Karon had arrived and explained what had happened, she had seen an opportunity, but in order to seize it she had confided in him what she wanted without trying to hide anything. He understood why since she wanted them to have a more personal relationship, but she had still made the mistake of showing her cards openly to a trickster.

Now he knew that she needed him, and so he had leverage.

“Don't worry Tia, I don't plan on exploiting this in any way. I doubt you would stand for it for long, so yes I will help you. I will be your secret friend or whatever you had in mind, but I will still do things my way.”

She looked a little less thrilled than she had before, but she nodded in understanding.

“As long as you understand I will not allow anything that will endanger ponies needlessly.”

“Of course, but since you told me all about this right away, I take it you have something urgent in mind you need of me?”

She looked surprised that he had figured it out so soon, but then again, it only proved she had been right in her assessment of him.

“Yes, as I told you earlier, I have grown concerned about Luna. Ponies do not shy away from the night like they used to, but most of them still prefer the warmth of sunlight. Luna has lacked company and friendship for too long, and I want you to make friends with her and help her overcome whatever difficulties she has adjusting.”

“So what is she doing now?”

“She is outside in the training yard. The nocturnal guard are the only ponies usually up at this time, and she has taken to watching them train. However, they are all oath sworn to protect her with their lives, and they will never be able to substitute real company for her. They must always look at her as a princess.”

“Whereas I have no difficulty treating her like I treat anypony else.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, why not. It's not like I have anything better to do.”

Celestia's eyes shone with a fierce joy and the room seemed suddenly a little brighter. Karon walked over to the tray on the table and removed the lid to reveal what looked like steamed vegetables and ... was that fish?”

“It is ... oh god YES!!”

Karon began eating the delicious meal with his hands and smacked his lips with every bite he took. It was a dead thing and it was just wonderful to eat something that had once been alive again. If staying at the castle meant he could have meat every day, it would almost make it worth leaving....

Suddenly his appetite was gone.

He kept on eating, but his previous gusto was gone and the food tasted far less delicious than it had a moment ago. Celestia remained silent during his meal and only watched impassively. When he was finished he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned to face her.

“You don't seem very shocked to see me eat meat. Every other pony I mentioned being able to do that to looked either terrified or disgusted.”

“The gryphon's idea of a state dinner is to fly outside and hunt live dear and rabbit together, and eat them raw. After a few centuries of diplomatic dinners with them, you grow accustomed to seeing far worse than a steamed fish being devoured.”

“You are different from what I expected Tia. I honestly thought you were a pretty bland and colorless head of state.”

She turned away and looked into a mirror standing against a wall. Her reflection looking back at her with a gaze that contained thousands upon thousands of years of experience. Memories of pain, love, despair and hope swirling around behind her eyes.

“I am very different from what I once thought I would be, but we become what we need to be.”

Karon sensed she was beginning to sink into a dark mood. She probably hadn't confided in someone this way in a very long time. Keeping those emotions pushed down took its toll on the mind and heart. So he walked over and joined her in looking into the mirror. Inside it he saw someone that definitely didn't look what he had thought he would become either.

“I know what you mean ... but hey, cheer up! At least you look great for you age,” he said and slapped her on the ass playfully.

She froze and her eyes focused on him with the terrible force of a burning sun behind them. Her lips were tightly drawn and her brow furrowed in anger as he only smiled back at her.

“Relax Tia, you're not my type, but if you were, I would have swept you off your hooves by now.”

Her anger melted away when she snorted involuntarily and shook her head in disbelief. The beings that would have spoken so brashly at her had all been enemies, but now she had found one that maybe could be a friend and ally instead.

It was enough to forgive a few lapses in protocol.

“Please, don't do that again.”

“Maybe....”

She stared at him hard but didn't comment any further.

“So, before I go off on this baby sitting quest for Luna, I must ask, why exactly does she react so negatively to humans?”

Celestia sighed and looked at him like she knew just how ridiculous she sounded.

“When Luna was just a filly a human broke her favorite toy.”

“What...?”

“Humans have been known to appear from time to time. Sometimes books or other tools of their making as well. When Luna and I were just a fillies, one strange looking human appeared out of nowhere and started acting hysterically. Before he was taken away, he managed to trample Luna's favorite toy.”

“A wild human appears...!”

“Quiet.”

“So uh, humans pop up every now and then?”

“It is not common, but it has been known to happen. I am not sure why, but I believe that the human world and our are closely related and sometimes small rifts can occur.”

“Close, but there's more to it.”

“I suspected you knew about this relationship between our worlds. One of the reasons I have taken such an interest in you is because every human we have ever encountered have been hysterical and didn't appear to understand what was happening. None of them ... adapted successfully.”

“I guess none of them possessed magic.”

“Not as far as we could understand them, no.”

“Yeah, well nice to know why she looks at me the way she does.”

“Don't judge her too harshly. Luna has never had an easy life, and of the two of us, she has always been the more sensitive one.”

“I'll be nice....”

“Relatively.”

“...but I should get to work so ... see you around.”

He walked towards the door and had just opened it when Celestia called out to him.

“Karon.”

“Yes Tia?”

“Put those crystals you pocketed back please.”

                            ***************************************************

Outside, the air was soothing and gave relief to all that had withstood the glare of the harsh summer sun. The gentle reflection of the moon's light flowed down from it in silvery beams. A couple of clouds stood in the sky, unmoving, and hid a few of the stars from view, but their brethren shone for all to see. Their light, distant and sobering, was a reminder of the vastness of the universe and just how small the troubles of ponies were in the greater scheme of things.

How small the troubles of a lone lunar princess...

Luna stood on top of one of the walls that surrounded the nocturnal royal guard's training ground. Each and every one of the ponies had been handpicked for their dedication and personal suitability for a life where the moon was their mistress, and the sun but a distant memory.

They had all sworn to protect her, to give their life for her safety if needed. It was an unbreakable commitment and only those with the strongest of wills could make it. But despite their undying loyalty to her, it was not what she craved.

However, it was all she had at the moment. Ponies no longer feared her night, and most enjoyed the beauty of her wonderful night sky as much as they did the golden sun of day. She had the love of her subjects again, not in the way she had always imagined, but it was still love.

Some still feared her, but they would leave such fears behind them as time passed. So, why did she feel so restless? She had even made friends with some of the ponies and had visited many villages during the celebration of nightmare night.

But there was still a loneliness present that she couldn't put her hoof on, and Luna had always hated when she couldn't find an answer to a question.

And the stars shone as distant as always...

She was brought out of her contemplations at the sound of hoofsteps approaching. But she corrected herself when she looked over at the approaching figure. Not hoofsteps, footsteps.

“Why does thou disturb my peaceful meditations?!”

“You can drop the act little Lunatic, I heard you speak in normal before remember?”

“You are as insolent as ever, please excuse yourself from our company!”

“No can do, I'm here to kidnap you.”

Luna blinked several times in rapid succession from surprise.

“What did you say?”

“Hah! I knew it was just an act!”

She scowled when she realized she'd been tricked and turned her face away from him with an affronted “hmph!”

Karon grinned but didn't let it deter him.

“The sky is beautiful tonight don't you think?”

Her ears twitched a little, but she didn't answer him.

“You know, I once heard an old pony back in Ponyville tell me a legend on how the stars came to be. Do you wish to hear it?”

She turned to face him with a suspicious glare but still didn't speak.

“Uhuhrm ... Yes, well, it all began a very long time ago. When the two beautiful princesses of the sun and moon ruled together in peace over all of Equestria, and all the ponies rejoiced in the sun of the first sister's day, but slept through the second sister's beautiful night. In time, the second sister came to grow bitter and angry of this.

Her jealousy grew and grew until it became so powerful that it turned the beautiful lunar princess into a wicked mare of the moon, Nightmare Moon, and she sought to plunge the world into eternal night, and only by the first sister's intervention was she stopped. And so, she was banished to the moon she had raised every night and her sister took on both their duties.

And each night she lowered her sun and brought forth the moon, and each night she wept as she looked up at her sister's prison. The moon she had loved so much, but nopony had loved more than the sun. And each night she wept, a single one of her tears would fall up into the night sky where it would remain, glistening brightly for all to see so the ponies would know just how sad the first sister was.  And so this continued until finally the sky was full of hundreds and hundreds of stars, and when a thousand tears had fallen, the stars themselves could no longer bear the sadness that had created them.

And they came together to free the locked away princess, because the first sister had not wept for Nightmare Moon. Her tears had been for her sister, who she knew was lost but not beyond hope ... and she had been right, as we all now know.”

Luna's eyes were glistening with held back tears as she looked up at the stars in a way she had never before.

“Tis but a ponytale. The stars have always been there...”

“That does not mean the story is not true. Your sister loves you little Lunatic, and she is hurting to see you the way you are now.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks unbidden, unable to hold them back anymore she turned to look at Karon.

“What do you want?”

“To help in whatever small way that I can.”

“I do not require help, human.”

“My name is Karon, and you really need to let that toy incident go.”

Her tears dried up and she furrowed her eyebrows at him.

“I don't know what my sister has told you but I-”

“Yeah yeah you are perfectly fine and you were sitting here all to your gloomy self because your life is perfect.”

“There was a time where you could be imprisoned for talking to royalty like that!”

“You would have to catch me first!” he said and slapped her ass the same way he had slapped Celestia's.

She jumped up and her horn glowed fiercely as she showed her teeth and an angry growl issued forth from deep within her chest.

“Insolent colt! I shall teach you a lesson!”

“Still have to catch me first!” he shouted and disappeared underneath a veil of invisibility.

Luna's eyes darted from side to side trying to spot him to no avail. Frustrated, she unleashed her magic and streams of midnight blue energy lashed out in wide arches. They sought hungrily for the insufferable human, but the quarry remained unseen.

Down in the courtyard several of the guards were shouting to hear if something was happening, their instincts to protect her immediately kicking in. She didn't answer them, instead she stomped her hooves in the ground angrily and small lightning strikes erupted from nowhere to vent her anger.

But she turned her head towards the other side of the wall where the garden was located when a sound caught her attention. Down at the ground Karon stood and wriggled his fingers at her in mockery, daring her to try and catch him before turning around and sprinting into the garden.

Luna's eyes narrowed into slits and she took off into the air after the fleeing human. When she did several of the guards shouted in confusion, and not knowing what to do, they ran out of the courtyard and followed behind her.

Luna flew above the trees and brushes and scanned for the human. The wind tossed her mane carelessly around and as her heart rate increased she felt herself become immersed in the hunt. Down below, she spotted the crown of a tree moving in an odd way. Smiling to herself wickedly she descended silently and remained hidden behind a large carefully trimmed bush in the shape of a manticore.

She carefully peeked out from her hiding spot and looked up at the tree, and as she had suspected she saw the vague outline of Karon sitting on top of a large branch. Her wicked smile returned and she retreated back behind the bush to keep the glow of her horn from being seen.

At first not much happened, but gradually the cool mountain breeze became stronger and stronger. And it was focused only in one place, where Karon was hiding. Luna stepped out from her spot behind the bush and casually walked towards the tree that was now wiping back and forth in different directions as a strong gale crashed into it from several directions.

Karon could do nothing else but hang on to the branch for dear life to keep himself from being tossed from the tree. Luna looked up at his terrified expression and his impromptu swearing in a language she could not understand and laughed.

The laughter bubbled out of her in streams of joy and relief. The sight before her just so utterly ridiculous there could be no other reaction to it.

She failed to remember that the emotional release also increased the energy channeled into the spell and the wind took on even stronger force. Karon shouted something before his grip on the branch slipped and he was flung out of the tree and landed heavily on the ground several meters away, he didn't move.

Luna's laughter ceased immediately and she watched his prone form with concern. She hadn't wished to hurt him for real. She trotted over towards him hastily, but before she could reach him several of the guards that had caught up to them rushed forward and put their hooves on him.

Karon shrieked in pain as the rock hard hooves dug into his still battered body. The fall from Twilight's library had not left him without considerable bruises.

“Unhoof him immediately! What does thou think thou are doing!?” she shouted at them angrily, reverting back to her old ways without even thinking of.

“But your highness we saw you pursue this ... creature an-”

“The creature is the human named Karon, and unless we are mistaken, he is here in our sister’s invitation!”

“The what now?” one of the guard asked and tipped Karon around to get a better look at him.

“Hey it is the human! He matches the description we were given.”

“Did we just attack one of the guests?”

“Your highness, if I may be so bold, why were you chasing after this ... human if nothing was amiss?”

“We were just playing tag you idiots!” Karon managed to cough up in between self-pitying groans.

“You were doing what now?” one of the guards asked and looked down on him with confusion.

“Tag, it's a game where you chase each other. The princess looked bored and I was just trying to entertain her!”

The guard all looked at each other in confusion then backed off, allowing Karon to rise to his feet. He did so slowly and exaggerated his injuries a bit for added effect.

Luna was staring at him just as confused as the guards but didn't say anything. Instead, she waved her hoof at them in a dismissal and they immediately bowed to her and began the walk back to the training yard.

When they were out of earshot Luna spoke.

“This was all just a game?”

“Of course. You were far too sad for what is proper for a princess, and if there is one thing I have learned from Pinkie Pie, it is that fun and games have a way to bring a smile to even the most depressed of individuals.”

“I ... was not aware we were commencing a game of ... did you call it 'tag'?”

“Yes, I touched you so you were 'it' and was supposed to chase me. Then you were supposed to chase me until you manage to touch me and I become 'it' and I chase you and so on.”

“Does this mean I ... lost the game?”

“Technically the game is still on.”

“There is no escape from THE GAME!”

“Hush you.”

“I think I understand the rules, are you hurt? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No I don't think so. I just have a lot of bruises from the last time I fell out of a tree.”

“Oh, but if you are, please head over to the southern wing. Our court physician and unicorns specializing in healing live there.”

“I'll be sure to remember that,” Karon said and turned his back to her, looking over in the direction she had pointed.

He had looked towards the castle for less than three seconds before something hit him hard enough in the back to send him flying face first into the ground. He came up sputtering and turned around and saw Luna looking at her right hoof then pointed it to him and exclaimed.

“You're the it! ... Of the tags!” she flapped her wings and they carried her back a few meters where she stood and watched him expectantly.

“Oh, well if you say so, but you forgot one thing.”

“Is there a rule I don't know?”

“No, but Celestia is standing over there,” he said and pointed behind her.

Luna turned her head curiously, but gasped when she heard Karon run towards her at full speed and slapped her flank in passing.

“Cheating! You fooled me and it was not fair!”

“All's fair in love and tag little Lunatic. Come get me if you can!”

Luna watched him run off once more and laughed into her hoof before charging off after him, her horn aglow with magic, and before her, a madly cackling Karon taunted her with words and play, but this time, she answered his taunts with easy laughter.

                                              ***************************************

“Oh the pain ... oh the excruciating pain.”

Karon limped through the empty corridors of the castle towards the room that was now his. Since he was just one floor below Luna in a part that was connected to the rest of the castle, she had accompanied him most of the way.

They had spent hours in the garden chasing each other back and forth, using more and more complicated pieces of magic in an attempt to outwit each other. Karon had definitely drawn the short straw there. He was good with a lot of things, but he just couldn't measure up against a being that had used and collected magical skills and tricks for thousands of years.

And despite his relatively good physique, he just couldn't measure up against a pony in running, and climbing a tree isn't that significant an advantage if the opponent can fly....

Which is why he finally threw open the door to his room feeling battered all over and exhausted. He didn't even care to look around. Instead, his eyes locked on the large bed and flopped down on it. He didn't care to remove his clothes, and instead he pulled the covers over himself halfheartedly and relaxed his burning muscles.

“That was ... hard work.”

“But at least our plan worked.”

“Yes, I think it did. First we brought the troublesome feelings to the surface, then when she didn't try and suppress them anymore we turned them to anger instead and made sure all of it was focused towards me. After that, we led her on a chase that was supposed to get her to focus on the present as well. Then we tried, and I think succeeded, in evoking sympathy. Finally, we topped it off with making her slightly confused then re-directed it to make her feel a small connection with me by saying it was all for her benefit and then proving it by playing with her for a bit.”

“It wasn't a bad start no. I just wish I didn't have to hurt so much.”

“I didn't think she would throw us out of a three.”

“Yeah well she did, but the plan worked and it was worth it.”

“Indeed, we're done with the first part now.”

“Yes, but we are far from finished.”

“Indeed, tomorrow is a new day and phase two of operation 'Turn little miss Lunatic into a whole and happy princess again without dying' commences.”

“I can hardly wait...”

Chapter 23: Insane servants, stalker guards and a criminal mastermind

Karon awoke to the wafting aroma of ... pancakes? And there was more, so he lazily opened one eye and took a few investigative sniffs. To his great delight, the investigation yielded result in the form of pancakes, cupcakes, fish, vegetables, cakes, fruit, chicken and....

Oatmeal.

“Yeah I'm gonna skip that one.”

He sat up and eyed his breakfast assortment greedily. It stood on a small desk situated at the foot of his bed, and behind this great culinary tribute stood Feather Touch watching him expectantly.

“Ehh, good morning ... Feather Brush was it?”

She bristled a little at the mistake but didn't say anything else besides correcting him.

“No, my name is Feather Touch sir, and I took the liberty of preparing you a breakfast since it is, as you stated last night, the only thing keeping you from eating me alive.”

She sounded deadly serious.

“You do know I was just joking. I don't eat ponies.”

“Ohh ... but you do eat breakfast?”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Wonderful! I wasn't sure what is proper for a human to eat at the start of the morning so I had the kitchen staff prepare a little of everything for you.”

“I can see that,” he replied while his mouth began watering. Then he realized something.

“Wait, you usually just walk into guest rooms while the guest is still in them?”

“Of course, and since princess Celestia herself has ordered me to act as your personal servant and guide during your stay, I will be sleeping in the room next to this one. So I can be available for servicing you at all times.”

“Easy access to my room ... in case I would wake up in the middle of the night having a ... need ... for a little sumthin' sumthin'?”

“That's right sir, don't hesitate to call on me no matter what!”

“You're not going to be any fun if you keep being this unaware.”

“I don't understand what you are referring to, but I promise I will strive to learn and see to all your specific needs.”

“Now you’re just pretending....”

“Pretending what?” she said and blinked in confusion, real confusion.

She wasn't playing dumb, she really was that naive.

“Never mind. Do you think you could give me some privacy while I eat?”

“Of course, the door over there leads directly to my own, and the walls are thin so just shout for me if you need anything.”

“Sure...”

The unicorn gave a tiny bow before turning around and walking towards the door, on her flank was a cutie mark that appeared to be a feather duster, but Karon's eyes brought themselves to the table laden with the soon to be devoured breakfast and he crawled down to the foot of the bed and looked it over.

It was far too much for him to eat in just one breakfast, hell it was probably more than he would eat during an entire day, but since there was no shortage to choose from he picked up a pancake and shoved it in his mouth. Despite the aroma that clung to the air it was actually cold, it didn't bother Karon in the least, but it did beg the question....

“Feather....”

“Yes sir?” The maid turned around in the doorway and stood at attention, fully prepared to cater to his every need.

“Oh so tempting....”

“For how long did you stand there waiting for me to wake up exactly?”

She turned her head and looked out the window to her left, nothing the position of the sun then frowned as she calculated the time.

“Not sure sir, the sun was just rising when I arrived with your breakfast at least.”

From the light streaming in from the window Karon guessed it was close to noon.

“And you stood there watching me the whole time....?”

She looked surprised at his question.

“Of course. As your personal servant it is my duty to remain close at all hours in case you need me. As such, I will never stray out of your hearing or sight unless it is to perform a task you need done.”

She said it as if it was an obvious thing, and Karon started to get a dark sense of foreboding in the back of his mind. He waved his hand to show her she was dismissed and she dutifully turned around and closed the door behind her.

Karon swallowed a lump in his throat when he realized what this meant. The fanatic little unicorn would follow him around everywhere, and she would report every single detail of what he did if Celestia asked it of her.

He groaned at the thought. His stay at Canterlot castle had just become a lot more difficult than he first had anticipated, and for some reason, he had a feeling somewhere right now, Celestia was laughing to herself. He should have known better than to think he could play a being several thousand years old.

“I shouldn't have slapped her ass....”

                                **************************************************

After eating as much of the breakfast as he could, Karon went about exploring his new home. It was spacious, but after having lived in a library, that didn't seem like such a big deal. The ceiling, wall and floor were all white much like Rarity's boutique had been, but the interior decoration came in darker more subtle colors like navy blue and dark brown, giving the place a very distinct feeling where everything was clearly outlined.

Besides the color scheme of the room, there wasn't much else besides the usual. A large table against a wall with an inkwell, quill and a large stack of blank paper on top of it. There was a small bookshelf against a wall as well right next to the room's only window. He would have to go through that later.

There were also three doors in the room, one leading out into the hallway and one leading into Feather Touch's room. Karon guessed the third led to a bathroom and the assumption proved correct when he opened the door to look inside, but it was not just a bathroom, no ... within that tile covered room existed the very epitome of hope and salvation.

A Jacuzzi.

“Oh yeeeeeees. Can we please get in it right away?”

“After having eaten so much we're drowsy enough as it is. If we get in warm water now we will most likely fall asleep and drown.”

“Shoot, tonight then?”

“Tonight.”

Tearing himself away from the beautiful sight, Karon looked briefly in the mirror and noted he wasn't too scruffy looking. He dragged his hand over his chin and noted it was still smooth, there hadn't even been a sign of a stubble after Eldros had worked his magic on him.

His clothes reeked, and he took off the robe and the shirt he wore under it before putting the robe back on. There wasn't much else he could do at the moment until he got some more clothes sewn for himself. How he had been able to make it with just one set of clothes for almost half a year was beyond him.

But such small details as fashion could wait. Right now, there were more important things on his mind. Like how to proceed with his attempt to get Luna out of her ... whatever you want to call it. Depression wasn't a fitting description, as she was too old and had experienced too much to allow negative emotions to rule her to this degree.

No, she was simply still recovering from her imprisonment. A thousand years locked away in darkness with nothing but her own twisted jealousy and corruption to keep her company. A lesser mind would have broken, but she was an alicorn. They were shaped to live long lives and endure far more than the normal creature.

But a thousand years was still a very long time, even by the standards of the greater beings. A thousand years in darkness and silence. Over time her neural pathways would have atrophied from the lack of stimuli and her mind, containing so much knowledge and experience, would have withdrawn to the higher state of herself. Leaving her consciousness becoming less and less, hence why she displayed such childishness at the present.

The 'real' Luna was still in there, withdrawn to the deeper recesses of her soul, but finally freed, the brain and body were trying their best to reconnect to her old self and all it contained. All the new impressions bombarding her while the withdrawn part tried to bring itself forth by trying to form connections with the new world around her.

And trapped in the middle between her slowly reconnecting higher self and brain was the consciousness, constantly being battered with information and data both from the old and new.

“No wonder she is so emotionally unstable.”

“Yes, she will be easy to manipulate at the start, but as she recovers more and more of her former self, she will start to read us too well.”

“So we have a limited time to do ... whatever we are supposed to do.”

“There is one more thing also....”

“Yes, if we understand this then it is guaranteed Celestia does too.”

“She probably understand it to a greater extent than we do.”

“Which means she picked us for a specific reason, because she think I will work as the trigger to make Luna whole again.”

“Any idea why she would think we would work so well for this task?”

“Not a clue honestly.”

“Then we will just proceed as originally planned and see how it works out. If not ... we will just have to improvise.”

“Because that always works out so well....”

With his mind set and a direction to follow, Karon walked over to Feather Touch's door and knocked on it. His knuckles hadn't even left the door for a second before it opened and she stood facing him as eager to serve as ever.

“Feather Touch, I have a task for you.”

“Anything you need sir! Just point me in the direction and it shall be done!”

“I need to speak to princess Celestia, I don't need more than a few minutes. Think you could do that?”

She looked shocked at the suggestion and she stammered a response.

“B-but sir! Princess Celestia h-has court duties she m-must attend. I could n-never interrupt something so v-vital.”

Clearly the idea of stealing Celestia away for a few minutes broke some kind of servant code, or maybe that was just Feather Touch. Either way she needed some incentive.

“I understand, you must be new to being a servant. I should go find someone a little more ... well versed in the business.”

The unicorn's eyes turned to iron in a single heartbeat and she spoke in the same way a soldier about to charge into the front lines alone would do.

“I am the most experienced servant in all of EQUESTRIA! I was BORN for this! The first words I ever spoke were 'would you like some cream with your sugar sir'!”

“Really, because I would think somepony like that would be able to secure just a few minutes of her highness' time.”

“I would never have dreamed I would do something as atrocious at interrupting princess Celestia's daily schedule, but I will do as you ask of me sir. Because I am a servant of the royal Canterlot court, and no pony shall go unserved!” She turned around and disappeared in a rush, her golden mane trailing behind her and her face set in determination.

“Well that was easy.”

So, for lack of anything better to do while he waited, Karon searched through the small bookshelf that stood in his room. But much to his disappointment, he found nothing of interest, most of it was fiction with a few tourist guide books thrown in here and there.

So, he spent his time lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling until Feather Touch returned with a polite knock to the door before entering. Karon sat up in the bed and looked over at her with one raised eyebrow.

“Well? How did it go?”

“It was through a great deal of personal pain I managed to secure a brief spot on her schedule, but it was not without cost.”

“Oh, what would that be exactly?”

She stared at him with wide eyes as if she had witnessed an unspeakable horror occur right before her.

“I had to convince a fellow servant to misplace an order and bring the gryphon delegation dried tuna instead of steamed salmon!”

“And that is ... bad?”

“Of course it is! If the gryphon delegation does not receive their specific order, they will have to send it back and wait for the right one, but that means the chefs will have to delay their other orders which will mean that everypony's order will be delayed. Which means that they will be late for their appointments which means that the official decisions and verdicts will be made late. Which means that the governing of Equestria could become irregular to the official planning, which means indecision and confusion will reign. This could lead to fear and anarchy and chaos and it would mean the end of Equestria as we know it ALL BECAUSE OF ME!”

“Wow....”

“I think things work a little more fluidly than ... that.”

“You are new here and it is understandable that you do not yet understand the intricate part servants play in maintaining a safe and stable ruling. We bear a heavy burden, for upon our shoulders rest the fate of all of Equestria, and that is why not a single bed must remain unmade or one lone towel be allowed to disappear. No, we must remain ever vigilant, but we do so proudly knowing we serve our part as ... servants.”

She beamed with pride as she looked at him after her speech and waited for him to say something. When he only stared at her with both eyebrows raised and a very unbelieving look on his face she only nodded as if she understood completely.

“It's okay, I felt the same way when I first realized the responsibility that we have, but no thanks is needed, the joy and pride of being a royal Canterlot servant is more than any pony could ever ask for.”

“She's ... insane.”

“I know.”

“No I mean INSANE insane. Not fun insane, but chewing on her own hoof insane.”

“Yeah I know....”

“Okay what the hell is it you are thinking of?”

“Crazy chicks are always great in bed ... and this one ... Wheeew.”

The urge was so great that Karon's physical hand flew up and smacked him in the face. Feather Touch didn't say anything and only took it as a sign he was trying to cope with this sudden revelation of the importance servants played in the greater political governing of their glorious nation.

“I understand if it is a lot to take in sir, but we should hurry.” She swallowed and her face turned ashen. “We wouldn't want to cause more delay.”

Deciding it would be a lot easier for his peace of mind to simply ignore the last minutes conversation, he nodded and turned his attention to what he was doing instead.

“Lead the way.”

Feather Touch gave a slight bow before turning around and walking out the door with Karon following behind. She led him through a long set of corridors, turning a corner every now and then with confidence. They ran into a few ponies on their way that tried not to stare too hard at Karon as he walked by. The lone gryphon they met didn't make that attempt though and stared openly at Karon when they passed each other by, waiting for him to sprout two more heads and go on a rampage or something.

Karon decided that he didn't like gryphons.

Feather Touch led him into the same great hall where he and the elements of harmony had stood defending Karon and waiting for the princesses' judgement of him. Looking at the area where he had stood beside his friends, ready to face and fight banishment if need be, brought with it a sense of melancholy he didn't like.

This place had too much meaning attached to it, and he didn't like it. He was supposed to have left that behind, instead, now he almost thought he could hear the echoes of the defensive speeches the elements had given him.

Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's silence, Twilight's desperation at feeling torn between her savior and mentor. Pinkie Pie's usual nonsensical behavior that somehow managed to make sense after all. Fluttershy's hesitant speech despite her fear of speaking up at all, and Rarity's assurance that Karon was nothing but a gentlecolt.

“I made a liar out of all of them beside Rainbow and Applejack. They were wise to keep their silence.”

“Hey, we were pretty selfless and heroic leaving them despite our desire to stay.”

“No, it wasn't. It was selfish, we could have stayed if we really wanted to. Instead I choose to remain the trickster and mage, the student of deceit and mystery. I could have abandoned it if I really wanted to, but I didn't. It wasn't selfless, I had a choice between them and me, and I picked myself.”

“If we had stayed, would it truly have been us?”

He didn’t have an answer for that.

“Enough, we can't help Luna with her personal crisis if we keep falling into our own.”

“Sorry, it was just this place. A temporary lapse, I will be prepared next time.”

He shook his head and turned his head towards the single throne that stood within the hall, it had a crescent moon contained within a sun at the top. Meant to represent the joint rule of the two sisters, during the day Celestia would have the seat, and come night, Luna would take her place.

It was designed so it was a lot wider than a human throne, allowing the princess to lay sideways upon it, and right now Celestia sat there. Her mane flowed gently as it always did, caught in a perpetual breeze that only seemed to exist for her. If it was a deliberate magic for vanity, or simply a natural effect of her alicorn nature, Karon didn't know.

He walked up to Celestia and stopped right in front of her, allowing them to be able to speak without being heard. Behind him the sound of Feather Touch gasping in shock when he didn't bow or scrap his foot or whatever the correct court procedures were.

He only rolled his eyes and Celestia, hidden from view by Karon, smiled at him with an amused sparkle in her eyes.

“Karon, what is it you need to speak to me about so badly that you feel the need to delay the gryphon delegation by food poisoning them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Gryphons can't digest tuna for some reason. I have no idea why, and it is one of the few little mysterious I like to keep.”

“I don't think Feather Touch knew that.”

“If she had she would have committed dustukku.”

“Which is?”

“The royal castle servants have this ridiculous notion that when they have shamed themselves and their profession utterly, they are to take their feather dusters and make it as dirty as possible. Then they take the duster and 'dust' their cutie marks until it is completely covered in dirt and unable to be seen.”

“That's ... really stupid ... and melodramatic.”

“Yes, usually I give them a day or two before ordering them to take a bath and return to their duties.”

“You ponies are a really strange bunch, you know that?”

“Coming from a creature like yourself, I will chose to take that as a compliment, but you haven't told me why you needed to see me.”

“Oh yes, it's about your sister.”

Karon quickly explained what he was planning and what he needed from her. She was surprised, but gave him the detailed description he had been hoping for, but ended it with a doubtful look at him..

“That alone will not be enough to help my sister.”

“I am aware and I am working on it, but until you tell me what it is about me you think will help Luna reclaim her former self, I am running blind here,” he said and gave her a meaningful look to which she answered with batting her eyelashes and trying to look innocent.

“I have no idea what you speak of, but I hope you will do your utmost in your attempt to help my sister.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say oh great princess of mystique and evasiveness.”

Karon didn't get any further, as the the sound of talons clicking against the marble floor was heard behind him. He looked around and saw a group of gryphons come towards him. Most of them were the regular brown and white color Karon had seen in books. But the one in the middle had a cobalt blue fur and black feathers. He walked in the middle like he owned the castle and looked in irritation up towards Karon and Celestia.

“Your highness, I feel I must complain about the sorry state of affairs I find myself in. I was nearly poisoned by your incompetent staff and now I see that you have put aside the time we scheduled for discussing the import tax regulations for ... whatever that thing is.”

“That thing!?”

Karon stepped aside to allow Celestia a clear view of the hall and the group of gryphons. He heard a quiet sigh of exasperation before she addressed them.

“I apologize for the inconvenience. I was told there was a mix up in the kitchen and everypony is terribly sorry.”

“I don't care! I could have died, I demand that the responsible ponies are punished severely!”

Karon could hear Feather Touch gulp in fear from across the hall, and before Celestia could answer he spoke directly to the obviously spoiled gryphon.

“I would have thought someone that nearly died from a mix up between the servants would be more respectful towards them. After all, who knows what could happen if it were to occur again? Perhaps done in a more discreet and careful manner to avoid detection before it was too late.”

The gryphon looked shocked at the mere suggestion and spoke with the raging indignity only someone born into privilege could feel.

“They are SERVANTS! The thought that they would willingly turn their flabby little pony hooves towards such a superior gryphon like myself is INCONCEIVABLE.”

“You'd be very surprised at the things that can happen when someone or somepony actually possess the ability to think for themselves.”

“Think!? They are servants! They don't need to think, they just need to do what they're told. Thinking Hah, Inconceivable!”

“You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means.”

“Of course it does. Don't you know who I am?”

“Oh, did he really just say that?”

“A walking cliche?”

The gryphon sputtered indignantly, but one of the other gryphons flanking him hid his beak behind his talons, trying to cover up his smirk.

“I have never been so insulted in my life! Who is this creature that dare speak to me in this manner!?”

Before Karon could respond Celestia answered.

“He is the most likely candidate for the newly appointed position of court wizard.”

Karon had to try his best to keep his jaw from going slack as he turned around and stared at Celestia with eyes nearly popping out of his skull.

“What. The. Fuck?” he whispered to her. He really wanted an explanation for what she meant by that.

“I will tell you later this evening after my official duties have ended. Until then, go and take care of Luna. She is in her room sleeping.” She said all of it without actually moving her lips, which was fairly impressive.

Karon looked back at the gryphon brat and saw that Celestia's response had actually managed to render him speechless. He just stood there with his jaw moving up and down while his tiny underdeveloped mind tried to process what he had just heard.

Karon didn't care to hear whatever garbage he would spew forth after he recovered his ability to talk, so he swiftly walked down the stairs and passed him by, waving for Feather Touch to join him on the way out. Once they were outside though, she gripped his arms with her hooves and he looked down at her, surprised to see she had tears in her eyes and her lips were trembling.

“Oh what did I do now?”

“Nopony has ever defended us like that before. Even the princesses must always do their best to be diplomatic towards their guest. But you, you....”

She sniffed and threw her hooves around him as if he was the most wonderful thing since the invention of soap. She kept sniffing into his shirt so he patted her politely on the head, but then her sniffs changed in quality and she looked up at him with a wrinkled nose.

“Are you wearing filthy clothes?”

“Uh ... yes?” he answered questioningly, not sure what was the right answer.

“Back to your room immediately! This must all be washed without delay!”

“But, wha-?” he had the chance to say before she tugged him along with her magic and he went with her back to his room without a fight. Once there she stripped him out of his clothes and threw him a towel without giving his naked form even a glance, so intent was she upon her work.

And in all honesty it was pretty impressive. It took her less than half an hour to wash and dry all of the articles of clothing with the help of her magic. The skill and speed she did it with showed she had done it so many times that it was all but ingrained into her subconscious, much the same way with Rarity and sewing.

When it was done Karon dressed and felt the warm clean clothes rub against his skin with a wonderful feeling, they even smelled nice.

“Thank you Feather.”

“I am only doing my duty, sir.”

“Whatever you say, but I have another task for you.”

“Whatever you need sir.”

“Enough with the 'sir' it's getting annoying, and I need you to go down into whatever market or trade district Canterlot has and acquire an item for me. I will give you two hours before I go to the market myself with Luna. I need you to have obtain the item before then and hand it over to me when I'm there without her noticing.”

He gave her the details of the item he wanted made.

“Tell them it is for the princess, and I think that should deal any problems that might come up.”

“I understand, but it will be very difficult. Protocol demands that the princesses must have at least one guard with them at all times while outside of the palace grounds.”

“Why the hell would they need that? It's not like the guards could do anything they couldn't do themselves.”

“It is protocol.”

“You say it like it should mean something to me, but fine, I'll think of something. In the mean time, you should get going. Remember, you've got two hours.”

She saluted smartly and went out the door and trotted of fast towards the Canterlot market. Karon remained in the room for a few minutes stroking his chin in thought. He needed to get rid of the guards ... but how?”

Then a plan took form in his mind and he grinned wickedly.

                             ***********************************************

The nocturnal guard barrack was very lively despite it being the middle of the day, which was their equivalent of midnight, but most of the noise died down when Karon stepped into the barracks with a box under his arm. He scanned the crowd of stallions looking at him with their typical rock hard eyes until he found what he was looking for, an anomaly.

One of the stallions was looking at him with eyes that weren't sand colored iron as much as liquid gold, radiating curiosity and an iron will at the same time. He would do perfectly.

Karon sat down next to him at the long table. Everypony else stared at the both of them, waiting for something to happen that would explain what he was doing there.

“Hey there, I'm Karon. The most promising candidate for the position as court wizard, what's your name?”

Karon had no idea what this whole court wizard was all about, but it sounded impressive and maybe the guard knew something he didn't. If that was the case, this would be an excellent time to dig for information beside his main scheme.

The guards ear twitched a little and he looked torn for the moment between trying to retain his attempt at the same cold stare the other guards had perfected and indulging in his own curiosity.

Curiosity, as it always does, won out.

“I thought professor More-than Tardy was supposed to get that position. He's the one that's been pushing the princesses to create the position in the first place.”

“Oh?” Karon said trying to make it sound like he knew exactly what the guard was talking about.

“Yes, but if the princesses thinks you are better suited, then that's how it is. They are never wrong.”

“I doubt that.”

“Yeah well, I thought it might be a good idea to get to know the ponies around here. See how the guards work and so on since we probably will be bumping into each other regularly.”

“I see, well my name is Dusk Keeper and I am one of Princess Luna's handpicked bodyguards.”

“There are many of you?”

“Actually all of us in here are, we switch between guarding the castle and guarding the princess. Usually only one of us accompanies her, but if they go away on a long journey there are at least two and sometimes the whole company.”

“That's interesting. I am scheduled for a private conversation with Luna later today outside the castle. Any idea who in here is supposed to follow with us?”

The guard tapped his chin and looked around the barrack until he spotted a guard that looked just like the rest of them and pointed towards him.

“Star Gazer over there is the next one on protection detail.”

“Mhmmhm, but you all just rotate around correct? And if one guard is unable for some reason to perform his duties it passes to another yes?”

“That's right, why are you asking?”

“Just familiarizing myself. If I don't learn this now, I will never get it into my head.”

The stallion nodded in empathy and his mask of stone faced guard pony dropped, and what was left was a very young stallion struggling with himself.

“I know exactly what you mean. When I first got picked for this, I could barely believe it. It is a great honor and I am one of the few ponies who are more suited to a life under the moon rather than the sun, but the demands are brutal and the manual for the nocturnal guard is thicker than my head.”

“Must be tough.”

“This is just perfect.”

“Yeah it is, sometimes I wonder if I'm really up for this. The others take to it so naturally, I on the other hoof barely seem to scrape by.”

“Well Dusk Keeper, I think you've earned a reward for your hard work. I don't know what they feed you but I can't imagine it's any good.”

“It's not so bad actually, most days it's....”

The stallion trailed off when Karon opened the box and revealed the collection of cakes and cupcakes he hadn’t devoured during his breakfast. As soon as the stallion eyes locked on the box's content, Karon could almost see the drool beginning to gather inside his mouth. The plan was just going perfectly.

“Here you should have this.”

“W-what? No, I can't. I am supposed to keep to the official diet while on active service.”

“These won't make a difference, and if you don't take them I will have to give them to somepony else ... or throw them away.”

At the thought of the delicious forbidden treats being thrown away, Dusk Keeper took a step over the brink of discipline and fell down into the great chasm of sugar craving.

“I guess it would be a terrible waste to throw them away ... and I'm not on watch duty until nightfall....”

He carefully wrapped his hooves around the box and put it on his back, his eyes darted to the guards that sat around the table. There was enough space to ensure their conversation hadn't been overheard, especially not over the din that had returned after Karon sat down. The other guards watched impassively as Dusk Keeper stood up and turned to walk out from the barracks.

Before he did Karon turned to him and asked.

“So everypony else who is in the nocturnal guard is in here? There won't be any risk of you running into a comrade outside?”

Dusk Keeper's eyes took in the room in its entirety and seemed to be counting, then he shook his head looking a little relieved.

“No, they are all here. I am the only one who will be outside the barrack ... Karon was it? I just wanted to say ... thanks, life in the royal guard isn't easy.”

Karon nodded as if he understood him completely, which he didn't, and gave him a pat of the back and watched the stallion leave with hungry eyes.

When he had disappeared out the door Karon allowed himself to smile.

“First stage done, initiate stage two.”

“Hey! Everypony in here!” Karon shouted loudly to draw the attention of every guard present in the barrack, which is to say, every nocturnal guard except Dusk Keeper.

“Yeah, what is it?” one of the guard shouted back.

“I heard that you were supposed to be the toughest guard unit there was, but honestly you don't seem that much different from any other town militia.”

“Oh, that got their attention.”

Every single eye in the room was now focused on Karon with the cold deadliness of trained killers. They didn't even have to try, it came naturally for them.

“Oh yeah, I seem to remember we took down your ass pretty easy last night!” one one the guards shouted back and most of the stallion chuckled at the response. The story of what had happened had obviously been passed around.

“Yeah after Luna threw me out of that tree, you only got there in time to stand on a guy who was already down on the ground. Not very impressive if you ask me.”

The irritation the guards felt was now coming dangerously close to real anger and Karon knew it.

“We held back because we didn't have enough intel on what was going on. Had we wanted to, we could have handed your flank in at any time.”

“Yeah, how's so?”

“Because we're the best! There are no earth pony guards stronger and with more endurance than ours! There are no pegasi guards faster and there are no unicorn guards better with magic. Name one thing you could do we can't do better, I would have said you could climb trees with your monkey hands but you obviously can't do that either!” the guard finished smugly and the rest of the room laughed and a few clopped their hooves together in applied.

“Well, I know I can do one thing none of you in here could ever do.”

“Oh yeah! Let's hear it.”

“Satisfy a female.”

The entire room went as silent as a graveyard.

Karon began walking slowly around the table and groups of guards ponies in what looked like a random pattern, but really took him closer to the exit.

“I mean it's not like I blame you. You all look the same so I guess it's in your heritage or something, you all probably have the same mother who couldn't stop jumping around all the stallion she could meet, but still didn't get any satisfaction at all.”

Some of the stallion were rising up from the seated positions in slow deliberate movements. The way a tiger creeps up through the bush towards a prey.

“Unless of course you're all the result of inbreeding, which would explain why you all look so incredibly stupid.”

With a unified roar, all the stallions flew up from their seats and rushed towards Karon who only snapped his fingers in return.

                       ***********************************************************************************

Captain Nightchill was among the most respected ponies in Equestria's entire military, but he was also without doubt the most feared one. His exploits were the stuff of legends, recruits often told tales of how he had stopped a rampaging hydra with his bare hooves. Or how he had stared down a gorgon despite that their gaze turned all who beheld them into stone.

Yes, among the guards, the captain was the ultimate stone cold warrior, and he had accepted the role as leader over the nocturnal guard for that very reason. He was set on shaping them into the most deadly group of fighters Equestria had ever seen. When he was done with them there would be no reason for Equestria to ever to go war again, the mere threat of the nocturnal guard would be enough to ensure that.

Which was why he was not happy when a servant had come scurrying to his chambers and told him that there was a terrible commotion going on inside the barrack where his men were bunking.

He slammed open the door and despite having gone through the stuff most guards only experienced in their worst nightmares, he froze in his tracks as he took in the sight before him.

Every single guardsman was tearing across the room chasing some invisible enemy while roaring in pure rage. The entire barracks was demolished, the tables destroyed, the bunk beds shattered and strewn across the room. All in the attempt to capture an enemy which Nightchill could not see anywhere.

Or maybe the guards had just all cracked at the same time.

From behind him somepony snickered and he turned his head and locked his icy glare on the creature behind him. It matched the description of the human that had been given guest privileges.

“I take it you know what in Luna's name has gotten into MY guards!”

Karon swallowed and tried not to sound too pleased as he explained.

“Well it kinda started as an argument about the abilities of your guards. Since I stand as the likeliest candidate for the position of court wizard, I wanted to see if they were really as good as was claimed. But they took offense pretty quickly and as you can see I had to defend myself.”

“What did you do exactly?”

“It was just a mass illusion, a simple one at that. I just made each and every single guard in the room see a copy of me while I retreated out from the door. As you can see, they bought into it easily.”

In truth it had cost Karon nearly all the energy he had. He kept his hands in the pockets of his robe so the captain wouldn't see them shaking. While Karon had been circling around the table he had begun laying out a web of energy that spread and hooked into every one of the stallions, after that it was just a simple matter of sending an illusion of himself along into the web and it spread to all that were attached to it. He might have helped the guards out a little and sent an impression to them as well, encouraging their rage until it drove them senseless. The guards minds were like fortresses and they would have noticed if Karon had gone in tinkering there from the start, but that kind of mental forming demanded a lot of focus, and if that focus was disrupted by say, a very arrogant human with insulting the entire guards manhood and mothers at the same time. Well, then they were as easy to manipulate as every other emotional pony.

But Karon needed to make it seem like it the guards had been quick to anger for no reason and then fooled by a very simple magic trick, and that was exactly the impression the captain got off the situation.

Karon almost felt sorry for the poor guard ponies. He could feel the anger streaming out from the captain, but it was an ice cold rage, focused, controlled, harnessed.

He was a very dangerous stallion.

He walked into the chaos of the room without flinching as guards, completely in the throws of their fury, tried to chase down the false Karons. When he stood in the middle of the room, he could shout in the most self confident tone Karon had ever heard.

“FORM UP!”

So great was the fear and respect the guards felt for the captain, that they immediately snapped out of the almost trance like state they were in and stood at attention. They had been drilled endlessly in it and their bodies moved entirely on their own as they heard the call.

Some of them blinked when they realized what had happened, then their eyes widened in fear when they REALLY understood what had just happened.

The captain let his gaze slide over each and every one of them in turn then spoke, his voice low and dark. There was no need for him to speak louder, they were all listening as hard as physically possible.

“You are an absolute disgrace to this country, your families and our princesses. You have all failed me today. You all let petty emotions take complete control of you then fell for a simple piece of magic! Well, I know the cure for that! Three weeks of double paced training, and you will all clean every single bathroom in this castle with nothing but a rag until it sparkles! And you cannot use your hooves or magic!”

“Ouch...”

The captain looked around the room and shook his head.

“And get this fixed up immediately! I will return in one hour and it had better be BETTER than the last time I was in here, do you understand me?!”

“SIR, YES SIR!” all the guards shouted in unison.

The captain looked around the room and seemed to be counting heads.

“There is one of you missing, who is it?”

“I believe it is a pony named Dusk Keeper. I asked him the same questions as I did the rest of the room, but he decided it was better to reply politely then walk outside for fresh air to cool down.”

The entire room turned towards Karon as he spoke, the captain in surprise and the rest of the stallions in pure rage as once more as they realized they had all been set up, but they knew their captain and knew that voicing any complaints at this point would only worsen their situation.

The captain turned back to his guards and sounded almost a bit proud.

“Now that is how a true stallion of the nocturnal guard acts! Fine, Dusk Keeper is on protection detail for the next three weeks while you try and get to where he is!”

The captain gave them all once last icy glare, then turned around and exited the room with Karon close behind. He did NOT want to be left alone in that room.

When they had walked far enough, the captain turned his head to Karon and kept walking.

“I don't know what you did back there, but it was damn effective. I would like to discuss with you in private what kind of tactics and combat behavior I can expect if we should ever run into a hostile group of humans.”

“I find the possibility unlikely, but I can spare some time if you wish. Not at the moment though, I have business to attend.”

“Now that my little ploy with the guards was a success.”

“Good, send a message whenever you are free and I will make time,” the captain turned a right into a different corridor but before he could get out of earshot he called back to Karon without turning around.

“And if you ever do that to my guards again, I will kill you.”

Karon shuddered at the cold, almost bored tone the captain said it in. He meant it too.

Karon remained standing where he was and considered what he had just done. He had made an enemy out of one, if not THE, most elite fighting force in Equestria with the exception of the princesses themselves.

It had been dangerous, stupid, incredibly reckless and the payoff could probably have been achieved in some other far more constructive way, but it had also been really funny...

“Mwhehehe, whatever. I've got other things to worry about for the moment.”

So Karon turned a left and headed towards Luna's bedroom. When he reached the stairs, he had caught sight of the sun from a few windows and imagined that the two hours he had given Feather Touch would probably be up by now. He just hoped she had come through for him.

He climbed the stairs until he reach the top where a dark door with a silver crescent moon painted on stood. He knocked on it respectfully, then opened it without waiting for an invitation.

The room he walked into reminded a bit of Celestia's. There were similar crystals in there too, but they shone with a silvery light instead of gold. The room itself was also darker and didn't have the same huge window at the far wall. Instead the entire room was almost nothing but glass. Located so the sun wouldn't shine in more than the absolute minimum but would probably give an excellent view of the night sky.

Luna herself was half risen from her bed and blinked at him sleepily before her brain registered who it was.

“Karon? Why are you interrupting my sleep? Return here after it's time to raise the moon.”

“No can do Lunatic, I have a surprise for you.”

“I will surprise YOU with a fall down from the tower if you don't leave me to my rest.”

“Enough with the crankiness. I spent several hours up late playing with you so now you owe me some time.”

“Was that what it was?! Just an attempt to gain favor and debt from me?”

“Don't be silly Lunatic. What I mean is that friendship is a give and take deal.”

She piqued up at this and looked at him uncertainly.

“So are we ... friends now?”

“Yes, so get your flank out of bed and let's get moving.”

“Hmmmm, no,” she said and went back to bed.

When Karon was about to tell her to get up, she opened one eye and her horn flashed blue for a second and no sound came out of Karon's mouth. He frowned then tried speaking again, no sound.

Luna closed her eye again but a small smile made its way to her lips, Karon on the other hand rolled his eyes and looked irritated. He took a glance around the room and found just what he had been hoping to see.

Luna remained on the bed where she was slowly dozing off again, content now that she believed she had beaten Karon and he would return later. Instead, she jerked out of bed as he dumped a vase of flower water onto her head. She sputtered and shook her head as the sticky liquid made her mane cling to her face and smelled horribly.

She growled at Karon and her horn began glowing threateningly. In turn, he only crossed his arms and looked down on her expectantly. They remained in the standoff for a few moments before Luna's horn flashed and the water disappeared.

“Sigh, fine I will join you.”

Karon gave her a triumphant smile in return.

                                          ***************************************************************

Both Karon and Luna walked down the Canterlot Market. Karon had tried to keep up a conversation for as long as he could, avoiding the topic of the mentioned surprise, but he was running out of time and there had been no sign of Feather Touch. The market was crowded, but Karon stood out very clearly and most ponies stopped to stare when they saw Luna walk beside him.

They made an odd pair, Karon admitted that, but they were going a little overboard with the attention in his opinion. Some of the ponies even stopped and fell down on their knees as she passed, a gesture that seemed to invoke disgust in Luna.

“Something bothering you about them?”

Luna looked over at a pony pair, one middle aged stallion with a middle aged mare. Both wearing expensive clothing and both falling down on their knees and bowing as Luna passed them by, not giving them a glance.

“Sycophants and greedy nobles,” she said without trying to hide the revulsion, “In the old days, they had the manner to at least adhere to certain standards, but now....”

He got her point. Some of the ponies were close to crawling in the mud to get the princess' attention. They would probably have approached her if she hadn't been in the big scary human's company, and Luna was aware of that.

She looked over at the lone stallion wearing a top hat and something vaguely resembling a tie. When he noticed he had the princess attention he froze then began making his way towards them.

Both Luna and Karon stopped to wait for the stallion while the rest of the nobles around them looked at him with naked envy. When he reached them he trembled a little from nervousness, or perhaps he was imagining all the opportunities he thought would fall into his lap as soon as he spoke to the princess.

“P-princess Luna, it is such a great honor to finally meet you in person. Allow me to introduce myself, Stomping Ironshoe, of the Ironshoe exports. When I saw you enter the market I thought to myself, 'Princess Luna, here!? In the market? Just as I realized what an excellent business opportunity had just opened up for me. Can this be a coincidence I thought? No, it is clearly fate itself at work here'!

“Please let me kill him. It causes me physical pain to listen to him.”

“Shh, let's wait and see what Lunatic does with him.”

The stallion went on to explain just how MUCH it would benefit Equestria's economy if his agency were given special privileges, and how much good they could do for the Canterlot community if they were given a tax cut.

Luna acted as if what she was hearing was of great importance to her. When he was done and watched her with eagerness shining out of his eyes, Luna just said in a nonchalant tone.

“Well of course I can see your point clearly. You will of course have to surrender all of your assets for a review first of course, but I think we might have an excellent future together.”

The stallions face turned white, which was impressive since his coat was orange.

“A ... a review? But certainly that wouldn't be necessary. After all, with all the good I cou-”

“I am afraid it is not negotiable, the rules apply to everypony.”

“Well, I guess we shouldn't rush into things ... Let me ... consider it and I will contact you if there is any development,” he finished hastily and gave a quick bow before hurrying away.

Luna watched him go with mixed sadness and anger before she turned to Karon.

“That is not what I want from my subjects.”

“Not all of them are like that. I heard you made a great hit in some of the outer villages during last Nightmare Night.”

“Those are far away. I am a princess and I must remain in Canterlot for most of the time to attend my duties, and that is why I don't leave the castle anymore. Canterlot is the center of our culture and art. My sister built it after my banishment and she told me she wanted it to be a place where one could walk through the street and taste and see all that this world has to offer. Instead, most dare not approach me, thinking that it wouldn't be proper, and the others ... they seek only the favor of a princess not....”

“They don't come seeking Luna.”

She nodded and looked around herself sad, the collection of well-dressed vultures disguised as ponies still hovering around them waiting for the slightest hint they could approach. The other ponies kept away, seeing the collection of wealthy and influential ponies gathered around the princess and an exotic stranger, thinking they did not belong in such company.

“Such a vicious circle.”

“Indeed. Do you think this was what Celestia was thinking about when she put us in charge of getting Lunatic back to normal?”

“Perhaps. She is a princess and so a normal friendship would be unconventional since she would have to combine it with her role, and I am certainly good with unconventional ... still, it's best not to jump to conclusions.”

Karon was just about to try and say something re-assuring when he heard a yelp from behind himself. He spun around in time to see Feather Touch get tackled to the ground by Dusk Keeper. He blinked several time in confusion at the scene before him and Luna did the same.

“Miss you are under arrest for suspicious behavior and the attempted assault on her royal highness the princess Luna!”  Dusk Keeper stated while pinning her down to the ground skillfully.

“What!? How dare you accuse me of betraying the princess!?” Feather Touch retorted with so much venom in her voice Dusk Keeper flinched and suddenly looked a lot more uncertain. The mask of the stoic guard once more slipping and giving way to the uncertain youngster.

“Do you deny that you were stalking the princess in a most suspicious manner and attempted to approach her when her back was turned?”

“No, I did that but I wasn't going to attack her! And I wasn't stalking the princess, I was stalking the sir!”

“The what?”

“The sir, the human guest that is currently staying at Canterlot castle. I am his personal servant and was supposed to give him this package without being seen by the princess.”

She managed to dislodge one hoof and pointed it to a neatly wrapped gift package in violet and blue colors on the ground close to her.

All four sets of eyes plus a few from the crowd still keeping it's distance focused on the package and then Luna's eyes turned to Karon.

“What is this?”

“It's the ... surprise I mentioned.”

Luna carefully walked over to the package and looked down on it. She tilted her head and the package was enveloped in a blue aura as it floated upwards to rest at eye level and slowly began unravelling itself.

When she spotted what was inside she gasped and the magic disappeared. The package fell down to the cobble street and a gentle wind blew by, taking the gift wrap with it. What was left on the ground was a wooden toy figure of an alicorn with its wings outspread and head held high.

It was painted in a dark blue color, not entirely dissimilar from Luna's own colors, but the toy didn't have a cutie mark. Instead, it was a blank slate, the same color as the rest of it.

Luna looked down on it without moving, without breathing. She just stood there, staring at the toy as if she were seeing a ghost. Ever so carefully she tipped her horn down an inch and the blue glow spread across it. The toy levitated up into the air where she held it before her, never taking her eyes off it.

Then she turned around without a word and walked away, the toy floating through the air beside her.

Karon didn't dare to chase after her yet, something had happened here that he hadn't anticipated, and he would have to move very carefully unless he wanted to undo the progress he'd made so far. So he turned his attention to Feather Touch and Dusk Keeper instead.

“Okay you can let her go now.”

The guard pony looked down at her and seemed to be weighing his options, but he was a guard. If there were no clear regulations or rules to follow then he preferred it if someone simply gave him orders. Karon wasn't perhaps officially of any rank at the moment, but he had unofficial ties obviously, so he did what he asked and released Feather Touch.

The unicorn got up and started dusting herself off meticulously, making sure she didn't miss a single spot. Which demanded a bit of gymnastics from her, which Karon found amusing and Dusk Keeper embarrassing.

“So....” Karon said and looked at the guard. “...For how long were you following us?”

“Since you left the castle grounds. When I returned to the barracks, I was told what had happened. I don't know why you did it, but I do NOT appreciate it. Everypony hates me now and think I was in on it.”

“Don't worry about that, it'll get resolved. What I was wondering was why you sought fit to remain hidden. Why didn't you just march out and join us as guards are supposed to?”

The earth pony nodded towards Feather Touch who looked at him expectantly, clearly wanting for an explanation as well.

“It's ... complicated. Not long ago, when I was still stationed in the city, there was some talk in the guard about a new pony that had arrived in Canterlot. There were whispers, rumors and small traces of evidence that suggested somepony really smart was slowly taking over what little crime had existed in Canterlot and was turning it into something serious. We didn't know much about him besides the few rumors that he was a real badflank. Somepony smart enough to whip up all the ponies who for some reason don't agree with us being ruled by the princesses. At first, it was nothing but a scary ponytale between the guards, but soon, real evidence started to turn up. Entire noble families disappeared, their funds raided never heard from again. Others just seemed to have a string of bad luck and lost everything, but there was something about it that was wrong.

Like a pattern you just couldn't put your hoof on, but then I got picked for the nocturnal guard and I left that investigation behind, but recently I got a letter from an old friend that said it was a lot bigger and more dangerous than we had suspected. He said that he had managed to get evidence that somepony just called 'M' was behind all of it, and just not that, but he said that this 'M' had influence everywhere, even in the royal court. And worst of all, was that my friend thought he was trying to prepare for a coup against the princesses. He said he had evidence and would present it to Celestia herself.”

“So, what happened?” Karon asked feeling like he was walking into a bad spy novel.

“Nothing. After that letter I never heard from him again. The guards in the city said he just ... disappeared.” he sounded sad at the loss of his friend, and underneath it was a note of fear.

“So when you saw Feather here stalking us, you thought the worst, that she was sent by this 'M' to kill Luna?”

“Yes,” he said and looked down on the ground. “I know it doesn't seem plausible but I swear I am-”

“I believe you.”

“You do?” he sounded surprised and looked up at Karon with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, you don't really possess the imagination to make all of that up.”

Choosing not to take offense, the guard pony seemed relieved at finally having somepony to talk to about his suspicions.

“So what can we do about it?” he asked Karon, expecting some kind of brilliant idea that would solve everything.

“At the moment, nothing. I'll look into it. Just be ready to act if I find anything.”

“I will.”

“So will I!” Feather Touch almost shouted, her head held so high her neck looked about to break.

“And why would you do ... whatever you would contribute with?”

“If somepony dares threaten the wonderful rule of our beloved princesses, they will have to go through me first!” she exclaimed and waved her hoof around as if she wanted to punch somepony.

“Fine, you could be useful perhaps....”

“As cannon fodder.”

“...But we've got nothing right now, so just go back to the castle and do whatever you normally do.”

“But I am supposed to follow Luna!”

“And I am supposed to be following you!”

“Oh for bucks sake....”

“What ... did you just say?”

“I've been here for far too long.”

“Dusk Keeper, Luna needs her privacy right now, so you go and do something else. We will be back at the castle grounds soon enough, and Feather ... I have a task for you.”

“Anything you need sir!”

“I want you to follow Dusk Keeper around and make sure he doesn't get eaten by a dragon.”

“As ... you wish sir.”

“Excellent, now shoo while I go search for Luna,” he said and waved his arms to make them go away.

Then he turned around and walked in the direction that Luna had disappeared to. Fortunately, it was relatively easy to track her. She left very visible ripples in the pony crowds and he just had to follow the inane chatter to reach a secluded little park. He entered through a dirt road, and after walking forward in the shade of the trees, he came upon a small pond where Luna sat.

She looked down at her own reflection without moving, the toy right beside her on the ground.

Karon walked up and sat down beside her. She didn't say anything, she was lost in her own thoughts.

“I take it this holds more meaning than just a toy some unlucky human accidentally stepped on?”

She nodded slowly without taking her eyes of the reflection.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She remained still at first but then shook her head.

“You should anyway.”

She turned her head and looked him straight in the eyes. She didn't need to voice the question out loud.

“Because you need to, you know that.”

She remained silent, staring into his eyes as if searching for something.

“It never gets any easier,” she finally said.

“What?”

“The pain, it never gets any easier. I can see it inside you, festering, wriggling like a worm burrowing deep inside your soul.”

“I thought we were talking about you.”

“We are. I have lived for so long, and I still carry that pain like it is still fresh.”

“So talk about it, don't let it hide and eat at you from within.”

“Hear ye, hear ye! Come all, come big come small, come old come young and see the world’s greatest hypocrite!”

“Just because I know the lesson as a failure knows it, doesn’t mean I don't understand it.”

Luna looked down at the toy and poked at it with one hoof.

“My mother made a toy like this for me.”

“I take it things didn't end well?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

She stared out over the pond, and for a brief moment her mind went back in time, to days of nothing but hunger, disease and suffering.

“Discord happened.”

“Oh....”

“The reason Tia and I took the title of princesses is because that's what we were. Daughters to the king and queen of the alicorn kingdom.”

“I read something about an alicorn kingdom in a book in Ponyville.”

She nodded, her mind still lost in the maelstrom of memory.

“It is no secret history, but few know the whole truth.”

“Would you like to tell me?”

She returned her gaze to him, and there was a new weight to it, as if there was something more than just the usual Luna staring back out at him, and in that moment he thought he could see the vast field that was Luna's life and the memories of it.

“If you travel to the north and west for many days, cross mountains, river lands and forests, you will come to the edge of a desert. This desert stretches for what will seem an eternity, and no living thing resides within it. Only the bones of my family, and all they protected and guided. Travel there if you wish to know 'the truth'.”

“I'm sorry Luna.”

“Why?”

“Because I am not lying when I say you are my friend.”

She didn't answer, instead she continued her story.

“When our kingdom fell only a few escaped, and only Tia and I wanted to go on fighting. The others ... had lost all hope. But Tia and I knew there was a chance, our mother had told us so before she ... died.  She said that Discord drew strength from the disharmony that existed between ponies and all they were connected to, which is our entire world, and the only way to truly defeat Discord was to seal him away. He is this world's mistakes and failures given form and cannot be destroyed. Only ... put away. And so Tia and I did what our mother had asked of us, we searched for what she had called the elements of harmony....”

A breeze drifted by, catching a few leaves in its wake and made them dance in the air before they fell down to the pond's water. Luna watched as they slowly drifted off.

“We found them, and with them we broke Discord's hold over our world. Step by steps we beat him back until he had nowhere else to run, and then he finally faced us, and we turned him to stone ... But we couldn't save our home. Death was all that remained there, so we left.”

“The ponies we once guided with wisdom and protected with our magic fractured. They grew apart and hate and jealousy took the place of harmony. It was too much to bear, so we left. Tia and I wandered for centuries, we saw much and experienced even more, but never did we actually feel any hope. We were just the remains of a dying race, waiting for a time when we would finally be deigned worthy to take.”

“It was when we were without hope that we found what we never thought we would see again. Equestria, a place where all the three pony tribes had come together in peace and harmony. After we had seen this, we knew we could never leave. This was the last remaining hope of becoming what we were always meant to be.”

“At first we just advised them, then they grow more and more trusting of us. They came to us for constant help and barely a generation had passed before they all came together and wanted to name us their queens.”

“We refused, Tia and I can never be queens. We can never become all that our mother was and built, but we tried. We shaped Equestria into the image of our old kingdom, the one we failed to protect and we swore we would NEVER let the same thing happen again.”

“But it still hurts....” she finished as tears ran down her chin and fell into the pond, distorting her reflection.

“I know it does.”

“And your story?”

“Is locked away, deep inside me. I can't even access it anymore, but I still know what happened. I just can't remember it.”

“It will not last.”

“I know, but I am not ready. I know that if I open that door now, as I am now ... it will end me.”

They both leaned against one another, feeling the comforting presence of a friend beside them.

“And the doll?”

Luna looked down at it.

“My mother made one like it, it was supposed to be me.”

“Why the blank flank?”

“She made it that way, it was when Tia and I first wielded the elements of harmony that our cutie marks appeared. They came very late for us, and we spent over a thousand years running away from them afterward. Leaving the duties that were rightfully ours to the struggling unicorns.”

“So why did the doll make you feel this way?”

“When I saw it ... I remember what mother used to say. That when we were truly ready to embrace who we really were, our cutie marks would appear. When I see this doll again ... she has no pain, she has no regrets and no fear. All she had was hope and dreams of who she could become.”

Karon looked down on the doll and picked it up. He looked it over carefully than with a nod he threw it out in the pond and watched it drift off. Next to him Luna stared at him with so much emotions boiling up inside her she could no longer think straight.

“Wh- why did you do that?”

“We all need to grow up some time.”

“From what!? Childhood!?”

“Innocence. No one can remain a clean slate forever. Yes, our pain hurts like nothing else, but it is OUR pain, and it is ours to carry and ours to one day let go off. Not yet, but one day. But that day will NEVER come unless we carry it with us. It is the part of us we hate more than anything, but it is still ... us. What would our joy and love mean without the contrast?”

“Such old words from somepony so young.”

“My innocence and childhood were taken from me before my age was even counted with two numbers. I might not have lived through all the lessons I need to, but I know they are still there and I will not hide from them. I will just move slow enough that when it is my turn to face them, I will find a way to ... make things right. Somehow.”

“I still carry with me years and years of pain that makes your life seem like the blink of an eye.”

“Well cry me a river.”

“You mock my pain.”

“Life is pain Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”

Despite herself Luna smiled and looked out the pond, the toy was nowhere to be seen.

“We should leave. There is nothing more to be said that hasn't been so.”

“Very well,” Karon replied and got up on his feet, Luna walked off behind him while Karon stood staring out at the pond for a moment. The sun was setting and it cast violet and orange rays of light upon the world that made the sky appear to be on fire.

“I get the feeling that is a bad omen....”

Before Karon could think of a reply, something smacked into his back and launched him out into the pond. It was not deep, but it was enough to thoroughly drench him in water. He turned around confused and saw Luna smirking down at him.

“That was for the flower water.”

                                   **********************************************************

Karon had walked back to the castle next to a very self-satisfied Luna, and this time it was Karon that attracted the most stares from Canterlot's inhabitants. They said goodbye in the stairs and Karon trudged towards his room while Luna continued upstairs towards hers.

When Karon opened the door he found both Dusk Keeper and Feather Touch waiting for him. Dusk Keeper only looked confused at the miserable sight of the drenched human, but Feather Touch nearly had a heart attack.

She tore off his clothes with her magic much like she had previously in the day, and Karon was left with a towel awkwardly around his waist with Dusk Keeper next to him. After Karon reassured him everything had gone well with Luna, the guard pony left a grateful Karon alone.

Feather Touch came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later with warm clean clothes that Karon put on while the unicorn intently studied the wall.

“Sir I have news for you. While we were waiting for your return, another servant arrived with a message. Princess Celestia is expecting you at the consortium hall in ... fifteen minutes.”

“And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?”

“You couldn't very well show up drenched in ... whatever that foul stink was.”

“You have a point. What exactly is 'the consortium'?”

“It is Canterlot's, indeed all of Equestria's, elite collective of magic users. Only the most powerful, intelligent and wise are ever offered membership and they are well known throughout the entire world.”

“And she wants me there ... why?”

“I am not privy to princess Celestia's inner most thoughts. I am but a humble and loyal servant.”

“Uhuh ... Well then. Care to show me the way?”

As it turned out, the consortium hall was located at the other end of the castle and so Karon arrived fashionably late. Feather Touch led him to a light brown but sturdy looking door which several symbols had been scribbled into. He would have liked to remained and investigate what exactly they were, but Feather opened the door wide and announced loudly.

“Karon, esteemed guest of her highness princess Celestia, human and an accomplished mage, has arrived.”

“So much for fancy titles, couldn't she have thrown in one impressive thing at least.”

Inside the room, one large conference style table stood and eight ponies in total were gathered, not counting Celestia who stood at the far end.

They all turned to face him as he was announced and after Feather was done she went back to the hallway and closed the door behind her, leaving Karon to face the stare of what looked like eight very senile unicorns.

“Uhh, hello....”

No responses, only glassy eyed stares. Karon walked over to the other end of the table, facing Celestia directly and four unicorns before him on each side. After he took the place all eyes turned to Celestia instead and she spoke with the same mature calmness she always did.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I wanted all of you to be present as I have come to a final decision regarding the proposal professor More-than Tardy presented over a year ago.” She turned to face the unicorn directly to her left and Karon noted he wasn't quite as old as he had first thought.

“What kind of cruel parents birthed that poor sucker?”

“I am thrilled to hear you have taken it under serious consideration your highness,” he responded in a cultured voice, a slight accent noting each word.

“Of course, and so I am pleased to announce that from tonight a new position will have opened up in the royal court, a position that will stand both within the court of the moon as well as the sun. A single being will be selected to act as court wizard, ensuring the proper control, study and investigation into all things magical in our kingdom is guaranteed. The individual must display outstanding magical ability in practice, as well as theoretical knowledge. He or she must also have a deep sense of stability and order since he or she will be responsible for the day to day dealings which my sister and I are too busy to deal with personally.

“Oh fuck nonononononononono...”

“Which is why it brings me great pleasure to announce I know of one such individual....”

The professor straightened his neck a little and looked just about ready to begin whatever thank you speech he had prepared earlier.

“A recent arrival to our world, and in possession of a great deal of knowledge and ability we have so far not seen in unicorns. Karon the human!”

“You fucking bitch....”

There was not a single unicorn around the table that did not look to be about to die from shock. Each and every one of them was accomplished within their fields and had a long history of magical studies. They had all revolutionized one field or another in the study of unicorn magic but now ... now a total stranger, a non-pony no less, just snatched the most influential position a magic user could hold within the governing of all things magical in Equestria.

Most of them didn't care about it, as long as they were left alone and allowed to continue their studies they were happy, but there was one unicorn that glared daggers at the perceived usurper, no matter how much Karon wanted to scream it was all a ploy by Celestia.

“Now I am sure that this news will need some pondering, which is why I think it is best if we all retire for the night and meet back here tomorrow at noon. Karon, I will need to have a word with you in private now.

And with that they were all dismissed.

                           *************************************************

A few hours later in a darkened room illuminated only by a few candles, a figure was pacing on the hard stone floor restlessly. What did this mean? Was he a new player on the board? Would he be a threat? Celestia would never have chosen him for the position unless he had considerable talent, then why hadn't his operatives brought him news?

This was a strange turn of events and he couldn't shake the feeling it was even more significant than it first appeared.

Professor More-than Tardy had made plans, very detailed, very intricate plans, and now all of it might risk exposure or failure, all because of this unknown factor.

Yes, he would need to gather intelligence on this Karon. Learn all there was to know about him, his weaknesses, his strengths and of course, his secrets.

Smiling to himself the professor stopped his pacing and walked over to the cabinet where he kept his new favorite vice. Some farm pony somewhere out west had come up the most ingenious ways to prepare new forms of booze far superior to those previously seen in Canterlot.

Sipping from a hovering glass of fine Applejack's Daniels, the professor walked over to his favorite couch and sat down on it. At the other end of the room, there hung a banner he had designed himself years ago when he first began his rise to power, and he was nowhere near done yet, oh no.

No, professor More-than Tardy would not rest until that beautiful steel gray banner with the jet black M hung in the throne room of Canterlot castle.

Yes, he would not rest. There was so much work left to be done.

Chapter 24: Behind the scenes

There were a lot of hushed conversations and quiet grumbling that took place in Canterlot that night. Magic offers many new ways and options that do not exist otherwise, and this fact seeps into every single aspect of a true practitioners life.

Which is why it is perhaps not so strange after all that the rumor of the newly appointed court wizard of Canterlot swept through the unicorn community like a tidal wave. Most ignored it, having no interest in the intrigues of those who only cared about the art, but there were the few, those whose life, soul and heart belonged to magic that paid careful attention to the rumors.

And so, the news spread. Magical messages of all kinds were employed and before Luna had lowered the moon to make way for her sister's sun, the message had been spread over all of Equestria to those that wished to hear it.

Something strange was going on in Canterlot.

And it did not take long before this news reached the ears of a certain studious unicorn in Ponyville. Twilight was staying up late as usual, giving the excuse of catching up on her studies when the truth was that she had never in her life ever fallen behind.

Her eyes lightly bloodshot widened slightly when Owlowiscious came flying in through an open window unexpectedly. She had thought he would remain for a few more days with her friend Rose Petal, whom she had met in princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and decided to stay in touch with after Twilight moved to Ponyville.

But the strangest part of the owl's return was that he carried a sealed scroll in his claws which he dropped down on the book in front of her before flying to his usual perch. Twilight looked over the scroll before opening it. It was short and had the usual babbling writing she had come to associate with her friend.

Good morning Twilight, I am convinced that right this moment you are thinking to yourself why our owl friend would return so soon? Well, the reason is an incredibly simple one, I asked him to. Now you might ask yourself why I would do that, well it's because I have some very exciting news I just can't wait to share with you! I just heard that princess Celestia herself finally gave in to professor More-than Tardy's advice and created the position of court wizard!

But that is not the most exciting part of the news, no this is far better. Instead of giving the position to the professor, who all of us thought it would go to, she gave the position to something called a human. The entire consortium is shocked by this new development! After all, the court wizard will be the final voice in all research and study involving magic in all of Equestria, and nopony even knows who this human is!

But I heard mention its name is Karon and he comes from a faraway place and possesses magic unlike anything any unicorn has ever seen. This is so exciting! You must come to Canterlot and stay with me. Perhaps we can even manage to get to meet this mystery creature and see for ourselves.

-Rose Petal

Twilight read the letter three times before she was certain she hadn't missed anything. She had been a strong supporter of instituting the role of a court wizard. A pony to monitor and see to the magical studies undertaken and strive to bring it forward and together beyond the divided science it had become lately.

She had imagined someone wise like Minty Frost or someone sophisticated and mysterious like professor More-than Tardy to take the place of Equestria's first court wizard.

Not Karon....

Not Karon who hadn't even bothered to say good bye to her, instead just leaving her with a sorry excuse through SPIKE of all things. So she would just forget about him, she had plenty of work to keep busy with. Or at least that was her plan until now.

If Karon was named court wizard, then it was inevitable that she would have to face him sooner or later. Even worse, if she planned any greater experiment and needed funding, then she might even have to get his approval!

“Garh!” she let out in frustration. This was just unbelievable. How could Princess Celestia ever think that KARON would make a good candidate for the court wizard position? She considered what might have made her pick Karon but couldn't come up with anything logical beside that he knew a lot of different human magic.

But all magic was fundamentally the same, so why would she just give him the position based solely on that? The most logical answer was that she didn't. Twilight knew Celestia better than most ponies thought, she had been like a daughter to her after all and not just a personal student.

And if Twilight knew anything about Princess Celestia, it was that she never did anything without thinking five steps ahead. So there must be some other reason she had chosen Karon....

The more Twilight thought about it, the more convinced she became that there was more going on than what most ponies would think, and she wasn't going to sit in Ponyville and do nothing to find out what it was. She was going to Canterlot!

Getting the chance to face Karon and tell him exactly what she thought of him would just be ... a bonus.

                                                          ***************************************

After the members of the consortium had left the room, Karon and Celestia remained standing where they were. Celestia looked as composed and regal as ever while Karon ... looked about ready to explode.

“Tia ... I will need a VERY good explanation for what you just did, or I am calling off this entire thing and leaving,” he said through gritted teeth.

“There is no need to be so dramatic Karon. I did what was best for all of us, you included.”

“Do explain, in great detail please.”

“Very well. There is a lot of political maneuvering involved and it wouldn't mean anything to you. Let's just say that I needed a qualified outsider to take on the role of court wizard. Someone with no ties to any movement or family within Equestria. I would rather have chosen my faithful student Twilight Sparkle to take up the role, but she already has one to play which left only you as the best candidate. With this new station, you will have an official position within the court, and you will also have jurisdiction within all things related to magic that occurs within Equestria's borders. There will be duties that follow with this new position, but they will not hinder you in any way and will not take up much of your time. Equestria's community of magic students regulates itself mostly, you need only worry if there is something serious that occurs.”

“There is still the question of what exactly you want me to do with this new found power and influence.”

“Whatever you deem fit. I have faith in you.”

Karon couldn't believe what he was hearing ... Did Celestia just give him full control of the magic studies of Equestria and then set him lose?

“Too good to be true.”

“There is more to this. It is obviously a trap of some kind.”

“No trap, I simply would prefer you to have the seat than any of the other candidates. You may use your new found authority as you please as long as it doesn't endanger any ponies.”

“There is still a trick here, I know it.”

“I have set no trap for you Karon. I simply trust you to be yourself.”

“That sentence has so many different meanings it could be anything.”

“So what can we do?”

“Since we can't figure out what kind of game Celestia is playing ... let's just ... enjoy the ride.”

Karon's mouth formed a smile, then a grin, and then finally it turned into laughter. He laughed and laughed a maniac's laugh until his stomach hurt and his breath came out only in wheezes. The cackling sounds receded slowly and with a final giggle he straightened his back and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“You're actually serious. You're giving me all this power without restrictions? Are you insane?”

“There are restrictions of course. You can only act with authority when it involves the study or use of magic within Equestria. This means it is your decision to allow or disallow certain practices or experiments and also ensure a safe and stable use and restriction of the higher forms of magic. The basic education all unicorns go through is handled by the mundane school system and you don't need to bother with it. It will be your job to monitor the higher forms practiced by unicorn mages and magic researchers.”

Celestia hesitated for a second but then went on.

“...And it will also be your duty to guard against any greater magical threat that might arise. If it is serious, it should be handled by the guard and you should only act as an investigator. If the theoretical threat would turn out to be too much for the guard to handle alone, I will contact the elements and they will have to face it. It would have been mine and Luna's duty to do so before, but ever since the elements of harmony were passed on to the new wielders, our purpose is a different one, and we will only intervene if there is no other way.”

“But the fact remains, you are giving me free reign as long as I make sure that Equestria doesn't get blown up either unintentionally or otherwise?”

“That's one way to phrase it, but in essence yes. In three days time, there will be a dinner held where most of the noble families will be represented as well as the diplomatic representatives of the gryphons, zebras and otters. I think it will be the best time for us to officially introduce you to the 'elite' of Canterlot.”

“If you think that is the best, who am I to argue? But I need to know how exactly I am to perform these new duties?”

“We can discuss that in the morning when the rest of the consortium is gathered. You will be working with the members mostly since every situation important enough to warrant your attention will be received through them. Of course, if you so desire you could keep a more active involvement and familiarize yourself with the community as a whole, your choice. It will be your job to bring the magical studies in Equestria forwards. I trust that you are up to the task and can decide the best way to do this yourself.”

“Tia, I'm not an idiot, there has to be more to it than that. One half of me thinks you've gone insane and the other thinks you must be setting me up somehow.”

“I already did explain everything Karon. I have looked over all the possible candidates and what Equestria needs right now isn't one of them, it is you.”

“Insane it is.”

“I still don't trust it's that simple, but fine, I accept.”

“That is excellent news, I think it's best if we retire for tonight. You will have a busy day tomorrow and you will need a clear mind for what is to come.”

“Because that wasn't ominous at all....”

Karon tilted his head in affirmative and turned around, his smile lopsided as he considered all the things he could do with this new authority.

“Goodnight Tia.”

“Goodnight Karon,” she replied and watched him leave knowing full well that he was smiling at this turn of events. She heard him say something to Feather Touch outside in the hallway before the door closed and then he was gone.

Celestia remained standing still for a while and was lost deep in her own thoughts. There would have been a time when she would have shied away from playing creatures they way she did now, but she had learned very early that everything has a price. And a ruler must always do what is best for the whole not the individual no matter how horrible that might first sound.

But you need only witness one kingdom and all it's ponies die once before you understand that the alternative is far worse.

Bringing herself out of her reverie she focused her magic through her horn with the easy skill born out of thousand years of practice. It shone white for a second and with a chiming sound she teleported to her room.

It was just as she had left it, ever since Discord had stolen the elements of harmony despite her precautions, she had become extra vigilant concerning her belongings. Which was why she had immediately noticed when Karon had tried to steal one of her sun crystals.

The thought of the human mage with a fully charged crystal was ... disconcerting.

But she had more real trouble to deal with at the moment than just hypothetical ones. The game she was playing now was a dangerous one. She had played it before but never had she imagined she would use a creature as unreliable as Karon in it.

But risks were a necessary part of ruling and all that remained now was to guide Karon on his path.

So she went over to her table and her horn glowed once more as she wrote a letter to her faithful student in Ponyville. Celestia knew Twilight well and understood that there was a high probability she would know something was going on once the news reached her.

She wished she could share all her secrets with her student, but that was just a distant dream at the moment, she was still so young.

She finished the letter and sealed the scroll before sending it away with a flash of magic. Spike would not appreciate being woken up this late at night, but he would deliver the letter to Twilight straight away.

The game had begun. Now she could only hope she had made the right choice in putting her faith in Karon. There was too much at stake to fail. Had she told all of them what was going on, they would have only seen the immediate threat. The here and now, but Celestia knew better than to be distracted by the obvious.

She knew how to read the signs and the visible threat they now faced was just a shadow of what was to come. The future looked dark for all of Equestria, but like always, Celestia would do whatever was necessary to prepare them for it.

She would never let another kingdom fall again.

                             ****************************************************

Twilight was pacing in her library when she heard the door upstairs open. She stopped momentarily and glanced up. In the doorway stood a very sleepy Spike rubbing his eyes and carrying a scroll in one hand.

“Spike what are you doing up? You know you need your sleep.”

“I didn't want to wake up, but it's hard to sleep when the princess decides to send letters in the middle of the night,” he grumbled in response and waved the letter before him.

Twilight's ear pricked up at this. “A letter from the princess? Now?”

It's was too well timed to be a coincidence. It must certainly have something to do with why she would elect Karon as court wizard. She didn't wait for Spike to carry it down. Instead, her horn glowed and it came flying down to her by itself.

Unfortunately, Spike wasn't prepared for that so when the letter went out into the air he was dragged behind. He let go off it with a shout, but he was already hanging in the middle of the air by then and crashed down with a loud thud.

“Spike stop goofing around, this is serious! I think there is something going on in Canterlot and Princess Celestia wouldn't contact us if she didn't need our help,” she spoke with a fervor and quickly opened the scroll. Inside it was the familiar writing of Princess Celestia and Twilight felt an inner satisfaction at having guessed correctly.

My dear student Twilight Sparkle

I am writing to you at such a late hour to bring news you might find interesting. I have decided to formally create the position of the court wizard and have chosen Karon as the first holder of the title. I understand you might find that choice strange, but I ask you to trust that I have good reasons for it. In three days time, there will be a dinner held for the nobles and dignitaries of Canterlot. I will introduce Karon during this event, and I invite you and your friends to attend.

I am also writing because you mentioned that Karon has taught you the ability to read another ponies minds. I understand that this new ability must have made you very eager to experiment and undertake a study, but I ask that you remain quiet about this and any other magical skill Karon might have taught or revealed to you.

His magic has many differences from the one practiced by unicorns, and I wish for the details to remain as much of a mystery as possible for the moment. So please, let all you know of Karon's abilities and what else you have learned to remain a secret for now.

I hope to see you soon.

Princess Celestia

Twilight's heart sank as she read the letter a second time. She had been working on her paper about telepathy for weeks now and it was nearly done. It was the kind of thing that would have made her famous among unicorns.

But now she would have to get rid of all of it just to make sure no pony would read it. She wouldn't even be able to demonstrate her new ability before the other scientists and researchers.

She trusted the princess completely, but she couldn't help feeling a bit dejected. Karon had left her without even saying good bye, and now it looked like Celestia had taken an interest in him to the point she wanted to keep his abilities a secret. It felt like she was being replaced.

“No, she would never replace me like that,” Twilight said aloud, trying to disperse her worries.

“Did you say something?” Spike asked while rubbing the top of his head.

“Nothing, never mind,” Twilight answered with a shaky laugh. The last thing she needed right now was to involve anypony else in her suspicions.

“We should both go to sleep now. I will be leaving for Canterlot in a few days and I want to finish all my work before then.”

“Canterlot? What are you going to do in Canterlot?”

“Find some answers.”

                                          ****************************************

Sleep had not taken Twilight without a fight. Her mind was too busy tyring to dissect the situation for her to rest, but even the sharpest of minds have a limit, and at some point the deep thinking shifted into an uneasy sleep.

Her dreams were fragmented and without any discernible reasoning behind them, and when Twilight opened her eyes to the light of dawn, she barely felt rested at all. Spike had not shirked his duties today as was demonstrated by his empty bed, so there was no need for her to wake him up.

With the unresolved questions still swimming around in her head Twilight, got out of bed and went downstairs. Inside the kitchen, she found Spike putting the finishing touches on her breakfast, which she proceeded to eat without comment. She was still busy calculating the different possibilities behind what was going on.

When she finished her breakfast, the only thing she had been able to conclude was that it would be best to bring all of her friends along. Partly for her own moral support, but also because she might be able to get to the bottom of all of this with their help a lot faster.

“Spike, could you prepare some cookies and tea for the rest of the girls?”

“Sure thing Twilight, when will they get here?”

“As soon as I tell them the news most likely.”

“So you're all going to Canterlot ... does that mean I get some time off while you're gone!?”

“Yes Spike, you get time off when we're in Canterlot, but I still expect the place to be tidy when I get back, understood?”

“Understood,” the little dragon replied and saluted.

Twilight left him to his chores after that and made her way towards Sugercube Corner since Pinkie Pie was the closest of her friends to the library. It had just opened when she walked inside and the Cakes both gave her surprised looks. Nopony in Ponyville ever expected to see Twilight up before noon anymore.

“Good morning missus Cake, is Pinkie Pie up yet?”

“Yes, she's in the kitchen dear. Do you want me to ge-”

The matronly pony didn't have time to finish the question before the unnaturally hyperactive bundle of sugar and pink that was Pinkie Pie bounced out of the kitchen and spotted Twilight.

“Hey Twilight! I thought I heard you voice, but then I thought 'no way it's Twilight, she NEVER gets up this early', and I had to come investigate, but then I saw you and I realized it IS you and here I am. Isn't that hilarious?!.”

The pink earth pony said it all without stopping for breath once and left Twilight feeling dizzy for her instead. She put a hoof to her head and grumbled something about it being too early for having these kinds of conversations with Pinkie.

“It's me Pinkie, I came to talk to you about a letter I received from Princess Celestia last night.”

“A letter? What kind of letter? Oh oh! Was it a love letter she meant to be sent to a stallion she likes but accidentally was sent to you instead?” she asked and cocked her head to the side.

“What!? No ... I ... just listen. Princess Celestia wants me and all my friends to come to Canterlot for a party in three days.”

“A party?!” Pinkie Pie shouted and her eyes shone with barely restrained excitement.

“Yes Pinkie, a party, but it's a state dinner for the nobles and other dignitaries, so you can't bring your party cannon or make a scene.”

“Aaaaaaaaw,” Pinkie said and slumped down to the floor in defeat.

“But the reason Celestia wants us to come is because she is going to present ... Karon to everypony there. She has made him court wizard for some reason and wants us to attend.”

“Karon will be there?” Pinkie asked and bounced back up with renewed vigor.

“Yes, as I said. He's being presented to all the members of the court and we need to be there.”

“Of course we'll go! And I will make the most supderduperlicious cupcakes ever known to ponykind as a surprise!”

“That's really great and all Pinkie, but remember, Celestia wants us there for an unknown reason, so be prepared for anything.”

“Okey dokey lokey!”

“And do you think you could get Applejack and Rainbow Dash and tell them to meet me in the library. I'll go get Rarity and Fluttershy.”

“Okey dokey double lokey!” Was the only reply she got before Pinkie Pie disappeared out the door in a pink blur, leaving the Cakes to finish her half-baked creations.

Twilight spent the rest of the morning gathering her friends and leading them to the library. When she arrived she found Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and strangely enough Lyra waiting for her inside.

“Lyra, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked while she blinked in surprise. Behind her Rarity and Fluttershy walked in and took places beside the rest of the ponies, forming a half circle before Twilight.

“I ran into Pinkie Pie who told me you got news about Karon?” she asked and a hard look came over the unicorns features.

“Oh that's right, you were friends with him.”

“I was,” she said and her tone dripped with malice.

“Okeeey then,” Twilight replied looking at her a little nervously.

“So Twilight, what are we going to do about this news?” Rarity asked tentatively.

Ever since Karon had left Ponyville, and Rarity, behind the unicorn had lost much of her usual cheery and emotional attitude. The fashionista had fallen into a dark mood and she rarely spoke in any other voice but a careful questioning one. As if she were unwilling to provoke any more emotions than absolutely necessary.

Twilight did not agree with it, but she knew why Karon had left, and it had worked in a way. After he broke up with Rarity and left, she had spiraled down into despair and spent the entire day crying, and despite the way the friends had treated each other earlier, they all came together to comfort Rarity and after the tears had stopped all was forgiven.

Rarity had needed her friends and they were there for her, nothing more had needed to be said.

“Princess Celestia asked me to attend this party and to bring any friends I wanted along with me. I wanted all of us to meet so we could discuss how we should do this and who wants to join me.”

“I WILL!” All six voices spoke in unison with Fluttershy barely being heard above the rest.

“Ooookey,” Twilight said a little wide eyed at the force with which the ponies had responded.

“So when do we leave?” Rainbow Dash asked from her position up in the air, lazily gliding around above them.

“Well, I was thinking the day before the party would probably be best...”

“Why don't we just leave now?” Rarity asked and Twilight saw a spark of emotion in her eyes again.

“Well I....”

“Yeah, we can just go right now! It would be a super duper adventure with lots of fun!” Pinkie added joyfully and started skipping around all the gathered ponies.

“Well, I would have to get somepony to take care of the squirt while I'm gone,” Dash said and stroked her chin.

“Hey AJ do you think she could stay at your farm while I'm gone? I'm sure Applebloom wouldn't mind her sleeping over a few days.”

“'Course she can stay at the farm while we're gone. Ah'll just tell Big Mac whats going on, and Ah'll be ready to leave.”

“Awesome, I just gotta fly over and tell Scoots about it.”

“But girls I....”

“I agree it's best to leave right away, there is no sense in waiting,” Lyra said and the rest of the ponies nodded and started filling out the door with Twilight remaining behind trying to get a word in.

“Wait I....”

“We will meet back here in one hour and buy some tickets to Canterlot!”

“Awesome.”, “Excellent.”, “Yummy!” and other words of affirmative were heard as the pony group separated and went to take care of whatever they needed.

“...I still have work I wanted to get done first....” Twilight finished with no pony to hear. She turned around to face Spike and asked him.

“Why does no pony listen to what I have to say?”

“Huh did you say something Twilight?” The dragon replied and shook himself out of his daydreams of the coming freedom from his usual chores.

Twilight's eye narrowed dangerously at the response, and Spike gulped when he suspected he had said something very wrong.

Exactly one hour later, the group of seven ponies left Twilight's library behind, leaving a VERY angry Spike who Twilight had given the task to complete all her remaining work. When he asked her why, she simply responded that it would help him pay more attention in the future.

Each pony in the group was feeling something different as they boarded the train, ranging from the detached boredom of Rainbow Dash to the ever present stoicism of Applejack to the....

Twilight had difficulty putting her hoof down on what Lyra was doing with them. When she looked over at the unicorn she seemed very ... eager. Not content to leave a question unanswered, Twilight walked over to Lyra's seat and sat down in front of her.

“So uhm, Lyra, you never really told me why you wanted to come with us. Not that I mind of course!” she added quickly at the end when their eyes met. There was something in Lyra's gaze that was very unsettling.

“I finally discovered a real live human, and he thinks he can get away from me? Oh no, no, no. He didn't even say goodbye before leaving, and I have a few things I want to say to him very badly,” she said and rubbed her hooves together in a way Twilight couldn't describe as anything else but sinister.

“You and me both,” Twilight said as her suppressed anger made its way towards the surface. The two unicorns held each other’s eyes for a few seconds and an understanding passed between them.

Karon would not get away with this.

There wasn't much in the way of conversation for the rest of the journey. Half of the ponies were lost in their own thoughts and the rest either slept or joined Pinkie Pie's guessing games. When Canterlot came into view in the distance, all of them moved over to the left side of the carriage and watched the magnificent city come closer and closer.

When Twilight looked over at Rarity, she could see some of her old light return to her eyes at the sight of what some ponies called 'The Jewel of Equestria'. Hopefully they stay would bring back some of her old self. After all, if a dinner with the elite of Canterlot could not breathe life into her again, nothing would.

When the train halted, they all disembarked and made their way towards the castle with Twilight in front and the others following close behind. The guards at the gate recognized her and let them all through without any problem. Twilight was well known by all in the castle, and she was trusted implicitly.

Most of the ponies in the group didn't react to the fact they were in the royal castle, after all they had been there several times by now. Lyra, on the other hoof, had only ever been there once before, and then in the role as a musician, not as a guest. Which was why she paid careful attention to everything she saw around her while the rest of the gang chatted amongst themselves, oblivious to their surroundings.

Which was why Lyra was the first one to see the red robed, funny hat wearing and irritated looking form of Karon on the far end of the hallway they were walking through on their way to Princess Celestia's chambers.

“KARON!” she shouted angrily. The sound bounced off the marble walls and amplified its strength. The human had had his eyes turned downwards to the floor in thought, but jerked his head up when the sound reached him.

Even from that distance, Lyra could see how his eyes widened in surprise and a little fear. At first Lyra wondered why, but then she realized she had not only sounded very angry when she shouted, she was actually growling at the sudden sight of him.

She had a thing or two she wanted to say to him.

                                               *********************************************

Karon woke up in the late morning and remained staring up at the ceiling for quite some time. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to think at the moment. Last night he had been furious at first, then giddy with excitement as Celestia explained the details of his new position.

But no matter what the alicorn said, it was obvious she was playing a game of some kind. It would take a brainless idiot to actually give Karon a position of authority and not include very strict codes of conduct. Actually, it would take a brainless idiot to give him a position of authority, period.

And the princess of the sun had a brain, one that was so cunning apparently that even Karon couldn't discern her motives. The only thing he did know that like his task with Luna, Celestia most likely just seized the new opportunity that Karon's arrival had presented. Which meant that something was going on that had been going on before Karon got to Canterlot.

Which just made him feel worse because that in turn meant he had now joined in some great scheme or game he had no clue what was all about.

He needed to find answers, and what better way to use his newly acquired power than misusing it for personal gain.

Of course, that might be exactly what Celestia was expecting him to do....

“Garh this is hopeless! I hate playing against opponents better than me.”

“So you admit defeat?”

“Never, but I need to figure out what it is she wants from me THEN I can start manipulating whatever is going on.”

“Well the consortium is a good place to start. She said she didn't like the other candidates, which is either because they are all inept or she doesn't trust them with the power.”

“Good idea. As far as I know, none of them know what I can do, which is an advantage. I will have to come up with a reason to gauge their abilities as well so I know what THEY can do.”

“Why not just say you want a full report on what unicorns are capable off. Since they are supposed to be the most powerful and knowledgeable of all unicorns, we can simply find ways to counter whatever abilities a unicorn can do at the most.”

“That list might be very long.”

“Doesn't matter. If we can find the patterns, we can find common weaknesses all their abilities share and hit them there.”

“That's very theoretical.”

“Got a better idea?”

“For once I actually do. I am supposed to be the leader and investigate and monitor things, so I will ask hard questions and read their mind for the true answers and whatever secrets they want to hide.”

“That's ... actually not a bad idea. Just take care, you know how easy it is to lose control of reading.”

“Don't remind me....”

Karon finished the thought with a shudder. The memory of having your mind bombarded with the thoughts and feelings of several hundred people at once was not forgotten easily.

He rose from the bed and put on his clothes and hat before walking into the bathroom and going through his new morning routine. Which, among other things, involved putting his head in a bucket of ice cold water. It was the kind of habit that felt necessary when surrounded by nothing but insane ponies every single day.

When he was done he went over to Feather Touch's door and knocked on it once and opened. Inside, Feather Touch stood perfectly still beside a table, upon which a tray carrying Karon's breakfast stood. He had asked her specifically not to enter his room with his breakfast and remain there for hours staring at him anymore.

When she asked why, he just said it was a human thing. An excuse he had the feeling he would be using a lot in the future.

The dutiful servant remained both silent and still during the entire time he ate. It was the kind of discipline even the most hardened of military stallions could appreciate, but Karon found it more disconcerting than impressive and waved his hand to her and said.

“Don't you want to do anything else than just stand there waiting for me to finish eating?”

She looked surprised at the question, but didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her eyes in careful contemplation before she turned them back to him with a smile.

“Would it be alright for me to dust off your room while you finish your breakfast?”

“I give up.”

“Yeah sure, take your time,” Karon mumbled and dug into another piece of toast. The unicorn actually skipped a little from joy as she headed into his room with a feather duster before her. Her cutie mark certainly fit her he could not deny that.

Karon finished his breakfast and spent about half an hour looking out Feather Touch's window towards the town below. It was easy to forget that behind that colorful exterior of both the ponies and their homes, there lurked hearts and minds just as capable of deception and betrayal as any human.

When the sun was far enough for him to consider it close to noon, Karon walked into his room to interrupt what Feather Touch most likely considered a pleasure. Inside, he found her humming some kind of song with her feather duster dancing on the bookcase, removing all dust that dared stand in its way.

“Feather, it's time for my meeting with the rest of the consortium. Are you supposed to join me or...?”

She turned around and the duster stopped its movement.

“Of course. How else are you to carry all the documents and scrolls you will gather.”

“Documents and scrolls?” he asked with a suspicious glare.

“Yes of course, with such an important position as the court wizard you will gather a lot of paperwork I believe.”

“I'm going to make Celestia regret this....”

“I wasn't aware of that, but why do I need a servant for it?”

“How else are you to carry it?”

“With ... my hands.”

She looked at him as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

“Never mind. Let's go before time runs out and we get there late.”

Feather Touch nodded her approval and they both set off towards the consortium's meeting. The halls were mostly empty and only a few other servants were seen on the way, that was until they walked into the hallway outside the consortium chambers.

It was full of unicorns of all shapes, sizes, colors and ages, and they all froze and stopped talking the second Karon walked into view.

“Feather, is there something I should know?” he asked out of the corner of his mouth, not daring to take his eyes of the mob of unicorns.

But she was just as surprised as Karon. She hadn't been informed of any additions besides the consortium members to the meeting, and neither did the unicorns look like they were about to enter the chambers either. Instead, they just lined the hallway and stared wide eyed at the human.

“I think ... they are here to see you sir.”

“What? Am I supposed to hold some kind of service desk for every unicorn with a request?”

“No, I meant that they are here to SEE you. I think they just want to catch a glimpse of the court wizard.”

Karon studied the unicorns more closely and to his surprise Feather Touch actually seemed to be right, they were waiting in the hallway just to get a look at him.

It was actually a bit flattering.

Straightening his back a little, Karon proceeded to walk down the crowded corridor with a swagger and tried to look as mysterious as he could. It was very hard for him not to smile whenever a unicorn held it's breath because Karon had just looked she or he in the eyes, but he managed it until he reached the door leading into the consortium chambers.

Once he was inside and hidden from view, he grinned at the sight he had just passed by and reconsidered his new position. It might not be entirely a waste of time after all.

The other eight members were gathered around the long table in the exact same positions they had stood last night. At the far end, Celestia was looking over at him with patience, waiting for him to join the rest of them.

He did, though it was a bit awkward standing at a table that was made for ponies since it didn't even reach his waist.

When they all were gathered Celestia looked at each and every one in turn before addressing the consortium.

“I hope you all had a pleasant sleep and have had time to consider the situation. From now on, Karon will act as the supreme authority concerning all study and practice of magic in Equestria. This consortium will remain as it is with the new addition of Karon, and will act as the channel through which he is to make decisions and be informed on the current status of magical practice and study. The details of how this relationship between the court wizard and the consortium will work is something I will leave up to Karon to decide. If there is anypony with any questions they want to ask of me concerning these new changes instead of Karon, now is the time.”

The eight unicorn members of the consortium all looked back and forth between each other. Finally it was professor More-than tardy that spoke in a cultured accent.

“The consortium will of course abide by your discussion your highness, but I believe I speak for all of us when I ask what exactly makes this ... Karon, a candidate more suitable for the role than those of us that have served Equestria for all of our lives.”

“This is not a question of long service. Your honorable and excellent record speaks for itself, but Karon here has demonstrated abilities beyond that of any unicorn I know of today. The very first time we meet was not under the most desirable of circumstances, and he fought both me and my sister simultaneously. Not only did he stand his ground, but I dare say my sister and I would have been in grave danger had we not brokered peace with each other.”

Karon understood what she was doing, and worst of all it was working. All eight of the wizened unicorns, the apparent elite of all unicorns magic users, drew their breath at this revelation. All of them looked shocked at the news, but Karon caught the naked look of surprise and fear the professor gave him before carefully concealing it.

“There is something off about him.”

“I know, we should pay careful attention to what he does.”

“I assure all of you it was a simple misunderstanding, and I pose no threat to anypony here.”

“Unless of course Celestia put me here to thwart one or more of you.”

Celestia allowed the members a few minutes of hushed conversations before continuing.

“And besides having demonstrated skill and power equal to my own, Karon possesses magical abilities and knowledge unicorns or alicorns have never even dreamed of. It is my belief that the unique point of view he will provide will help bring the magical studies and practices undertaken today forward  and beyond what would have been possible had a unicorn been given the position as court wizard.”

The consortium grumbled quietly at this, but none of them actually protested. How could they? They had just been told this strange creature could measure up against both of the most powerful ponies known in Equestria, and that he also possessed knowledge which even they did not hold.

Celestia nodded almost imperceptibly towards Karon, saying it was time for him to take the lead. He didn't like the way he was being pulled along in whatever game she was playing, but at the moment there wasn't much he could do about it.

“I will accept this position as court wizard and shall strive to make myself worthy of the honor and trust you have given me today....”

“Oh the lies, the beautiful lies.”

“...but I will not be able to do this alone. Which is why I will require the assistance of everypony gathered around the table here today.”

They all nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and a very old looking stallion with a white beard and mane spoke.

“What exactly do you wish of us?”

“I will require a full report concerning all the magic used and studied today by unicorns, beyond that which would be considered basic. I also wish for each and every one of you to make an evaluation on groups or individual unicorns that are undertaking specific studies that are significant in any way. Also, I would also like a personal conversation with all of you. Beyond that, I will trust your judgement and leave it to you to bring anything important that might require my attention to me. I have no connection to the magical community in Equestria, and I will be depending on you for this.”

They all nodded except for the professor who only looked at him with a searching glare, trying to somehow pierce through him and see whatever he could be hiding. Karon would have been very worried had he not known unicorns didn't know how to use telepathy.

After that, the meeting descended into nothing more than small talk and pleasantries as Karon was introduced to the members of the consortium. Most of them weren't particularly interesting. They reminded him a lot of the usual stuffy, self-absorbed professors you could find at any university.

But there were three different unicorns. One was the old blue coated, white maned unicorn that had spoken up earlier. He went by the name Minty Frost and even though his visage was old, his eyes were sharp and took in everything Karon said with an almost childish glee. He turned out to be the 'Keeper of Records', the pony Celestia had entrusted with guarding and maintaining the sealed of library’s and archives.

The second was a mare named Emerald, a green coated, red maned unicorn with eyes matching her name. She was energetic for somepony as old as her, and either she used magic to maintain a somewhat youthful image or she had just aged with grace. After a brief conversation, Karon had concluded she was the social butterfly of them all. If he was to believe what she had said, she knew more or less every single unicorn in Equestria whose special talent was magic.

Apparently, she also had a daughter named Rose Petal Karon just HAD to meet.

And finally, the third unicorn that stood out was professor More-than Tardy. He was the youngest member ever to have been accepted to the consortium, with the exception of Karon, and perhaps also the most influential.

Karon had been reading the minds of the unicorns he had spoken with, but so far had found no dirty secrets. Minty Frost's head had been full of questions and an eagerness to learn what this strange exotic creature could offer. Emerald's head had been like listening to a cage filled with hungry birds, a lot of chirping and meaningless noise. Not that she was stupid, she was just more interested in the social part of magic than the actual practice.

The rest of the consortium had been worried and a little guarded when he spoke to them, all of them fearing he might decide to cut their funding or disallow the experiments they were currently working on. Karon had no interest in whatever they were working on and couldn't care less of course, but he had to at the very least pretend like he was listening, and once they were done presenting the many reasons why their research was so much more important than everypony else, Karon assured them he would not interfere.

But now it was the professor's turn, and in Karon's eyes, it looked like he was not happy about it.

“Professor More-than Tardy. Would you mind telling me what it is you are working with at the moment?”

This close Karon could see that the unicorn was impeccably groomed, and unlike the rest of them, he was wearing a suit, equally impeccable. His face was carefully composed when he spoke, but his eyes were ... dark. Not just because they were pitch black, but because it was like he was looking through a window to something far and distant. Detached, separate and unmoved by what he saw.

His coat was light tan color and his mane steel gray. All in all, he would have looked like a proper gentlecolt if it weren't for those eyes, and of course the voice with which he spoke was equally as impeccable and cultured as the rest of him.

“Of course court wizard. I am currently working on perfecting the use of kinetics and moving smaller particles in order to refine elements.”

“Alchemy then.”

“I am not familiar with the word.”

“It is a word describing the refinement of being through the use of transformation, both spirit and physical matter.”

The way the professor spoke was unsettling. He was articulate, controlled and his tone was calm. Yet in his voice was the same kind of cold detachment Karon could see in his eyes. When people say the eyes are the windows to the soul, they are right in a way. The eyes are a crossroad between the inner and outer of a person, and those trained in the arts can use them to see parts of who the person really is.

And in More-than Tardy's eyes, Karon saw a distant shadow that looked upon the world with ... boredom. His mind was like a gray expanse working endlessly like a machine, analyzing, processing and calculating.

But there were emotions there as well, not strong ones but they were there. Ambition, disgust and a kind of apathy that scoffed at all things around him. Within this mind slithered memories and thoughts. Some were real, others were what many would call dreams, but to Karon they seemed more like nightmares.

He didn't like it, but after looking into those eyes it was clear Karon needed to investigate further. So he bridged the gap between their respective auras and suddenly all that occurred within the professors mind also did in his.

It lasted for maybe five seconds before Karon withdrew and cut the link. Karon was no saint, but the echoes of the professors mind clung to him like oily tendrils burrowing themselves into his mind. There was much missing, but Karon had seen enough to form a conclusion.

“The shadowy M is More-than Tardy ... Not very imaginative if you ask me.”

“Now we know at least why Celestia was so adamant in not giving him the position.”

“Yes, there is no way she wouldn't be aware of his little plans. He wants the throne and he wants the princesses dead.”

“More than that, he actually thinks he has found a way to kill them.”

“Shame we didn't get a sense for just HOW he would do it.”

“He's planning something. It's enough that we know that for the moment.”

“So how do we proceed. He doesn't know what to make of my sudden appearance and he certainly doesn't suspect that Celestia is aware of his ... extracurricular activities.”

“We could go running to Celestia but honestly, I am not all too fond of her right now.”

“...You want us to play our own game.”

“Exactly.”

“How do we do that?”

“We ... upset the balance a little.”

“How woul- ... Ooooh.”

“Indeed, alchemy is just a basic part of the education students of the arts go through. We learn to master many skills like alchemy, elemental channeling, conjuration, spell casting, dream traveling and....”

He stared deeply into the unicorns dead eyes and whispered.

“...Reading minds.”

The professors black eyes seemed to swirl with darkness and a thousand questions and calculations took place within the blink of an eye. It settled down into the usual cold detachment and when he spoke, there was just a hint of amusement and malice in his voice.

“Had I known of your abilities, I would have come more prepared, but since the game is up there is no more need for subtlety. Leave Canterlot before the sun has set, and I will not hunt you. You can keep your life and watch from afar as I take what belongs to me.”

“How about no.”

“If you remain, I will take everything you cherish and twist it beyond recognition. All that you once looked on with pride and love will be a broken mockery of what it was. An ugly, corrupted, deformed shadow of everything you hold dear. I will not kill you, when I am done with my work, you will kill yourself.”

“And what makes you think I just won't take all of this to Celestia and have her deal with you mister Oh-so-scary.”

“Had your intentions been to expose me, you would have gone straight to her. Instead you remained and is feebly trying to outmaneuver me. You cannot win. I have made traitors out of foals, twisted them with greed and hate until they murdered their own parents for their power. I have tortured more ponies than any monster ever has, turned their souls into empty despair and burned their hearts. You cannot win, you cannot stop me. Nopony can.”

“You seem to forget something.”

“I take it you are about to enlighten me.”

“I am not a pony, and you have no idea who you are up against.”

The professor stared at him with eyes the color of empty space, and then he smiled, showing of his teeth.

“I think I shall enjoy this.”

Without saying anything further the professor turned around and walked to the rest of the consortium, flawlessly blending back in as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“If that isn't upsetting a balance I don't know what is.”

“It doesn't matter if he seemed to take it with stride. Whatever he is planning now has a new deadline. He will have to act as soon as he can, or risk having me uncovering the details and stop him.”

“We will need to contact the pony gang back in Ponyville. He was serious about those threats. If he finds out about Rarity or Twilight or ... Scootaloo....”

“It won't happen.”

“It better not.”

Shaking the disturbing thought from his mind, Karon clapped his hands once and everypony gathered turned quiet and looked over at him.

“I thank you all for allowing me the chance to talk to you....”

Karon looked at each of them before stopping at More-than Tardy.

“...And I look forward to see what might happen in the future.”

Seven unicorns stomped their hooves to the ground in their version of applause while the professor remained still, a shadow of a smile displayed only for Karon to see.

After that they all filed out together and left Karon alone with Celestia. She walked over to him and asked in her usual calm tone.

“I hope everything went well?”

“It was ... informative, and I think I have much to do now.”

She nodded and he meet her serene lavender eyes with his own orange glow. She knew he had found out about the professor, now all left was to begin playing the game. The game of power Karon had longed to join for so long, but it was only now he realized just how high the stakes were. After all, back on Earth he had nothing to lose, now he had.

“I think I shall go find something to eat. I hope you have a pleasant day Tia.”

“You too Karon, good luck.”

Nothing more needed to be said, and the both of them exited the chambers and went their separate ways. Outside in the hallway, Feather Touch had remained waiting, no doubt having been bombarded with questions from the unicorns. The unicorns that seemed to have dispersed now since there was no sign of them anymore.

They probably gave up when the realized they were questioning a servant so loyal that fanatic was the only proper word to describe her.

She looked up at him with her usual zeal and asked.

“Did things go well? If you don't mind me asking that is, sir.”

“Things went ... better than I expected. I have answers I needed now.”

“It sounds like you made quite an impression. All the unicorns went after the consortium members and they seemed more than willing to tell them all about what had happened in there.”

“Did you hear anything good?”

“They were all talking at the same time, but at least matriarch Emerald talked about you like you were the best thing since the invention of chocolate.”

“Matriarch?”

“Yes matriarch, she is the head of her noble family.”

“She didn't mention that.”

“It's a well-known fact. Ever since she became in charge of the family, they have risen to become one of the most prominent groups of nobles in the city. She is friends with everypony, not just nobles but also regular ponies like me. It's why she is so well liked and respected.”

“Interesting....”

“Sounds like she wasn't lying about having all those connections.”

“She could prove very useful.

Karon's stomach growled and he smiled sheepishly at Feather Touch.

“Know of any place where I can eat?”

“Of course sir. If you want I can go to the kitchen and have them prepare lunch for you.”

“That sounds good.”

“Do you wish for me to bring it to your quarters or someplace else?”

“My room's fine. I will see you there.”

“Excellent,” she said and bowed before trotting down the hallway and disappearing behind a corner.

With lack of anything else to do, Karon began walking in a random direction with his eyes cast to the floor, deep in thought at what had transpired.

“The professor is planning something that will give him the chance to overthrow the princesses. He has already gathered political and economic power from what I could sense, but he isn't done yet.”

“Yes, from what I could tell, our nomination to the court wizard position threw a wrench in that plan. Which means he will have to find a way to control the nobles and the city through other means than an official position of authority.”

“Which means shadow games. Bribery, threats, seduction, blackmail and everything else belonging in the fun category.”

“If he can't work openly, he will keep working behind the scenes. Which means we will have to figure out his web of intrigue then unravel it.”

“And fast. If he can't gain control of all the nobles and other power bases soon, he might resort to an equally effective strategy. Sowing chaos.”

“True. If he simply incites uproar and terror in the city, it might give him the chance to strike at the princesses then rebuild Canterlot from the ruins.”

“Indeed, if he breaks Canterlot and removes the princesses, the pony with the biggest stick will become the next ruler, and if he finds a way to take them on and win, then he will certainly have the biggest stick.”

“So we have to figure out two things: the details of his underground network and how the hell he is planning to gain power enough to challenge two alicorn princesses.”

“Three things. We also have to figure out how to stop him once we have the information.”

“And we also can't forget we are supposed to help Luna get back to her old self.”

“I'm starting to feel a little stressed now actually.”

“Well it's not like it can get any wo-”

“Don't say it!”

“Oh come on what could possib-”

“KARON!”

Karon's head twitched up and his eyes nearly boggled out if his skull in shock. Down the hallway stood seven ponies staring at him. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight. All looking at him with equal amounts of shock.

Except for the aqua colored unicorn in the middle. Lyra had been the one shouting his name and there was not a sign of shock on her face. No, instead her face was showing signs of what one might call murderous intent.

“Told you.”

Chapter 25: An untimely reunion

(Authors note: Short chapter this time but at least I've beaten my writers block and am back on schedule.)

“No, no, no, no, no, no...”

“NO! What the hell are you doing here!?”

Lyra and the rest of the ponies all flinched from the force of his shout. Karon stared at them with terror and anger etched on his face, not believing what he saw before him.

“Not now! Why now?!”

He spun around where he stood and his eyes darted around searching for any other ponies that might see them together. More-than Tardy could have spies everywhere, and if any of them caught sight of Karon with the elements or Lyra....

More-than Tardy would investigate, and he would find out about Karon's time in Ponyville. He would find out all about Rarity, all about Scootaloo, all about ... Twilight.

Thankfully enough, the corridor was empty besides them but that could change at any moment. So Karon turned back to facing the confused group of ponies watching him and hissed loudly.

“Go back home, NOW!”

Then he turned and ran away from them as fast as he could, he needed to get as far as possible out of sight. He couldn't get caught with them alone for any reason no matter how innocent it might look. He couldn't take that risk.

Not in this game.

And left behind him in the marble corridor was a very confused Lyra with the other ponies. They all remained silent for a few moments as they processed what had just happened, but the silence was broken when a few sniffs were heard.

They all turned to look at Rarity who seemed to be on the verge of crying right then and there. Her lips were trembling and she stared at the spot where Karon had stood just a minute ago.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her voice tense and fragile.

Twilight walked over and put a comforting hoof over her shoulders.

“I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for what just happened,” she said and tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“Oh come on! It's obvious he doesn't want to see us,” Rainbow Dash said and waved her hoof towards the corner Karon had disappeared behind.

Twilight shot her a dark glare and Rarity's lips began trembling even more before she let out a long shrill wailing and tears flowed out of her eyes in a rushing stream. Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy all tried to comfort the crying Rarity while Rainbow Dash remained up in the air and Pinkie Pie hid from the rush of tears behind a pink umbrella.

“He doesn't love me anymoooore!” she sobbed hysterically and the piercing tone of her voice bounced off the marble and made all the ponies wince.

“He ... he doesn't want to see me! He thinks I'm ugly and pathetic and ... and who can blame him!? Just LOOK at me!” she wailed loudly and her voice rose a few decibels. Around her the rest of the ponies looked at each other helplessly and patted her without any results.

But then Pinkie Pie folded the umbrella she looked to have pulled out of nowhere and spoke in her usual chirpy voice.

“Don't you worry Rarity, I'm sure Karon was just afraid to see us because of a political game he is playing against a super-villain with almost endless resources who would seize the opportunity to use us as leverage against Karon in order to complete his evil plans for world domination and power.”

Rarity hiccuped a few times but the flow of tears began receding and she looked at Pinkie Pie with a mixture of amusement and hope.

“You think so?”

“I'm suuuuure of it,” the pink earth pony replied with absolute confidence.

“Yes, as I said. I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for Karon's behavior.”

Twilight added and for once was inclined to agree with Pinkie's nonsensical ramblings. It would do until they got the real truth from princess Celestia.

All six elements resumed their walk towards princess Celestia's chambers while Lyra lingered where she was, looking at the hall where Karon had run off into. She was very tempted to go after and confront him, especially after what had just happened, but she knew it would be a terribly bad idea. She was there as a guest and didn't know how free she was to roam the castle.

It really would be the best for her to with the rest of them and find princess Celestia first....

At least that was what she told herself as she hastily began trotting down the same hallway Karon had disappeared into.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the rest of the elements all made their way to Celestia's chambers with Twilight in the lead guiding them through corridors and stairways. When they arrived at the heavy sun marked door that led into Celestia's quarters, Twilight stopped and turned around to quickly address all of them.

“Okay, everypony remember that ... Where is Lyra?”

Everypony turned around and looked at the back of the group, but the turquoise pony were no where to be seen.

“Ah shucks! Ah knew ah should have kept an eye on all of ya'll. What if she got lost an can't find her way?”

“Well actually I, uhm....” Fluttershy interjected in the most delicate way possible.

“Do ya know where she went sugercube?” Applejack asked encouragingly.

“Well I did see her go down the same way Karon went ... But I didn't know she wasn't supposed to. She looked awfully determined and I ... I didn't want to be a bother....”

“It's alright Fluttershy,” Twilight finished for her and rubbed her forehead with a hoof.

With Lyra loose and chasing Karon, she couldn't help but feel a headache forming. There was just too much going on at the moment. Hopefully, Princess Celestia would be able to provide some answers, and after that, Twilight could begin formulating a plan to deal with all of this.

She knocked on the door before something else could turn up making the situation even worse and stepped inside the room when the door was enveloped in a white aura and opened by itself. Princess Celestia stood as regal and collected as ever in the middle of the room, surrounded by magnificent tinkling lights coming from different places all around the room.

Her companions where quite taken in by the scene and various sounds of awe and wonder could be heard coming from behind Twilight as she entered. Quickly followed by a sputtering and “Blergh!” sound as Pinkie Pie had tried tasting one of the sun crystals.

Twilight didn't turn around to face the scene and her cheeks reddened from embarrassment, but before her the princess stood and only smiled at the ponies antics. If she was offended or put off by her behavior she did not show it the least, and Twilight was once more awed by just how amazing princess Celestia truly was.

The princess herself watched as the ponies entered into the room and couldn't help but crack a smile when the element of laughter launched herself towards one of her sun crystals and shoved it into her mouth. Only to spit it out an instant later in disgust. When one lives for thousand of years, you learn to put value on the things that can make you laugh.

Her ever diligent and faithful student Twilight Sparkle stopped before her and took a bow. Always so careful with the formalities even after all this time. She was joined by the rest soon enough and all of them bowed before her in a display of reverence. Twilight looked up at her with wonder and hope, always so confident she would be able to provide all answers and solve all problems.

She would have wished to let her student see her as she truly was, not just the princess but the alicorn with flaws and doubts, but duty comes before personal indulgence and so Celestia only sighed and prepared to give her student half truths and answers that could only guide not enlighten.

Such was the burden of ruling.

Twilight looked into the serene lavender eyes of the princess and felt all her doubts come to rest. After all, there was no problem the wise and powerful alicorn could not manage. She carefully considered her suspicions and guesses, trying to formulate questions that would hopefully make sense and don't sound like that of a jealous and ignorant pony. She was confident Celestia could give her all the answers she needed, she just would have to ask the right questions.

“Princess, you asked me and my friends to come to Canterlot so we could attend the noble's party and we are now here.”

Twilight hesitated for an instant and got a nod from Celestia bidding her to continue.

“We ... I, was just wondering why exactly you wanted us here? Karon didn't part with us on the best of terms and I just can't see what good we could do.”

Celestia nodded again as if she understood perfectly, and Twilight's senses were flooded with relief when she did. Now she would explain everything and things would make sense once more.

“I'm afraid I can't tell you all you wish to know....”

Twilight felt her heart turn into stone and drop to the floor at the words.

“...But I called you and all you're friends here because I believe Karon might have need of your help soon with a very important task, and also to give you a chance to see to whatever feelings his abrupt departure might have left.”

Neither Twilight nor any of her friends said anything, though Rarity sniffed a few times. They all had been left with something from Karon, but mostly it was just questions and hurt. Celestia was now giving them a chance to make up while at the same time assisting him with ... whatever was going on.

Because SOMETHING was definitely going on! Karon had been made court wizard and that would never have happened unless something strange was under way. It was obvious, at least to the ponies that knew him.

“You can count on us princess!” Twilight said and the rest of them agreed.

“I am glad to hear it. I have arranged for all of you to stay in one of the spare towers. Karon is staying right underneath Luna's private room, you know where it is Twilight. I hope you will visit him soon. There will be much you need to discuss.”

Twilight did not doubt that. She already had a thousand questions she needed to ask him, and that was when she suddenly remembered they were missing a pony.

“Hehe, of course princess. Well ... we should all probably be going now, lot's of work to do,” she rubbed a hoof behind her neck and tensed up. Celestia tilted her head in dismissal and Twilight shot off in half gallop towards the stairs with the rest of the elements going after her confused.

But they hadn't seen the look on Lyra's face while on the train. They needed to get to her before she found Karon. Twilight would not mind presenting Karon with a list of all the reasons he was an insufferable foal, but Lyra seemed to have something a lot worse planned for him.

And now that princess Celestia herself had ordered them all to help Karon with whatever secret mission she had him on, Twilight couldn't let that happen. They would need to find Lyra soon before she did something to Karon they would all regret.

Just not ... too soon.

                                ****************************************

Karon slammed  shut the door to his room and slowly sank down to the floor.

“Why, why, why, why, why...!?”

“Calm down, this might not be as bad as it seems.”

“Yes it is. They are here, and More-than Tardy will find them and the truth....”

“Enough with the defeatist attitude! You are a fucking trickster, start acting like it. Play the game, turn this to your advantage somehow.”

“How....?”

“I don't know.”

“Wonderful.”

Karon buried his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths. He couldn't lose control of the situation. He had just challenged the most insidious pony possible to do his worst, and if he didn't keep his composure, bad things would happen.

Very bad things.

He picked himself off the the floor and stood up. He walked over to Feather Touch's door and entered her room, and as could be expected, the faithful servant stood there beside the table with his food, waiting patiently.

Karon took the sandwich stuffed with egg, fish, lettuce and sliced apples. Apparently the kitchen thought that if he could eat it, they could mix it all together. Karon ate it all noncommittally and once done, he put a hand on Feather Touch's head and looked down at her.

She looked back up at him with ocean blue eyes and blinked, no other reaction revealed her surprise.

“Feather, I need to tell you something and after that I will need your help.”

“Whatever you need off me I am always ready to serve sir!” she exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm.

“Thank you,” Karon said with an actual feeling of gratitude. It was a relief knowing he could rely on somepony else now that things were getting more dangerous.

“First of all I know who the 'M' Dusk Keeper mentioned is....”

Feather blinked again in surprise but said nothing.

“...He is the unicorn professor named More-than Tardy. I know this because I read his mind during the consortium meeting, and he knows I know because I told him so. I did it so that he would be forced to put whatever plan he has in motion as soon as possible, giving him no chance to regroup and find a way to neutralize me. So right now, he is most likely doing all that he can to move forward with his schemes and usurp the throne.”

Feather Touch's eyes grew dark and narrowed when Karon finished. The thought of somepony betraying the princesses was more than enough to set her off.

“What do you want me to do sir?”

“I need to figure out what he is planning. He must be using some of the castle servants as spies in order t-”

“NO SERVANT WOULD EVER BETRAY THE PRINCESSES!” Feather roared at the top of her lungs, all signs of the submissive servant gone.

“I know you take this personally Feather but-”

“No servant would ever betray the princesses ... sir!”

Karon remained silent, watching the insulted unicorn with amber eyes carefully.

“Feather ... are you absolutely certain that no servant could be persuaded to do a little harmless spying? Are you ready to bet the life of the princesses on it ... and ours?”

“YES! All servants know how valuable we would be to the nobles, and how much they would give to control one of us. But we would NEVER do that! Every pony swore an oath of loyalty to the princesses, a MAGICAL oath. If we betray the princesses and serve any other than them, we would die.”

“What?”

“All servants has taken an oath that we can only serve the royal princesses now and for ever. If we would ever try and serve anypony else, the magic of the oath would kill us.”

“Does Celestia know about that?”

“No...” She answered and actually looked ashamed for keeping a secret from the alicorns.

“...Only the servants know of the oath. It was made so none of us could ever be used against the princesses. I don't know who first came up with the idea, but it has been used for hundreds of years, and we have kept it a careful secret.”

“A secret you just told me.”

The unicorn looked up at him with tinkling eyes and smiled.

“I trust you.”

“There must be something in the water around here making all of them insane.”

“That's ... nice, and if More-than Tardy doesn't have access to any servants as spies or agents that makes things way more easier for me....”

Then a thought struck Karon.

“Feather ... if you can't serve anypony else but the princesses how can you serve me?”

“Princess Celestia herself ordered it, I am still acting on her orders by serving you.”

“And Tia told you to provide me with whatever I need or asked for....”

“That's right.”

“Oh Celestia you sly, devious little ... I think I love you!”

With just those few words and seemingly ordinary instructions, Celestia had given Karon access to the one thing the nobles of Canterlot had spent centuries drooling in their dreams about.

The servants.

“Feather Touch, what I need and require right now is for each and every servant in the entire castle to act as my spies and obey whatever order I give them.”

The unicorns eyes widened when she understood what he was suggesting and swallowed several times before responding.

“But her highness only ordered ME to b-”

“Celestia ordered you to PROVIDE whatever I need, and right now I need a network of spies. Will you give me this or will you disobey an order from the princess?”

The servant thought long and hard about the implications and meanings, how all of it would fit together and how the divided loyalties might split apart. Finally, she gave a nod to herself and responded.

“As long as your orders do not go against any made by either of the princesses I am duty bound to provide you with all you need.”

Karon smiled and rubbed his hands together greedily. Now things were looking a lot brighter than they had a few minutes ago.

“Eeeeeexcellent. I want you to go out and set everything up right now. Inform every servant about this new development and tell them to keep it secret from any outsider. Drop a hint that something is threatening the princesses and this is all in an attempt to protect them, that should help make it smoother.”

“As you command sir.” Feather Touch bowed to him and walked out the room, fully prepared to do what centuries of servants had done all to prevent from happening.

All in the name of duty.

“Nothing lasts forever,” Karon thought to himself and stared at the door long after she had closed it shut behind her. He began planning moves and trickery he would be able to perform now that he had an entire system of spies working for him.

But first, he needed to deal with Twilight and the rest. He needed to find out what they were doing here. And as long as More-than Tardy himself didn't see them together, Karon wouldn't have to worry about him making any connections between them.

So with renewed confidence, Karon set out to find the group of Ponyville ponies and figure out a way to make all of this work. Since they would be going to Princess Celestia first, it would be most likely to find them on the way between his chambers and hers. That is unless they were going somewhere else after their visit to the princess, but it was a good a place to start as any so Karon headed towards Celestia's tower.

He was about halfway there when he heard a familiar voice echo down from a hallway to his left. It was a little hard to make out, but when you have spent hundreds of hours being asked questions by somepony you have learned to recognize their voice.

Well not learned as much as it has been branded into your skull beyond any possibility to forget.

So Karon turned left and walked towards what he was almost certain was Lyra talking to somepony ... now that he thought about it the second voice sounded familiar as w-....

A deathly chill travelled down Karon's spine, and a lump of ice gathered at the pit of his stomach as he realized who Lyra was talking to. He ran down the hallway and turned left once more and came upon the sight he was dreading.

Lyra stood with her back to Karon facing professor More-than Tardy, chatting away with an voice full of passion and exuberance. Which meant she was definitely talking about humans...

The professor caught sight of Karon over her shoulder, but strangely enough he looked almost worried. Karon blinked rapidly in surprise. He had expected him to smile wickedly in victory and walk away certain he had found a way to beat Karon merely hours after they began their game.

Unsure if the professor was playing a game of some kind Karon approached slowly and shifted his gaze between the professor's eyes and the back of Lyra's head. When she noticed the professor wasn't looking at her anymore she turned around and stopped talking when she saw Karon standing barely three meters away from her.

“Karon....” she said and the tone was just dripping with all kinds of meanings and conflicting emotions.

“Court Wizard,” the professor greeted him coldly and bowed shallowly before he addressed Lyra once more.

“It has been a pleasure meeting you miss, and you have given me much to consider. Enjoy your stay at the castle.” Lyra barely had time to turn back to him and say good bye before the professor walked of hurriedly and disappeared from sight.

Not caring about the weird behavior, Lyra focused all of her attention back to Karon and stalked towards him, not walked, stalked. The same way a tiger does to a lamb.

“Lyra what did you say to him?” She stopped and tilted her head at the way Karon asked the question, tense and full of worry.

“I was just asking for directions to find YOU, but then he acted very interested if I knew you. I told him I was probably the foremost expert on humans in all of Equestria and had spent half a year documenting and questioning you. He asked a lot of questions about you and humanity, mostly what kind of weapons you have and what you were capable off. So I told him that humans were an ingenious race of tool makers capable of figuring out amazing new ways of controlling things and that there is probably nothing you can't adapt to. Of course he did look worried when I told him about those nuclear bombs you told me about and how many of you there were. I was going to tell him that you aren't even native to this world to reassure him, but you interrupted me before that.”

Karon held his breath during the entire time she spoke, but now he let it out feeling ... giddy.

Lyra was speaking again saying somewhat in an angry tone, but he ignored her completely. He was too happy right now. He couldn't have turned things this much to his advantage no matter what he had planned. Now, the professor thought Karon was an incredibly smart and clever being belonging to an equally smart and clever race in possession of weapons of destruction on a scale the professor could only dream about.

Not only that, because Lyra said she had spent several months questioning Karon, the professor would assume she had done so on Celestia's behalf, and if he found out about his connection with the elements he would assume they had been instructed to guard him while Lyra investigated him.

It was perfect!

“...So what have you to say in your defence!?” Lyra finished whatever she had said with and glared up at Karon angrily. He didn't answer first, instead he remained silent and still until he was certain More-than Tardy had gone out of earshot.

Then he started laughing in pure joy. His body was made of clouds and his mind was made out of sunshine as he started skipping around in a few improvised dance moves. Before the angry unicorn could protest Karon swept her up in his arms and spun her around in a circle. He ignored her angry shout and stopped only to plant a big kiss right on her lips before resuming his laughing.

Lyra stared at him as if he had gone mad.

“What the hay are you doing!? Put me down right now!”

Karon complied and put her down, still chuckling deeply.

“What was that all about?” she asked him and wiped away the saliva he had left on her lips.

“That my dear Lyra, is for something I will always be eternally grateful to you for.”

She still looked angry, but there was some evident confusion in her eyes, and her habit of asking questions couldn't be denied for long.

“Would you care to explain?”

“I would be happy to, but first we have to get the rest of the gang. After that, I can tell you everything, and find a way to win this game.”

                          *********************************************

Karon and Lyra had found Twilight and the rest of the ponies galloping towards Karon's room, and after a brief very awkward greeting he had invited all of them to his room. The walk there had been in silence and every pony avoided meeting his eyes, well except for Pinkie Pie who stared into them with a wide grin.

When they arrived he held up the door for all of them before going inside himself and closing it. They all formed up in a half circle, switching between looking around the room and at him.

He took position before all of them and felt nervous. He had thought he wouldn't be seeing any one of them except maybe Pinkie Pie ever again, and now, barely a few days had gone by before they were all back together.

“Your plans suck.”

“I wasn't expecting to see you again...”

“Oh great, remind all of them of the way you left with barely a good bye.”

Every single pony shuffled their hooves awkwardly after he spoke, even Pinkie Pie couldn't defy the excruciating levels of awkwardness in the room. Laws of physics sure, awkwardness no.

“Yeah, we kinda get that from the way you left,” the ever tactless Rainbow Dash said trying to sound as uncaring as possible.

Annoyed at her attitude Karon faced her and asked with a glare.

“I hope for your sake you have begun taking care of Scootaloo like you promised me you would.”

The rest of the ponies gathered looked at the pegasus in surprise.

“AHA! Ah knew there was something strange with the way you took her in and why Karon asked me to give you his cut of the sales.”

“Hey, I am just trying to help the squirt! No pony forced me into it.”

“Karon's no pony, but Ah'm glad you've learned how to take something responsible like.”

“Act responsibly,” both Karon and Twilight corrected her at the same time and looked at each other with tiny smiles.

“Glad to hear you've kept your promise, but I need to know why you are all here?”

“Princess Celestia asked me to come and bring my friends with me. When I asked her in person, she said you might need our help with something and that is the real reason we are here.”

“And you just accepted that without question despite the fact that we parted on such bad terms?”

“The princess would never ask this of us unless it was very important.”

“I will never understand people like her.”

“Fine I guess I should explain then, uhrmhrm ... It all began when I arrived in Canterlot....”

Ten minutes later, Karon had explained as much as he wished to, he left out some details. Most notably that Celestia was a scheming snake since they would never trust that, and his mission to help Luna get over herself. For some reason, Twilight accepted the idea that Karon was given the court wizard position only to thwart More-than Tardy without hesitation, but she had difficulty believing the professor was capable of what Karon accused him off.

“It doesn't make sense. Professor More-than Tardy is an acknowledged genius of magic and honored member of the unicorn consortium. Why would he do something like this?”

“Ambition, greed and serious control issues. Nothing new Twilight, these kind of things happen.”

“Maybe were you're from, but in Equestria ponies don't just betray the princesses and hurt other ponies like that.”

“Yes they do, it's just a bit less common because of Tia's iron hoof dominance.”

“Princess Celestia does not- !”

“Enough, I get it she is perfect and can do no wrong. Point is, More-than Tardy is planning something very big and intricate to seize power, and Tia wants me to deal with it for some reason. Obviously, she wants you to help since she sent you here....”

“Or she just wanted somepony to keep an eye on me.”

“Fine, so what do we do?” Rainbow Dash asked and looked about ready to fly off and beat up the professor and be done with it.

“You do nothing. Twilight you mentioned a letter Tia sent where she asked you to attend the party in a few days correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can assume Celestia suspects that something will happen during the party, otherwise she wouldn't have mentioned it.”

“I don't get why we just don't go over and throw this professor guy in prison!?” Dash exclaimed and threw her hooves in the air to show just how frustrated she were to be surrounded by such idiots.

“Because that would only remove the leader. More-than Tardy has built up an entire network of agents and there is nothing to stop a lieutenant or somepony else from stepping up and taking over should he be arrested. We want to stop not just More-than Tardy but also his plans.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” The pegasus questioned, not happy being beaten even if it was just verbally.

“You remain in your rooms and don't leave until the party. If I need help from any one of you, I will come and ask for it. If you roam around freely it might upset whatever plans I can figure out.”

“No way!”

“Ah can't agree ta that.”

“How am I supposed to help with the party if I am stuck inside our rooms!?”

“....Please don't....”

“Can't do that Karon.”

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Lyra said loudly. Only Twilight and Rarity remained silent. Twilight because she was busy considering the new information she had been given, and Rarity because she hadn't spoken or even looked straight at Karon since she saw him.

“Twilight, could I speak privately with you for a moment?”

“Hmmmm? Oh yes of course.”

She walked over to the far end of the room with Karon and they spoke in hushed voices.

“I can't let them roam freely. They could upset everything.”

“You can't just keep all of us inside our rooms for three whole days Karon.”

“You I can handle, all of them not.”

“You mean hoofle?”

“What? Forget it, what I meant was I can keep things under control with just you around. You've got magic and could be very useful before the party, but all of them running around will be a disaster.”

“What exactly are you proposing?”

“Magic induced sleep?”

“I'm not going to put my friends to sleep for three days!”

“SHHHH! They'll hear you! And right now we don't have many more options.”

“I'm not doing it.”

“What do you think happens if a remorseless killer like the professor gets his hooves on somepony like Pinkie Pie ... or Fluttershy. He will torture them for days Twilight.”

She stared up at him with horrified eyes and looked back on her friends, fear written all over her features.

“...What about food and water and....”

“I'll tell the servant to care for them while they are sleeping and make sure a few guards are posted inside to guard them.”

“I don't like this and I will be holding you responsible if anything happens to them.”

“Fine with me, are you ready?”

“Who will be doing it?”

“If you keep them from running away I'll put them to sleep.”

Twilight didn't respond, she just turned around with uncertain eyes. Then she shut them closed and her horn began to glow, a purple aura enveloped all six of the ponies and they found themselves floating unable to move their hooves or wings within it.

“Twilight what's going on!?” Pinkie Pie shouted and her eyes darted from side to side.

“Don't be afraid Pinkie, we are just putting you to sleep until the party,” Karon said.

“But I don't wanna go to sleep!” She answered back and tried to shoot Twilight a pleading look which she couldn't see behind closed eyes.

“Twilight, let me out o'here right ... this....” Applejack yawned loudly and didn't finish the sentence.

Five other ponies did the same and fell asleep gradually, but at the far right of the group, Rarity floated with her horn aglow in bluish light and eyes wide open in defiance. For the first time since she entered the room Rarity looked Karon right in the eyes. Whatever she was doing left her unaffected by Karon's sleeping spell, but not whatever Twilight was doing.

He could feel how the bluish energy surrounding her was too dense, too sharp for his scratching magic to pierce.

“I will not be treated in this way! Twilight would never have done something like this on her own, this is your influence!”

“I know Rare....”

“Don't call me that! You will address me as Lady Rarity and nothing else!”

“You will always be Rare to me.”

“Clearly your actions has proven otherwise.”

Karons eyes dimmed from their usual amber glow into a dark orange color and he pushed his hand into the purple aura before him. It was like putting his hand through very thick syrup and he found he couldn't move his hand in any greater manner at all, but he didn't need to. Instead, he pushed more and more of his arm into the bubble of magic until his finger brushed the upper part of Rarity's head.

She shuddered lightly from the touch and despite Twilight's magic and her own outrage she pushed her head up and into his palm, closing her eyes half way from the contact.

“Please Rare, sleep ... and let me watch over you.”

She looked him deeply in the eyes, the ocean blue met glowing amber, and the blue aura surrounding her died down as she closed her eyes, pressing herself harder against his palm.

The physical touch made it easier for him to work his magic and Rarity fell into a deep slumber she would not wake up from by herself. Karon stepped back and his arms followed with him, sliding out of the jelly like unicorn magic.

He didn't take his eyes of the sleeping Rarity and watched her instead as she and the rest of the ponies sunk to the floor and the purple aura disappeared. From behind him Twilight spoke in an accusing voice, filled with both personal hurt and from that of seeing her friend in pain.

“Did you know she cried for six hours straight after you left, and that was only after we all went to comfort her?”

Karon didn't say anything. He looked down at the sleeping unicorn and imagined what she must have felt after being so abruptly left as she had been. Her dreams and heart so easily torn apart.

When Karon turned around it was with eyes burning with amber lightning and an unseen but felt aura surrounded him. It sparked and hissed without making a sound, a feeling of trickery, deceit and playful games exuded from it.

He looked at Twilight with a trickster's eyes and said in response.

“I expected worse.”

Chapter 26: Spy master supreme

”Hurry! Before somepony sees us!” Karon whispered loudly and held up the door leading to the room Celestia had provided Twilight with for her stay in Canterlot. The unicorn in question shot Karon an annoyed glance as she levitated six sleeping ponies through the door and entered herself. Karon looked both ways down the hallway to make sure nopony had seen them before closing the door behind him.

The both of them had argued quite extensively of where they were supposed to store the sleeping ponies until it was time to wake them up. Karon had argued the best place would be somewhere hidden and unknown by most so the professor had no chance of discovering them by accident.

Twilight on the other hoof had argued that the best place would be in her room since she could simply say they were sick for the moment. Which also would explain why there would be servants inside taking care of them. And if one or two of those servants were in fact guards well, that was just the princess being reasonably protective of her beloved elements of harmony.

Karon argued long and hard but in the end he surrendered and allowed Twilight to have her way. She knew more about the way ponies reasoned and what would be considered normal than he did, and also......she was a woman, her victory was already assured.

That and the fact that Feather Touch had arrived and interrupted them right in the middle of their shouting contest, faced with not one but two females Karon had given in. Slightly reassured when Feather had explained Twilight was right after she had been clued in on what the argument was about.

How the servant unicorn had managed to acquire and transport six additional beds into Twilight's room before the duo had managed to sneak through the castle with the levitated group of ponies were beyond understanding. But it had happened and Karon watched as Twilight floated each pony into a different bed and left them there to sleep.

The room was very grand which was the only reason there was any space left at all after putting an extra six beds into it. In the middle stood a large double bed which was now flanked with three smaller one pony beds on each side.

At the far right up against the wall was the bed upon which Rarity was resting. Karon walked over to it while Twilight began discussing care-taking details with Feather Touch.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down on Rarity. She had the same peaceful content look he was used to seeing on her while she slept in his arms. He had watched her like this many times before late at night before sleep had taken him.

He stretched out his arm and dragged a finger along her jaw, letting it continue on it's path upwards until it ran over her ears and stopped at the very tip. She moved a little and clutched the sheets a little tighter against her chest but no other reactions came of it. It was strange, she had always woken up whenever he did that with a happy, although lazy, morning smile.

He continued to watch her sleep with a twinge in his heart, she had always been so soft and warm against his naked skin. He imagined crawling down next to her on the small bed that would barely fit him alone before he noticed the room had gone quiet.

He turned his head and saw Twilight looking at him with an unreadable face while Feather's eyes looked about double their usual size. Shoving his emotions into a very dark and distant corner in his mind Karon stood up and walked over to them.

The sooner he could leave all feelings for Rarity behind him the better it would be for everyone and everypony involved. He hadn't set that thing with Eldros and Spike up for nothing.

“What are you staring at?” He asked and gave his loyal servant an irritated glare. She quickly composed herself and her face turned into her usual look of patient attentiveness.

“Nothing sir! Just admiring the care you display for your friends sir! Not only are you a just being for defending us servants, but you are also compassionate to those close to you. I could not be prouder to serve you than I am right now!”

Twilight let out a snort that Karon ignored. She was just jealous he had gotten a personal servant like Feather Touch while she had received a small baby lizard with a clashing color scheme.

The blond unicorn looked to be plenty insulted enough on her masters behalf anyway, which seemed to annoy the hell out of Twilight. The thought of another pony siding with him rather than her must sting a little.

So Karon smiled at the purple unicorn and spoke.

“Twilight, I told you about the spy network I had Feather Touch set up. Would you mind helping her organize it so we can begin utilizing it as soon as possible?”

“Why me? Surely you would be more suited for it since it's supposed to be YOUR spy network.”

“Yes but I do not have your amazing skill in organization Twilight. Truly, your ability to boss people around humbles all of us.”

She glared at him but only said. “Fine, what do you want me to do.”

“Just get the network up and running. Make sure the servants shift are planned so I always have a few ready to be sent out on tasks.”

“What are you going to have them do exactly.”

“Tracking some of the professors shadowy minions is my first idea. I just have to find them first. There is no chance More-than Tardy would allow himself to be tailed. He is too clever for that, but his people probably wont be. Intelligent people prefer servants with limited imagination so they won't get too ambitious.”

“I still think it would be better if we asked the princesses for help.”

“They've already made their moves, and that was placing us on the board.”

“Celestia's move anyway, I don't think Luna is aware of what is going on.”

Twilight looked over at her sleeping friends and a worried expression came over her.

“What if something happens to them because of this?”

“I happen to have a certain captain of the nocturnal guard itching to have a conversation with me. I'm sure it will be no problem for me to commandeer a pair of guards to be stationed inside this room since I have an official position now.”

“Can't you at least TRY and act like you take this responsibility seriously? Every magic user in Equestria is counting on you to act on their behalf. They are NOT counting on you to treat this like some sort of joke!”

“It is a joke Twilight. I only got the position so More-than Tardy wouldn't use it to screw Celestia over.”

“But you...I...Can't you understand that this actually means something!? That you are supposed to be the representative all unicorns have needed for a long time?! Please try to act like it. You need to make plans and organize a staff and compile everything you need to know about Equestria's current magical society so you can make important decisions!”

“Why would I need to do that now that I got you here?” He responded and flashed a bright smile.

Twilight did not look amused.

“Calm down miss Sparkly pants I got this. I have already discussed what needed discussing with the consortium and told them to send over the info I needed, and the unicorn community got along fine before I arrived. So unless you think the professor might not be that great of a threat after all, I should probably focus on him right?”

“You could still act a bit more responsible.” She mumbled in her breath.

“Are you encouraging me to deceive and put on a show Twilight?”

Whatever she mumbled next was too quiet for Karon to hear but he was pretty sure it wasn't something nice.

“Feather, before you and Twilight get busy with organization and such, could you send a message to the guard captain that I would like to talk to him tomorrow morning?”

“Of course sir. I will return with it as soon as I can.”

“No need. I think I should go see Luna now before I get stuck performing whatever plan we can hatch. Once you've talked to the captain just get back here and help Twilight get the network up and running.”

“As you wish sir. I shall follow your orders to the letter.”

“You go ahead and do that.”

The servant unicorn bowed to him while Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out the door. Karon followed behind but stopped in the doorway and faced Twilight.

“You should stay inside with them until I can get some guards and servants for it.”

“I know how to take care of my friends Karon.”

He closed the door and headed down right towards Luna's bed chambers. It was late afternoon so technically this would be during her sleeping hours once more but since little Lunatic would be busy ruling during the night he needed to get to her around the twilight hours.

Of course since it was summer time the night wasn't particularly long, but the princesses kept to their respective schedules no matter the real state of planetary illumination.

He was halfway there when an idea came to him and he stopped. It would be a long shot, but if he was right then...

“It's worth a try.”

He changed directions and instead of the lunar princess's chambers, he headed towards the barracks of her faithful protectors, the nocturnal guard. He would NOT be a welcome sight in there but he needed help right now and Dusk Keeper was the only pony available at the moment.

Of course that wouldn't be so if he hadn't put six ponies in a suspended magic sleep, but nobody's perfect.

When he arrived at the entrance to the barracks, he felt a slight tingle of apprehension and suspected this might not be the brightest of ideas after all. But caution had never been a strong suit of Karon's, so after a moment of brief deliberation he opened the door and strode in like he owned the place.

Every eye in the barrack immediately settled on him, and with the exception of one pair they all narrowed in anger. The odd one out was Dusk Keeper sitting alone at the far end of a table. Obviously his compatriots weren't that fond of him now that they thought he was friends with Karon. Which would explain why the earth pony was begging him with his eyes not to come over.

Karon ignored the pleading look completely and marched over and sat down next to him. A mumble swept over the room as every guardsman in it imagined they were now having their suspicions about Dusk Keeper confirmed.

The stallion in question became very aware of this and his face fell down between his front hooves, hiding his face from the shame.

“Can't you just leave me alone?”

“It's about M.” Karon said nonchalantly.

The stallion looked up from his position behind his hooves with a disbelieving face and didn't respond.

“I know who he is.” Karon continued as if he was just talking about the weather.

“Who?” Dusk Keeper whispered fervently, his eyes aglow with need.

“It's the unicorn professor known as More-than Tardy.”

Dusk's eyes twitched and moved around the room as he was quickly trying to put pieces of information and suspicions together. His frown deepened with every moment that passed until it looked like he was trying to stare the table to death.

“Are you sure?”

“Without a doubt. He more or less admitted it when I confronted him.”

Dusk abandoned all attempts at pretending he had no affiliation with Karon and gave the human his undivided attention.

“What!? You confronted him and he admitted it! Why is he not in chains rotting in the deepest part of the dungeons!?”

“Because unless you don't care at all about his really powerful and extensive criminal organization we can't touch him at the moment. Besides I don't have any proof other than my own testimony. And even if Celestia would take my word for it the professor looks to have nestled himself in pretty deep with the nobles and traders in the city. Tia might have the right to do whatever the hell she pleases but that doesn't mean a very large group of ponies won't be very angry if she arrests somepony like More-than Tardy on my word alone.”

Dusk was clearly frustrated at not being able to get to the one responsible for the disappearance of his friend, his hooves pressed down hard against the table until cracking sounds could be heard coming from it. He was quite strong apparently.

“But I DO have a plan that might help us get to him.” Karon finished and gave the guard pony a meaningful look.

“What do you need?”

“Your help.”

“With what exactly?”

“You are still on Luna watch right?”

“Since the entire company besides me is still being punished yes.”

“Good, because I will be taking Luna out into the city now and that means that you are supposed to follow with and guard her. Thing is, the professor knows I'm onto him and he also has his eyes on the throne so he will have reason to keep both me and Luna under watch. But I know for a fact that he doesn't have any spies within the castle itself.”

“Yeah the servants are all crazy loyal with their death oaths and all that.”

“You know about the oath?” Karon asked and blinked in surprise, Feather Touch had said it was a carefully guarded secret.

“Please everypony knows about the oath and that the servants are nuts, it's the reason no pony has ever tried to turn any of them.”

“That was...news to me.”

“It’s hardly a secret. Do you have any idea how many jokes there's around about the servants?”

“Uhh no.”

“Visit Pony Joe's shop after regular closing hours when the working ponies get there and you'll hear them tell jokes for hours on end.”

“I'll consider it. But since More-than Tardy can't get any spies inside the castle that means he will almost definitely have some posted around the gates. And if one of them sees not only the number one enemy human but that he is also in company with one of the princesses...”

“They will have no choice but to follow you to see what you are doing.” Dusk Keeper finished and his anger turned to resolve.

“That is my hope anyway, so instead of followed us around like a good little guard I need you to check if anypony is following us around. And please, don't wear your guard uniform this time. Try to blend in.”

The stallion involuntary looked down on the midnight blue armor he was wearing and his helmet lying on the table to his side and nodded.

“Okay, I can handle that. I will go out and blend in with the crowd closest to the main entrance, when you pass by I'll keep behind you unseen and check for anypony that looks to be following you.”

“Try and looked for the pony who tries to remain unseen and look uninterested. Last time Luna and I went out into the city every single pony stared openly, a spy will try and blend in inconspicuously so staring openly will be counter against their nature. That's who you'll have to try and spot.”

“I'll find him alright, and when I do I'll make him tell us everything.”

The earth pony slammed his hooves together to demonstrate that he was thinking of something mainly violent as a means for persuasion.

“If need be, we'll see. But  focus on the task at hand I need this to work fast.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a nagging suspicion my open challenge towards the professor has made him prepare his final move. Which will happen during the upcoming noble's party unless I'm mistaken.”

“But that's in three days time!”

“Exactly, so let's get this right the first time and hope they'll take the bait.”

“I'll go right now, just make sure nothing happens to the princess while outside. She is still my responsibility to protect and I will be too far away to act fast enough of anything goes down.”

“Don't worry little guard, she is an alicorn in company with a badass slayer of timber wolves and...big bird things. We can take care of ourselves.”

“You didn't kill the bird.”

“It's head was half crushed, there is no chance in hell that thing survived more than a few minutes after it ran way.”

“If this was just a movie or some hack of a fantasy story that would be a terribly set up for the bird thing reoccurring with a vendetta.”

“Well how lucky we are to not be in a story then.”

Dusk Keeper didn't look entirely convinced but he gave Karon a nod and went towards his hooflocker to store his armor while Karon walked out of the barracks. Angry whispers followed in his wake and more than a few day dreams of revenge was spawned at the sight of his back turned.

Supressing a shudder at the anger streaming off the guards behind him Karon left the barracks behind him and returned to his route towards Luna's personal chambers. The marble hallways usually glowed with a white gold light from the reflected rays of sun shining through the tall thin windows.

But now they shone less and Karon looked out a window he passed by, curious, and saw that gray rain clouds were gathered above the city and blocked out the sun.

Glad that Rarity had made him the hat since it would  work perfectly to protect from rain he continued unfazed towards Luna's chambers and hardly threw any insults towards the stairs at all as he ascended them towards the top.

When he reached it he came upon an unpleasant surprise, some kind of force field. It was subtle and not particularly strong, shimmering slightly in the air and so very visible to the naked eye. It was not meant as a security measure obviously, it was meant as a hint and Karon suspected it was directed at him in particular.

Don't disturb my sleep.

He grimaced at the sight before him and sighed deeply. This would be a lot harder than he had anticipated, and now that there was more than just friend-making time with the little Lunatic involved, he needed to make it happen.

He rubbed his hands together quickly and blew on them, it was an old trick if you wanted to jump start the metaphysical sensory nerves. It might not be the official term for them but that was how Karon preferred to look at them as.

In truth the entire body and it's assorted systems are overlaid with energetic systems running parallel with them and working in co-function. There were of course more systems and types of energy the higher up on the spherical scale you climbed, but the physical ones were the basic and as such it was easier if one used them together with the purely energy based ones.

After all, the body is the body, whether you looked at the physical, mental, astral, spirit or soul, it didn't really matter. The aura was it all and it was supposed to work as a whole, so when you treated it as such the best results were attained.

It was one of Varsif's lessons Karon had actually taken to rather fast and without arguing, it made sense in a way.

So it was with practiced ease Karon's aura stretched out and connected with the barrier. His energy bounced of it like light striking a mirror and absorbed none of it. Which meant it was a reflective barrier before him, which was honestly easier to make than one that simply blocked it. Energy doesn't just disappeared it needs to be redirected.

Karon tried again and this time sent out energy from his astral counterpart in his aura and it bounced of just as before. Smacking his lips Karon tried again, this time with mental energy and it flowed through the barrier without meeting any resistance.

“So it stretches up into the astral and that below but no further. Either Luna didn't think it worth the effort or she honestly didn't expect us to be able to utilize any form of magic within that sphere.”

“Wouldn't surprise me if she didn't consider it a possibility. I have yet to meet a unicorn with any kind of magic focused on the mental realms so she might not even be aware of the extent of my experience within it.”

“Lucky for us. One might think she should have learned from the dream trap you put her and Tia in.”

“Obviously not.”

Karon finished the thought with a smile and sat down on his knees and placed his hands on his thighs. He focused on his breathing and pushed it deep down into center before exhaling slowly, his diaphragm pushed at by his upper stomach muscles.

He continued the routine for a few minutes until he felt his heartbeat reach a steady rhythm with his entire body, every cell in him breathed in harmony and his body began working as a clock without his supervision.

He focused his mind and shaped a vessel for it with mental energy pouring out of him in three steady streams, joining together in front of his seated form and creating a crude copy with his general features.

When he considered the vessel good enough he transferred his mind across the streams joining it and his usual body. It was no different than the way a person transfers their attention to a specific part of their body, and Karon could still feel the hard marble floor underneath his aching knees. But it was an extremely distant sensation, very little data came across through the link and unless something very painful or dangerous would happen, Karon could easily ignore it.

Satisfied everything had gone smoothly, he passed through Luna's barrier without any resistance and floated like an invisible ghost within her room. He found her on the bed breathing softly as she slept and it only took a minute of brief consideration before he formed a connection to her and entered her dreams.

                    *********************************************************

He stood in a dark meadow surrounded by ancient trees and a lake reflecting a great full moon in the distance. Above him the sky was burning fiercely with the light of a thousand stars and shades of silver, indigo and black danced all around.

The grass was soft and wet with dew and the Trickster looked down to see his naked feet. It was a strange sight since he had shaped boots in an image of his real ones, but it did not disturb him. Perhaps the ground beneath was something you were not supposed to shield yourself from within this dream, it mattered not.

He turned his head left then right, his eyes hungrily devouring the sight before him and searching for the one he sought. But to no avail it would seem, for wherever his chosen quarry hid, it was outside of the reach of his gaze. Pondering his next move the Trickster drew breath through his nose and tasted the night air and all it offered.

The smells were rich and possessed an inscrutable depth which only the night may provide to that it holds within. Within the Trickster a hunger awoke, a hunger not lost but less than it had once been. But now stoked by the taste of awaiting mystery and whispered secrets of the night, his legs moved on their own and his eyes set upon the horizon with greedy need.

Yearning for his feet to tread upon virgin soil and dust be wiped clean of treasures both past, present and future the Trickster marched forward with burning eyes. Two jewels of shining amber joined the silver, black and midnight indigo of night and the world was a frozen moment of perfection.

However, the rapture of the Tricksters heart and mind slipped like the thawing ice from mountain rock as a sound reached his ears. His eyes turned towards the heavens and beheld the spread wings of mother Night herself. The sound of her wings were like the booming of a distant war drum, but calling not for blood and death. No, it called for naught but the attention of all who heard and asked for but a moment of their time.

A moment spent in awe as mother night blessed the world with her presence, a single moment spent gazing at star and moon and allowing their beauty be felt.

It was a song of joy, hope and love. The soothing embrace of winter chill and darkened sky sang a song of desire and rest. But the notes of beauty above all was joined by the notes of despair, sorrow and empty loneliness.

An aching heart cried as mother Night flew across the sky and with no one there to answer her call.

Beneath the soaring mare, the Trickster stood and watched with his burning eyes, eyes that had beheld sun and moon and star of both dreams and waking worlds. And to mother Night's siren call unanswered, laughter sprang forth.

A laughter of playful games and tricks most clever echoed forth across the sky and the stars themselves held their breath. Mother Night heard the laugh, and as her lone song was joined by another kind of singing, she swept down from her place amongst the silver clouds and found the waiting Trickster.

Her mane was adorned with the thousands of yet unborn stars framed by the indigo of her shining night. Her eyes bore the color of the sea as moonlight caressed its surface and her coat and wings an even darker shade of ocean depth.

She carried the image of her beloved moon upon her skin surrounded by the dark of space and on her head rested the crown. The crown of mother Night, onyx black and sapphires blue joined with silver etched by symbols of ancient time and place.

Mother Night herself stood within the heart of her domain and beheld in surprise as a Trickster answered her call with laughter unbound.

“Thine presence here is without sense or reason.” She spoke with a voice of whispering winds above distant mountains, a soothing breeze ever ready to turn to gale and storm.

“Reason and sense of other minds are chains not of mine, for I am Trickster oh lady most honored.”

“Shall madness be all that answers my call and scorn of my work be my just reward?”

“Leave thy musings of madness and scorn behind, fear has no seat within thine own house.”

“How shall I vanquish fear when mine house is invaded by that unchecked and unbound?”

“Unchecked and unbound! Tis a lie most foul! Bound by chains and locks are we all, for how could we ever rhyme if there was no sound? Only the edges of mine choosing do I not dance upon and locked chains I put upon myself and swallow the key with great appetite!”

“Of what chains and edges does thou speak? Reveal out loud and let thy words settle my fear.”

“Upon my heart and soul I bind the chains of friendship, love and duty. Friendship of all I dare call dear. Duty to mine own self and that I dare hold true. And love to all I dare call pure.”

“But do thy chains truly hold? Or does rust of weariness and doubt mar thine self imposed shackles?”

“Only time will tell, but mine heart has been ignited by forces most mysterious and profound.”

“Trust is fragile and like heart and mind shatters easy at the sharpened edge of betrayal.”

“Trust is a spinning coin of changing sides, to halt and hold is to let it fall.”

“Then how can I show mine own trust and be bestowed trust in return?”

“Why a simpler suggestion has never been ready to speak in times now and then.”

The Trickster joined his gaze with mother Night and snow white teeth reflected moonlight rays.

“Open thine eyes and allow me entrance.”

                       ******************************************************

Karon opened his eyes, his real eyes of skin and blood, as his mind returned to his body. He grimaced once more when he felt how stiff and pained his legs were. Marble was not the most comfortable thing to be seated on.

The door leading to Luna's door stood open and the barrier keeping him out was gone. Satisfied with his accomplishment he rose up and rubbed his legs gingerly, prickling stabs were felt all over his legs and blood rushed back into them.

“No wonder the little Lunatic had troubles speaking normally if that's how her mindset is shaped.”

“Don't speak of it, it will take me days to get the pattern out of my head.”

He entered Luna's chamber and found her waiting for him inside, she stood at the center of the room and looked at him with mixed emotions. He could guess they were probably something like embarrassment for the barrier, anger at having her mind invaded and fear for him having seen her so open and vulnerable.

Karon had no idea how long that little trip had taken and he frankly didn't like what he had said and felt inside her mind either particularly much. A trickster that couldn't hold his tongue was not a trickster that stayed alive for long.

So instead of spending time in awkward conversation carefully tip toeing around what had just happened he walked up to Luna and put his arms around her neck in a hug.

He stood still until she decided to lower her head to his shoulder and pushed a little against his head. They remained like that for a few second before Karon broke it and said.

“Let's get something to eat.”

“I could do with some food yes.” Luna said in return and smiled at him.

“So, are we good? No chipped edges around our friendship?”

“We are, as you said, good.”

“Excellent.”

They both walked towards the door but when Luna passed through the frame Karon asked.

“So can I get to ride you now?”

She craned her neck so she could stare back at him, judging by her face he had just said something incredibly insulting or just plain weird.

“Absolutely not! I'm not some transportation mule for humans!” She finally answered and walked out the room.

“Don't say it....”

“I never specified what kind of riding I was talking about.” Karon said.

Luna didn't say anything back but he saw how her horn flashed as she walked down the spiral staircase and being an experienced trouble maker Karon's trickster sense began tingling and he ducked.

Unfortunately that meant that the book that came flying from the one of the bookshelves didn't hit him in the back but instead flew right into his head. He heard the thud quite loudly and toppled over to his side and the world began spinning a lot too fast for his comfort.

Growling angrily in part for Luna and in part for his own idiocy Karon grabbed the book and looked down at it with contempt.

The eloquent tongue: An extensive work on all things etiquette and the proper way to address royalty

Scowling he threw the book back inside the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He gently rubbed his head and began his descent down the thrice accursed stairs while he thought he heard giggling coming from below.

                     *******************************************************

It was lightly raining outside when Karon and Luna exited the castle but not enough to be unpleasant. Not for Karon at least, he had a hat and clothes on. Luna on the other hoof looked up at the sky with an annoyed frown and conjured some kind of shield similar to the one she had used on her door above her.

The rain continued its steady pour while the pair made their way to the castle gates. It was a pleasant beginning of their walk since the rain had had time to sink into the earth and plants, and the air was full of the scent of fresh life.

The guards stationed at the gate opened it immediately at the sight of the princess and the court wizard. When they went through, Karon scanned the streets and windows for anypony suspicious looking but none could be found. For that matter Karon couldn't see Dusk Keeper either, but that would hopefully just mean he was doing a good job staying out of sight.

Hopefully.

The thought that More-than Tardy's spies might have seen him and decided to get rid of the threat might have crossed Karon's mind briefly. But he reminded himself that the guard pony could take care of himself and he was supposed to keep to public places. Besides that More-than Tardy, and certainly not his spies, most likely didn't know a thing about Dusk Keeper.

No, he was alright.

Instead, Karon focused his attention on Luna and decided to leave the spy work to the guard pony. The princess in question didn't look as thrilled to be out as he could have hoped but at least he had managed to get her out of bed. It was a start.

“How about we go somewhere dry and perhaps with a roof over our heads?” He said and tried to sound cheerful, he didn't want her to catch the worried tone in his voice.

“That would be preferable.” She said and shot the sky an evil glance.

“Good I heard that this place called Pony Joe's is supposed to be good.”

“I believe I have heard mention of this place from my sister but I can not remember the details.”

“Then it will be a surprise for both of us.”

Despite the decision to leave the spying to Dusk Keeper, Karon tried his best to cast as many innocent looking glances around as he could. There weren't a lot of ponies outside because of the rain and all the market stalls were closed.

But The few ponies that were out all stopped and gave the princess and the mage an open stare before hurrying away again. That was until he saw one pony that didn't look to be in a hurry going anywhere, and unlike all the other ponies he only gave them a passing glance before focusing his eyes elsewhere.

However, Karon saw how his eyes returned to them with passing intervals and his suspicions arose very quickly. He changed the course of his walk and headed straight towards the red maned blue coated pegasus with a quickened stride.

When the pegasus saw this his eyes widened in panic. But that could easily be at the sight of a strange looking creature in company with the princess coming towards him. Karon couldn't be sure.

The pegasus looked about ready to flee but Karon managed to intercept him before then.

“Excuse me, do you happen to know the way to Pony Joe's?”

The pegasus blinked and the air he had been holding was let out visibly. Karon's eyes narrowed as his suspicions were more or less confirmed, he wouldn't be relived if he had been nervous about speaking to him or the princess.

“Down Palace street, its right across from a very big hat store and it has a sign that says Pony Joe's Doughnuts.”

“Thank you friend.” Karon said and gave him a pat before following the directions he had been given with Luna in tow looking miserable. She didn't like rain obviously.

Karon hoped that Dusk Keeper was watching. And if he was then he should be paying close attention to the pegasus and wondering why Karon had approached him. If he then saw the pegasus following them trying to remain undetected he would know that was the spy.

Or one of them.

Karon's heartbeat quickened at the thought and realized there could easily be more, perhaps watching for a tail and any other manners of tricks Karon might have up his sleeve. More-than Tardy was paranoid and now also grossly overestimated him. It wouldn't be far fetched to believe he had ordered safety precautions to be taken.

He was so focused on his thought Karon didn't realize Luna had stopped following him for several minutes before he blinked and looked back. Behind him several stores down, Luna stood outside a shop with a doughnut shaped sign hanging from the side.

Karon silently cursed his distracting thoughts and shook them off as best he could, but he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

Inside the shop it was bright and dry, the floor was checkered in a black and white pattern and large windows opened up on the sides. Several wooden tables were placed around the shop and at the far end was a counter that a tan colored brown maned stallion wearing a white shirt and hat stood.

Over the entire counter was doughnuts placed in display and Karon had to admit most of them looked very tasty. Luna seemed to agree because she hurried towards them with a hungry expression and all eyes in the shop turned on her.

Karon looked over each one and felt how hyper alertness was creeping up on him. Tiny little details like smudges on their coat or clothes seemed to tell him trillions of stories of where the could have originated from and every single detail in the entire room called out to him.

Karon was pretty damn sure a blood vessel in his eye popped and he stared at the room with unchecked paranoia. He hadn't been paying attention outside, what if the pegasus had ran to his accomplices and told them they were heading here? What if they decided to beat them to it and all arrived here before he and Luna had? What if every single pony in here beside the owner and Luna was More-than Tardy's spies...and killers?

“Pull it together. You're a trickster and a mage.”

He tried to draw whatever comfort he could from that fact and swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. He walked up to Luna and took his place beside her, on the other side of the counter Pony Joe was showering love over his new guests and insisted that anything they wanted would be on the house.

“Fine by me, I forgot my purse anyway.”

Luna brightened up considerably at this and ordered not one, two or three doughnuts, she ordered ten. That and a large cup of coco. Karon settled for less and ordered two doughnuts and one cup of coco.

Pony Joe gathered all their chosen food and put them on a large plate which he carried out with his mouth while balancing the two cups on his back. Luna dug into hers with a ravenous appetite and murmurs of respect were heard from the other customers as she devoured all ten of her doughnuts in less than five minutes.

She drank all of her coco with a few large gulps before she realized what she had done and smiled sheepishly towards the rest of guests.

“That was some fine eating if I may say so myself princess. Only time I ever saw anything like it was when we had this crazy pink earth pony here, ate thirty-four doughnuts in ten minutes if ya can believe it.” An older looking earth pony with steel gray coat and brown mane said from across the room.

“I can.” Karon muttered and thought of Pinkie Pie sleeping inside Twilight's room.

“I apologize profusely at my manners, it had just been a long time since I last ate something so...uncomplicated.”

“Well that us here at Pony Joe's, uncomplicated through and through.”

“So everpony gathered here is a regular?” Karon asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Yep, all of us here are working ponies that have come here for almost every night now for many years.”

“No other strangers besides us?”

“Nope.”

Karon felt his worry lessen and finally disappear at the news. If they were all regulars for many years back, the possibility that they were all spies were close to none existent.

And after that Karon became more relaxed and entered into conversation with the ponies gathered in the shop while Luna did the same with a few of the others. As the hours rolled by and the sun was setting behind the cover of clouds, the mood became more and more relaxed and soon all of the ponies and humans were eating and drinking loudly and laughing even louder at jokes. Mostly about the crazy castle servants, and none laughed louder than Luna at those.

However as the light darkened outside, Luna turned to Karon and spoke loudly so all inside could hear.

“I need to return to the castle now I'm afraid. I still need to raise the moon and attend to my duties, I hope you all will have a wonderful evening.” Around her the ponies cheered and Luna spoke in a more quiet voice to Karon.

“Thank you...for bringing me here.”

“It was my pleasure princess, you needed to meet up with regular ponies. Your real subjects.”

Luna gave him a crooked smile before she snatched one of his doughnuts with her magic and walked out into the rain and back towards the castle. It was a little less loud after the princess left but the mood was no less bright.

If anything it was brighter as the ponies gathered discussed their surprise and pleasure at finding the reclusive lunar princess to be so in touch with regular working ponies like themselves. They all spoke high praises of her character and more than one glass of coco was raised in her honor that night.

It might have seemed a small thing to Karon at first, but he didn't realize at the time just how much working ponies talked and how far and fast the rumors of the lunar princess's sudden appearance would spread. And just how much she would grow in popularity from it.

Instead, Karon just found it amusing they were so taken by their nocturnal princess and remained inside chatting with the ponies. Many of them understandably had questions about both Luna and himself. He might have told a few very untruthful stories about his exploits within the Everfree forest and about the many mares he had explored as well but that didn't matter, they were just as appreciated anyways.

It was later at night when midnight was approaching that Pony Joe began serving booze and the night became VERY merry after that. Unfortunately no pony actually believed Karon when he claimed he was behind Applejack's daniels resent rise in quality and the many new types of booze on the market.

Which was a bit annoying since they had bought his lies but rejected the truth, but it was nothing a few shots of vodka couldn't forgive.

It was some time after midnight that Karon stumbled out of Pony Joe's shop to a lot of waves and shouts of farewell. Outside the air was moist but cool and the mountain wind kept the humidity at very tolerable levels.

He stumbled down the street towards the castle and was humming on a song he was making up as he went when suddenly something slammed into his side and sent him flying into a nearby alley. Dazed and confused Karon tried to stand up only to fall over as a hoof slammed into his side once more and he let out a pained cry.

He looked up to see several darkly dressed ponies emerge out of the night and before he could do anything else they all fell upon him.

Chapter 27: Factory of dreams

Karon tried to crawl away but the shadowy assailants formed a circle around him and began raining down strikes. The hooves of the attackers felt like they were made out of solid rock and Karon shrunk into a fetal position, trying his best to protect his vital areas.

His mind was still clouded by the alcohol but it also mercifully dulled the pain raking through his body. Although far from all of it.

”Get up!”

A voice screamed inside of his head but went unheard in the confused haze of pain and nausea. However, it was that nausea that saved him as a strike managed to hit him in the stomach and Karon vomited loudly.

The unknown ponies made disgusted sounds and backed off momentarily, giving Karon the chance he needed.

“Get up or they will kill you!”

He stumbled up to a standing position and made a break for the closest opening he could see between the surrounding ponies. The one closest to him reacted the fastest and delivered a blow towards his head. Had it landed directly instead of glancing off, Karon would have most likely died then and there.

Instead, he tumbled forward again but pushed against the ground and avoided falling down. Behind him the ponies were moving, their hooves clicking loudly against the hard stone of the alley.

He could barely see from the spots that had appeared before him after the blow, so sound was all Karon had to go after as he turned around with an electric charge gathered in his hand and unleashed it. The bright image of the charge as it leapt from his palm unto the closest pony burned into his retina and for less than a second as the alley was lit up by it's light.

A pained scream cut through the night as electricity coursed through the unfortunate pony and ended when he fell unconscious. Judging by the scream, at least that one had been a stallion.

The rest of the group seemed a bit more hesitant now that they had lost their advantage of surprise and Karon had just shown that he wasn't without means of defense. His sight was still blurry, but he could make out dark silhouettes crowding the alleyway around a shadow on the ground. Obviously their downed comrade.

Karon wiped the vomit around his mouth away and tried to flash a confident grin as a new charge took form in his right palm and blue-white light shone from it.

“Who's next?” He asked as adrenaline surged through him and his heart pounded against his chest with painful pressure.

But he was too cocky and the light shining from his palm ruined all night vision he had while making himself a very obvious target. He soon discovered this as two hooves slammed into his side, AGAIN, and sent him flying with a whimper into two cylindrical objects near one of the walls.

It felt like he couldn't draw breath at all, something extremely painful was pressing down on his chest and he started hyperventilating. Shallow hard breaths made their way in and out his throat leaving it feeling raw and dizziness began to overtake Karon's mind despite his struggles.

“Don't faint! They're More-than Tardy's spies they will kill you!”

The dark shapes formed up around him and Karon's eyes widened with fear. He tried to rise but as soon as his muscles tensed a fire erupted in his chest and side. He shrieked and he clutched the area with his hand and a sob escaped involuntarily from his lips.

“Come on, he's had enough now.”

“He deserves more!”

“We can't kill him idiot. Let's get out of here before we get discovered.”

“Fine.” One of them finished angrily and spat on Karon before they all turned their backs on him and disappeared into the dark of night.

Karon could not believe his luck. They were leaving him alive? He should be asking himself why they would do such a thing and why they attacked him in the first place but right now, he didn't care. He was so relieved he wouldn't die that he began laughing a shrill laugh that ended in a coughing fit.

Karon clutched his side still but raised one hand and took a look at it when he felt spittle land on it from the coughing. It was dark and sticky, far more so than saliva would be.

“Blood...that can't be a good sign.”

“We need to get to a hospital or a healer.”

He could not argue the truth of that and tried to rise again but immediately his side screamed in pain even worse than before and his head swam. He groaned loudly and focused on pushing his breath in and out deeper but it still would not work. The pressure on his chest remained undiminished.

Karon felt himself slipping from consciousness as the adrenaline flow ended and tried everything to stay awake. He felt around with his hands and discovered that he was actually lying in garbage, having crashed into the pony equivalent of garbage cans. When that failed to be interesting enough to keep unconsciousness at bay he tensed his muscles and pain flared up once more, forcing a shout from him.

It was a losing battle and as cold sweat trickled down his forehead, Karon came to realize it. He giggled a little as he understood how stupid this all was. What if he had internal bleeding? What if he would die in a heap of trash murdered by PONIES?

How embarrassing.

His last thought before letting the darkness overtake him was that it was a shame he had never told Twilight how he felt about her.

                      ****************************************************

Karon woke up to feel an enveloping heat around his entire body. It was not the harsh cutting heat of pain, but instead the soft, soothing heat of life and a steady heartbeat. He opened his eyes but instantly closed them again, to shield himself from the strong light that shone down on him from above.

“He's awake!” A familiar voice shouted and Karon felt how a hoof was placed gently on his chest. He squinted his eyes and saw a broadly smiling Feather Touch look down on him. Behind her was an unfamiliar mare walking towards them.

“What happened?” Karon asked while still squinting his eyes.

“A group of ponies carried you here. They said they found you in an alley outside Pony Joe's and knew you worked at the castle.”

“Thank god I was friendly towards those regulars.”

“How...fortunate.” He said with a raspy voice and took a glass of water Feather levitated to him. The water was cold and flowed down his throat, offering it relief.

“You had several fractured ribs and injuries to the arteries within your left lung. I managed to heal the worst of the injuries but much of your body is still bruised and you can expect to feel very sore for a few days.”

“As long as I'll live.”

“Oh the damage was not life threatening at all, but I can imagine it would have hurt.”

“It did.” Karon closed his eyes and relaxed his body, enjoying the warmth of the bed before he spoke again.

“Feather have you heard anything from Dusk Keeper?”

“Yes he arrived in the early morning and said he had news, but since you were still unconscious he went back to the barracks.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Around nineteen hours now I think, It's late evening.”

“I've lost too much time.” He said and forced his eyes open.

“Sir if I may, what happened?”

“I was attacked obviously.”

“By who?” Feather asked with fury in her voice, ready to pounce on anypony that would dare threaten her master.

“Don't know but they left me alive so I have difficulty believing it would be...” He gave the nurse a stare and she took the hint and left through a door. Karon looked around and saw he was in a small room with oak brown walls and some kind of large hanging lantern in the ceiling. His was the only bed in it and a small window was located on the other side of the room, showing off a view of the city with the moon slowly rising above it.

“No, it was not More-than Tardy's little minions, they would have killed me.”

“Then who would dare lay their hooves on the court wizard!?”

“No idea. A question for another time.”

Karon would never admit it, but after having received such a beating last night he was afraid he would only bring about the same thing if he tried to go after whoever those ponies had been. After his victory over both timber wolves and a strange giant bird he had gained a false sense of invincibility.

Now he realized that it had been blind luck more than it had been skill responsible for those victories. He could have died last night, at the hooves of a bunch of ponies of all things. He was not a warrior, both Varsif and Eldros had tried to make him ready for this but he had never really considered the implications of what they had said.

Unless he knew how to kill others he might die.

It was an odd realization, the kind of thing you can intellectually understand and hear in words over and over again...but never understand until such a time life shows you just how easy death can take you. It was after realizing this truly for the first time Karon promised himself he wouldn't forget it.

“But sir surely you can't jus-!”

“It is done Feather, we have a more important enemy to deal with. Please go get Dusk Keeper and take him to Twilight's room, I'll be waiting for you.”

“As you wish sir.” She said and bowed as usual, but she hesitated before turning around. Instead she put a hoof on his chest again and her sky blue eyes looked less like the usual always-ready-to-serve attentive ones and instead shone with a personal vulnerability he had never seen before.

“I'm glad you feel better and didn't die sir.”

“Me too Feather.” He responded and put a hand over her hoof. She smiled at him and stood still for a few seconds before withdrawing her hoof and walking out the door, leaving Karon to his thoughts.

“We got our ass kicked.”

“Thank you so much for reminding me.”

“By a group of ponies.”

“It certainly looks that way.”

“Does that seem right to you? That a group of ponies can beat us to a pulp and decide if we will live or die?”

“It does not.”

“Then it is time we take our fire power up a notch.”

“I'll think of something.”

He already had an idea for that, but for the moment the most important thing that needed to be done was to hear what Dusk Keeper had discovered. If it had been nothing he wouldn't have said he had news when he came to see Karon earlier.

So with eagerness growing in his heart Karon left the hospital wing behind, after he had put on his freshly washed clothes and hat which he had found beside his bed. Feather Touch's doing most likely. Not that Karon minded. The smell of vomit, blood and sweat had never been a favorite of his.

The corridors were a little fuller than usual it seemed, but he had never been in this section of the castle before so perhaps this was the usual flow of traffic. However with a little luck and guidance from a few servants Karon managed to find his way back to familiar territories and Twilight's chamber.

He knocked on the door and waited for her to open it. Just barging in might be a bad idea since she was supposed to guard the rest of the elements. The door creaked open a tiny bit and purple eyes looked through the crack and saw Karon waiting patiently for her to let him in. Twilight opened the door completely and stared at him with her mouth drawn and an uncertain look in her eyes.

“Feather said you had been...hurt?”

“A group of ponies jumped me. They got lucky.”

“Do you know who it was?”

“No and I don't have time to investigate. They surprised me, otherwise they wouldn't have done so well.”

“Couldn't you just run away? Or call for help?”

“I was perhaps slightly drunk during the time when they caught me by surprise.”

The mask of worry slipped off and a scowl made its way to Twilight's face instead.

“So you mean that while I was busy setting YOUR spy network up and protecting my friends that YOU decided should be put under a sleep spell you have been out drinking!?”

“Whoa, whoa calm down. I was out with Luna trying to draw some of More-than Tardy's spies in.”

“And drinking was a necessary part of this plan?” She asked sceptically.

“I needed to make it look authentic.”

“Heh, good one.”

“And did this no doubt well thought out plan work?”

“I believe so, but we won't know until Dusk Keeper gets here and tell us what he discovered.”

Twilight didn't look entirely pleased but decided to drop it for now. Instead she went back to the large red velvet pillow lying on the floor with several books around it and sat down. Karon thought it best to give her some privacy for a while so he walked over to Rarity's bed and sat down on it.

She now lied on her back and slept peacefully. The sheets looked to have been changed so Karon guessed that Feather Touched had found a few servants to take care of their needs. Despite that she was most likely pretending to be reading, Karon felt Twilight's gaze on his back. He didn't get a sense of her emotions from it, but it was a focused stare that much he could tell.

He thought back to his last thought lying in that alley before he fell unconscious. What he felt about Twilight? What did that mean? Of course he wasn't exactly at his most lucid at the time but still...

What did he feel? He had absolutely no desire to turn his already complicated situation even more complicated by introducing some sort of secret love for Twilight as he sulked late at night and thought of her.

No, definitely not.

So he carefully analyzed the thought and tried to discern if there was actually any truth to it at all. But it became apparent rather quickly that he couldn't make out what the hell he was feeling towards Twilight at all. She was just..Twilight. Trying to define his emotions for her was impossible. They were too jumbled, too complicated.

Romantic feelings were too simple to properly capture whatever they had.

Karon felt a headache forming and cursed the lack of pain medication in Equestria. Instead he settled for ramming his thumbs into the pressure points at the base of the skull and held them there for a minute. When he let go he felt the blood flow increase and the headache eased before disappearing entirely.

Feeling a little more relaxed and without the tension that was almost constant for him these days Karon put a hand on Rarity's head and held it there. He stroked his thumb over her mane and enjoyed the silky smoothness of it. Despite having spent more than a day in bed now her appearance was still without fault.

Rarity's beauty was not a thing that could be lost, it was simply her.

He turned his head when he heard a knock on the door and Twilight rose up from her position and walked over to it. She opened a tiny crack before opening it entirely when she saw it was Feather and Dusk Keeper outside.

They both walked in quickly and Karon joined the trio waiting for him, Dusk Keeper looking very eager to tell of whatever he had discovered.

“Were you successful?” Karon asked straight away, they had only one day left now before the party and whatever the professor had planned for it.

“I know where More-than Tardy's base of operations is!”

“Seriously?” Both Karon and Twilight asked with a maximum level of skepticism. It sounded a little too good to be true, a genius like the professor wouldn’t let it become discovered so easily.

“I have never been more certain in my entire life.”

“Tell me everything.”

“I was waiting for you outside the gates when it started raining, most ponies outside began hurrying home and I would have made an obvious target if one of the professors spies were close. So I joined the crowd and hurried to a nearby cafe on the palace road. I figured you would be taking the biggest and most obvious route around to make sure the spies caught sight of you.”

The stallions tone was full of eagerness and pride shone out of his eyes, whatever he had done he thought it was really good.

“So I waited inside and kept an eye out for you, and then you walked by, but it didn't matter how hard I tried I couldn't spot anypony that looked to be spying on you. That was until you walked over to that pegasus and talked to him. He was looking so nervous and after you left him he followed you all the way to Pony Joe's. After you went inside he looked like he couldn't decide what to do but eventually he flew off. I tried my best to keep up with him but he kept flying around in weird patterns. I think he was trying to make sure he wasn't followed, but I managed to stay on him anyway, that was how I found where a group of More-than Tardy's spies are hiding.”

“I thought you said you've found his base of operation.”

“I'll get to it. So I found a small house which the pegasus flew in to through a window and I thought that must be his hiding place, but the only way for me to get close enough to the window to hear what they were saying was to get up to the rooftop of the building next to it and jump over. I think I might have missed a lot of important information because of this but I did manage to hear the end of a conversation.”

“...Well?”

“Ohh, yes. One sounded very nervous and was asking the other for instructions. The other voice was a lot more calm and told the nervous one that he needed to take this new information straight to 'M himself' at the 'base'.”

“Did he say were it was?”

“No the nervous one, the pegasus, was about to fly off again but the calm voice called after him first. He said to bring back some fresh new dreams for him straight from the ovens.”

Karon blinked without understanding while Dusk Keeper, Feather Touch and Twilight all looked to understand perfectly.

“Uhm, and that means what?”

Feather Touch and Dusk Keeper looked at him like he was thick, but Twilight facehoofed and explained.

“Dreams are a popular pastry, and there is only one place that makes them.”

“The dream factory.” Feather Touch and Dusk Keeper said in unison.

Karon heart skipped a beat as he caught on to what they were saying. Could it really be that simple? One slip of the tongue by a spy and they knew the location of More-than Tardy's center of operation?

“Where is it?”

“It's in Cloudsdale.”

“Shit.”

“The cloud city thing up in the sky?”

“That's the one.” Feather Touch said and beamed with pride, Karon had no idea why.

“None of us can fly.”

“I can cast a spell that will allow us to walk on clouds.”

“That's convenient, but what if one of us falls off? Do you have any greater levitation or flying spells because I certainly don't.”

“Well...I do have one spell that will temporarily give you wings, but it is really hard and I will only be able to cast it on one of u-”

“ME!” Karon shouted and eyes shining with maniacal glee.

“Uhm, are you sure that is such a great idea. The spell was meant for ponies.”

“I'm sure. I'm uh...bigger than the rest of you. If one of us falls I have the greatest chance of being strong enough to catch and carry that pony.”

“Okay then, Karon will be flying and the rest of us will use the cloud walking spell. We can use a hot air-balloon to get to Cloudsdale.”

“I think it would be wise formulating a plan before we rush off into danger.” Karon said to try and calm down the other ponies, who all seemed ready to jump into the fray without a second thought. Twilight stared at Karon with what looked like approval after he had spoken.

“Yes I just suggested making a plan before running off Twilight, get over it.”

She blushed a little but didn't lower her gaze. Karon sighed and turned to Dusk Keeper, he would be important for this.

“Dusk you're the military pony, what do you suggest?”

“You're...asking me for advice?”

“Yes.”

“Well I don't know if I am the best to ask. The captain is the veteran and would know what to do.”

“So you think it's best to involve him.”

“I don't know. But if we are gonna storm the professors base I think we will need a lot of help.”

“The nocturnal guard would be an asset yes so maybe I should...crap!”

“What!?” All three ponies asked.

“Feather when was it I was supposed to have seen the captain in a meeting?”

“This morning, but when you didn't show he came looking and was informed of your hospitalized state. He told me to tell you that he will be available whenever you felt well again.”

“That time would be now then. I won't reveal much of what is going on to the captain but hopefully I will convince him to lend us a few guards.”

“Is there a reason why you won't tell the captain what is going on?” Twilight asked.

“This isn't a straight and narrow game of catch the bad guy Twilight. We have no proof at all and if we were to try and confront the professor openly with accusations he WILL wriggle his way out of it and probably find a way to turn it against us. This is a shadow game, we won't win by shining light on it.”

“Then I guess it's up to us to stop him.” Dusk Keeper said with a hint of personal satisfaction in his voice. He had a score to settle.

“Everything's decided then. I'll go see the captain of the nocturnal guard and see if I can borrow a few guards. Either way we'll be leaving after I've come back, except for you Feather of course.”

“What!?” She shouted and defiance shone out of her eyes for the first time.

“You have no combat experience or abilities Feather.”

“You just got out of a hospital bed sir and I am NOT letting you get hurt again!”

Karon felt a little touched by the strength in her voice as she said it, she genuinely cared about him. Not just as a dutiful servant but as a person, as a pony.

“I will be fine, I won't be going in drunk...”

“I think.”

“...and I will be having others to watch my back. I will be fine, besides I need YOU to stay here and get every single servant you can get hold of to find the rest of the professors spies in the city. More than his spies, I need his contacts, his allies, everything. Since we got a location of one of his spy houses now you should be able to follow them to more and slowly unravel the net while we take care of their base.”

“If that is your wish sir.” She said and looked a little calmer, but the defiance still shone if a little less strong now.

“Good. Feather you should get to work. Twilight and Dusk you can discuss tactics or whatever until I get back.”

They all nodded and Karon followed Feather out the door, she gave him directions to where the captains quarters were and then they went separate ways. Both of them had their tasks and needed to get moving.

Time was ticking.

On his way to the captain Karon noticed just how hungry he was. He had gone an entire day without food after all. Then there were other base activities he felt a need to perform. Thankfully the corridors had public restrooms available here and there and when he saw one he entered it.

Thing is, pony physiology is very different from humans and it took a bit of creativity to make use of their equine designed toilets, but Karon managed and exited the stall. The washing sink stood very low and he had to get down on his knees to get at a proper height.

He washed his hands before looking up in the mirror and a thought struck him.

“What the hell am I doing?”

How had his life gotten to this point? He had been crushed, bitten, twisted and transformed by other beings and he had began lying and manipulating others without even thinking about it. It came so naturally now, so easy. He was just about to risk the life of his friends so he could continue in some idiotic battle of wits and deception with a psychopathic pony.

Where had he gone wrong?

He knew the answer. He could never escape it. So instead he swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat and with it the disgust he felt for himself at that moment. He stared into the alien eyes of a tricksters, his eyes. The strange amber color and the different shape of his face, he was someone new, not as he was before.

Question was if he was becoming someone better...or worse?

The sudden urge to claw out the strange trickster eyes he saw staring back at him from the mirror was overwhelming and he clenched his fingers hard around the sink. He would have punched the mirror if it weren't for the fact it would have been such a terrible cliche.

Instead, he splashed his face with water and left the restroom behind him, leaving his thoughts and doubts behind as well. He had work to do.

The door to the captain's chamber was a dark indigo in color with the emblem of a crescent moon in the middle, surrounded by a silver circle. The nocturnal guard. It was stylish, Karon had to admit. Rarity would have approved.

He knocked on the door and heard a voice say it was open. He opened the door and entered into a darkened room where shadows seemed to play everywhere. A single lit candle stood upon a table behind which the captain stood. He was studying reports of some kind, or it could have been the menu to his favorite restaurant. Karon had next to no knowledge or interest in military functions.

Besides perhaps borrowing those that did from time to time.

The captain looked up from what he was reading and the candle light was reflected his sand colored eyes in a disconcerting fashion. He could probably see better in the dark than in the light with those.

“Ah, court wizard. I hope you have recovered from your ordeals.”

“Indeed, the position has put more demands on me than I first expected.”

The captain smiled a frosty smile and motioned towards a couch that stood to the right of the table, barely visible in the dim light. Karon walked over and took a seat, the comforting dark enveloping him almost completely.

“I hope it is not proving to be too much for you to handle?”

“One brush with death? Please, that happens at least thrice every morning, and that's before breakfast.”

“I can be a tough guy too.”

The frosty smile returned again but there was a knowing glint in his eyes this time as well.

“Your reputation must be well earned then.”

“My reputation?”

“There are rumors that has spread far and wide over the entire city that the strange creature who has been named the first court wizard possesses power that could rival even that of our princesses.”

“Flattering, but no I could not.”

“But More-than Tardy doesn't need to know that.”

“Indeed, I am having difficulty picturing our princesses being brought low by seven earth ponies.”

“They did catch me by surprise and...seven? How do you know their numbers?”

“First, could you please describe last nights events?”

Karon did, but with a growing suspicion gathering at the back of his head. When he was finished with his account of the attack the captain's mouth twisted into a displeased grimace and started pacing in the dark of the room.

“What aren't you telling me?” Karon asked, the captain wasn't the type to play around with words.

“Late last night one of my off-duty guards had to be brought into a hospital with life threatening injuries. He was a part of a group of seven guards, all off-duty, that had been spending the night out in the town. When questioned they just said it had been a magical accident, but I know my guards and when they're lying.”

Karon felt both anger and relief settle in his chest, relief that he now knew who the unknown assailants were and anger for what they've done. He had goaded them sure but...

“But nothing, it's hardly surprising they would want payback.”

The captain was staring intently at Karon, waiting for him to voice whatever thoughts this news had brought forth. To his own surprise they were not what would have been expected.

“It's okay, it's my own fault for pushing them this far. Hopefully this will have ended whatever dispute they feel they have with me.”

The captains face showed only surprise, which Karon assumed was not something that happened often. Honestly he probably had the exact same look himself. The reason behind his decision to let go of this was pragmatic though. He could ill afford any more conflict with the guard at the moment and after last night...he was a bit afraid of them.

There were a lot of them after all.

Also, perhaps somewhere deep within a neglected and distant part of his heart, he regretted treating them as carelessly as he had.

“That is surprising, I would have thought you would demand disciplinary actions, Maybe even jail time for their crime.”

“It was a stupid thing to happen in the first place. Let the conflict come a rest with this, and I would appreciate if you let them discreetly know of this. It might be enough to buy peace between us.”

The captain nodded and looked thoughtful.

“I will need to punish them regardless of your decision, but now I will have to make sure it looks unconnected to last nights event.” The captain started drawing a small circle with his right hoof in thought but then he remembered Karon had come for another reason and turned to him.

“Did you wish to discuss something coming here or did you only wish to indulge my desire to evaluate human strength and weaknesses?”

“I came to ask for a few of your guards.”

Had the pony had an eyebrow he would have raised it in question of what he had just heard.

“What would you need some of my guards for?”

Karon began thinking of ways he could sound convincing yet evading of the reason, but then he realized something. He didn't need to, he could demand them.

“As is my duty I have discovered a threat to Equestria and the royal sisters specifically that is largely magically based. As instructed by princess Celestia it is my duty to investigate and try and eliminate this threat with the help of the royal guard.”

The captain had an unknowable look, most likely trying to figure out what kind of threat Karon might have discovered. However, Karon had the right and authority to ask for his guards and at his core the captain was a military pony, he obeyed orders when given by those higher in command.

“How many do you need?”

“Whatever you feel suitable for a quick and covert operation. We need to remain quiet and fast and will most likely be outnumbered greatly if my hunch is right.”

“More-than Tardy might have built up an entire army by now.”

The captain was considering his request and looked deep in thought, but then he smiled his frosty smile once more and Karon got a bad feeling for some reason.

“I have the perfect team for you, anything else you require?”

“Yes one hot air-balloon ready to take us to Cloudsdale.”

The captain looked even more surprised, Cloudsdale wasn't the first place one would expect to find a magical threat to Equestria in. Of course that was the point.

“I can have one ready within one hour if you wish.”

“That will be fine, make sure it is spacious so it can take your chosen guards with me and an additional two ponies.”

“Two more?”

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle and the guard Dusk Keeper.”

“Dusk Keeper?”

“Yes, I have been using him for tasks requiring the guard and he has proven invaluable so far.”

“As you wish court wizard. I will have it prepared within an hour waiting for you in the nocturnal guards training yard.”

“Good. Time is becoming preciously short.”

“I trust you will have prepared a suitable strategy for this operation?”

“I have somepony working on it right now.”

“She just happens to be extremely neurotic with a possible case of severe OCD and no military experience at all.”

The captain nodded but gave him a hard stare none the less.

“I want my guards back alive court wizard...”

“They will be.”

“I hope.”

There wasn't much else to say after that and Karon left the guard captain to his planning. As long as he got what he needed, Karon didn't really care how it was accomplished. He made his way back to Twilight's room and found Dusk Keeper and Twilight waiting for him inside, but also Feather Touch.

“What are you doing here? I told you to get the spy network going. I need to know the extent of the professors influence and power in the city.”

“I know sir and I did, but since I am the one controlling all of it I need to be somewhere where I can be easily found by the servants if they have something to report.”

“Good...good job I mean.”

The servant glowed at the praise and Twilight rolled her eyes at the scene. Dusk Keeper ignored all of it and looked ready to be charging off towards More-than Tardy himself at any moment. He was angry and it showed.

“Okay everpony, we will be leaving within one hour. I have acquired us a few guards so we won't be going in alone thankfully. Feather before I leave I need to eat something or I will pass out soon.”

“Of course sir I am so terribly sorry! I should have realized you must be starved. Oh I will get you something right away!” She looked distraught at the perceived failure in her duties and the earlier pride was gone with the blink of an eye.

She almost ran out of the room but Karon managed to catch her before she did and whispered to her.

“I need you to get me something else too.”

“Whatever you need sir.” She whispered back.

He gave her some additional instructions and her eyes widened when she heard what he wanted, but as always she obeyed without question and ran off towards the kitchen. Karon turned back to the room and closed the door after her. Twilight and Dusk Keeper obviously both had something important on their minds judging by their faces.

“I take it you have something you want to talk about?”

Dusk Keeper and Twilight looked at each other, then away. Apparently it was also something they wished to discuss in private.

“Fine, Twilight you're up.”

“What?”

“Come over here to me and start talking.”

She looked less than pleased at the way he put it but right now Karon's nerves were beginning to stand on their edges. They were balancing on the sharpened end of a knife and had been since the start of this game.

And now they were planning an attack on More-than Tardy's base? What exactly did he imagine he would find?

“That's a good question.”

“Well if we find the professor inside we could kill him then and there along with the core of his organization.”

“And if not?”

“Then information will suffice, anything that will give us a sense of the scope of his influence and what exactly he is planning. Most of all I need to know how the hell he thinks he will gain enough power to challenge the princesses.”

“It would be interesting if we could gain that power for ourselves...”

“Well it would be a suitable reward for protecting Equestria so valiantly as we have.”

“Exactly.”

Suddenly this assault didn't seem that bad after all. But that reminded him. His tussle with those nocturnal guards had demonstrated plainly he didn't have enough power to match the situations he constantly found himself in.

And since he definitely didn't have time right now to train his abilities further, he would have to find a way to cheat. What's more, he had the perfect idea. It was just a bit...risky.

But his thought was interrupted by Twilight as she strode over to him and looked up in his eyes. She almost seemed frightened. Which was strange, Karon hadn't seen her afraid of anything besides perhaps failing in her duties to the princess.

“Karon, what is it we are going to do once inside the factory?”

“Fight More-than Tardy's little minions and get to wherever he has his archives or paperwork or whatever. The kind of empire he has built up doesn't work without paperwork, it is inevitable.”

“When you say fight...”

Now he understood what she was worried about.

“Twilight how about this. You will give the rest of us magical assistance and help with shield, locks or other such things and we will deal with the professors thugs inside.”

“How?”

He sighed. “With whatever means necessary.”

“I'm frightened Karon.”

“You'll be safe, you have faced worse than a few criminal ponies before.”

“I'm not afraid of them, I'm afraid what might happen to you if you...”

“I have killed things before Twilight.”

She took an involuntary step back from him but didn't move her eyes away from his.

“Ponies?”

“Not before tonight no.”

“So you ARE planning to kill somepony tonight.”

“It is either that or somepony will kill me tonight.”

“You can't know that!”

“I can. Conflict is a part of life Twilight. You might not see it much inside a library but that doesn't make it any less true. You can try and banish it to the moon or keep it contained to a scary dark forest but it is fruitless because life feeds on life. Do you really think it is so different to eat plants rather than meat? The difference between a herbivore and a carnivore isn't that of an innocent and a killer. It is specialization of what life you devour. Make no mistake, it is life all the same.”

“Perhaps that is true but that doesn't mean you can talk about killing other ponies like you are right now. Like it means nothing.”

“It does mean a lot, but not that it is right or wrong. It is just a difference of opinions and the strongest one of us will live. You can read whatever you want into that.”

“It doesn't have to be like that, you could try and talk to them.”

“You are free to try Twilight, but you don't understand what you are facing.”

“And how come you do?”

“I understand them because a part of me is like them. Don't worry Twilight, I will make sure your innocent soul remains the untouched white it is. The blood of whoever gets in our way can stain mine. I doubt it will make much of a difference.”

“Karon...I can't do it.”

“How can one understand death if you have never been faced with it?”

“I thought we left Ponyville to avoid ruining their innocence. Let her be.”

“But how can I just let her stand there in her innocence, so blind to the darker side of the world and her own self.”

“It has brought no joy to know those parts to us. She is not our student she is Celestia's, and the princess will let her know such things when the time is right. Let her learn the lesson of friendship. We're the one that have darker lessons to experience.”

“I know Twilight...”

He went down on one knee and gave her a reassuring kiss on her forehead.

“...That's why you have creatures like me. Just watch our backs and we will take care of the rest.”

“That certainly ended the conversation.”

He rose up from his kneeling stance and walked over to Dusk Keeper. There was nothing further that could be said to Twilight anyway. Her innocent and happy world was not his.

“So what do you have to say then?”

“More-than Tardy is mine.” The stallion almost growled.

“Aren't we blood thirsty tonight. Why the anger?”

“He killed my friend, I'm not letting him get off easy.”

“Which means?”

“He will either spend the rest of his life rotting in a dark hole in the dungeons or he doesn't live at all.”

“I thought ponies were supposed to be sunshine and happy colors.”

“Ponies like More-than Tardy doesn't deserve mercy. It's one thing if a poor hungry mare decides to steal a shipment of apples but the things I heard about M. The things he's done...he doesn't belong here. I don't know what that black-hearted bastard is but a pony he is not. No pony would ever do the things he's done.”

“So this is more than just duty to Equestria and the princesses for you?”

“Yeah, it's more than that.”

“I take it he was a good friend?”

“We were in the guard together.”

“Please don't tell me he was your partner or something, that would be so lame.”

“What!? No, he was a good friend, I mean. But I like mares...”

Karon snorted.

“No I meant partner as in working partner. You and him out solving crimes together.”

“The city guard only work in random groups of four, we switch and work in shifts. But Steel Runner was the best friend I had. He was there when I first joined the guard and helped me settle in, showed me how things work and what you were supposed to do. He was a kind pony. Sometimes he wouldn't even arrest somepony that had committed a crime. Instead he helped them solve the reason they committed it in the first place. He was the kind of pony that wanted to know why somepony would break the law. He never could let a mystery go. It's the reason he began digging when we first began hearing the rumors about M.”

“And then he disappeared.”

“More-than Tardy made him disappear.” The stallion spat out with venom in his voice.

“So now you want revenge.”

“You don't understand it. Me and Runner were as close as family. He was like a big brother and helped me when I needed it and I helped him. Everypony in the guard loved him. He was the heart of us.”

“And the professor took it away.”

“Yes, and he needs to pay for it.”

“He will. Let's just say that no matter how tonight turns out, if More-than Tardy is there, he will be resisting arrest to his last breath...no matter what he says or does.”

Dusk Keeper looked at Karon with conflict in his eyes, he really wanted to hurt the professor obviously, but he was a guard and the duty of one had been hammered into him countless times.

Karon put a hand on his shoulder and said. “We'll decide when the time comes. Just be ready for whatever is waiting for us.”

“Count on it.” The stallion answered with iron hard resolve in his eyes.

“Good, now that that is taken care of...”

“Oh you must be joking. That is the worst idea since...well last night but still.”

“It would help us immensely.”

“I know but Celestia would be furious.”

“She doesn't need to know, it is kinda important she doesn't discover us actually.”

“Fine I'll give it a try since she should be asleep about now.”

“Excellent! Hurry, we need to be done within the hour.”

“Twilight, Dusk, I will be attending an errand. If Feather Touch returns here tell her to meet me with the rest of you at the nocturnal guards training yard. We will have a balloon waiting for us there.”

“What exactly are you doing now?” Twilight asked.

“Just making preparations.”

Giving no further answer Karon disappeared out the door and closed it shut behind him. Leaving the two ponies worrying what he might be up to now.

                            ************************************************

Captain Nightchill stood waiting with six of his night guards before the prepared hot air-balloon. He was soon joined by princess Celestias personal protege Twilight Sparkle and his own recent protege, Dusk Keeper. Plus a servant which he did not recognize levitating a tray and an unknown bundle of cloth.

They spoke little besides exchanging greetings and Dusk Keeper making a short report, doing his best to be truthful without revealing too much as Karon had instructed. Since this was the court wizard's operation he had the authority for the moment.

Karon himself finally arrived after the appointed hour and seemed to be casting furtive glances behind him. As if he was trying to make sure somepony wasn't following him. Something that immediately made Twilight suspicious, whatever the human had done couldn’t be good.

“Where have you been? We were supposed to have already taken off.”

“Making preparations as I said. Feather do you have my food?”

She levitated the tray to him and he took it gratefully. Inside was a plate of vegetables, steamed fish and a bowl of water. He tore into it while ignoring the surrounded ponies and only acknowledged their existence after he was finished.

“Very well then, it's time to get moving. I will brief our...new...guard...”

“There is something familiar about those guards.”

There were six of them in total and they all had the same kind of appearance. Light gray coat and sand colored eyes with only a few slight differences in form separating them, but all of them also looked extremely nervous as he was inspecting them, trying to avoid meeting his eyes.

Then it struck him and he turned to the guard captain who was smiling his frosty smile again.

“That motherfucker!”

“Those are the guards that attacked me!”

“Captain Nightchill, could I have a word with you?”

“I doubt you have time for needless chit chat since you informed me you were running out of time and needed this to be done quickly. These are the best candidates for the job you described and I am certain they will perform splendidly.”

Karon drew a deep angry breath and tried to steady the rising tension in the group. By now the guards seemed to have caught on to the fact the court wizard was aware they had been behind his attack. They were all staring at him wide eyed, waiting for him to order their imprisonment or some other punishment.

Instead Karon drew another deep breath and growled as he released it.

“Get in the balloon, I'll explain what were up to on the way.”

The guards didn't question their good fortune but instead piled in as fast as they could into the wide basket they would all be flying in. The captain made a small satisfied nod before addressing them all.

“Good luck with whatever you're doing, and make sure my guards return alive.”

“We'll see what happens.” Karon muttered and waved a hand angrily in dismissal towards the stallion. The captain left after that and Karon turned to Feather Touch, making note of the bundle she was still levitating.

“Is that what I asked for?”

She nodded and it looked like she gulped when he took the bundle and opened it carefully. He nodded to himself when he checked the contents and put it in one of the bigger pockets inside his robe before somepony could see what it was.

On his back he also carried a small bag with unknown contents and when he walked to the balloon clinking sounds could be heard from within it. Twilight took a good look at it and noticed that the bag was made out of a very thick material and was sealed shut tightly.

She was going to ask what was inside before she thought better of it. At most she would just receive an evasive and infuriating answer anyway. So she joined Dusk Keeper in boarding the balloon and once everypony was inside one of the guards pulled a cord and a flame sputtered to life, making the balloon rise up into the air.

Down on the ground Feather Touch remained and waved them off until they were nothing more than a tiny dot in the night sky, occasionally lit up by a tiny flame.

The basket they were all standing in was big, but despite that there was little room left after all of them had boarded.  That didn't stop the guards from keeping as far away from Karon as possible though and the human thought he needed to take care of that.

He would perhaps not shed any tears should all of them die during the operation but he needed them focused since his own hide and that of Dusk Keeper and Twilight might depend on it. Besides, Nightchill wanted them back alive and Karon would never ever dream of making an enemy out of the stone cold captain.

“Okay everypony listen carefully. We are heading to Cloudsdale, the factory responsible for the production of dreams specifically. A criminal master mind is using this place as a cover for a secret base from which all his operations are monitored. Or so we believe anyway. What we are going to do is sneak into this factory and find whatever hidden caches of information there are. We don't know the extent of the masterminds forces, but we can expect the place to be guarded. I don't care if you subdue or kill them. What is important is that we get the information we need or Equestria will take a turn for the worst.”

The guards didn't look entirely convinced things were that serious, to them it sounded like a standard raid on a band of thugs. Karon needed to motivate them somehow.

“They are after the princesses, and worst of all is that according to the information we have gathered so far this mastermind, a unicorn known as 'M', might actually succeed. He is planning some way to gain enough power to kill Luna and Celestia and seize the throne. I have been tasked to deal with him and now you are tasked to aid me in this. Do you think you are up for it!?”

The last part he voiced loudly and in response all the guards pounded a hoof against their dark armor. A raid on a pair of thugs was one thing, but stopping a serious threat against the princess they were sworn to protect with their life.

That was different.

“Military, so easy to manipulate.”

“Of course. They're trained to obey after all.”

“But I don't like the irony of relying on the guards that almost killed me for safety.”

“Just use what you got, we can't be picky at the moment.”

Karon growled internally but he knew there was nothing he could do about it at this point. All six of the guards were earth ponies which meant Twilight would need to cast her spell on all of them. He hoped she would be up for it.

“Twilight here will cast a spell on all of us that will allow you to walk on clouds like a pegasus would. On me she will cast a spell giving temporary wings so we can have some air support since the likelihood of running into pegasi is as high as it gets.”

He turned to the one controlling the balloon and asked. “When will we arrive?”

“In seven to eight hours...sir.”

“It will be in the early morning then and the factory will be empty of all civilians and ponies not associated with M. So don't hesitate when we run into resistance.”

None of the guards looked to have problem with those instructions but Twilight looked mildly nauseous. Being an element of harmony doesn't usually involve bloodshed. Karon briefly considered trying to comfort her somehow but for some reason he didn't. Instead he sat down in the basket and pulled his robe a little tighter around himself.

One by one most of the ponies followed his lead and sat down for some rest, a few of them even fell asleep listening to the steady wind that blew by them. It gradually got colder as time passed but not so much that it got unbearable.

But it was enough to instill some life in Karon again and he stood up and allowed the chill air to fill his lungs. He exhaled slowly and watched the distant land down below slowly pass them by. When he looked towards the direction they were going he could see Cloudsdale in the distance. He walked over to the pony steering and asked in a quiet tone.

“How much longer?”

“One hour, maybe a little more. Do you want me to settle down in the outskirt or do you want to go all the way to the factory?”

“Set us down as fast as possible. I think it's best if we approach on foot. I mean hoof. This is a pegasus city and they will have prepared for air-assaults as well.”

The stallion nodded and shifted his eyes uncertainly between the distant city and Karon. Obviously still having difficulty accepting the human was just letting their attack on him slide.

“Necessity does not compromise.”

“Doesn't mean I still wouldn't like to see one or two of them fall off and hit the ground.”

When the city had come close enough to be but minutes away Karon turned to the half sleeping Twilight and spoke.

“Twilight, it's time.”

She rapidly blinked a few times and stifled a yawn. She went over to the side of the basket they were riding in and watched the approaching city grow in size. She observed it for a few seconds before she turned around with a look of concentration on her face and her horn began to glow.

The glow intensified until it started to shine white in the center and with a soundless explosion the light leapt out and enveloped all the ponies including herself. There was no visible difference on any one of them and Karon felt a bit worried, the only way to be sure it had worked would be to test it.

And that meant stepping unto a cloud they would fall right through if it didn't work.

“Just great. Make sure it is one of those generic guards we got to borrow that experiments with it. If we lose one we have five more just like it after all.”

“Tempting.”

“Did it work?” One of the guards asked unsure, his unconvinced tone was mirrored in the murmuring of his fellow guards.

“Of course it did! I've performed the cloud walking spell before you know.”

“I trust Twilight's expertise, if she says it works then it does.” Karon stated sternly. He couldn't get one of them to test it out unless he sounded confident about it, but Twilight looked at him surprised and also more than a little pleased he had given her a compliment. Seizing the opportunity Karon spoke directly to her.

“Twilight are you ready cast the wing spell?”

“Maybe we should wait until the rest of us are down on the clouds. Last time I did that spell it kinda...exploded. We wouldn't want to get thrown out of the balloon without anything below would we?”

Every pony and the lone human in the basket all nodded eagerly in agreement.

So they waited until the balloon reached Cloudsdale and Dusk Keeper was the first one to brave the reliability of Twilight's spell. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before jumping out of the basket and down to the cloud below.

His landing made some of the cloud stir like dust and billowed out from under his hooves but most of it remained static and allowed him to stand like it was solid ground. Dusk Keeper opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief when he realized he was safe and motioned for the rest of them to come down.

One by one the guards jumped out of the balloon with Twilight being the last one. Karon remained in it since he would fall right through the clouds until he had wings and waited for Twilight to begin working her spell.

Down on the cloud her horn began to glow once more with its usual purple aura and gradually began shining brighter and brighter. For a moment Karon was worried somepony would spot them, they were supposed to do this mostly unseen by anypony after all. However, he didn't have time to consider that risk any further before the light of Twilight's spell was released and flew straight into him and created a vortex flowing around him.

It slowly lifted him up in the air and he felt how the energy of the vortex was melting into him as he rose inch by inch from the basket floor. With a great flash and a shock wave that echoed out from his center the entire balloon shook and Karon fell down.

He groggily rubbed his eyes and the world came into focus again. But, something was different, like there were new muscles stretching out from his back. It felt strange to say the least and he tried, for lack of a better words, to move them.

In response a fluttering sound could be heard, a gentle whooshing of wind that signaled that the spell seemed to have worked. Karon frowned in concentration and tried to make himself rise up into the air.

The wings behind him reacted to his commands but it was uncertain and twitchy movements. After a few second the fluttering sounds increased in speed until it sounded like someone was using a drill on his back. But rise he did, then he dropped down a bit, then he rose again.

He rose and fell again in a steady rhythm, but it was good enough, and with a grunt of exertion he forced the wings to beat even faster for a moment. Carrying him over the basket and down towards the cloud.

He imagined himself descending towards them looking like a dark angel or perhaps he had gained some awesome looking dragon like wings? Either way he smirked as his new wings carried him down towards the waiting ponies.

To Karon's great surprise neither of them looked suitably impressed. Instead it looked like they were trying to contain an urge to laugh out loud. Karon frowned and when his feet touched the cloud, white mist swirling around them, he asked them annoyed.

“What are you smiling at?”

Twilight forced her mouth into a thin line but the corners of her mouth still twitched upwards despite her efforts.

“Oh nothing.” Dusk Keeper said. “You just look very pretty.”

It was more than either of the ponies gathered could take and all of them fell down laughing loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. Even Twilight giggled loudly at the sight before her.

A suspicion started to grow in Karon and he went over to a pool of water collected for some unknown reason nearby. When he looked down on it and saw his reflection he closed his eyes and tried to take a calming breath.

“Twilight...”

“Yes Karon.”

“I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING PIXIE!” He shouted angrily and to his great shame his transparent butterfly like wings twitched in response to demonstrate his anger. Which of course only made the ponies laugh all the harder.

The moon was full and provided enough light for Karon's wing to be fully visible. They had a semi-transparent quality and light green patterns flowed over them in a bad attempt at camouflage. From the look of them, Karon couldn't believe that the flimsy constructs had actually been able to carry him down safely without breaking.

“Twilight! This won't work, they will snap in half if I do anything else besides floating down a few meters.”

Twilight finished her giggling session and wiped a few tears that had gathered from her eyes. Karon might have missed it but the atmosphere between the ponies had been very tense for the entire ride. None of them knew what was waiting inside the factory and all of them also had personal conflicts raging inside.

The sight of the scowling human wearing a pretty pair of faery wings was exactly the comic relief they had all needed.

“They will work perfectly, my spells never fail.”

“So you say.” Karon grumbled unconvinced, things were just growing worse by the minute. First the guards he had planned to use as meat shields turn out to be the ones responsible for attacking him and he can NOT allow them to die. If he does the captain will probably kill him with one glare, and now the promise of being able to fly comes with wings that makes him look like Tinker Bell's long lost cousin.

Celestia better appreciate what he is doing here.

“Fine I'll have to make do. Listen up everypony! We will make our way to the dream making factory and find a way inside. The ponies within will be the kind that are fully in support of putting an insane power hungry sadist on Equestria's throne. No need to be lenient, and I don't care about what the standard rules of engagement is for these kind of situations. We need to get the information inside at any cost, do you understand me?”

Dusk Keeper and the six other guard ponies banged a hoof against their armor once more, their form of salute Karon guessed, but Twilight still stood uncertain. She wanted to help but...not like this.

“Twilight you will be responsible for using your magic to disarm whatever traps that might be around and find any other kind of unicorn magic M might have set up. I will try and provide some kind of cover from the air and attack from above if we run into trouble. But this isn't a battle we're walking into. I want things to go fast and silent. If you can take somepony prisoner...I have magic that will let me interrogate them, but if there is any danger of any kind of alarm being raised...kill them or knock them out before they have a chance of doing so.”

Twilight flinched at the word kill but the guards just responded with another pounding on their armor and solemn looks.

Karon looked at each one in turn and for a brief moment wondered what the hell he was doing. Then the moment passed and he motioned for somepony that knew the way to take the lead. They all filed in behind Dusk Keeper and began moving towards the factory of dreams.

Not all of them would return from there.

Chapter 28: The dreaded plan B

The night wind blew by silently, and in its wake the outer layers of buildings around the group swirled. It reminded Karon a little bit of the ghost mist in the Everfree forest, but this was nothing but ordinary clouds held together by the natural flows of magic pervading all of the Equestrian world.

Some of the effects that brought were advantageous. The clouds had enough density to allow the ponies and human to walk on the cloud, but sounds were muffled making it far easier to silently sneak towards the factory than it would have been on ordinary ground.

Dusk Keeper had led the way through strange archways, rolling hills and vaguely romanesque buildings. It was obvious by even the shallowest of glances that the city was designed for those with the ability to fly.

Open areas and wide gateways filled the cloud city and wherever you looked there seemed to be little in the way of walls or doors to hinder freedom of movement. Of course, it was a simple thing for a pegasus to take a piece of cloud and make a door out of it, but it was equally as simple for another pegasus to take it away. The city was not built with security or suspicion in mind.

In Cloudsdale ponies trusted each other, like they did in most pony cities or villages, and it was that very mindset More-than Tardy had relied on. After having spent half a year now in Equestria, it had been made clear to Karon that the ponies considered threats and 'evil' to be an outside danger.

It was the scary thing in the distant forests or mountains, or the creeping darkness in caves and deep waters. They never imagined it could be something hiding within. Something that would be clever enough to hide in anything as ridiculous as a factory making pastries.

They were all lucky that Celestia was wise and cunning enough to understand the enemies her ponies faced, and of course they were also lucky that a mischievous dark god had decided to dump Karon in their world.

The human in question and his pony companions halted behind a small hill and scouted the looming factory before them. It was different from the way humans built their factories, which were sturdy and without unneeded shapes. The dream factory was different. It was a basic parabolic shape from which several towers soared up and archways stretched from the wall and joined to other buildings creating bridges that led everywhere. Not that the pegasi needed bridges.

“Is this it?” Karon whispered quietly to Dusk Keeper and got a nod in affirmative. Karon glanced over at the other ponies and saw that they all looked focused and ready for the mission. Even Twilight had left her fears behind in exchange for a look of analytic attentiveness.

Her eyes roamed over the entire structure and took in every detail carefully. When she appeared to be done she gave Karon a stare that needed no spoken words to be understood. It was a big place and a stealthy strategy would only work for so long until they were discovered.

They would need a prisoner to interrogate.

“Okay everypony. We're here and we have a job to do. I want you keep your eyes open for any pony that looks important or of a higher rank than just the front line thugs the place will be crawling with. We need a pony to guide us to where we can find our needed information. Does everypony understand?”

Seven ponies pounded their armor slowly and Twilight gave a determined nod. Karon waved them forward, and they darted silently towards the factory as the human's wings began beating until he took to the air.

He rose higher and higher until he reached enough of a vantage point to watch how the ponies down below made their way to the target, keeping to the shadows. There were no visible guards posted on the outside as far as Karon could see, there wasn't even a gate or door barring entrance into the structure. He flew forward, still a bit shakily, and landed on a small outcrop sticking out from the factory and scanned the ground below.

He couldn't see any hidden guards at all, which meant that their attention was focused on the inside. Karon considered what the best course of action would be and decided on a new one. When the ponies below reached the entrance and looked up at him, waiting for him to come down, he stretched out his mind and connected to Twilight's.

“Twilight I want you and the rest to head on inside, make your way up towards me from whatever factory floor they have. If there are a lot of thugs or traps you run into keep them busy and I will hit them from behind while you act as a distraction. I'm counting on your magic to keep the rest safe.”

“Understood.”

Her voice rang back, and she told the others what their new instructions were before heading inside. Karon hoped it was good enough of a plan but it was impossible to truly say. More-than Tardy was smart, he wouldn't have ignored the possibility that there could be a both ground and air based assault.

It was all he could do at the moment, but no pegasus could veil themselves in invisibility, so he still had an advantage.

His wings fluttered and took him into the building through the closest window. It was darker inside, but the white of the clouds made everything visible despite the low light conditions. Karon looked around the hallway he found himself in and decided on a random path to see what he could find.

The sound of his footsteps could barely be heard, but the same went for any hoofsteps coming from the guards that must surely be lurking around. Which was why Karon sneaked forward as carefully as he could, his ears and eyes searching for any other signs of life.

And so it went for ten minutes, then twenty, then fifty. When nearly an hour of creeping through corridors and inspecting rooms had passed without a sign of any other ponies, Karon had grown increasingly annoyed.

“Where the hell is everypony supposed to be?”

“We should find the others and see if they've found anything.”

It was a better than wandering aimlessly through empty corridors, so Karon tried to find a way to get down to the factory floor. It was in a stairwell hopefully leading him there he first encountered the first sign of life within.

Unfortunately it was one of the nocturnal guards.

Karon barely avoided blasting him with electricity, and was irritated to have his hope of taking a prisoner dashed. However, that was only until the guard informed him they had found a group of tough looking ponies on the ground floor and had them restrained, waiting for Karon's orders.

It was music to his ears, so Karon ushered the guard to lead the way and five minutes later they came out into a grand open space. Boxes stood lined against the walls, and in the center of the room were several large cylindrical ovens with tables strewn around and barrels of ingredients close by.

Next to one of the tables Twilight, Dusk and five guard ponies stood watch over three other ponies. Three of the guards had their hooves placed on the captives necks, restraining them from doing anything stupid. Karon and the guard hurried over to the group.

“They were just sitting here when we entered, but when they saw us the attacked without any questions. We've tried to question them but they've refused to say anything.”

Twilight said and looked down on the prisoners with a mixture of anger and pity.

“They will answer my questions.” Karon stated with an ice cold voice that demanded the attention of all three captives.

They were pegasi, all of them, and looked more hardened than ponies usually did. The dark made it more difficult to see what colors their coat and mane were, but they were all heavily muscled in a stereotypical thug-for-hire kind of way. They looked up at Karon as best they could while the guards hooves still pushed down on their necks and stared defiantly.

In truth breaking into someones mind was dangerous, it was their mind after all. If their will was strong or they just happened to be very imaginative then they could keep Karon at bay forever. He doubted any one of these brutes were particularly gifted mentality, but all minds had automatic defenses protecting it. Theirs would be no exception.

It would be easier to try deception at first. He kneeled down in front of them and tried his best to sound intimidating.

“I want to know where M is keeping all of his records and information, and anything else you can tell me. Lay-out of the place, if there are any important ponies here and so on.”

“We have no idea what you're talking about. We're just innocent ponies that decided to hang around after work and play some cards.”

It was the middle one that replied, and his voice was as insincere as was possible, he didn't even try to hide that he was lying.

“He must think this is just a standard investigation playing by the rules.”

“Maybe you should show him otherwise.”

Karon brought his right hand down before the pegasus that had spoken's face. It looked surprised until sparks started to erupt from Karon's palm in steady pulses. The pegasu's eyes widened and he began to squirm, but the guards hold was unrelenting.

“Either you start talking or I will began a little session of shock therapy.”

“That's against the law!” The pegasus to the left shouted loudly with rising panic in his voice.

Karon had no idea if that was true or not. It's not like he actually had checked up on what was illegal in Equestria, but it sounded reasonable so he accepted the information and filed it away for later.

“Yes it is. How fortunate then that none of us are actually here...and when somepony discovers your charred corpses tomorrow there will be no suspects to look for.”

All three of them started squirming even more, and in their eyes Karon saw the raging conflict between their fear of their employer and their new fear of Karon warred. He needed something to push the odds in his favor.

He grabbed hold of the middle pony's mane, which he was still kneeling in front of, and twisted his head to the side. The pegasu's eyes flickered fearfully around before he was forced to meet Karon's gaze.

Emotions are simple in their essence. They are generated energy taking different forms depending on what plane you are looking into. You have the basic chemical agents coursing through the blood stream on the physical plane and on the astral you have the purely energy based clouds of emotions. Thing is, energy reacts differently to energy depending on what type or form it is composed of, and emotional energy, that is magnetic. If you have a little generated fear from the stimuli the brain received, then all that is needed is a little push for the flood-dams to open and mind numbing terror to take hold.

It is the same principle that love potions, love spells and other such magic is based on. You can't create or impart emotions into another being, but you can either create a string of data that naturally makes the being react with a specific emotion, or you can simply encourage one that is already there, and every creature has more or less every emotion possible within their heart somewhere.

Finding the pegasus' fear was easy. It was practically shining out of his eyes after all.

Karon reached out to the ponies aura. It was flickering like a candle's flame in the wind, fear erupting in sparks sending streaming patterns coursing through his entire being. From the lowest of bodily flesh to the highest corners within his soul fear infested him as the pony was trapped between two equally frightening beings. One wanted his silence, the other wanted him to talk.

Karon was fine with letting it come out along a lot of screaming if need be.

He found the heart of the pony and forced his will upon it, encouraging the fear the pegasus felt for Karon and lessening the one he felt for M. It was easy, like blowing air into the dying embers of a fire and watch as it erupted into flames once more.

The pegasus' eyes widened beyond belief and several muscles in his face started to spasm. He opened his mouth but no sound came out except that of a trembling breathing. Karon watched as the pony's terror increased by the minute, replacing rational thought and shutting down all higher brain functions. It seemed like barely any time at all had passed before the pegasus was no more than an animal frozen in fear.

He hadn't meant for it to go this far, but the stallion already had a lot of fear in his heart. More-than Tardy had made sure his followers would not betray him lightly, but he hadn't counted on facing off against someone almost as ruthless as he.

Almost...

The poor pegasus' mind broke and with a shrill wail of utter terror he threw off the guard holding him down and raced towards the entrance. He soared through the air with speed even Rainbow Dash would find impressive. However Karon still had a firm connection to the stallion and he cut off his connection to Equestria like he had with Dash.

The stallion didn't stop screaming and barely stopped at all as he fell down to the ground, his wings unable to work anymore. The guard that had been restraining him rushed after the fleeing pegasus together with one of his comrades. They managed to catch him before he escaped and dragged the screaming pegasus back.

“Shut him up.” Karon said and to his surprise his voice didn't tremble at all. It was steady, cold, demanding. The guards responded by shoving the stallions face down into the clouds ground and the screams instantly became muffled and distant.

Karon felt sick inside. He hadn't meant to push the pony quite that far. His mind had snapped. It would take years to recover from it, or maybe he never would. However, even though Karon's attempt at getting the prisoner to talk was a failure, it had worked in a different way.

“We'll talk! Just don't do anything more to us!” The pegasus on the right shouted. Karon was surprised when he heard the feminine voice and realized it had been a mare.

“Start talking.” He responded and swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat. From behind him the muffled screams of the insane pegasus could still be heard.

“The oven! There's a lever in the oven! We're supposed to guard it and make sure no pony gets into the base.”

“Which is?”

“Down below. They've hollowed out the cloud underneath the factory.”

“Good. Are there any traps, guards or anything else we should know of?”

“There are guards down there. I don't know how many! I don't know anything about traps.”

“Is M down there?”

“No, he never goes here. He's got some place over in Canterlot, but he has somepony else down there taking care of business for him.”

“Who?”

“I don't know, I promise! It's a unicorn, we just call him boss.”

“What exactly are M's plans for this place.”

“I don't know! I just know this is where most of his crew is. He's only got a few spies over in Canterlot and a few soldiers.”

“Soldiers?”

“That's what boss calls them! Some badflanks they're training like the royal guards are trained.”

That sent a chill down Karon's spine. That most likely meant they had somepony within the guard or they were training their 'soldiers' to infiltrate the guard later on. Either way they had access to somepony that knew the guards and how they worked and trained.

That could be problematic.

“So most of M's forces are here?”

“Yes!” She cried out, once she had gotten going the mare seemed more than willing to tell Karon whatever he wanted.

“How many?”

“I don't know, I swear.”

“Give me an estimate.”

“Maybe a few hundred.”

All the guards and Twilight drew in their breath sharply when that piece of news was revealed. Karon would have done the same if he hadn't been rendered both speech and breathless.

“A few...hundred.”

“Yup, he's got a fucking army waiting for his call to war.”

“We need to stop them.”

“Then we're lucky we brought a surprise with us.”

Karon felt the reassuring weight of the bag behind his back and let out the air he had been holding. He could do this, as long as they kept silent and weren't discovered. It was a shame repeating that internally did nothing to make his hands stop shaking.

“Where's that lever you mentioned?”

“Inside that oven, there is always fire burning in it so you need a unicorn to open it.”

“Are there any others right below guarding the entrance?”

“Yeah there's three more. After that I don't know.”

“Thank you for the information.”

“You'll let us go now right!?”

The mare's voice was both hopeful and despairing, every eye in the large room was on Karon, waiting for his orders. He turned to Dusk Keeper who was restraining the pegasus on the left and shook his head gently.

Dusk Keeper hesitated for an instant, but than he steeled himself and put all his weight on the hoof over his captives neck. A sickening crack could be heard as the pegasus neck broke and two more like it followed. Karon closed his eyes and breathed deeply, suppressing all feelings of remorse. When he opened his eyes all the guards were gathered in front of him in a line, awaiting orders with unshaken stoicism. They were warriors. They understood hard choices.

Twilight didn't.

“W-why?” She asked with a trembling voice and looked at Karon with fear and disgust written all over her face.

“If they didn't want to die they shouldn't have been preparing to kill others.”

Even to Karon the words sounded hollow, but the truth was that there was nothing good about what they had just done. It was just a practical choice, not a moral one.

She looked down on the cooling corpses at her hooves and stared at them for a moment. Then she looked back up at Karon, her emotions held restrained with the mental discipline years and years of practice had given her.

“What now?”

“We open the lever and rush the guards below. I don't think they can miss the entrance to their secret base opening, so no time for subterfuge. Just move fast and take them down immediately. We can't have them raising any kind of alarm...especially not if they're are hundreds of them down there.”

They all understood what that meant. As soon as they entered the base it would be kill or be killed. The only thing worrying Karon was Twilight. He couldn't see her killing anypony. However, she was still here despite what had happened. She wanted to help.

She walked over to the oven the now dead mare had been referring to and her horn shone as it opened. A golden glow came out from the opening and the gentle roaring of a fire could be heard. Twilight spotted the lever and with a flick of her horn turned it and jumped back quickly.

The oven began shifting to the side and revealed stairs leading down into the darkness. Karon reached into his inner pocket and felt for the item Feather had brought him before he left. When the opening beneath the oven was large enough to allow a pony through, Dusk Keeper rushed down and Karon followed after.

It was even darker down below, but the cloud was still a pearly white and three shadowy pony shapes stood out clearly against the background. Dusk Keeper rushed to one furthest away to keep him from escaping and Karon ran up to the one closest. His hand grasped the hilt of the large kitchen knife he had Feather bring him and before the shocked pony could utter a sound Karon crashed into him.

There was a sound that reminded him a lot of a squeal when Karon plunged the knife into the soft belly of the pony. He bore him down to the ground and stabbed him over and over again while he covered his mouth with the other hand. After a while Karon noticed that the pony was no longer moving or making any sounds. And the only thing that could be heard in the dark corridor was the squelching sound as his knife passed in and out of the dead flesh.

It had been mostly instinct. Karon hadn't given a thought to cutting him more precisely or lessen the creatures pain. It had been nothing but the thought of killing it before he had a chance to raise any alarm.

Karon stood back up and carefully avoided looking down on the mess he had made. When a soft purple light shone behind him he didn't turn around, he didn't want Twilight to see the blood staining his robe. Not that she needed to see, they could all smell it.

“Let's get moving.” He said and gripped the knife harder, keeping his shaking, blood-soaked hand from losing its grip.

He needed no replies and sneaked forward, the ponies following close behind him with Twilight's light illuminating the way.

Karon knew what they were doing right now was as close to suicide you could get while still being able to blame it on someone else. They were in a secret base filled to the brim with enemies and without any idea of the size or layout of the place, moving blindly forward, hoping they wouldn't accidentally bump into any greater groups of M's thugs.

Every now and then Karon would stop and take out a glowing crystal from the bag on his back and shove it hard into the cloud wall beside him. The guards didn't know what they were but when he did this for the first time Twilight had to stop herself from screaming at him. She was very familiar with Celestia's sun crystals and knew that the princess would have never given one over to Karon.

And definitely not an entire sack full of them.

However, the human led group of ponies still retained some form of luck it seemed. Instead of a maze of underground tunnels, the hidden base was just one long corridor. They passed by several openings leading into rooms every now and then, but didn't investigate beyond confirming no pony was awake and able to see them pass by.

After maybe twenty minutes of skulking through the corridor, they arrived at a larger opening leading into a grand hall of some kind. Karon stopped and shoved two crystals into either side of it before he motioned for all of them to enter slowly.

When Twilight passed through and her horn shone into the darkness it became apparent what the hall was. It was a huge training ground complete with an obstacle course and dummy dolls of ponies with spears sticking out of them.

They all sneaked forward towards the far end. Surely the boss would have his room somewhere close by? But there was something bothering Karon immensely, an itch on his back. It took a few seconds for him to realize it came from being observed by somepony.

His head snapped around and he scanned the surrounding room, but he couldn't see anypony watching him. That was until Twilight's eyes widened and pointed a hoof straight ahead. Karon turned back and saw a similar glow to Twilight's shining on the far end of the room. However unlike her purple, the glow shone with a gray color.

It showed a unicorn waiting for them, his coat a dark brown and eyes shining with the same color of his magic. It was too obvious that it was the boss, but why would he stand there like the most cliche villain ever and wait for them unless...

“It's a trap.”

“God damnit!”

Karon looked around the room but could see no other ponies hiding. That was until he turned his eyes towards the ceiling and nearly fainted. High above the group hundreds of pegasi were lazily flapping their wings and staring down on them with malicious grins.

“Oh dear.”

When the unicorn noticed Karon had realized the trap he waved them over, urging them to come forward. Karon looked back and saw how the entrance they had passed through was gone, the pegasi must have flown down silently and covered it up.

The trap was sprung.

Dread clasped Karon's heart as he made his way towards the waiting unicorn. Behind him the rest of the ponies had realized their predicament and walked tensely after him. There was nothing they could do now besides hoping their leader would find a way out of this.

But when they got close to the unicorn, Dusk Keeper ran right past Karon towards him. However he stopped what Karon had thought was a foolish attack and just stared. When the group reached Dusk Karon looked down on him confused. The stallion was just staring at the unicorn with his mouth open in shock.

“S-Steel?”

“Yes its me Duskie.”

“H-how...why?”

“Its a long and unpleasant story.”

“Let me fill in for you then.” Karon said in an annoyed tone. He had no patience for the kind of irritating B-lines the unicorn and Dusk Keeper would be exchanging in the next few minutes. The appearance of the lost pony was a surprise to him, but it was not a good one.

“The professor kidnaps Steel Runner after he gains evidence against him. He decides that a guard pony could be useful and most likely tortured him for a while. No doubt he held out for a long time, or maybe he caved at the first touch I don't care. Point is, your friend here became delirious and easily brainwashed after a while from all the pain More-than Tardy caused him. He was put in charge of training the professor's ragtag scums of society into someponies actually useful in preparation for the coup. Your former friend here is now going to give us some kind of join or die ultimatum, though it will most likely only extend to you while the rest of us will die either way. Sounds about right?” Karon finished and looked over at the unicorn.

“Excellent deduction, and yes that was mostly correct.” The unicorn answered.

“But why? I don't understand w-”

“Save your breath Dusk. Your old friend is dead. More-than Tardy killed that pony and twisted what little was left of his mind into a loyal slave.” Karon interrupted.

“I am nopony's slave!” Steel Runner spat out and anger entered his eyes for the first time. Things weren't going as he had planned. He looked into Dusk Keeper's eyes and asked calmly.

“You don't understand what M is creating here. Things will be so much better once he is in control.”

“Oh please, can anypony say craaaaazyyyyyy!” Karon mocked.

“That's enough! I was told to try and keep you alive for questioning bu-”

The unicorn didn't have time to finish before he was interrupted by a hoof from Dusk Keeper punching him straight in the face.

“TRAITOR!” The stallion roared and threw himself at his former friend. Karon was screaming inside at the idiocy of the pony as the sound of hundreds of wings began beating furiously and an entire army of pegasi launched down towards them.

There was a brief second before they reached them, and in that time Twilight had managed to erect a purple barrier around herself that several pegasi crashed down on and bounced off. Karon did the only sensible thing he could do and veiled himself in invisibility. The six guard ponies however had no magic to draw from, and even though the fought back valiantly, it was in vain.

The pegasi descended on them like a pack of piranhas and soon the guards disappeared beneath the flood of kicks, punches and stomps accompanied by a chorus of gleeful laughs. It took less than a minute before little else remained of the guards but broken bones and maimed flesh.

Karon had thrown himself down on the ground and was crawling towards where Dusk Keeper was battling Steel Runner. Perhaps calling it a battle was wrong. Dusk Keeper was not thinking properly and tried to land any kind of kick or punch on his traitor friend possible, but the unicorn was dancing around and easily avoided the rage blinded earth pony.

Karon took a look behind him and saw that Twilight was holding out strong, despite that what looked like a cloud of pegasi was covering every inch of her shield and battering down on it. Above him, pegasi were flying around trying to find the vanished human. Thankfully they stirred up so much of the lose cloud floor that it swirled without pause, hiding him from anypony that might look a little closer at the way the floor was moving.

“So what now?”

“I don't know!” He screamed and despair threatened to overwhelm him. They were trapped with an entire army of pegasi eager to tear them to pieces.

“The crystals?”

“I am not blowing up myself in some heroic sacrifice.”

“It would mean killing most of More-than Tardy's forces.”

“I don't care! I would DIE!”

“So what about plan B?”

“We don't have one!”

“Then make one up.”

“I..I..”

“Sigh, fine allow me. There is nothing we can do on our own, and Twilight will be torn apart if she lets her shield down even for an instance. And Dusk Keeper is busy being stupid.”

“You're not helping!”

“So use the crystals.”

“I'm not blowing myself up I said!”

“We don't need to release the energy and let it expand thoughtlessly, let's channel it.”

“You're...you're right. But into what? What kind of magic could I fuel with so much power? I can't send a huge storm of lightning out it would kill us all the same.”

“Yes, so how about...hmmmmm.”

“Yes?”

“I got it!”

“What do you........you can't be serious.”

“It would solve everything.”

“And we have no way to survive it!”

“I'm sure Twilight can think of something.”

“.......FUCK!”

Karon really, really wasn't interested in the plan his subconscious had cooked up but he had no other option. Twilight could only hold out for so long and Steel Runner will get tired of dodging blows soon.

Karon cursed loudly and stood up, his knife still clutched tightly in his hand and allowed the invisibility to fall off him.

“HEY DUSK KEEPER!” He screamed as loud as he could, hoping the momentary shock of seeing him appear out of nowhere would keep the pegasi from killing him. Both Dusk Keeper and Steel Runner stopped when they heard him and before the pegasi or their unicorn boss had time to react he shouted again.

“HERE!” He threw his knife over to the last remaining guard pony and watched as he grabbed it from the air. How Dusk managed to do so while using a hoof was a mystery, a pony mystery. But he did and before his former friend could do or say anything the blade was turned in his direction and Dusk Keeper plunged it deep into his eye.

The entire hall fell silent save for the sound of the pegasi's beating wings. Steel Runner had a look of surprise on his face as he stood on uncertain hooves. Then they folded beneath him and he fell down to the ground, dead.

The pegasi around all stared, then like one mind they reacted with murderous intent and swooped down to end them all. However, in the split second before they reached them Karon clasped his hand around one of the crystals in his bag and released all of it's power.

More than just that, he released ALL the crystals power, to his great delight earlier he had discovered one could link them all together.

Twenty three crystals in total, thirteen that were planted around the secret base, all erupted in a violent golden light and was channeled into the most basic spell imaginable. It was no more complex than hitting an off switch, and when that spell went off all things caught within the energy from the crystals suddenly found themselves cut off from Equestria's magical streams.

The result of this was two fold, one was that the clouds that were simultaneously held together and maintained as gas form suddenly weren't forced into their misty existence anymore. And the sudden lack of pressure that dragged all of them together turned the entire base, and a great bit of the factory, made out of clouds into water. The second result was the pegasi, without their connection to Equestria they suddenly found themselves unable to fly as their wings locked to their bodies.

Then gravity kicked in.

It all occurred within the blink of an eye. One moment they were standing within a grand training hall about to be crushed by a swarm of angry pegasi, and the next they were all falling down through a spray of water towards the cold, hard ground.

When all of them were yanked downwards so suddenly all was silent, their breath stolen from them. But as they regained their voices, the sound of over two hundred ponies screaming together in terror could be heard echoing over Equestria. The stories surrounding that incident would last for many years in Cloudsdale.

Karon had the fleeting sensation of being light as a feather and for some reason he found the deafening sound of all the wailing pegasi around him annoying. In proud defiance of their displayed terror he decided to mix it up instead, imminent death has a tendency to make you do weird things.

“I BELIEVE I CAN FLYYYYYY! I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE SKYYYYYYY!”

He screamed as loudly as he could, but was hardly able to hear himself over the shrieking of the pegasi all around him. To be honest it probably looked kinda funny from a bystanders perspective, a few hundred wet ponies dropping out of the sky like a bunch of dead bumblebees.

But after the first few seconds of falling down Karon's hysteria calmed down and rational thought entered into his mind again. He needed to find Twilight. Which was very difficult since his surroundings was cluttered with very distracting pegasi. He reached out with his mind and mentally sent out a call with as much force he could bring to bear. The view of the quickly approaching ground beneath him was quite motivating.

“TWILIGHT!?”

And to Karon's infinite relief a voice answered back inside the very agitated confines of his mind.

“Karon!? Where are you!?”

He tracked the trail the mental signal had left and briefly spotted something purple to his upper right. His wings were unresponsive just like everypony else but his couldn't fold to his body, and so Karon used them to glide through the air towards Twilight – or what he had hoped was her. Discerning color on a falling pony in the middle of the night while surrounded by hundreds of screaming pegasi is not an easy task.

He punched and pushed at all the falling ponies that got in his way. In their hysteria, they didn't even seem to notice it. Finally, after smacking yet another pegasus in the head with his fists, Karon spotted Twilight again. Her horn was glowing as she tried to cast some kind of spell that would hopefully save them.

Karon glanced down and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the ground was close enough for him to make out details. It would be a minute or less before he hit the earth below.

“TWILIGHT DO SOMETHING!” He screamed at her. He could still be barely heard, but Twilight looked over at him anyway. She gave one confident nod and her horn began to glow even stronger. When nothing seemed to happen Karon cast one last look down and finally gave into the urge to scream. And so his terror induced wail joined that of hundreds of others as the ground came closer and closer and the world disappeared in a haze of purple.

Chapter 30: Party of the century (part 2)

Inside the ballroom, the mood was quiet and pleasant, small talk was exchanged while the ponies nibbled on whatever tiny bits of food they favored. But the orderly conduct and iron hard etiquette practiced by all nobles during such events was interrupted by the sound of clinking glass.

Conversation slowly died down, and everypony turned and watched as Karon stepped up onto one of the tables. He scowled down at some of the plates laden with food, and kicked them away. Most of the assembled ponies gasped at this, and a few concerned murmurs swept over the crowd.

Karon ignored it and looked over them, then cleared his throat and spoke as loud as he could without actually shouting.

“Good evening every mare and stallion. If you are unaware of who I am, let me introduce myself. I am Karon, human and court wizard of Canterlot.”

A few more murmurs swept his audience once more, but this time it was mostly because it was expected. They all knew who he was, what they didn't know was what he was doing.

“And I must say, it absolutely terrifies me knowing that so much of Canterlot's power is in the hooves of such fine examples of inbreeding and petty rivalry. Truly, never before have I wanted to both cry and laugh as badly as when I saw you all for the poor excuses for intelligent beings that you are.”

Karon bent over and picked up a bottle of Applejack's Daniels that stood on the table, opened it, and took a swig. He grimaced and smacked his lips as the burning sensation hit his throat.

“This is good shit. Of course I ought to know, I was the one that invented it. Now, I have tried to accept you as lost causes, but really, I could only go so long before snapping. Which is why I feel the need to...expand your horizons a little.”

The atmosphere inside the ballroom grew tense, many of the nobles looked on him with varying parts outrage and nervousness. Karon bathed in it and couldn't help but smile at the thought of what was to happen next.

“And to help me in this endeavor, allow me to introduce to you all...Pinkie Pie!”

“Hello eveypony! Are you ready to paaaaarty!?!” Pinkie shouted as she popped up from behind the musicians' stand, to whom she had just given new instructions about the music. They all tapped their hooves in rhythm then began playing their new piece. It was catchy, it was happy, and it was most definitely not of the finer culture.

The quiet murmurs broke out into frantic discussions as every noble turned to those next to them for an explanation. Watching events slowly unfold with twinkling eyes, Karon counted to sixty then began the next part.

“Pinkie! These ponies seem shy, why don't you help them getting into a dancing mood.”

“Come on everypony, it's time to dance!” Pinkie announced joyfully and threw herself into the crowd. Her happy chirping was the only way to track her as she bounced from pony to pony and span them around. She jumped, skipped and twisted in ways that would have been impossible for anypony else.

And like Karon had expected, it did not take long before confused nobles stumbled around, and others tried to escape from Pinkie before they became the next target. Laughing at the sight below him, Karon took another swig and began doing a couple of improvised dance moves himself.

“I demand that you explain what you think you're doing!?” a voice shouted to him over the music. He stopped his little dance and looked down. There stood a blond maned, white coated unicorn stallion wearing what looked like a suit and bow-tie.

“And who might you be?” Karon asked smiling.

“I am Prince Blueblood! And I demand you cease this..this..”

“Foolery?” Karon added helpfully.

“...This FOOLERY!”

“Wait,” Karon said and stared down at the unicorn hard, to which the stallion responded by glancing around nervously.

“Prince Blueblood...as in the one that hurt Rarity?”

“I-I do not know who this Rarity may be, but I am sure she must only have imagined it.”

“I'm pretty sure she didn't,” Karon said and flashed a wolfish grin. But before he could do anything towards the unicorn, a voice screamed from across the room loud enough to be heard by all, even above the music.

“I will not partake in this nonsense! It is INCONCEIVABLE!”

Karon recognized the voice instantly and his grin widened as an idea entered his mind. He searched with his eyes until he spotted the blue feathers of the gryphon, then he stretched his hand out towards him while pointing the other towards Blueblood.

Energy flowed effortlessly through him, building itself up, and when he released it the magic lashed out towards the mind of his two target and latched on. Blueblood's eyes went from wide eyed fear to glossy, half sleepy ones in a moment. His mouth hung slightly agape and he shuffled drunkenly towards where the gryphon was.

Karon watched him go, completely satisfied that he had managed to exact a little revenge on Rarity's behalf. But he shook his head. He needed to stay focused, and he wasn't doing this for his own amusement. They needed the nobles away from the castle as quick as they could.

No point in tarrying.

The assembly of ponies in question were a confused, and very unamused, mass of bodies shoving and pushing against one another in an attempt to distance themselves from Pinkie who shot around like a bullet, making sure no guest escaped her dance shanghaiing.

Keeping himself to his assigned role, Karon began doing his improvised dance again and drank another mouthful. They had to believe he was just a crazy drunk and a very uncultured creature that was ruining their evening. They were born schemers, and if they even got a hint of any kind of hidden agenda they wouldn't budge an inch before they knew what was going on.

A pony decided to follow Blueblood's example, a gray earth pony with a top hat, and faced Karon with an indignant frown.

“Explain what you are doing!?” he shouted at him.

“Dancing,” Karon answered as if it was obvious.

“You call that dancing?” the stallion responded dubiously.

“HA! If you think this is bad, you should see Twilight having a go at it,” Karon answered back loudly, and was rewarded with a burst of laughter from Rose Petal across the room. The stallion only looked confused, however before he could question Karon again, the human called out to Pinkie.

“Pinkie! I think they have gotten in the mood now, time to start the real fun.”

“WOOOO!” The pink pony shouted in reply and jumped up unto one of the tables, the gathered ponies stopped moving and even the musicians stopped playing. All of them froze, awaiting what terror the hyperactive pony would unleash on them next.

“FOOOOOOOD FIGHT!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lunges and began hurling pastries, snacks and assorted food stuff with almost military precision out into the crowd.

Barely had the first pony fallen from a cupcake to the face before the entire crowd erupted into panic. Disorder reigned as everypony tried to save themselves from the merciless barrage. Frosting and fillings of all possible colors splattered the floor and surrounding ponies.

Shrieks of fear, surprise and confusion bounced around the marble hallways and half of Canterlot must have heard it. And standing in the middle of it all, above it all, was Karon. Laughing hysterically to the point that tears were gathering in his eyes, and that he had to clutch the side of his stomach to keep his balance.

“Hahahaha, hit them with the cakes Pinkie!” he managed to get out between the laughter, which only increased when she complied and launched a chocolate cake straight into the face of a pegasus mare.

Clusters of ponies fled from the ballroom, but many remained because they couldn't get through the wall of ponies blocking the exit in their eagerness to get out. A few had even taken shelter behind tables and pillars in a vain effort to avoid becoming a target for Pinkie's assault.

“Hahahaha, get them Pinkie! Show them how to have a little fun.”

He had no idea if Pinkie actually heard him and didn't care. The sight of the nobles scurrying around in panic was beyond hilarious. But it didn't take long before his laughter sank from lighthearted belly-deep laughter to sounding more like a sinister cackling.

“Get them Pinkie! Splatter them with cake! Hit them with the muffins! Make them flee and hu-”

Karon froze as he realized what he had just been about to say.

“What just happened?”

“I don't know, I was just laughing at them and then I...I...for a moment, I wanted to hurt them.”

“Why?”

“I don't know...”

All amusement he had gained from the sight of Pinkie attacking the Canterlot elite with pastries was gone. The sudden impulse, that desire to see them scream not just in confusion and panic, but in fear and pain. It had been so strong.

He lowered himself down to the floor and leaned against the table. The nobles were still running around however their numbers were decreasing steadily. They would all be gone soon.

A deep frown graced Karon's face and his eyes were fixed on the floor. That impulse he had felt had been brief, and he had immediately caught it. But that it had even appeared, that he had even for an instant felt that way, it scared him. It made him think back to Cloudsdale for some reason, of the ground that had been coming closer and closer.

No doubt it was now littered with the corpses of the pegasi, and that knowledge brought back a memory and a feeling he couldn't quite place. It was almost like he could still feel the wind whipping at him and hear the sound of hundreds of screams so loud that it felt like his ears were going to bleed.

He had barely had time to think. An army of pegasi had been swarming like angry bees, searching for him so they could kill him. They would have murdered him, they would have murdered Dusk and they would have murdered Twilight.

“We just got to them first.”

It had been instinct almost. Kill or be killed. There wasn't anything deeply philosophical about it, it was survival, nothing more. No one and no pony could blame him for that.

But why had he felt that desire to hurt?

A triumphant shout rang out as the last noble fled the ballroom and only Karon and his friends remained.

“Friends...”

He placed a hand on the side of his head and winced. It was impossible to make anything out in the jumble of emotions and thoughts he was going through. It was all just a migraine inducing mix that made him want to cry, laugh and lash out at everything at the same time. He had no idea why, so he settled for taking another sip of the whiskey and shoving those feelings and thought deep down where he could ignore them.

This wasn't the time or place to play therapist with himself. He needed to be focused. Even with his plans disrupted, More-than Tardy would still be formidable, dangerous and ruthless.

He could quite possibly kill them. That was a thought he had no difficulty going over, and the hair on his arms stood out straight when he considered it.

Karon looked over at the ponies approaching him and his frown deepened even more, they looked ready. They appeared determined, confident and in Pinkie's case even happy. They had all faced dangers before and come out relatively unharmed, and victorious.

“Friends...”

He rubbed his face and forced himself not to grind his jaw in frustration. At least the booze helped to take the edge off of things.

“Everypony has either left or is around the castle talking about what just happened. The party is over. We can go after the professor now,” Twilight said and her jaw set in a way similar to Karon's own.

His eyes went back down to the floor, darting from side to side in contemplation. Then he let out a deep sigh and looked back up into her eyes.

“That would be a bad idea.”

“What do you mean? We talked about this, we have the nobles away and safe now, we can't let More-than Tardy reach the talisman.”

“I know, but his soldiers still have all the hostages. Even if all of the nobles aren't gathered in one convenient location for him to announce a dramatic take over at. That doesn't lessen the fact he can still control them, as long as he has those ponies he can force them to comply to all his demands.”

“That won't even matter if he gets his hooves on the talisman.”

“Friends...”

“I know, which is why I will go after him alone while you seven get the remaining guards and free the hostages.”

All of the ponies, even Fluttershy, shouted their refusal at the ridiculous idea.

“Ah know ye got yer fancy magic an all but ah don't think that'll help much against somepony like More-than Tardy,” Applejack said and the others nodded in agreement.

“Don't underestimate me. I can handle him.”

“We don't all have to go, some of us can go and save the hostages and the others can go with you,” Twilight said, it was not doubt what team she wanted to be on, despite everything that had happened.

“No, you're used to working as a team. You are all the elements after all, plus Lyra. But alone I don't think you could make that much of a difference. Sorry Lyra.”

She gave him a dirty look but didn't actually object. She had never been in a fight before. Well, unless you count that time Twilight put a spell on her doll...but nopony involved in that event ever acknowledged it had even happened.

“You can't go up against him alone,” Twilight stated firmly, she refused to even think about letting Karon go alone. Too much had happened and she was afraid what could happen if nopony was there with him.

“I will go with him,” Feather Touch announced happily as she entered into the ballroom.

Everypony blinked and Karon mimicked their surprise.

“Feather, I don't mean to be insulting but-”

“Nonsense sir, you could never insult me,” she said happily and shifted her eyes to Twilight. “There is a servant with captain Nightchill outside the castle gate right now giving them instructions on where the hostages are. If you hurry, you can catch them before they leave.”

The ponies looked torn, they knew how important it was that More-than Tardy was stopped, but they couldn't just leave the hostages. There weren't many guards left, and if the soldiers outnumbered them too much...

“Karon are you sure th-”

“I can handle him. Now go, all of you. Quickly!”

It was all the ponies needed, and all of them save Twilight turned around and galloped out into the hallway. Twilight looked at Karon with a pained expression. She knew he had power and could be clever when he wanted to. She knew there was a chance that he could defeat the professor even on his own.

She was afraid of what he would do if he did.

“I'll be fine,” he said a little softer to her, after which she gave him one last glance then galloped off after her friends. Karon watched her go then turned to Feather Touch with one raised eyebrow.

“And what exactly are you going to do to help?”

“Whatever I can sir!” she stated and looked up at him with blue eyes overflowing with optimism.

He was torn. His odds of success greatly decreased with sending the rest of the ponies away. But the fact remained that More-than Tardy was skilled and merciless, and if Feather joined him, she would be in danger. But she could be useful...

“What if I say no?”

“I'm not letting you go alone sir!” she exclaimed and her usual ocean blue eyes turned to azure rock.

“I could order you away, you would have to obey,” he said and crossed his arms.

Her lips trembled and at that moment she looked only small and pitiful.

“Please don't,” she asked simply.

“Fine, you can come. Try not to get in the way,” he said and muttered something about women under his breath.

“Of course not sir!” she exclaimed and smiled broadly.

“Let's get moving then. We don't want to be late for this. Lead us to the archives' lower level,” he instructed and followed close after her. She might just be a servant, but she was still a unicorn, she could use magic.

She could be useful.

                        ****************************************************

Twilight caught up to the others as they reached the surrounding gardens, and together they galloped as fast as they could towards the gate. But when they reached it, there was no sign of captain Nightchill or any other of the nocturnal guards.

“Dash, can fly around and see if you can find them?” Twilight asked when they realized that the guards must have already left.

“On it!” the pegasus said and darted off into the dark night sky, a rainbow trailing after her.

“What do we do if she can't find 'em?” Applejack asked seriously.

“If we can't find out where they are going to save the hostages then we should go back and help Karon,” she stated firmly, eyes scanning the darkness for signs of Rainbow Dash returning.

“Ah dunno Twilight, Karon seemed awfully determined ta send us away.”

“Well Karon doesn't get to decide when all of Equestria might hang in the balance,” she said, her voice carrying an undertone of anger with it.

“Princess Celestia did trust him, an' ah think we should respect her wishes if she thinks it's for the best.”

“But why would he want all of us gone? What is he planning to do that he doesn't want us to see?” she asked stubbornly.

“Have you considered he perhaps just wanted us to be somewhere a little less dangerous?”

“Karon? I don't think so...” Twilight trailed off. “I...just don't know what to think of him anymore, he always was a bit volatile and unpredictable but now he just seems so much more...”

“Evil?” Applejack added softly.

“...yes,” Twilight said, she couldn't object to it, not anymore. “I just don't understand why.”

“Well, maybe he just feels confused because he doesn't know how to handle a situation where he has responsibility for someone else's safety. And maybe he doesn't understand himself, and that's why he does what he does because there are so many parts of himself that he has locked away constantly conflicting with each other. Maybe he's afraid because he's trapped in a world and a life he can't control or want to live, and whenever he tries to regain control he ends up ruining it for himself because he feels he isn't ready to let himself go. And maybe he does what he does not because he really wants to, but because he thinks that it is the way he is supposed to act because of what he is. But that would be really sad,” Pinkie finished and hung her head momentarily.

All the five ponies around her stared with odd looks on their faces. Twilight would have liked to dismiss her rambling simply as Pinkie being Pinkie, but she could have avoided a lot of trouble in the past if she had listened to what the pink pony actually said.

But if there was some grain of truth in what Pinkie had just said, it did not comfort Twilight in the least. A Karon that for some unknown reason was beginning to turn evil was one thing, but a Karon that was beginning to turn evil because he had no control over himself was something a lot scarier.

There was a swoosh of air and Rainbow Dash appeared above them in a flash of prismatic colors.

“Found them!” she announced proudly and pounded her chest once.

“Where?” Lyra asked before anypony else.

“Come on, I'll show you,” the pegasus replied and flew off, but at a much slower speed, allowing the rest of the pony gang to gallop after her.

They followed her through side streets, alleys and small parks before they finally came upon the group of guard ponies. They were perhaps twenty in total, with captain Nightchill in the front speaking to all of them. When he saw the elements come galloping towards them he stopped speaking and watched them come closer with cold eyes. The rest of the guards turned one by one and watched them as well.

Twilight and the rest slowed their pace as they got closer until they trotted up to the waiting captain and stopped.

“Twilight Sparkle, might I ask why you are here?” the captain questioned her in a polite but neutral tone.

“We have come to help with the rescue of the ponies More-than Tardy has taken hostage,” she answered steadily. Though a little out of breath from the run, a fact the guards and the captain could not help but notice.

“I assure you that the nocturnal guard are capable of handling this by themselves,” he said, and the guards around him punched their chest plate once.

“That may be so, but help could make it a lot easier and limit the chance of the hostages getting hurt,” she shot back irritated and looked the captain square in the eye. However the captain remained unimpressed.

“My guards have trained to work as a team and civilian interference will only become a hindrance once inside,” he said without changing his tone.

“Uhm, excuse me mister, I mean, captain. But would it really be a problem for us to help? We promise not to get in the way,” Fluttershy asked quietly after having summoned enough courage to speak.

The captain's ice cold gaze settled on the timid pegasus and she withered under it, hiding behind Applejack.

“The offer is noted, but the nocturnal guard will handle this on their own,” he stated firmly.

Twilight was about to object, but he noticed and spoke again before she could.

“Miss Sparkle, I have told you my decision. You have served this nation before but this is a military operation and I don't need a bunch of amateurs ruining it.”

His voice had been a lot more harsh this time and Twilight and the rest were slightly taken aback by it.

“But...” Twilight started but was interrupted again.

“Enough!” the captain shouted and his glacial eyes shone with irritation. He was not used to being disobeyed. Twilight didn't know what to say after that. Thankfully she didn't need to because Fluttershy came flying out from behind Applejack with a determined frown. She flew up to Captain Nightchill and invaded his personal space until they were almost touching noses.

“Now you listen here mister! You might be a though guard captain but that doesn't mean you can just shout at somepony when they're trying to help. My friends and I are going to go with you and we are going to help you free those poor ponies and all you are going to do is nod and say thank you. Do you understand?” she asked and stared straight into the captains eyes.

Captain Nightchill had earned his reputation fairly, and every story about him was true and very little exaggeration existed in them. He had stared gorgons, cockatrices, hydras and dragons in the eyes before without even flinching. But now he found himself staring into the blue eyes of...he didn't know what, but no pony should ever be able to stare they way she was staring at him. It was like the entire weight of the world hid behind those eyes and was now pressing down on him, crushing his determination and will.

He gulped and nodded, much to the surprise of the guards around him.

“Oh, uhm, thank you. That's very nice of you,” Fluttershy finished and shrank back into her usual self. Leaving the captain wondering if he had perhaps imagined it. But his confusion was short lived as a throat cleared at his side and a guard pony stood at attention.

“Report,” the captain said, his voice ice and steel once more.

“We scouted ahead and came upon the mansion where the enemy is keeping the hostages. They have a perimeter set up around the place with three unicorn providing magical assistance and four earth ponies going on rounds. Swift Shadow managed to fly overhead without being seen and says all the hostages are kept inside a large dining room. It is unknown how many hostiles there could be inside.”

The captain considered what he had just been told then turned to address his stallions.

“I want the earth ponies taken out fast, by air assault while our unicorns keep the enemy unicorns contained. After the earth ponies are knocked out we can remove the unicorns. We'll bind them with magic and I want three earth ponies remaining behind and guarding them. Swift Shadow will be leading the pegasi during this operation and Whispering Bell will lead the unicorns.”

He turned to face Twilight and her group.

“You seven stick with me and provide whatever assistance you can.” All seven of them nodded, content in letting the captain take the lead.

The captain punched his chest plate once and every guard pony turned around and melted into the night with the captain and the rest of the ponies right behind them. They travelled through a small forest before reaching a solitary manor. A few light flashed briefly ahead around it but died down quickly. It was unnerving watching the heavily armored guards moving in utter silence and at such speed. Perhaps they wore some kind of muffled horseshoes?

Whatever it was, its effectiveness could not be denied. Twilight and the rest had barely made it out on the surrounding lawn before the guards had subdued the soldiers keeping watch outside and had them constrained with some kind of magic taking the shape of dark robes. It had also wrapped itself around the unicorn's horns and all of them looked barely conscious.

Twilight gave the captain a questioning glance that he pointedly ignored. The guards gathered around them in a circle and waited for the captain to give new orders.

“Whispering Bell, take every unicorn adept at shadow cloaking and make your way inside. I want to know how many hostile ponies there are inside and where they are.”

A dark gray unicorn with the usual sand colored eyes of all the nocturnal guard nodded and galloped towards the mansion silently with five other unicorns following behind him. The rest remained behind and waited. Twilight and her group were nervous and impatient. They fidgeted and looked at each other repeatedly without saying anything. The guards, on the other hoof, remained still, not moving any other way besides blinking.

After what Twilight could have sworn was half the night had passed, despite that the moon had barely moved at all, the unicorns returned. They saluted the captain then began their report when he motioned them to do so with his hoof.

“There are thirty four hostile ponies inside, seven of them are unicorns and five of them are pegasi, the rest consists of earth ponies. The pegasi are all stationed upstairs in a room with a balcony, there is one unicorn with them. The rest are all in the dining room with the hostages, with the exception of nine earth ponies sleeping inside a bedroom right next to the dining hall. That is everypony we can confirm but the possibility remain that they can have planted several of their own to act as hostages themselves.”

“What's the layout?”

“Three rooms downstairs, the dining hall, a bedroom and a bathroom. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and one large room overlooking the garden with the balcony.”

The captain was quiet for a few minutes as he made a tactical assessment of the information. Then he nodded to himself once slowly and spoke quietly.

“Whispering Bell, take your team of unicorns and make ready to surprise the pegasi and the unicorn in the upstairs room. I want them out of the game quickly, the rest of us will use the front door and the windows to break into the dining hall and assault the hostile forces. I want every pegasi to go in first through the windows and surround the hostages, make sure the enemy forces can't reach or hurt them. It will be dangerous because they might concentrate entirely on you until the rest of us get through, are you up for it?”

The only response he got was a pounding on chest plate, but it was enough.

“Good, then get into position. You have two minutes then we attack,” the captain said.

The unicorns pounded their chest plates and their horns flashed for a moment. From the darkness around them shadows leapt and formed a blanket, keeping them out of sight and turning them virtually invisible in the dark night surrounding them all.

Twilight and her friends tensed up and all of them counted down from one hundred and twenty, except Pinkie Pie who was doing random equations instead. When they reached zero they looked at the captain. He raised his hoof once and pointed towards the mansion. The pegasi flew like hungry patches of darkness and in a few seconds they had crossed the lawn. With a loud crash made all the louder from the silence dominating the night the pegasi went through the windows in a rain of shards of glass and disappeared inside.

                           ********************************************************

Feather Touch led the way through the marble corridors of the castle, they walked down a spiral staircase located at the far end of the castle for quite some time before they reached what Feather announced to be the lowest level of the Canterlot archives.

Karon felt his mouth water a bit when they passed by row upon row filled with tomes and collections of notes and papers written by unicorns and even alicorns throughout history. Karon may have studied with a wizard who had power, knowledge and wisdom likely beyond what this world had seen in a long time, but that did not mean that the same could be said about himself. If left to his own devices down amongst all that knowledge...he could learn so much.

Eventually, Feather lead them to a large iron door. Large runes and symbols were inscribed in it, and Karon could feel the power radiate from them. This door had been sealed with very complex and powerful magic. The thing was, they were open.

More-than Tardy had either studied them and found a way to bypass the magical locks, or he was simply that good. Karon didn't know which he preferred.

“Okay Feather, from here I will take the lead. If we run into anything just...do something with magic.”

“Yes sir,” she said with exuberance, happy to serve in any way she could.

He glanced through carefully in case the psycho unicorn had decided to leave a few surprises, but nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. That is if you consider a ton of dark crystals growing out of every possible surface to be normal.

They walked down a path of ordinary rock. Normally it would have been just a part of the cave and barely noticeable, but against the geometric chaos of the crystals, the relatively orderly form of a straight path stuck out like a flame in a darkened room.

Despite that it should have been impossible to see, however the crystals emitted some kind of light leaving most of the cave visible, although in a gloom. Karon would have liked to ask Tia about the crystals. They had a slight resemblance to the sun crystals he had used in Cloudsdale, and he wondered if these caves were their origin.

“Sir, do you have a plan?” Feather asked, a slight trembling in her voice gave her nervousness away, despite the otherwise happy tone.

“Not really. I don't know how powerful he really is, and if he already has the talisman then we could have a real problem.”

“Won't it be too late if he already has it?” she asked, not even trying to hide her concern this time.

“Even if he gets it, I think it will take time to properly attune it to himself. Perhaps it will be a matter of minutes or days, I don't know. But I doubt Tia and Lunatic has left something as important as this unguarded. Most likely he is busy right now disarming traps or defeating guardians.”

“But what if he has already reached it, what then?”

“Then I guess the only thing left is to face him straight forward in combat, though I would prefer not to.”

“What would you prefer then sir?”

“Sneak up on him while he's busy and stab him in the back.”

“But won't he know were coming after him?”

“Yes, so managing that will be difficult.”

Feather Touch went silent for a moment, and Karon looked back to see her studying the floor intently.

“What if...what if I distract him?” She asked hesitantly.

“No, not a chance,” he said firmly. “ He knows I'm coming for him and will know I'm trying to sneak up on him if you try and distract him...and you could get hurt.”

“I know sir, but if it means keeping you safe and helping you and all of Equestria I will gladly take the risk,” she said with no small amount of passion in her voice.

Karon scrunched up his face at what she'd said. He didn't want her to get hurt, but if she was going with him she could at least be useful. Would it be worth the risk?

“Of course it will be, we ARE talking about the future of all of Equestria after all.”

“But do we really need to put her in harms way for that? Yes, she wants to help, but that doesn't have to mean using her in a way that could get her killed.”

“She choose this.”

“She choose to come with me, not to die, she just wants to help.”

“We need More-than Tardy gone, she can be used for this goal. Simple as that.”

“I don't...”

“It's worth the risk and it's worth the cost.”

Karon couldn't determine whether he was right or wrong in that. The only thing he could say for sure was that he never wanted to work for any government ever again. But she was here, so it would be stupid of him not to use her in some way.

“I'll find some way for you to be useful Feather, don't worry. But we'll see what we can do when we find him,” he stated. She didn't say anything after that and Karon remained silent as well, the only thing left now was to wait and see how things would unfold.

He just hoped he hadn’t made a mistake somewhere.

                     ********************************************************

Loud shouts of surprise could be heard and from one of the large windows upstairs and flashes of bright magic could be seen. The captain, Twilight and all the other ponies raced over the grass around the house. Some headed towards the front door while others ran towards the broken windows. They moved like one mind, reacting instantly to what the other guards around them did.

Rainbow Dash Looked up and saw one pegasus break out from the balcony room and flew outside, he stopped momentarily and scanned the scene below before turning around to flee.

“Oh no you don't!” Dash shouted and in a heartbeat shot up towards the escaping pegasus with a rainbow trailing after her. She collided with him hard in the air and both of them fell down towards the ground before righting themselves in the air once more.

Twilight lost sight of them when she and the other elements followed after the captain in through one of the windows. Inside the room was almost in complete darkness save for a few lit candles, and in the flurry of punches, kicks and magic launched the chaos was complete.

Twilight jumped to the side to allow the others through, then shut her eyes in concentration. The tip of her horn glowed purple and then launched a bright glowing orb up into the ceiling. It stuck there and spread a bright light over the entire room, illuminating everypony inside.

In the middle was a circle of pegasus guards standing around a cluster of ponies old, young, big and small. In the rest of the room complete chaos reigned. More-than Tardy's soldiers had reacted instantly as they had been trained. They had formed up in circles and were systematically guarding each others backs and bucking any guards that tried to get close. Because of this the guards couldn't flank them and now with the darkness dispelled they had lost the confusion that came with the enemy not knowing how many they faced.

But now it was apparent that they were in greater numbers, and with a renewed confidence the groups of soldiers began moving around and tried to chase down all the guards one by one. The guard tactic was based on diversion and stealth, flank them and hit them from the sides and back from darkness while the enemy was distracted.

The guards would have had a difficult time countering the soldiers' tactic, and might even have lost the battle completely if it hadn't been for the fact they had brought the elements with them.

With a “Yeehaa!” Applejack span her lasso above her head and easily caught one of the tightly formed groups of soldiers. With a twist of her neck and a step backwards powered by her strong back legs, all ten of the soldiers heads clashed together in a circle with a very audible clunk. Disoriented and hurt, the soldiers didn't have time to react before several guard ponies darted forward and delivered swift kicks to their heads, knocking them unconscious.

Twilight had chosen to take an easier route and held her head low in concentration as she levitated ten other soldiers individually and spread them apart from each other. One by one they were knocked out by the lightning swift strikes of the guards around them.

But not everything was going well. Several of the guards had been knocked out by the soldiers' group tactics and a few of them looked to have fared even worse than that. The remaining soldiers, after witnessing the fate of their comrades, had all banded together. They had formed a big cluster in a circle around their remaining unicorns, who were busy countering Twilight's magic in order to keep the cluster intact.

The group was too big and moved around to much for Applejack to use her lasso, and every attack made by the guards were beaten back with ruthless efficacy. It didn't look bright for a moment, but that was only until a certain pink pony interrupted their fighting with her loud shouting.

“Hey everypony! What's big, loud and a sure blast at every party!?”

All the soldiers and guards stopped and looked at her like she was crazy. But her friend had guessed what was coming next and had dived to the floor and covered their ears.

“THE PARTY CANNON!” she answered happily, dragged said cannon into full view and aimed straight at the center of the soldier cluster. Their eyes widened as they realized what was about to happened before Pinkie slammed her hoof down and the party cannon erupted in a loud explosion of high velocity confetti.

The blast slammed into the soldiers and threw them around like pins from a bowling ball. In the haze of colorful confetti the guards rushed in and quickly subdued the dazed soldiers and with that the battle was over.

“Do you get it? 'A blast'?” Pinkie snickered then giggled to herself.

Captain Nightchill walked up to Twilight and quietly asked.

“Does she have some kind of permit for that thing?”

She looked at the giggling Pinkie then at the cannon then back to the captain.

“Do you want to try and take it from her?” she asked with a slight smile.

The captain observed Pinkie for a moment, then he shook his head and walked over to his guards. It was time to go through the wounded. Twilight looked around at her friends and noted they were all relatively unhurt.

Fluttershy had been hiding behind a curtain, but was now busy going around and comforting the guards that had been hurt in the fight. Applejack hadn't received a scratch and neither had Pinkie, but Rarity had been busy using her magic to glamor a few of the soldiers and had received a small cut on her flank from a punch that had just scratched her.

Surprisingly enough, it was Lyra that had been hurt the most. Blood ran out in a small stream from the corner of her mouth and there were several red spots around her face and body that would no doubt turn into very nasty bruises later on. As soon as she had entered the mansion she had thrown herself straight into the thick of things, and together with the guard pegasi had helped defend the hostages, which she was now busy helping to untie.

Rainbow Dash came flying in through one of the windows and unceremoniously dumped the unconscious form of the pegasus she had pursued on the floor. She drifted over to Twilight and looked over the room with a disappointed frown.

“Ahh, I missed all of it? Couldn't you have saved at least a few for me?”

Twilight smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she considered the fact that Karon was right now hunting for More-than Tardy and only Feather Touch was with him. She didn't doubt that the unicorn was a good pony, but she hadn't seen him in Cloudsdale. Only herself and Dusk Keeper had.

Speaking of the pony, she hadn't seen him anywhere with the other guards. She was tempted to ask the captain where he was, but right now there was truly only one thing on her mind she was interested in.

Karon.

                   **************************************************************

He reached out a hand to stop Feather. Before them there was a heavy looking door made out of wood. Like the metal door leading down to the caves, this one had many symbols carved into it's surface. They glowed faintly with a golden sheen, but like the metal door this one was open as well, the magic of the symbols broken, or at least temporarily suspended.

Karon leaned forward and glanced through the open crack between the door halves. If this was the room were the talisman was contained, he would be a fool not to trap it some way. Yet despite how hard he tried Karon's magical senses not his eyes could pick up even a hint of a hidden trap. He was sensitive to energies, so he should sense them. However since he couldn't, that meant either More-than Tardy was so good that Karon virtually didn't stand a chance, or he hadn't trapped the entrance at all.

Bracing himself for a big explosion, or perhaps a vortex that would drain all life force out of him, Karon pressed his palm to one of the door halves and pushed it open.

It was an old door, and one that had seen little to no use in a long time. It screeched as it opened, and in the silent caves the noise echoed repeatedly, making sure even a deaf pony would know they were there.

Grimacing to himself Karon abandoned his attempt at stealth and just slammed both the halves wide open and marched in to the cavern room.

It was grand, carved in a circular fashion with a great dome stretched up in the ceiling. Crystals had grown out of the walls here and there and added to the alien, yet artistic, feel of the place. In the middle of the room was a great gaping maw. How deep it stretched Karon could only guess, but the darkness that covered it seemed to swallow what little light the crystals inside gave out.

There was a small bridge, barely wide enough for one pony to cross over, leading out to a small circular platform suspended above the maw in the center. There stood a small pedestal on it, and Karon could only guess that the talisman rested upon it, for blocking his view was More-than Tardy.

He stood with his back turned towards the bridge and faced Karon and Feather Touch in a confident stance. Every single part of him oozed confidence and control. Karon walked towards him with Feather touch trailing behind a few steps. He halted five meters from the unicorn and stood silent, waiting for the inevitable villain speech he would give.

It didn't come, and the silence stretched uncomfortable long, More-than Tardy stood unmoving and unresponsive. It took a few minutes before Karon realized that it was he that was supposed to begin. After all, he wasn't a hero facing a villain.

“How long have you been waiting for us?”

“Not all too long. It took careful work to unlock the gateways despite the preparations I had made.”

“So what now? I have killed almost your entire army and right now the elements of harmony are working with the remaining guard to free the hostages you have taken.”

“I expected as much, but it doesn't matter at this point. Though I must admit, I am impressed you have managed to usurp so much of the princesses' authority so quickly. I never once thought that using Twilight Sparkle was an option. Her loyalty towards princess Celestia is well known, but then again you have spent considerable time together with princess Luna, so no doubt you have managed to trick them into believing you're an ally of some kind.”

“You have no idea the tricks I have up my sleeve little unicorn,” Karon replied haughtily. His best chance right now was to act so utterly confident and superior that More-than Tardy would hesitate throwing down with him. Karon was not a face-to-face fighter, testing himself against the professor in fair combat wouldn't be the brightest of ideas.

“You have garnered quite reputation as a powerful force yes, some of it must be true if you dare to face me alone with nothing but your servant at your side.”

“Oh she's just her to sweep up your ashes.”

Despite that, the professor's air of control remained unchanged and his stance as strong as ever. However a slight contraction in the muscles around his eyes gave him away. Karon's behavior was unnerving him. He had, after all, faced an entire army and won. At least in the professors eyes, he didn't know Karon had employed a magical version of a scud missile and cheated.

All Karon needed to do was make More-than Tardy hesitate and drop his guard for an instant, maybe offer a truce or a deal. And then when the unicorn wasn't prepared, send a lightning bolt right between his eyes.

Thing is, it's hard to successfully plan treachery towards someone, or somepony, that is planning exactly the same. The professor opened his mouth as if he was about to reply, but right as Karon shifted his focus to his hearing a bolt of obsidian darkness erupted from the tip of his horn and slammed into Karon.

The spell didn't transfer a lot of kinetic energy, it merely made Karon stumble backwards a step but he still fell down on his back. The darkness clung to him like slick oil, sucking all strength and focus from him with an unrivalled hunger. He felt himself slipping from consciousness and sent out a strong pulse of mental energy. It travelled to one of the crystals growing out of the walls and was absorbed, 'bouncing' repeatedly within its facets. The darkness was meant to suck Karon's energy from him, so when a large mass of it tried to escape it left in pursuit, flying off after the field of mental energy, and then became trapped within the crystal as well.

It had happened within seconds, and it had been a gamble from Karon's part, but on the other hand, crystals were of little use besides trapping energy anyway.

He sat up and saw how More-than Tardy was halfway across the bridge. He was facing them once again and a sapphire bolt of some kind bounced off a reflective surface of energy the professor had just conjured forth. Feather had gone after him and her horn still glowed sapphire blue after having thrown the magic.

However, before she could try something different, an aura the color of winter night seized her in it's grip, lifting her up into the air and holding her over the abyss. More-than Tardy had her. Karon watched as she tried to work her magic, but the field of energy he held her within negated whatever magic she tried to use, leaving her entirely at his mercy.

And he had none.

Karon got up to his feet, slowly and carefully, doing his utmost to appear calm. He took a few steps forwards but the professor shook his head.

“That is quite far enough. You might have to power to face me in a duel but your servant does not.”

“I assume this is the moment where you gloat and make demands,” he replied and forced his voice to remain steady. Feather was looking at him with uncertain eyes, eyes that he felt he had seen before somewhere.

“Oh no need for that, my victory is all but assured now. But I will make a demand of course, since I am in such a good bargaining position.”

“Let's hear it then,” Karon said, a tremor of anger running along his tone, his eyes went between Feather and the professor.

“Either I will drop your servant, or you jump,” the unicorn said, not caring to keep the sadistic glee out of his voice or eyes.

“What!?” Karon blinked repeatedly in shock.

“You heard me quite well. You have a choice, either your friend dies, or you do. The choice is yours, of course if you choose to let her die and face me in combat you will die anyway.”

Rage was seething inside of Karon, the damned unicorn had him.

“We can't let him know that.”

“You seem awfully confident,” he told the smug pony.

“I appear to have good reason to be,” was the only answer he got. The professor began talking small steps backwards, feelings first with his hooves to make sure he didn't fall of the bridge. Karon could only watch as he got closer and closer to the talisman on the pedistal.

But...something was wrong.

It was if he suddenly finding himself in a bad fantasy novel. An ancient artifact with the power to rule the world? Kept over a gaping maw on a small platform? Only a few very non-lethal sygils guarding it? It made no sense, it was like a D&D dungeon master had a bad day and decided to steal the story from a Hollywood B-movie.

Why would the power of the sun and moon, who's celestial movement was the duty of the alicorns or the unicorns to upkeep be bound through a talisman? Had it always existed? Why would it only be possible to access those magical streams through it and it alone? It had no logic to it. Celestia and Luna weren't stupid, so why had they kept the arguably most important artifact in the entire kingdom in a barely secured room far of from their watchful eyes?

Something was very wrong.

Karon tore his eyes from Feather and set them entirely on More-than Tardy, or that was what it looked like. His eyes were directed towards him yes, but Karon stretched out his senses and focused instead on the area behind the unicorn. On the pedestal and the talisman.

There it was! A faint tremor, a vibration so delicate and strings of energy so carefully weaved together that he hadn't even noticed at first. It was built into the rock of the bridge and platform, all the strings of masterfully crafted magic joined together and went up the pedestal and joined at the talisman. Then he realized what it really was, what those string of energies meant. There was no talisman, there was only a trap.

They were standing above an abyss, on a platform of rock that would collapse as soon as somepony laid their hooves on the illusion. A trap More-than Tardy did not suspect, a trap he was now just a few more steps from activating. And when he fell down into the darkness, Feather would go with him.

“We have to stop him!”

“No we don't, if he activates the trap he will die.”

“And Feather Touch with him!”

“Yes, but he will die, it would be over.”

“I can't let Feather Touch die.”

“Why not, you had no trouble watching the guards you lead to Cloudsdale die. You knew the chance of them returning from there alive was slim at best, yet you took them with you anyway.”

That was different!”

“How so?”

“They were guard ponies, they had chosen to become protectors of Equestria. Just like everypony that followed More-than Tardy had chosen to become murderers and outlaws.”

“That's quite some hypocrisy coming from you, but even if it is true, Feather choose as well.”

“She's innocent!”

“She still made her choice.”

“She didn't chose to die. She trusts me!”

“So jump.”

“What...?”

“Jump, you heard what he said, if you jump we will die, but she will live.”

“Are you that stupid!? There is nothing to stop him from dropping her afterward anyway!”

“Yes there is. More-than Tardy is a class one egomanic, he thinks he is going to take hold of the one thing that will grant him as close to ultimate power as he dares to dream about. And he will be forcing what he thinks is his worst rival to commit suicide, he wants an audience. His ego is what will guarantee Feather's safety, she doesn't represent a real threat to him anyway. Once we jump he will put her down safe and sound so she can watch him take power, but will instead watch as he falls to his death.”

“But...I...”

“Make your choice, one has to die in order to bring More-than Tardy down. We...or Feather Touch.”

“I...”

“Hurry, he's almost there!”

Karon blinked and returned his focus to the professor, he was no more than three steps away from the illusion of the talisman. Three more steps and he would turn around and activate the trap, three more steps and he would die. But so would Feather.

“I can't make that choice!”

The professor took another step backwards, his eyes fixed on Karon, noting his increasing distress.

“Two more steps...”

“I don't want to die!”

“Then let Feather take the fall.”

“I can't.”

Cold sweat trickled down his spine and Karon's breathing only came in hurried gasps of rising panic.

“One more step then it is over!”

“No...I...”

“WAIT!” He finally shouted, his face twisted by indecision and fear. He had stretched out a hand involuntarily towards the professor as he shouted, a pure reflex. But it alone had stopped the unicorn from turning around and grasping the imagined prize.

The unicorn had been growing more tense with each step he took, seeing how Karon had grown more and more agitated the further he got. He had been preparing for whatever kind of magic the human might employ in order to stop him. So when Karon had flung out his hand towards him he had fully expected him to launch a strike of some kind, and for the first time in a long time More-than Tardy found himself utterly confused as to why he had done nothing.

That confusion alone was what stopped him from reached around and grasping what would he his death.

“And why would I wait, there is a kingdom in need of ruling and two graves awaiting a pair of princesses.”

“Don't you dare tell him!”

“I can't chose, I have to try another way.”

“There is no certainty in that! If you tell him you lose the only chance you have at killing him for sure, the price of his death if either us or Feather.”

“I can't, I can fix this another way. I can trick him, I don't have to pick.”

“There are consequences for every action, if you pick now you know what they will be. But if you try and use deception and gain everything and lose nothing we won't know what will happen.”

“I will not chose.”

“It's a trap.” Karon said, his voice ringing out loud and clear in the cave.

“What?” The unicorn questioned, even more confusion making it's way unto his face.

“The talisman, it's a trap.”

The confused look twisted into a crooked grin, and the unicorn replied in a mocking tone.

“I must have overestimated you if this is the best you can do.”

“Look around yourself. A tiny bridge leading out to the treasured artifact hanging over a black abyss. It's as cliche as they come and you bought it. I bet if you looked at the bottom of that pit you would find the skeletons of other would-be usurpers. It's a carefully planted lie, meant to attract those that would try and overthrow the princesses and let their own ambitions kill them.”

For a second the professor looked uncertain, his mind was a well oiled machine and quickly processed what he had just heard. And with a dread feeling the unicorn realized that it could be true, it was something he would have constructed if he had been ruler. No need to chase after rebels and treasonous nobles if you could just give them a false hope to chase after and led them to their own graves.

“And why would you tell me this if I was just about to walk into this...trap?”

Karon said nothing but pointed at Feather.

“A servant? That's it?”

“It's enough for me,” Karon stated firmly.

“Don't deceive yourself. You know she is but a tool, their value extend only as far as their service and use to us.”

“I'm not like that.”

“You are like me court wizard. I can recognize a reflection when I see it.”

There was a part of Karon that shied away from what the unicorn said, not in fear or denial, but in shame. He clenched his hands and turned them into fists, his teeth clenched hard together and the next words were hissed more than spoken.

“Enough! You have lost, there is no talisman or other source of power to draw from. Even if you could defeat me the princesses would hunt you down, I offer you one chance to make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Let Feather Touch go and I won't hurt you. I will leave you alone. It will be Celestia and Luna's task to find and bring justice down on you.”

The professor stood still, digesting this sudden turn of event with cold precision. He knew Karon to be an excellent liar, just like he was. And also a great manipulator, just like he was. If it was just a trick then he would have to fight him, and possibly lose the chance to gain the talisman. But if he was speaking true then he would perish together with the fool servant.

The risk and gain was clear, and the logical choice was obvious. There was always tomorrow. And there would always be weak minded ponies he could break and bend to his will. Greed, hate and jelousy were easy things to breed in others after all.

“Swear upon your life and magic that you will let me go,” the unicorn said. This would just be a temporary setback. But there was a part of him, that part of him he always had difficulty controlling as thoroughly as the other parts of himself, that still yearned to put his hoof on the talisman. His ambition screamed inside of him, told him to turn around and grasp the power that as rightfully his.

“I swear upon my life and magic that I will let you go,” Karon sighed. It was foolish of him to agree to it. A magic user ran a very real chance of losing much when they swore things upon their powers, much like a regular person binding their life to a promise by a blood oath.

The professor remained still for a second, than he twisted his horn marginally and Feather glided through the air and was released from the aura holding her right next to Karon. She fell down and landed on her hooves steadily, balancing herself for a moment then turning her attention to the professor like Karon.

The human in question breathed a sigh in relief when Feather landed safely on the ground, he was so relieved that his lips turned into a grin and a looked on More-than Tardy with a victorious face.

That was a mistake.

“Your bluffing!” the unicorn shouted, and instead of the ink like darkness from earlier, a regular ball of fire leapt from his horn and headed for Karon. Just as it was about to hit him Feather threw herself towards Karon and they spun around a few times before crashing to the floor.

Scarcely believing it could have missed him Karon jump up and watched as a large cracking sound split the otherwise silent caves. It reverberated through the air and rock around and everything began to shake slightly. More-than Tardy screamed as he realized it had been true. It was nothing but a trap, he had been fooled by Celestia all along.

His horn glowed black and as the rock upon which he stood fell in pieces and began subject to gravity's rule once more he jumped towards Karon. The boost his magic had given him carried him over the empty space and he hit the edge of the cave floor hard. He seemed to be fine for a moment, but his balance was off and he slipped down on it. He scrambled and somehow managed to lock his hooves on some small crack in the floor, but just barely. The slightest of push would send him down the dark pit.

Karon walked towards him with determined eyes, but was stopped when he heard a weak, shaking voice behind him.

“S-sir...”

He turned around and something inside of him broke.

Feather Touch lied on her side, her left side exposed and turned upwards. Which was why he could not avoid seeing the sight of her burned chest. Her beautiful white coat was now the red and black of burned and charred flesh. The heat of the fire had been so intense it had burned off the skin and flesh, exposing her ribcage and the mass of organs and bones inside.

Karon's limbs turned to lead and he shuffled over to the burned unicorn, falling to his knees and holding his hand above her. Like he didn't know where to start fixing her, but he couldn't fix her. Not something like this.

“Si-ir,” she tried again, her voice gurgling with the blood leaking throughout her entire body, not only had the fire burned her. The energy feeding it had channeled straight into her with enough force to break bones and rupture tissue. Several ribs stuck out and blood pumped out of her wounds with every beat of her heart.

Heartbeats that should make her draw breath, heartbeats that should fill her with warmth and life. Not slowly drain her of it.

“I'm here Feather,” he said in a disbelieving voice. He put a shaking hand on her head and looked her deep in her eyes. He could see how one of her back legs was twitching, the cutie mark right above it covered in blood.

“You're gonna be just fine.”

She smiled up at him, but the smile was broken as spasms went through her entire body and she shrieked when the broken bones clawed against her naked flesh. She shuddered as it stopped and her voice was barely above that of a whisper.

“No-o I'm not sir.”

“Yes, you are. You can't die here, not when we have won. You can't die from one ball of fire. Not one meant for me.”

“I-t's f...fine sir. I'm just...happy to serve.”

“No, no, no I am not letting you die. If you want to serve you can do that by staying alive.”

“”I'm s-sorry I c-”

“NO! I'm sorry, I should have just jumped. It's my fault this happened. I'm so sorry Feather, I'm sorry...”

“Ha, look at you! Mewling over a simple servant, she was meant to serve and nothing else. She has served her purpose and you can now discard her. We both know it is our way,” More-than Tardy said, desperately trying to gain attention to his predicament.

“SHUT UP!” Karon screamed at him and his voice broke.

“Shhhh,” Feather breathed out through her cracked lips, her breathing ragged and dry. Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth and produced tiny bubbles as she continued speaking. The little strength she had left was slowly leaving her.

“You're...not like h-him,” she said.

The magic binding the stone into a bridge and platform had unleashed as the trap activated, and the stray energy had been caught and absorbed by the crystals around the cave. They emitted soft blue light that fell upon everything inside with a serene glow and produced a distant chime that echoed through the chamber.

“Yes I am. I could have saved you. I could have done better, everypony else would have. I didn't because I'm just like him.”

“N-no you're no...not,” she said firmly, summoning what force she could to put behind her words.

“How can you believe that after everything I've done,” he said, looking down at her broken and disfigured form. The pool of blood that had gathered around them, the acid smell of burned flesh and singed hair burning in his nostrils. This was his doing, it was his mistake.

She didn't answer, with a pained cry she shifted herself a little and brought her right hoof up to his face. It shook badly and the blue light of the crystals joined with her azure eyes, and despite the pain there was something in them. Something he had seen before he couldn't understand.

Hope.

Her trembling hoof touched his cheek, right underneath his eye and she held it there for a brief moment. Then she smiled a broken, bloodied smile up at him, and her hoof fell down unto his lap.

Karon didn't move, didn't breath. He just held his palm on her head and stared into her eyes. Those big, beautiful, joyful eyes. He watched as something in them disappeared, and felt her heart stop beating.

He remained frozen, staring down at something that was suddenly dead. Something that had just a few minutes ago been a sweet, living, happy creature was now a slowly cooling corpse, dead and empty.

He started swaying forwards and back,  though unsure why until he looked down at her hoof still in his lap. There was something on it that reflected the blue light around him. His mind tried to focus on it, but it took several minutes before it managed to understand what he was seeing.

They were tears.

Karon slowly brought his hand from Feather's head to his cheek. It was wet and sticky, and now that he focused on it he could feel the stinging salt on his skin. He didn't understand what it meant, what she had meant. His mind didn't work, it couldn't understand anything. This wasn't supposed to happen.

“Not to interrupt but could you save the mourning for later perhaps?” More-than tardy asked acidly, the strain of holding on for his life obvious in his voice.

Turning his head as if in a dream Karon blinked slowly and looked at the unicorn, staring into his eyes. Eyes the color of empty space. Eyes the color of rotten flesh. Eyes the color of charred bone. Eyes...that held no life.

Karon carefully moved the hoof in his lap to the floor and gingerly closed Feather's eyes. Then he rose and walked over to More-than Tardy. He knelt down and looked on him, and something stirred, deep inside, something that fought against the numbness he was feeling.

“We had a deal!” the unicorn spat out, “You promised to let me go!”

Anger burst forth from Karon's heart and a fire roared inside of him. Fire, the thing he hated above all else.

“Yes,” Karon replied, his voice a growl so hateful the unicorn's black eyes showed fear.

“I promised to let you go,” he continued. Sparks danced on his palms and he leaned forward, his lips peeled back to reveal his teeth and he snarled. He grasped the unicorn's hooves with his hands and electricity ran through him. A shrill scream bounced around the cave and tuned into the crystals.

Karon brought the unicorn up to eye level, half of his body safely on ground, the other still dangling in the air, kicking desperately to gain some footing.

“And I will let you go.” Karon opened his hands.

He watched More-than Tardy's black eyes widen in disbelief as he slid down the edge and fell into the hungry darkness of Celestia's trap. Joining countless others who's ambition had led them to challenge the harmony she had fought to bring to life in the lands.

His feelings no longer kept at bay with numbness, Karon crawled away from the edge and began dry heaving. He tried to stand and he shook so badly he couldn't see. His teeth chattered and when the smell of burned flesh became obvious again he threw up. Tears streamed down his face and fell into the pool of vomit.

Exhausted, he fell over to his side and curled up in a fetal position. A cold had seeped into him, something that chilled him to the bone.  And at that moment the only thing that truly kept him from throwing himself off the edge to join More-than Tardy was the blue light still shining over him. Azure light, the color of ocean. The color of happy, innocent eyes.

He remained as such, shaking and crying as emotions long suppressed ravaged him. No fickle amusement, no forced laughter or hysterical insanity could save him. No anger, no sadistic pleasure, no haughty pride could distract him anymore. Inside of him was a squirming seed, planted long ago. But kept at bay with walls, thoughts and foolish games. A seed that had grown with each mistake, each pain added and each life and innocence stolen. There was no defense in place anymore, and Karon could only weep and hold on to the image of a pair of hopeful blue eyes as he was tortured by an emotion he had forced himself not to feel.

Guilt.

Chapter 31: No happy ending

The light from the crystals had almost died down completely by the time they came for him. He was barely conscious, curled up next to Feather's body, to which he had crawled over without even realizing it. He didn't react to the sound of hooves walking towards him, and his vision was blurred from tears and exhaustion. On the floor, the pool of blood had dried. Karon's arm and leg were stuck to it, glued in place by coagulation.

He distantly felt a magic field envelope him, tearing him off the blood and up into the air away from Feather's corpse. He feebly tried to protest when he was moved away from her. He could have remained like that, silent, cold and tired, forever. But now he was being forced back into reality, and he didn't even have the strength to tell whoever was there that he didn't want to.

A small groan escaped his lips and he felt a stinging beneath his eyes. He would have wept more if he could, but his dry, bloodshot eyes had already given everything. The gentle swaying of his body as he was carried out the cave reminded him of how tired he felt, of everything, and how empty he was inside with nothing to distract him. As the sight of Feather's body grew more and more distant with each step his carrier took, his eyes slowly closed. By the time they had left the cave, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep.

He was brought out of the comforting darkness mere moments later, or that is what it felt like anyway. His mind was unwilling to return to wakefulness. The soothing deep it had been resting in just seconds ago was far preferable to the agony he was experiencing now.

It wasn't a physical pain, even though his body felt drained and weary. It was an aching of the spirit, an aching of the soul. Karon may have escaped the injury that would have ended his life, but now he carried wounds within him that had taken much of his desire to experience it.

However, the world has a way of turning no matter the desires of those living in it, and so Karon found himself unable to go to sleep, the sound of hushed voices nagging in his ears. He wanted silence and solitude, and possibly a very large amount of alcohol. Instead he got the concerned whispers of his friends.

“He’s been sleeping for more than two days now, are you sure the princess said nothing was wrong with him?” Lyra asked quietly.

“Princess Celestia assured me he only needed rest. She told me to watch over him and make sure he doesn’t do anything harmful when he wakes up,” Twilight’s voice responded in a hushed tone.

“But why would he want to harm us? Are you sure she didn’t say anything about what happened?” Lyra insisted. Twilight sighed but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, chirpy in tone even when whispering.

“Karon would never, ever, ever hurt us. I mean...not on purpose.”

There was a slight silence that followed her words. Then Twilight spoke again, worry apparent in her voice.

“She told me to watch over him, and when he wakes up keep him from harming anypony, especially himself.”

“That’s what I don’t get. Why would he hurt himself?” Lyra continued.

“She didn’t tell me,” Twilight finished, and the room fell blissfully silent after that.

For some reason Karon felt too tired to go back to sleep, and it took him a minute to understand it was because his weariness was not wholly physical. Sleep had provided him with as much healing as it could, but the rest would be up to him. It was a prospect he wasn’t overly fond of, and the thought of getting out of bed and facing reality weighed heavily.

But there was something that kept him from surrendering to despair completely. A candle in a dark room, the light in the end of the tunnel, the solid rock in the storming sea, or any other of the multitude of overused metaphors. But in his case, it took the form of a pair of hopeful blue eyes, defying despair and pain.

He didn’t want to open his own eyes and face the world again, but he wanted to fail those blue eyes even less. He owed them.

So he tried to open them, slowly and carefully. There was a small crack of light that shone through at first, but his eyelids were stuck. He brought his fingers up and rubbed his eyes. The dirt and dried tears felt like a thick crust. For a moment he was reminded of dried blood, and in a panic he rubbed at it harder, desperate to get it away from him.

“Karon? Karon!” A hoof was put over his right hand and he stopped, forced himself to take a shuddering breath, and opened his eyes.

The light stung and the room was uncomfortably bright. Everything was white and the air smelled sterile and clean.

“A hospital then.”

“As long as it isn’t some kind of psych ward…”

He scrunched up his eyes and glanced around the room a little more carefully. There were two rather large white couches one either side of a corner. Upon them were several pillows and blankets, and apparently the ponies had slept on them. A window to his left was open, and a small breeze wafted the curtains – white, of course – forward. Other than that, the only notable thing was the first single-human sized bed Karon had come across so far, which he was occupying. And of course, the group of seven ponies standing around that bed looking at him.

Well, stare might be a better word for it. Twilight, Lyra and Rarity’s eyes were full of concern. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked on him with a mixture of pity and thoughtfulness. Fluttershy eyes shone with unbridled compassion and Pinkie stared at him like he was covered in chocolate, that is, with great focus.

It was not something he wanted to wake up to. Not because he didn’t appreciate the concern, but because they would want an explanation. And since Celestia obviously hadn’t indulged them their curiosity, it would have to come from Karon.

“How do you feel?” Twilight asked him finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Karon shifted his gaze to her and she visibly flinched.

“Guess I don’t look so good.”

“Doesn’t feel like I do.”

“I’m tired, can we do this later...please?”

“Well I…sure, of course. We'll be right here for when you feel better,” she said and motioned her head towards the couches, which they all moved over to.

He took a deep breath and stared up at the white ceiling. The annoying brightness of it all was something Karon had never understood. Was it meant to give a sense of cleanliness? Was it meant to be bright and cheery? Why not use color therapy using the walls to aid patient recovery?

They were foolish questions, but it was just what he needed right now, something small, real and stupid. Every time his mind strayed back to what had happened, a lump gathered in his throat and he pulled the covers a little closer to himself.

It was a useful tactic in keeping his feelings under control, and so he spent his time thinking about regular things. Why was Equestria so colorful? What would happen if Pinkie developed diabetes? Did ponies even have diabetes? Why did they have such silly names?

The questions came and went in endless streams and the light dimmed with time. It must have been around noon when he first woke up, considering how bright it had been in comparison with the far more pleasant glow that entered through the window now.

The group of ponies had done very little during the hours he had spent coming up with more and more inane questions. A few times somepony had stepped out of the room, and once a nurse had delivered meals to everypony, Karon as well. Which he had proceeded to eat in silence with a mechanical efficiency.

It was somewhere around evening when Karon ran out of trivial things to consider and found in his mind a gaping hole. Not much remained now but the truth he had to face, and worse, had to divulge it to Twilight and the rest.

“Not that I think they can think less of me anyway.”

At least he felt calmer from those earlier questions. They might have been small and unimportant, but they had been a reminder that even the small things mattered. And it had given him some sense of relief connecting back to the ordinary and quiet parts of a life that had very little chance of ending up in a life or death situation.

“Twilight?” he asked, his voice hoarse from the lack of use.

He heard shuffling movements and soon Twilight came over to his bed, moving as silently as she could. Karon raised an eyebrow and raised his head from the bed, he saw the other ponies sprawled in different shapes on the coach, all of them asleep.

“Yes Karon?” she asked carefully, eyeing him with concern.

“Let’s get this over with. What do you want to know?”

“What happened to you?” she whispered, almost like he had told her something cruel. He looked into her eyes, questioning.

“What do you mean?”

“You…your eyes, everything. You look…dead.”

“Ohh, maybe I was supposed to be.”

“What does that mean!?” She whispered in a hiss.

“It means I fucked up again, and I wasn’t the one that paid the price.”

“What do-“

“Feather is dead Twilight…Feather Touch is dead,” he said, grimacing as the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“No…” Twilight whispered to herself, eyes averted from him. Her face muscles were twitching, like she had difficulty keeping herself under control.

“How?” She finally asked.

“I had More-than Tardy, then made a mistake and he flung a ball of fire at me. Feather pushed me away but it burned half of her into…nothing.”

“Oh Celestia…is he?”

“More-than Tardy is dead, as he deserves to be.”

“Karon I don’t know what to say…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for me. I’m not the one that got burned alive.”

“It’s not your fault, you’re not the one that…did it.”

“I knew she might die. I knew you might all die. It was why I went alone...was supposed to go alone. But it took her with me anyway because I thought she could be USEFUL!”

He screamed the last word and the sleeping ponies on the couch all twitched awake with confused looks.

“Karon I…”

“No Twilight, I’m not interested in hearing it,” he said and threw off the sheet. He was dressed in some kind of hospitable gown, though to him it reminded more of a robe. He looked around and found his clothes neatly folded on a small table next to the couches.

Whatever Twilight was about to say next went unheard as she and five other ponies turned their heads in embarrassment when he tore of his flimsy clothing and began to get dressed in his usual clothes. The exception was Rarity, who had seen it all many times, and Pinkie, who was eying him curiously and looked like she would be giggling if the situation wasn’t so tense.

“Karon where are you going?” Rarity asked him in a tender voice.

“Away. I need time to myself.”

“Princess Celestia herself ordered us to stay close and make sure you wouldn’t-“

“I don’t care what Celestia told you! Don’t follow me,” he answered. He tried to contain the anger in his voice, but judging by their hurt expressions he hadn’t done a good job of it. He was about to walk out of the room when he stopped, his brows furrowed and he forced himself to calm down, forced the tension in his muscles to relax. Then he turned around and spoke in the most polite tone he could muster.

“I’m sorry, but I need to be alone. Please don’t follow after me. I won’t hurt myself or do something stupid. I just…want to be alone.”

“Pinkie promise!?” Pinkie Pie asked with a suspicious glance and narrowed her eyes.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he dutifully said and made the motions at the same time. This satisfied the pink pony and she gave him a smile and happy nod.

“Okey dokey.”

He turned around and walked out the door before the others could raise any more objections. It wasn’t the nicest thing to do to friends who had apparently been next to him for several days waiting for him to wake up, but at least he had tried to soften it at the end.

“Next thing we know, we’ll be collecting bits for charity and volunteer at an animal shelter.”

“Just shut up.”

He walked through the hallways of the castle, ignoring the curious stares of the ponies he walked by. He recognized the place; it was he hospital wing where he had been put after the beating he’d received from the guard ponies.

Guard ponies that were now dead.

He stopped at a window and glanced outside. The sun was gone, its last remaining light spilling over the horizon. Soon Luna would raise her moon and the night would begin. It made him think back to the night when he was in the hot air balloon with Dusk, Twilight and the other guards he didn’t know the names of.

He wondered if they blamed him for their deaths, if they felt betrayed that he hadn’t led them better. He hadn’t spared the guards a second thought after their deaths. At the time it had made him sad to see them die, but it had been the sadness of losing an advantage, a set of tools that could have been useful.

It was the kind of thing More-than Tardy would have understood, and it was the way he would have felt. Karon hadn’t really considered why he did what he did. Sure it was important that More-than Tardy was stopped, but at what price?

Where was the line drawn?

“There is no line. You know that.”

“So how am I supposed to know what is right and wrong?”

“You can look at the results.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, cause, effect and result are connected. But it is the result by which one is judged, so look at the result.”

“I beat him. I did beat him.”

“Did you? Because to me it seems Celestia beat him with a trap that had been in place a long time. So what did you do?”

“I…I don’t know. I killed his army, I killed the guard ponies and I killed…Feather Touch.”

“So now you tell me, where did you go wrong?”

“I…don’t know.”

”Try harder.”

“I don’t know, that’s the point. I didn’t understand any of this from the start, I don’t even understand what I am anymore! That’s my answer.”

“Seems to me that’s the kind of thing you should know.”

“I am so fucking tired of this identity crisis bullshit! It shouldn’t be this hard!”

“But it is, so deal with it, preferably before you go off killing more ponies with your ignorance.”

That set a trigger lose within Karon. Something clicked and he realized he needed answers. Specifically, he needed answers from the alicorn that had set him on this path from the start. With new found purpose, Karon turned from the window and marched towards Celestia’s chambers, the day was over so she should have retired there by now.

He passed by several servants that scurried out of his way as he moved forward without stopping, determined to know just what all of this had been all about.

He moved agitatedly through the hallways with his jaw locked and eyes glaring. His hand opened and closed over and over again as he walked. The orange glow shining through the windows gradually died down with each one he passed, and soon the gold and fire of day was replaced by the silver and ice of night. When he climbed up the stairwell and reached Celestia’s chamber the marble was glowing in blue and gray. He knocked hard on the door and waited for a response.

When none came immediately he knocked again harder, and this time the door swung open when a pure white aura surrounded it. He stepped inside the room and noticed that she had replaced the sun crystals he had stolen from before, the room bathed in their light once again.

Celestia herself walked towards him slowly, moving in her usual serene and regal way, and it irritated Karon. To him it looked like a mockery that she could remain so unmoved by what had happened. By the fact that the most loyal and innocent servant possible had died.

“Karon, I see that you have awoken.”

“I want answers Tia. I’m tired of the bullshit and I’m done with moving around blind.”

Celestia looked on him with eyes full of compassion and sadness, then she gave a tiny sigh and nodded.

“Of course. You have served Equestria well and deserve to know.”

“Then tell me why you picked me to take care of More-than Tardy!”

“I didn’t.”

Karon’s mouth continued working but no sound came out at first. He gathered himself and suppressed his shock. An eagerness burned within him, an eagerness to hear it hadn’t all been for nothing. That Feather’s death might actually mean something.

“Explain,” he eventually managed to get out, his voice tense with anticipation.

“I elected you as court wizard only after I instructed you to help Luna find herself again. This was never about More-than Tardy, it was about Luna.”

“Wh-“

“Let me explain. When you first arrived in Canterlot I sensed an opportunity. I had feared for my sister and her recovery. She was still struggling in finding herself again, and the way that the world had changed. I don’t understand you completely, but I understand you well enough to know your nature. I ordered you to help Luna find her way again, and I ordered Feather Touch to become your personal servant because I knew she was perhaps the only servant loyal and trusting enough to continue serving you no matter the course of action you would take.”

“You were right about that,” Karon said, the acid taste of regret on his tongue. Celestia gave him a look of pity then continued.

“I was aware of More-than Tardy’s ambition for some time now. I have ruled Equestria for a very long time and can recognize the signs, I can read the patterns. But I would not be able to do anything about it against such an influential pony without evidence and…it is not the first time such a thing has happened. After Luna’s banishment as Nightmare Moon, there have been many more ponies vying for the throne in secret, more so than there had previously been. I constructed the trap beneath the castle and invented the legend of the talisman of the stars as bait. It was the perfect way to attract those who would threaten the rule of harmony together and in one place, and then let their own ambition become their ending.”

“That’s why you didn’t just apprehend him right away, you wanted him to gather all the dissidents and led them all together to a trap where they could be ended,” Karon gasped, understanding dawning.

“Yes, there have always been those who believe they could do better than my sister and I. Or those who simply wanted the power for their own without regards to the ponies around them. I could not allow such a thing to happen, the legend of the talisman of stars is the solution. More-than Tardy was a particularly devious one. He had made sure that should I try and attack him openly, it would seem like I was attacking an innocent pony. He would have turned my own subjects against me. I allowed him to gather supporters, and once he activated the trap, I could have seized the remainder of his supporters openly, having shown their true intentions with that very action.”

“So why did you nominate me as court wizard if it would have ended with More-than Tardy defeated without me? What was the point of all of this?”

 “I told you, Luna was. I nominated you as court wizard because I know your nature, and I instructed the elements of harmony to come to Canterlot and assist you in your work to try and balance that nature. I knew there was a chance that you would chase after More-than Tardy once you uncovered his plans, but that was never my intention. My real intention was for you to help Luna, to help her find herself. Through direct means…and as a result of your actions.”

“As a…”

Slowly, but surely, Karon’s mind processed the words and went through possible interpretations and suggestions to what they might mean. Finally, he arrived at the only conclusion that made sense, but it left him feeling utterly crushed.

“You nominated me as court wizard because you knew I would fuck it up…” he said out loud, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

“I nominated you court wizard because I knew your nature would drive you to perform radical changes. Hopefully not all too destructive ones, but changes that would shake the pony world. In combination with the attempted coup by More-than Tardy, I hoped it would be enough for Luna to be reminded what was at stake. That in the chaos you and your actions would cause, she would remember who she was and our duties.”

“I was just your pawn,” he spat out.

“It was never my intention for you to truly put yourself in harm’s way. You were to connect to my sister and through that connection she would be torn between her friendship to you and the consequences your actions would bring. In that conflict she would have found herself again…and she did.”

“Oh I am so glad your fucking schemes paid off. Too bad only a couple hundred ponies died in the process.”

“Karon please, I can only do so much in order to protect the peace and harmony on which Equestria is founded. I learned a long time ago that there is a price for such a thing to last, and I have seen the alternative. More-than Tardy and his minions choose their way. They choose to threaten and would have destroyed all that Equestria stands for. Just like Feather made her choice when she choose to follow you despite your methods, she choose to believe in you…just like you choose to oppose More-than Tardy. That was not me Karon, it was only you. Had you asked me for help, I would have given it.”

He clenched his hands into fists and the urge to punch something was almost overwhelming. It had been his own fault all this time. Tia had just used him to cause enough havoc to snap the Lunatic out of her self-absorbed depression. To upset Equestria enough for her to be reminded that she was meant to guide and protect them, not wallow in regret and pity.

It was Karon’s own doing to face off against the professor. He had wanted to, he had thought it was to be his entrance into the game of power. What was it he had thought now again?

“You must be willing to bet more than you’re ready to lose.”

“How wrong I was…”

The worst part was that he couldn’t blame Tia, or the Lunatic, or anypony. It had been all him this entire time. He thought he could be better than More-than Tardy, he knew that allowing him to take over Equestria was wrong. But at his core, Karon knew it had never been about stopping a villain. It had been about Karon wanting to show he was better, to challenge More-than Tardy and win. It hadn’t been a struggle of a hero stopping a villain…it had been about two rivals and their struggle for power.

Feather deserved better.

“You’re not like him.” He heard a faint whisper echoing inside his mind.

Was he not?

“Did it work?” he asked in a whisper.

“It did. When we returned from Phillydelphia and Luna learned of all that had transpired. How you had stolen my sun crystals and murdered over two hundred pegasi in Cloudsdale. How you had sacrificed several of her nocturnal guards in the attack. How you had taken it upon yourself to try and stop More-than Tardy without informing us…she was furious. She wanted to throw you down into the well of traitors to join the professors body. I stopped her and revealed my plan to her. She is very angry with me at the moment, but I told her of what I have seen so far, and she will understand why it was necessary soon.”

“So she’s back? Depression's gone. The Lunatic is back in her full glory.”

“The Lunati…Yes my sister seems to have made a full mental recovery and is in control of all of her power once more.”

“Why Celestia? Just to have your sister back?”

“No Karon. I have learned that as a ruler I can never make an important decision solely for myself, or my sister. But this wasn’t about my feelings for Luna, and the pain it caused me to see her having such a difficult time coming to terms with her new life.”

She walked over to her window and watched as the moon rose over the horizon, the silver orb casting its light over the land, and those in it preparing for sleep.

“I am very old Karon, as my kind was meant to be. We were created such so that we could see and experience more than the normal pony would, so that we would grow in understanding and power to better guide and lead them. It is how I can do whatever needs to be done in order to make sure harmony is maintained in Equestria. It is why I can send ponies to their deaths if it means that an evil is vanquished. But I never ask more than they are willing to give Karon…never. I have seen what happens when no pony is willing to sacrifice for others, what happens when everypony gives in to fear and doubt. I am an ALICORN, we were made to rule the ponies so that when their strength gives, we will be there. Yes, I can see your pain that Feather Touch died, but I told you, she made her choice. Just like Silver Steed, Dawn Hammer, Thorn Rose, Sand, Grape Sky, Merry Ash, Copper Runner and hundreds of other heroes that have given their life for the harmony and lives of Equestria over my years of rule. I know that harmony is not something that comes easy or cheap, and when evil comes to our land, sometimes it demands that we sacrifice to defeat it. And it breaks my heart every time such a sacrifice is needed, but the alternative is to see everypony suffer.”

“So is that what it comes down to in the end, simple math? One is better than many, common numbers?”

“Look outside to the ponies around you Karon. Look at all of them, and then tell me they are just common numbers.”

“It is easy to say such things when you are the one ordering others to their deaths Tia.”

Karon regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth. Celestia seemed to die a little when she heard them, her usual bright shine of pearly white disappeared. The flowing mane of pastel colors stopped its eternal breeze and clung to her face like wilting flowers. For the first time Karon had ever seen her, Celestia didn’t look regal or powerful at all, she just looked…tired.

“If I could Karon, I would choose to die. I would wish nothing more than to give my life for a good cause and finally rest…finally…but I don’t have that choice. Few Alicorns remain, and none of them save Luna would be ready to rule Equestria. And she cannot do this alone. She needs me, as I need her. That is our duty, to keep on living, to keep on ruling. To guard and watch over each passing generation of ponies and protect them for evil, and ensure that harmony continues. It is the duty we were born into, as we realized in our travels. Our lives are not our own, we serve a purpose, and it is a good one. But don’t pity the dead no matter how early their life might have ended, as long as it ended for something greater. There is nothing worse in this world Karon, than a life that seems without an end…death is no pony's enemy; death is release.”

“I’m sorry Tia…I’m sorry.”

“We do what we must, and try to enjoy the time we have just for ourselves. There is no other secret Karon. Find what you are meant for, and no pain in the world will be able to break you completely.”

“I will remember that.”

Celestia shrugged and straightened her back, her colors returned to their usual radiant glow and her mane flowed in an eternal breeze once more.

“You asked me why I did it, why I risked so much to bring my sister back? It is because I need her. It is because I know how to read the signs foretelling of the future. And in them I see something terrible approaching, something that could mean the end of Equestria and all in it. I cannot face such a threat as the one I see approaching on my own, that is why I needed her back.”

“What is this threat?”

“I don't know, and that scares me. Luna and I have battled almost every single creature that exists in this world over the years. We know the smells, the feelings and the tastes that creatures leave trailing in the world around them. Both the visible world and the invisible one, but this threat...I don't recognize it. It is something new, something I have never encountered before. Except...”

“Don't do that, dramatic pauses are never good for anything.”

“I don't play to drama Karon, but to release such knowledge openly means that the world will react to it. YOU, will react to it. And right now I do not think that will help us at all.”

“So what now?” Karon asked, weariness entering into his voice. He didn't know how she had done it, but Celestia had managed to scatter all of his anger to the wind. Leaving him just as empty as he had felt when he woke up.

“That is, like always, your own choice. I will allow you to stay, and I will forgive you of all your crimes since they were done in the attempt to keep Equestria safe...just this once.”

“I don't know if I deserve it,” he said, staring down at the floor.

“It is in my power to do so, and it is my privilege to make that decision this time.”

The other meaning of her words went unspoken, but Karon heard them none the less.

“If you can forgive yourself remains to be seen.”

The silent message struck a cord within him, resonated with something that ran though the invisible strings of his being. What he experienced at that moment is commonly referred to as an epiphany. To Karon it seemed more like an obvious truth that suddenly became visible to him. He should have seen it sooner, but sometimes, wisdom doesn't come in slow unveiling or careful build-up, sometimes wisdom comes like a sledgehammer to the knees.

He didn't know.

He didn't know what he was, what he was supposed to do or how to attain this knowledge. He had been acting like he did, and at first it hadn't bothered him. What did it matter if he was fuzzy on the issue of self when he also found himself in a completely alien world? And when he had started caring, about himself and others, he had still acted in ignorance. Willingly ignoring the fact he didn't understand himself or what Loke had decided to turn him into...or perhaps, more accurately, what he had awoken in him.

That willful ignorance had led to the deaths of many, only a few which he truly cared about perhaps, but it was more than it should have been.

“Tia, when did you realize what you were meant for? When was it you truly understood what your purpose was?”

She looked a little surprised at the question, but didn't hesitate in responding.

“When Luna and I first saw the ponies living in harmony in Equestria, when we saw something we had thought lost.”

“But you knew from your birth that ruling the ponies was your set destiny. Why did you not do so from the start after you beat Discord?”

“We weren't ready for it. We were still so young, so inexperienced we hardly knew anything.”

“So...it was after you had experienced more, seen more of this world, that you came to know your place in it?”

“That...is one way to look at it yes. It is a certainty that we wouldn't have ruled as well as we have if we hadn't journeyed so far and gone through all we did back then.”

Karon turned his head and looked out the window, to the rising moon and the distant stars.

“I can't go on as court wizard Tia, of course, I think you never meant for me to.”

She nodded her head and gave him an apologetic smile.

“While you were unconscious I arranged for Minty Frost to become your successor.”

“Another part of your plan I take it.”

Celestia almost looked a little ashamed, almost.

“Celestia, I ask you this straight: would you have found yourself if you hadn't set out on your travels?”

“No, I don't think I would have.”

“How does that work? You were meant for ruling the ponies and instead you left it behind and went everywhere but here?”

“Karon, you can't teach yourself who you are, the world does.”

He considered that, it spoke against much of what he liked to think. However, with all excuses gone and his mental walls down he couldn't deny anymore that he was one exceptionally broken and confused individual. He had always known that really, but it's not the kind of knowledge you admit to yourself if you want the strength to get up in the morning.

“You know Tia, I never thought my life would have a happy ending. I always imagined I would die somewhere cold, uncomfortable and very desolate. Maybe get stabbed and left to die in a ditch, or get torn apart by some demon that got tired of my incessant attempts at summoning it. I still don't actually think it can end another way.”

“It can Karon, don't doubt it.”

He could still see Feather's blue eyes before him, she should have been screaming at him, accused him and cursed him. Instead she had been happy to sacrifice her life for his, to let him go on living while she died a gruesome death.

“No, I don't think I can avoid having my life ultimately become a tragedy...but I will try.”

“I owe it to her.”

“It brings me joy to hear you say that. And for your service to Equestria, I shall not only pardon your crimes, I shall also grant you whatever wish you of me.”

“A little money, a map of this world and one of those pegasi driven carriages to take me to...I'll decide that later.”

“You're leaving Canterlot?” She asked carefully, her voice spoke the question but her eyes told him she understood perfectly.

“No offence princess, but I don't want to remain in this place anymore than I have to.”

“If that is your wish, I shall grant it.”

“Thank you...Tia.”

He gave her a respectful bow for once, and turned around to leave. Before he went out the door Celestia called after him.

“You should go see Luna, she told me that you would know where to find her after you've woken up. I shall have the servants ready money and provisions for your journey and a carriage will be ready for you tomorrow.”

He nodded while walking and closed the door behind him gently.

“We would know where she's at huh?”

“I can only think of one place she could mean...well actually, two places.”

“And one is definitely preferable to the other.”

“Indeed, I still feel a need for excessive amounts of alcohol to wash all of this away for one night at least.”

“We have a destination then.”

He left Celestia's tower behind and went back to the hospital room he had woken up in. However, none of the ponies were there when he returned. After asking a few of the nurses about it he guessed they must have gone back to their rooms. Either they had gone to their separate rooms or they still all slept in Twilight's. No matter which, Twilight was the best choice, so he left the hospital wing and headed there.

He walked slower, calmer now. His earlier burst of determination was gone. The area around his heart ached with a dread cold, but he could bear it. It was a just thing, he was supposed to feel that way. If nothing else, it reminded him not to fall in the same trap of arrogance that he had earlier.

When he arrived at Twilight's door, he knocked on it, and a lump gathered in his throat when he imagined it would be Feather opening for a second. He swallowed it when instead, Twilight's usual purple aura swung it open and revealed her standing on the other side.

“Karon!” she exclaimed, relief visible on her face.

“Yeah it's me, are the others here?” he asked in a somber tone.

She stepped aside to allow him in, all the others were present in the room, looking at him indecisively.

“Are you...feeling alright Karon. Twilight regaled us of what you have told her and I'm terribly sorry to hear about Feather. She was such a dear,” Rarity said and took a few steps towards him.

He sighed and nodded, not feeling like he wished to go into it any more than he already had.

“Would you all mind going down to Pony Joe's and wait for me there?”

“Pony Joe's? Why?” Twilight asked and blinked a couple of times in surprise.

“Because we're going to celebrate. We vanquished the monster, saved the day, freed the hostages and all that. What is done is done, right now we all need it I think.”

“Need a copious amount of alcohol and a nasty hangover you mean.”

“It is implied.”

Twilight looked skeptical but caved in to the bombardment of happy squeals from Pinkie Pie raining down on her. They all agreed to go there and wait until he joined them, when Twilight asked why he didn't come with them directly he merely answered he was gathering a few others.

He watched the group disappear down one of the corridors, then turned around and began walking towards the nocturnal guards barrack. He briefly considered making a detour to Captain Nightchill's office but decided against it. There was a good chance he wouldn't survive that.

It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before he found himself outside the barracks door, several sound could be heard coming from within, indistinct muffled sounds of conversation and movement. Karon stood still outside, his hand outstretched

Then he braced himself and pushed the door open.

As soon as he stepped inside the conversations died down and every eye turned to watch him. They weren't openly hostile, but they vast collection of eyes said quite clearly they weren't happy about his presence in their home. Had he willingly sent their comrades to their deaths as revenge for the time they beat him up? Or had it just been combat and he got lucky while they hadn't? What had really happened during the secret operation in Cloudsdale? And what had really been going on with all those hostages they freed a few days ago?

The questions were quite clear on their faces, and it was the lack of certainty that kept them from looking at him like an enemy. Had they known what he really thought of their friends and fellow guards back then, Karon had no doubt they would have found a way to make him pay. But they didn't know, and he was glad for that, it gave him opportunity to do what he was about to do.

He looked around for the nearest uncluttered table and saw one that no pony was gathered around. He walked over to it and climbed up and the eyes of every pony inside followed him.

Karon looked out over the sea of ponies and had a brief flashback to the noble's party, when he had unleashed a party crazed pony on them all. He cleared his throat delicately and the sound of it could be heard across the entire room. Then he spoke in a loud, clear and as friendly a tone as he could.

“I would ask all of you to join me and the elements of harmony tonight at Pony Joe's in a celebration of the defeat of one of the greatest evil's Equestria has seen in a while. And to toast to the ones we lost to achieve it...drinks are on me.”

“I'll set up a tab in Celestia's name. That should shake the old schemer up at least.”

The guards were looking at one another doubtfully, and some hushed conversations began after Karon finished the short announcement. He looked around and spotted Dusk Keeper around one table, looking tired and worn, but staring at him with bloodshot eyes none the less.

Karon jumped down from the table and made his way to Dusk, navigating around the groups of ponies and table in the way carefully. When he reached the guard pony he looked down on him intently, taking in his appearance. Dusk seemed to be doing the same of him, and they both grunted nearly at the same time when they reached a conclusion.

“You looked like shit,” Karon said and tried to smile, but failed.

“And you look even worse,” Dusk replied, giving him a half looped grin that ended up looking like he had tasted something sour instead.

“What's wrong with you?”

“I killed my best and oldest friend after he betrayed me and everything we swore to protect. How about you?” The earth pony answered in an easy tone, trying to make light of the situation.

“Confronted More-than Tardy, made mistakes, Feather ended up paying for it and died. And now I've found it it was completely unnecessary and the professor would have died without my intervention anyway.”

Dusk shook his head bitterly and stared at the table like it could give him the answers to all his questions.

“You coming to Pony Joe's?”

“Why should I?”

“Because we can get drunk and wallow in self pity and remind each other that perhaps, it might all actually be worth something.”

He snorted and scratched his right ear absently, then he nodded and huffed.

“I'll be there in an hour or two, see if I can get some of the others with me, many were friends with the ones we lost in Cloudsdale.”

Satisfied with the answers Karon gave the pony a pat on the shoulder and left the barracks, murmurs and quiet conversations following him on the way out.

“Only one pony left now, and she is either already at Pony Joe's or at the pond.”

“Knowing the Lunatic I would say the pond. She isn't happy right now according to Celestia and I don't think someplace like Joe's is her usual place for emotional coping.”

“We'll have to introduce her to something new then.”

His destination set, Karon passed through the silver lit corridors and eventually left the castle behind him. Once outside, he looked up and saw the moon, full and shining strong, illuminating everything almost as clear as if it was day. It was framed perfectly by two clouds besides it, and all around the dark sky was lit by sparkling stars. Not shining with their usual, distant light, but instead seemed to shimmer in liquid brightness. He remained standing there, looking up at the night sky, wondering if perhaps the story telling that the stars were Celestia's tears weren't true perhaps after all.

It was a ridiculous thought, but looking up at the way the stars glistened that night, Karon believed it. Even if it only was for a short time.

He turned his eyes back down to the earth and path before him, leading him through the castle's gardens and to the main gate. The guards let him out without trouble and he walked down the street, passing by the occasional pair or lone pony. He received a few angry stares from some of them, most likely they had been guests at the noble's party. His only response in that case was to wave, he would have smiled but he couldn't really bring himself to it.

He walked down the road then turned off and headed towards the pond he and Luna had sat down at, in what seemed an eternity ago. It was funny how time seemed so relative, depending on how heavy the burden it laid of them was. When he exited the small cluster of trees and came upon the pond he was not disappointed, sitting right where she had sat the last time was Luna, staring up at her beautiful moon, deep in thought.

Karon went over and sat down next to her, just like he had done the last time.

“You have found me.”

“You wanted to be found or you wouldn't have told Celestia to tell me where you were.”

“I didn't want my sister to come interrupt my meditations. I am not pleased with her choice of actions at this moment.”

“I can understand that, of course. I'm not exactly pleased with my own actions right now either.”

“THAT I have no issue believing,” Luna said, a tinge of ice evident in her voice.

“I tried Luna...I tried. I'm just...I'm not ready for this. I thought I was, I honestly did. But it turned out I wasn't, I'm still too ignorant, still too limited...too arrogant.”

“At least you are willing to acknowledge your flaws,” Luna said.

“I don't think I could find a way to ignore them no matter how much I could try at this point.”

“You have caused much suffering through your actions to this land. Much terror has spread and the growing discontent among the nobles are partially your fault.”

“I know.”

“I could have accepted your methods perhaps, if the situation was dire enough. But I don't believe I have the ability to forgive you deceiving me into believing we had a bond of friendship between us just in order to further our sisters machinations. We can not, and shall not, endorse such cruel methods of manipulation and treachery. THOU TRICKED US INTO A LURID LIE AND USED OUR TRUST IN THEE ONLY TO DECEIVE AND CONTROL! WE OPENED OUR HEART AND REVEALED OUR PAST AND PAIN. WE NURTURED THE HOPE OF AN UNDERSTANDING ALLY AND FRIEND, ONLY FOR HIM TO BE REVEALED AS A TRICKSTER AND TREASANOUS SNAKE!”

She had shifted into her old speech pattern naturally as her tone rose and at the end, leaves flew in forceful streams as air collided and swept in a powerful gale around them. Karon remained beside her, facing the full force of her fury without blinking.

Well, maybe once.

“I approached and began befriending you on Tia's urging yes, but I didn't lie when I told you you were my friend. You still are, I like you Lunatic. Archaic screaming included.”

She calmed down noticeably but didn't look any less unhappy then she had a minute ago.

“And how can one trust the words of a liar?”

“You don't. Your choice of words was fitting. A trickster I am. Not only in name and deed, but in my very nature and energy. So don't trust my words if you don't wish to, but trust in what I do, my actions.”

“And what will your actions show me?” she asked, the tone of her voice making it very clear he should consider his next words carefully.

“That right now, I need a drink and a friend to share it with, possibly a friend who's shoulder I can cry on, but that will be a few glasses in I hope. Rainbow Dash will never let it go otherwise,” he said, the wry smile didn't quite make it all the way from his voice to his mouth.

Luna considered what he said for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the moon. Then she laughed and shook her head gently.

“It has been a long almost a year since I partook in such revelry, and then it was of a more innocent nature. But if you wish to have a friend for company this night, I shall try and fulfill that desire.”

“Thanks, thought you won't be alone there. All the elements of harmony and, I hope, a few of your guards will be there.”

“What for?”

“Making sure I never forget.”

                          *******************************************************

There where a lot of ponies inside Pony Joe's when they got there. A steady pleasant buzz of sound hung in the room and happy conversations and laughter were mixed with somber discussions and bitter smiles.

A few of the patrons turned their heads when Karon walked in, but when he was closely followed by Luna almost all of the sound died down, and everypony turned to look at the newcomers.

“Hey 's the princess, remember us princess!? And she brought the humdon with her!” one stallion called out to her, waving his hoof happily. Karon recognized him as one of the patrons from their first visit there together. Luna smiled at the pony and waved a hoof back at him, which calmed down the members of her guard present, who looked to have been ready to march over and give a lecture of how to properly address royalty.

For the third time today Karon climbed up to a table, much to the annoyance of Joe himself if his face was anything to go by, and cleared his throat. However he remained silent after that, his mouth slightly agape, not sure exactly what to say.

Then he took a deep breath and just said the only thing he really could say.

“There are quite a few of you here tonight that came to honor friends that you have lost. They died fighting a great threat to Equestria and they did not die in vain. The threat was vanquished and Equestria made safe through their sacrifice...if you have not ordered a drink go do so now because I want to toast to these lost friends.”

A few of the ponies, sand colored eyes and dark gray coat so obviously of the guard, went to Joe and ordered something to drink. While they were occupied and everypony inside, even those who had no idea what Karon was talking about, were busy waiting for them Karon stretched out his mind and connected to Twilight's.

“Twilight I need the name of those guard ponies that died in Cloudsdale.”

He could see the displeased twitch her mouth made all the way across the room, but it still only took her a few seconds before she decided to answer him.

“Silver Prance, Dust Wind, Shield Trainer, Merry Spinner, Spear Chaser and Blue Glow.”

“Thank you,” he sent back and gratefully accepted a mug of some golden liquid Luna levitated to him with half a smirk, noting that he still hadn't gotten anything even after he told the others to. He accepted with a small, broken smile and turned back to the crowd.

He held the mug high and swept his gaze over the assembled ponies, they held theirs up in turn, even those that had just been there earlier for a regular night out. Ponies generally didn't need much of an excuse to be friendly towards one another, if a group of ponies honored fallen friends with a toast, they all joined in.

“To Silver Prance!”

“TO SILVER PRANCE!” the others echoed him.

“To Dust Wind!”

“TO DUST WIND!”

And so he went on, counting up the guards that had died in Cloudsdale and finishing it with a half whispered.

“To Feather Touch.”

No other pony besides Luna heard him but they all took a drink out of their drinks when they saw that Karon did. After a very long swig of the slightly burning drink Karon spoke to the crowd again.

“Oh and don't worry about paying, tonight Princess Celestia is paying for every single drink until closing time. Service to Equestria should not go unrewarded.”

The guards actually cheered, along with the regular ponies who's evening suddenly looked a lot cheaper.

Karon jumped down from the table and turned to Luna.

“As far as speeches go that was underwhelming, but I think they will overlook that fact now that my sister is so generously paying,” she finished with a giggle.

“Thought you might appreciate that. Let's go to the others.”

Twilight and the rest of the group were all standing around a large round table, most of them with a mug before them, with the exception of Rarity, who had a glass of wine, and Pinkie Pie, who had five mugs in front of her.

Judging by how fast she was downing the one she currently held between her hooves he guessed several of them were empty already.

“Ah like yer speech, straight to ta point and no funny business.”

“Thank you Applejack, it's the least I can do considering they died when I was leading them.”

“It's a right sad thing when something like this happens, but ah reckon they knew what they were getting into. It being their job an all.”

“Perhaps,” Karon said and looked down into his mug.

“So is this why you brought us down here tonight? So we could have a toast to the ponies that died fighting More-than Tardy,” Lyra asked and sipped her drink.

“Partially, and I just thought...we could all talk. Spend some time together.”

“That sounds like a yummy idea. I'm gonna go and get a few more drinks and then we can all talk about that one time Karon had to run out of a tavern naked!” Pinkie said.

“Wait what!?” Karon asked while his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, “That has never happened to me!”

“Oh? That hasn't happened yet? How silly of me, I clearly need something to drink. Do you want anything, of course you do, be right back,” she said and shot of towards the bar where Joe stood.

And that was the beginning of a rekindling of a friendship that had become shaky to say the least.

They spent their time drinking together, telling jokes and regaling old stories and adventures. Luna joined in after a bit of persuasion and told the most incredible tales any pony, or Karon, could have imagined. If even half of what she told that night was true, then she and her sister had certainly earned their place as Equstria's rulers.

But Karon wasn't there just for reconnecting with his friends. He spent much time with the guards that had come, asking them to tell him about the guards that had died under his command. It didn't take much from his side before they all launched into their favorite stories of their now dead friends, and Karon learned much of what he had seen as faceless, nameless tools to be used.

Despite his state of near-drunkenness Karon memorized as many details about them as he could. Making sure he would not forget the ponies that had died simply because he hadn't even really tried saving them. When they asked about their friends death he intentionally remained vague, claiming much was secret, but letting them now they died facing an entire army.

He didn't mention they had been slaughtered nearly instantly and died a gruesome death. He didn't mention that they had been there in the first place just because they had given into their petty desire for revenge and beaten Karon in an alley. He didn't tell them he hadn't spared them a second thought when they had died.

No, he told it like as if they had been heroes. He hadn't saved them, he hadn’t even led them properly, but that was at least something he could do. Making sure they would be remembered with pride and as a source of inspiration.

Heroes that had died in service to Equestria. Heroes that had died protecting them from evil. Not scared and outnumbered, torn to pieces, dying entirely in vain.

That was all Karon could do for them now.

But when he noticed Dusk Keeper sitting alone in a corner, nursing a large mug he held in his hooves, Karon excused himself from the drunk guards, happily singing some military song, and walked over to him.

“Is something wrong?” Karon asked him.

Dusk merely shrugged and drank from his mug.

“Is it about Steel Runner?”

“What else would it be about?”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No I don't. No offence to you si....Karon, but you have no idea what he did means.”

“You're right. I'll be with the others if you change your mind.”

The pony didn't answer, he just took another swig of his drink and went back to his dark thoughts.

Karon knew he wouldn't get through to him, so he decided it to be best to just leave Dusk in peace. He returned to Twilight and the others, and found them all nearly wriggling on the ground from laughter at something Luna had said. The princess herself was swaying a bit unsteadily and many an empty mug stood before her on the table.

Karon actually cracked a real smile at the sight and chuckled to himself.

“If there is one thing we're good at, it's getting ponies drunk.”

He joined them once more and spent a few minutes listening to Luna's jokes, which were indeed hilarious. However the night had worn on already, and judging by how fast most ponies had drunk their poison of choice, Karon guessed Joe would have to close early. If nothing else because he ran out of alcohol. Celestia had been a very generous ruler tonight indeed.

Shame she didn't know about it yet.

So he interrupted Luna after she had finished her latest joke, this one she had apparently picked up from a zebra, and spoke loudly so the others would hear him clearly over the laughter and loud conversation around.

“I didn't invite you down here just to have a good time, I wanted to have a last night together with all of you before leaving,” he said.

“WHAT!? You're leaving...AGAIN!?” Twilight shouted and glared at him angrily, which only looked funny since she was swaying her head drunkenly.

“Yeah, I'm done here. Canterlot is nice and all but...too many memories. I think it's time for me to see what this world has to offer.”

“But you've only been here for a few weeks,” Twilight pointed out.

“Wouldn't you consider it a more prudent action to return to m...to return to Ponyville with us instead,” Rarity interjected hopefully, her eyes shiny and glowing, mostly from the booze.

“No Rarity, I'm sorry but I need to...do some things. Learn some things, and I can't do it in Canterlot or in Ponyville.”

“But that would mean I could never come visit you!” Pinkie shouted and pressed her hoofs to her cheeks in her version of outrage.

“I know Pinkie, but I'll come visit you instead...some day.”

“You better, or I'm bringing my superduper transportoconderanitation and find you, or maybe you'll find it, maybe it will find me,” she sank down into incoherent mumbling and the rest of the group pointedly decided to ignore her.

“When are you leaving?” Lyra asked thoughtfully, somehow sobering up in a matter of seconds.

“Tomorrow,” Karon said, and the ponies around the table went very quiet.

“Well...at least we got the chance to say good bye and...see you again,” Twilight said.

Karon nodded and took a sip from his mug. The rest of the night was pleasant, but not nearly as merry. And having done all he really could to limit the damage of his actions, he readily drowned it out with as much alcohol he could take. And it didn't take long before he crashed. The last thing he remembered was a pair of blue eyes staring at him.

                **************************************************************

He woke to find a pair of blue eyes staring at him, and for a second he thought he might be dreaming. That was until the pink bundle of hyperactivity the eyes belonged to let out a loud.

“Good morning sleepyhead!”

Karon winced and covered his ears and shut his eyes. The throbbing headache he experienced could have been much worse if the fragmented memory of the amounts of drinks he had had was anything to go by, but it seemed he got lucky...in this at least.

He looked around and found himself in a room he didn't recognize, the interior was bright red and blue in color. He was on a large bed with blue silk sheets and Pinkie was currently bouncing up and down on in an attempt to get Karon going.

“Where am I Pinkie?” he weakly asked and looked around for any kind of source of water.

“In my room silly, don't you remember me carrying you here?”

“No I don't,” he answered quietly and stumbled through a door that, praised the gods, was the bathroom. He went to the sink and greedily began drinking of the heavenly water it provided, savoring the cool in provided and the pressure it took off his tender head.

“What time is it?”

“I don't know, day,” she answered and popped her head in.

“Just great,” he muttered and splashed his face a few times.

“Do you know where the others are?”

“In their rooms of course, where else would they be?”

“If I knew I wouldn't be asking now would I...sigh, Pinkie could you perhaps tell them that-”

They were interrupted by a gentle knocking on the door

Pinkie looked curious and immediately zipped away towards it while Karon dried his face with a small towel, obviously made for ponies since it could have induced seizures in humans with all it's color.

He heard a short conversation and how the door closed again before he went out. Pinkie stood right next to the door and Karon had the feeling that if she were a dog her tail would be twitching.

“Who was it?” he asked her.

“Princess Celestia want's all of us to come have breakfast with her in the garden, at least that what the old grumpy servant McGrumpypants said.”

Karon's stomach growled happily at the news, but he shook his head in response instead.

“First I'll have to get back to my room and collect my stuff. I don't know if I will be returning to it.”

“Okey dokey lokey.”

“You really should leave out that last part, you never know who you might call.”

Pinkie only tilted her head and smiled at him in response. They both left her room, and while she bounced off towards the garden he headed to his own room. Judging by the light shining in through the windows it was late morning, which meant that the pegasi carriage he had asked for was probably ready for him by now.

This breakfast would be his last in Canterlot for a long time.

When he reached his room he found several packages on his bed. One was a large tube with a strap on it, inside of which was a large map off the entire world. Equus was written above it all, which made Karon wonder if the pony language he had copied from Fluttershy was translating it as an old predecessor to that modern language. Or if it really was written in Latin.

The other was a rug sack, apparently made out of leather, which definitely made Karon wonder were Celestia had gotten hold of it. Inside was a large bag containing lot's of the golden coins commonly called bits. There was also dried fruit in abundance, wrapped in paper, stowed away inside it.

But the strangest of all was a long, thin package. It was wrapped in black silk and was positioned a little away from the other, like as if had been carried there separately and not by the same pony that left the other ones.

He unwrapped the silk and his eyes nearly boggled out of their sockets when he realized what he was holding. It was the spear he had used to kill the wolves in the Everfree forest, the one that Eldros had allowed him to borrow for that very purpose. He looked around on pure reflex but saw nothing else out of the ordinary, just the spear, left on the bed.

“A gift for thy journey.”

A voice echoed inside his mind, sounding like it came from a great deep far, far away. Karon smiled a tiny smile and wrapped the upper tip in the black silk once more, he didn't want anypony accidentally getting hurt after all. He put the ruck sack on his back and slipped the tube's strap over his right shoulder. It felt...good. He felt ready, like he was doing what he was supposed to do.

He felt great.

Then he turned around and saw the door that had lead to Feather Touch's room.

His heart was stabbed with a dagger of ice and his lips trembled. His satisfaction was scattered to the wind and he was left once more in misery, trying his best to keep tears from entering his eyes.

“No...we have cried enough. She will not return no matter what we do, no matter how much be torture ourselves.”

“She shouldn't be dead.”

“But she is...all that is left is making sure it meant something, that it wasn't for nothing.”

“It was for nothing, it was a stupid mistake I made and now they are all dead.”

“Are we still talking about Feather Touch?”

“...”

“I mean it. Make something of it, she died believing it wasn't for nothing, that sacrificing herself for us wasn't a mistake. Are you going to spit in the face of that sacrifice?”

“Of course not!”

“Then stop moaning, we will carry this like we carry so much else. At least you've finally decided to take learning from it seriously now.”

“It's either that or keep causing it again and again.”

“Took you this long to figure it out huh?”

Karon didn't respond to that.

Instead he did took on last look around himself and sighed, then opened the door and left the room behind him. He walked through the corridors of the castle, slowly, savoring the sights, the sounds and the feelings it imparted on him. Canterlot was the center of Equestria after all, and the castle was the center of Canterlot. Canterlot was the heart of Equestria, and Karon had to admit that despite its flaws, it truly was the jewel of Equestria.

Coming from the perspective of someone who had seen only Canterlot and Ponyville in total of course.

He went out into the gardens and wandered around randomly, looking for wherever Celestia had decided to host her breakfast. Until he came stumbled upon a small clearing which all his friends and the two princesses were in, busy chatting and eating of the large spread before them. He could smell the food and his stomach rumbled again, reminding him that food was good for you.

He walked to the ponies and they all greeted him happily, the weather and the food was enough for them to decide that it was to be a great day indeed. Even though Karon would be leaving.

“Karon, please be seated and eat. We wouldn't want you to leave Canterlot on an empty stomach.” Celestia said and looked, well, regal.

“As if that's anything new.”

“I bet she cheats and uses magic for it.”

So Karon sat down on the large blanket they had put on the ground and began digging into the food. It was mostly fruit and pastries, but there was one plate of steamed fish, obviously prepared just for him. They ate mostly in silence, speaking up only to make a note on the weather or something else very trivial.

When Karon felt he had eaten enough, he leaned back on his arms and looked over at the others. They all looked back at him with varying expressions as they realized what was to come next.

“It's time,” he simply said.

“Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?” Rarity asked tenderly. “The past is after all, the past.”

“No Rarity, I need to leave, it's not much of a choice by now. I need it.”

She didn't look to entirely understand but she didn't say anything else.

“Well then...I guess this is good bye, for now,” he said and stood up.

He had barely gotten up on his feet before Pinkie had somehow managed to grab all of her friends and Karon and shoved them all into a huge group hug. He tensed up at first but gradually relaxed and put his arms around the mass of ponies. Pinkie let them go soon after and Karon took a step back and turned to Celestia.

“Where is the carriage?”

“I thought you might want to leave as soon as possible,” she answered and her horn glowed. A minute later a carriage drawn by two pegasi landed in the clearing and stood ready to take him anywhere he wanted to. Karon had no idea what his destination was to be, but since he had a map he could decide that on the move.

He breathed deeply of the sweet garden air, the aroma of uncountable flowers all around mixing together. He looked into the eyes of each of his pony friends one by one, then forced a smile and said.

“I'll be back some day.”

“Pinkie promise?” Pinkie asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he dutifully answered her.

“You sure you'll be okay without me Lunatic?” he asked Luna as he turned to her.

“I'm certain I can make do without that insufferable nickname, and I think it best if you do not tarry. Our nephew is quite upset with you ever since the Noble's party, although he refuses to tell us why. And Tia here has yet to discover you bought Pony Joe's entire stock of spirits last night in her name.”

“WHAT!?” Celestia exclaimed and stared at her sister, for once, in shock.

“That's my cue to leave,” Karon said, and with one last look to his friends, turned around and walked towards the carriage. However when he reached it and was about to tell the pegasi to take off he was stopped by Lyra.

“Wait!”

He turned back and saw Lyra come running towards him. At first he thought she wanted one last hug or something, or maybe one  final question on humans...it's not as far fetched as it sounds.

Instead she stopped before him and said the last thing he would ever have expected.

“Let me come with you!”

He blinked, rapidly.

“What?”

“Let me come with you, wherever you're going. I want to go with you.”

“Uhm...why?”

“Because you're the only human I know of and most likely the only one I will ever meet.”

“Go home Lyra, this won't be a regular vacation or anything like that.”

“I know that! And...I don't exactly have a home to go back to.”

Karon rubbed his face in exasperation.

“Why don't you have a home anymore?”

“Well before I left for Canterlot Bon Bon kinda...told me my obsession with humans had gone too far, and either I left it all behind me and stayed or I left to Canterlot...And I wouldn't be welcome back.”

Karon sighed deeply, Lyra looked up at him hopefully and added.

“Please let me come with you, I can help!”

He was about to answer her that he seriously doubted there was anything she could do to help him. But he stopped, a voice, a memory came unbidden to him. A conversation once held in a dream that was not quite a dream.

“Then repay me by listening close. You are in this mess because you continue to be too thick-headed to face your own short comings. You still think you can handle everything the world throws at you on your own, you are arrogant. The reason you left me is because you can't even handle yourself, and that is why you will never be allowed to achieve true power. You need to first achieve a wisdom that will elude you for as long as you keep this meaningless game up. If you ever wonder why your life continues to be a tragic one just know it is because you still cling to the idea that it should be. Stop being such a self-obsessed moron and admit you need help to get over yourself. I would hate for you to end up as another cliché villain full of self-pity and hate. I have killed enough of those and need not know I helped create one.”

Varsif's voice echoed within Karon's mind as he looked down on Lyra, and he realized that perhaps, he needed help. And once that thought crossed his mind things felt a little lighter, a little brighter. Yes, things would be far better if she came along, not because she could help, not because she could be useful, but because she was a friend.

“Okay then, hop on.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised he had agreed so easily.

“Why not,” he said and helped her up into the carriage. He turned around and motioned for the pegasi to take off and they did, swiftly climbing through the air and leaving the ground below. He and Lyra waved to the ponies below, who waved back until the back nothing but a dot in the distant sky.

Karon watched the land below pass them by and thought about all that had happened in Canterlot. He had acted rashly, arrogantly and without real regard to the ponies that suffered. He had left Ponyville because he didn't want to cause pain to his friends there, but instead he had done it all the same in Canterlot, and to so many others.

They weren't the problem, he was. But Feather had died believing he was not a lost cause, that he was someone worth dying for. He honestly did not believe his life could possible have a happy ending, but for Feather's sake, he would try.

“Where are we going by the way?”

“I don't know yet, right now I'm just happy to be out of Canterlot.”

“You made a lot of trouble yes, speaking of which. What was that you did to prince Blueblood that made him so furious he would go to Luna about it?”

Karon grinned in raw pleasure for the first time in days and didn't answer, instead he merely watched the sky with twinkling eyes. Adventure awaited.

                                   *************************************************************************

                                                                      (Four Days Earlier)

Prince Blueblood stretched out luxuriously and smacked his mouth a few times, content to sleep the day away in his comfortable bed. He shifted sides to make himself even more comfortable but frowned when he felt something beside him in the bed. He opened his eyes in a frown, not happy about having his perfect morning disrupted by something unexpected.

But he could only stare slack jawed when he saw the gryphon noble Vizzmizzi. And in turn, the gryphon opened his eyes annoyed and stared when he noticed Blueblood lying at his side. They both continued to stare at one another, and slowly the memories of the night before rushed back.

That's when they began noticing how sore they felt. And as they realized what had happened, both of them opened their mouths and screamed at the top of their lungs in horror.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“INCONCEIVABLEEEEEEEE!

(Authors note: 481 pages later...whew I've written a lot, and still a long, long way to go. But for the moment I'm putting the story on hiatus. I'll be making a blog post for why and with more details if you want to know.)

Chapter 32: From Trottingham with love

”Hey, wake up! We're here.”

Karon twitched and his eyes sprang open, but were immediately shielded by his arms when the sun glared right into them. He had to blink a few times to get the burned image out of his retinas. When normal sight returned to him, he saw Lyra standing in front of him with an amused expression on her face.

“Sleep well?” she asked.

“It could have been more comfortable,” he responded with a parched throat, wincing as he stood up. They had travelled through the air without any water, and right underneath a burning sun for most of the trip. Magic had been weaved into the carriage to keep the air pressure tolerable, but the dehydration and heat were nothing the unicorns that had designed it had considered. Ponies were more tolerant to such things than humans, and Karon, apparently.

He stretched his arms high above his head and arched his back while yawning. A few pops and cracks could be heard quite loudly, and his head swam as the blood flow increased. He could imagine that this was how a brittle autumn leaf must feel, and then he remembered what Lyra had said when she woke him up. He rubbed his eyes once for good measure then looked around himself.

Trottingham, the home of Equestrian art and research. If Manehattan was the center of Equestrian economic power, and Canterlot was the high seat of politics and culture, then Trottingham was the great cradle of all things art. And it showed.

The carriage stood in the middle of a wide cobblestone street flanked by large, close standing buildings that were mostly made out of stone. Gray, white, brown and beige colored exteriors could be seen all the way down the street. Wooden balconies made out of dark mahogany stood out over them, and on the rooftop corners gargoyles and stone statues silently stood guard over all within the city. On every possible surface there were markings and pictures either carved or painted on to enhance the beauty of the house's  simple facades.

Lyra was the first to jump off the carriage, followed shortly by Karon after he had grabbed his rug sack, map and spear. The street itself was empty. Karon spotted one curious unicorn looking down on them from a second story window, but no other traces of life could be seen.

“You can return to Canterlot now. Thanks for the ride,” Karon said to the two pegasi drawing the carriage.

“We have orders to remain at the Inn called 'The Nutty Brony' until we are told by captain Shining Armor that he and princess Mi Amore Cadenza are ready to be taken to Canterlot,” the stallion replied.

“Shining Armor? As in the captain of the solar guard?” Karon asked in surprise.

“That's correct,” the other pegasus responded as he took off his harness.

“What is he doing here?”

“I don't know, we were just told to stay at the inn until he tells us he and the princess are ready to leave.”

“Huh, where is this inn by the way?”

“Down the street, you can see it from here. It's the one with a sign hanging on the wall saying 'The Nutty Brony Inn',” the pegasus told him with a patient look and pointed.

Karon turned to where he was pointing and saw said sign sticking out from one of the buildings.

“Ohh...”

“Well thanks...” Karon muttered and walked towards the door underneath the sign, Lyra following close behind.

“Why are we going there? Do you want something you want with the captain?” she asked.

“No, not really, but we do need somewhere to sleep while we’re here right?”

“Yeah sure,” she said.

Karon pushed open the door and stepped inside. It was pretty big. Lit by small windows carved through the rock, and lanterns placed upon the tables, spreading a soft golden shine. The tables were dark mahogany, much like the balconies, and so too was the bar, the stairs and the wooden panel on the lower half of the walls.

The only exception was the wood covering the floor, which was of a lighter variety, though what kind of wood it might be escaped him.

There were a few ponies standing around some of the tables. Karon guessed they must have been having regular conversations or enjoying their drinks before he entered. He had to guess because all of them were now staring open mouthed at him.

“Right, humans aren't exactly common around here.”

“I have a feeling this will happen a lot in the future.”

He sighed and walked with firm steps towards the bar, the spear he used as a walking staff thudded against the wooden floor with each step. Everypony’s eyes snapped towards it at the same time, and widened as their faces shifted from surprise to worry. Karon noticed and tried to move as relaxedly as he could, hoping he would appear non-threatening enough to keep them from screaming for the guards or panicking. He wasn’t about to try the waving-and-smiling tactic any time soon.

Once was enough.

Lyra moved up to his side as he walked, and when he looked down at her he saw she wore a bored expression while looking around. Acting like it was nothing special, that the appearance of an armed human, something only whispered about in campfire stories, was nothing to work themselves up over.

When he reached the bar, Lyra put a hoof on top of it, her careless attitude made the ponies inside shift back to surprise, and finally ended up all looking confused. Karon caught her eye and gave her a quick, thankful smile. She responded with a wink that made the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

“What can I help you with?” the unicorn barmare asked with her eyes fixed on Karon. She had a coat the color of a sunset, and green eyes sprinkled with gold. She had pulled her auburn mane up in a knot and was wearing a small apron.

“How much for a two beds room, and food and drink to go with it?”

“Eight bits per night, and two additional if you want food and drink for the day. You get to eat off the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, so you'll have to come down here yourself if you want it.”

Karon had no idea what standard rates for anything in Equestria were besides a bottle of alcohol since he had help selling those. So he just nodded like it was a reasonable price and took off his rug sack. He opened it and dug around inside until he found the bag of money, then gathered ten bits in his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was pull out the giant bag of gold and let everypony know there was easy money to be made stealing from him.

He looked around the inn while he put the coins on the table. Everypony was still staring at him, though now they tried to appear busy with something else, but nopony looked to be interested in his money. No gleam of greed or hunger sparked in their eyes. No, they were just wondering what the hell he really was and what he was doing here. It wasn't like he could be a real human.

That would be really scary.

The barmare's horn glowed with a green aura and the coins floated through the air and down behind the bar, clinking as they landed in whatever place she kept all her coin. Her face shifted into a practiced smile as the strangers before her suddenly became customers, and with a wave of her hoof pointed at the stairs.

“Let me show you your room. Follow me.”

She dropped down on all her four and walked out from behind the counter. Karon motioned for Lyra to take the lead and they both followed her up. They took a left at the top and followed down a narrow hallway, carefully crafted doors lined the hallway at generous intervals, promising that the rooms they led into were generous.

She stopped at the end of the hallway and opened a door to the left, Karon and Lyra went through it and looked around.

It was a normal sized room by pony standards, which was far bigger than they ever really needed, so space would not be an issue between them. The walls were lined with paintings of various artists with clearly distinct styles, but yet managed to fit in well next to each other. Thick red drapes framed the windows, making the room take on an appearance more reminiscent of a library than an inn. This image was furthered by the large bookcase filled with large books and the dark brown sofa next to it.

On either end of the room stood two double beds with carved bed frames in curving patterns. They were of standard pony size, but since they were so wide, Karon would be able to sleep on it relatively comfortably with a bit of imagination.

“There is a restroom through that door,” the barmaid said and pointed to a door right next to one of the beds. “You should have everything you need here, if you want to stay for any more nights you need to pay by lunch tomorrow at the latest.”

“Thank you, we'll see how long we stay,” Karon responded then walked to the far off bed next to the restroom door and threw his spear, map and rug sack on it. He stroked his throat and went into the bathroom. It was small but functional, and thankfully had running water. Karon eagerly eased the discomfort of his parched throat with the cool liquid and splashed his face. When he was done, he looked up into the mirror before him.

The face staring back at him looked tired, not just physically, but worn out in all its entirety. There had always been a certain kind of amber glow to his eyes, ever since he first saw them in Twilight's mirror. But now they reminded him disturbingly much about the flames of a dying fire.

He sighed and splashed his face again to bring himself out of the pointless meditation. When he walked out of the bathroom he found Lyra standing in the middle of the room, waiting for him with a patient look.

“Yes?” he asked and raised an eyebrow.

“So what now?” she asked him back.

Karon was taken off guard entirely by the simple question, and couldn't think of anything to say in response.

“Well...I...Uhh...”

“You did have a plan when you said we we're going to Trottingham, right? Because when we talked about where we could go you sounded like you had a plan.”

“Well...it's not that simple...”

She groaned and gingerly rubbed a spot between her eyes with a hoof. “So you don't have a plan at all?”

“See the sights?”

“I would feel more confident about your leadership skills if you hadn't made that sound like a question.”

“You were the one that wanted to come along, remember?” Karon shot back.

“I didn't have much choice, it was that or go back to Ponyville and pretend I had just decided to give up all about humans!”

“Well maybe you should have, Karon finished with a glare.

Heavy silence filled the air, pressing down on both of them as they gradually calmed down and the angry tension was replaced with awkwardness.

“I didn't mean that...I'm glad you followed along,” Karon said carefully.

“No you're not.”

“Actually I am. If you hadn't, I would be spending most of my time mopping around and thinking pessimistic, pseudo-philosophical thoughts by now.”

“Like you aren't.”

Lyra snorted and looked down at the floor with a crooked smile.

“Thanks...for letting me come along I mean. I don't think things would have worked out with me and Bon Bon now no matter what. Hay, we hadn't even slept in the same bed for months.”

“Woah, woah hold up. You and Bon Bon were actually a...a thing.”

“Marefriends yeah, didn't you know? You lived in Ponyville for half a year and didn't even notice?”

“Maybe if we had spent our time doing something else then discussing my latest disaster, or you systematically interrogating me about all things human, I might have known that.”

“But it’s obvious when two ponies are marefriends, you get all cute and act like a couple.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know when things are cute and adorable in a couple manner and just cute and adorable in a pony manner? You all act like crazy married couples all the time anyway.”

“Well we ar...we were, a couple. Is that a problem for you or anything?”

“Well...No, I'm just...I can't decide if I should make some kind of innuendo regarding more direct ways of using your horn than magic or not. But that would be a bit crass since I contributed to your break up...kinda.”

Lyra snorted again, however it continued into a laugh this time and she smiled up at him like he was an idiot.

“You would know about such things after having slept with Rarity huh?”

Karon's mouth fell open in indignation while words were unsuccessfully trying to come out of it. Lyra put a hoof over her mouth to hide her smirk when he regained his composure.

“We NEVER tried something like that! Seriously, it's Rarity were talking about here...I mean, not that I would ever try something like that even if she did offer. Which she didn't!” he finished and watched how Lyra fell down of the floor and shook with giggling she couldn't contain.

A few heartbeats passed before Karon's mouth broke out into a grin. Then he chuckled, and then he began laughing just as hard as Lyra. He had to clutch his stomach and brace himself against the bed as laughter spilled out of him.

The tension that had hung in the air was dispersed and both of them stood up straight. They looked on one another with smiles and waited for the occasional giggles to subside.

Finally, Karon looked out the window and said.

“Okay, let's grab a few coins then go see what this town has to offer.”

Lyra nodded in agreement of the idea and waited for Karon to gather a few bits from the pouch before they both walked down the stairs and out into the city waiting to be explored.

“You sure you and Rairty never did anything like that? Because you seemed a little too defensive about it,” she asked, smile still present on her face.

“The subject never even came up, but on another note, from now on I will be forever referring to your horn as 'the love wand'.”

With a quick laugh at the look on Lyra's face, Karon began walking down the street and towards whatever adventures awaited them.

                               ********************************************************************

Five hours later, just as the sun was beginning to fall, Karon and Lyra entered the inn once more, both of them with sullen looks on their faces.  They went to the bar and Karon put all the coins he had gathered before going out on it.

“Give me as much of the strongest this buys, for her too,” he grumbled at the slightly nervous looking barmare. Her eyes flickered between the angry looking Karon and the sour face of Lyra, then she turned around and levitated a green bottle to the counter. Two glasses followed out from behind it, and she poured a dark yellow liquid into them.

Karon grabbed the closest one and emptied it in one gulp, setting it down and giving the barmare a glance that told her to refill and keep them coming without any objections. She swallowed noticeably, but filled the glass again. And then she left the bottle and went down to the other end of the bar, where apparently a few glasses desperately needed cleaning.

“Rascists! The whole lot of them,” Karon growled into his glass, before taking a large sip from it.

“We have been over this before, they're not racist. It would have been racist if a unicorn discriminates against say, an earth pony. A bunch of unicorn discriminating against a human would be called speciesists.”

“They're assholes either way!”

“Yeah I kinda forgot how ponies around here haven't heard about the human walking around.” Lyra said and sipped her drink with a grimace.

“They didn't even give me a chance to explain I'm not gonna eat them,” he spat and drained his glass once more.

“Well, at least the guards didn't give us a fine,” Lyra offered weakly.

“Disturbing the peace my ass! I was trying to look around the stores not burn them down!” he threw up his arms in the air and shook his head, then reached for the bottle and drank straight from it.

Lyra looked down at her barely touched glass, and then at his, then at the bottle he was greedily drinking from.

“Uhh Karon, this was pretty strong, maybe you should calm down a little, before you decide to burn something down for real.”

He pulled the bottle away from his lips with a gasp of air and squinted his eyes as they watered.  Now that she mentioned it, Karon realized that the drink actually felt like shoving down burning coal in his throat.

“Bah! I'm just fine! Unlike those assholes, I hope their children will all marry donkeys so they can die out of shame!”

“What's wrong with the donkeys?” Lyra asked in surprise.

“What!? You mean there's talking, donkeys here too? Did I just say something insensitive... Ooh wait nevermind, this town is already full of insensitive assholes anyway! Barkeep...put more stuff in the…the thing more stuff goes in!”

“Karon your holding the bottle in your hand,” Lyra said and pointed at the bottle he was currently waving at the barmare. He turned to stare at Lyra, then turned to stare at the bottle. Then he took another swig from it and smacked his lips loudly.

“Forgot 'bout that,” he said, swaying to the side.

“Uhm sir, you’re not supposed to drink that much,” the barmare carefully interjected.

“I'm schupposed to djink all the much I want,” Karon shot back but froze, then stared down at the floor.

“What do you mean?” Lyra asked the barmare while keeping an eye on the suspiciously quiet Karon.

“That bottle is a local mix the unicorn artists use when they are depressed or in need of creativity, it's really strong and you’re only supposed to drink one glass at the most.”

“What happens if you drink too much?” Lyra asked with a glance to the barmare.

“Well...most of them go a little crazy.”

They both slowly turned their heads and regarded Karon wearily, who still kept his eyes down at the floor. But instead of a spontaneous combustion or turning into a hydra, Karon surprised them in another way.

He sniffed.

“You...you called me sir, juscht like she did,” he said, and nearly tipped over as he took another swig of the bottle.

The barmare just looked confused, however Lyra looked on him with pity. She went up on her hind legs and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Come on Karon, you know thinking about that won't help.”

“I knowsh, but itsh just scho hard.”

“Uhh, I think you've had enough now,” she stated with a skeptical look at his slurring.

“No! I only need another djink, then I will be juscht fine.”

“One more, then you're done,” she said firmly, trusting Karon wouldn't have the presence of mind to remember there was little she could do if he simply refused. And if he did, somepony would call the town guards sooner or later, and then things could get very complicated.

She watched Karon take another long swig of the bottle, then he put it back on the counter where it wobbled uncertainly before coming to a stop. The barmare quickly grabbed it with her magic and levitated it back to where it belonged, safely out of Karon's reach. She made a face like she had just bitten a very sour lemon, then spoke to him slowly.

“I'm sorry, but you didn't pay for...that much. Could I...perhaps bother you for the rest of the money?”

Karon raised his head up high so he looked down on the unicorn over his nose, his eyes going in and out of focus repeatedly, making him squint.

“Schure, no problem. Lyra, get the money and pay the nische lady,” he responded with a wave up towards their bedroom.

Lyra didn't move, not quite certain if it would be such a good idea to leave Karon down at the bar unattended. She glanced around the room and saw that most of the patrons were staring at them openly, wondering what was going on with the human. If Karon caught those looks he might be upset, and right now she doubted he would have much control over his impulses.

Well, less so than usual.

“I'll be right back,” she told the barmare and hurried towards the stairs, and the waiting bag of money. Halfway up she nearly ran into a large unicorn, his coat a pearly white and mane a deep blue. She murmured a half voiced apology and shot a glance back downstairs, and saw that Karon looked to be in conversation with the barmare.

She hurried past the surprised unicorn and ran into her room. She had to use her magic to untie the knot Karon had made on the strange rug sack, and during the entire time she cursed her lack of proper hands, it would have been so much simpler.

She managed to untie it eventually and quickly levitated what looked to be a dozen of the coins into the air. She turned around and hurried back down to Karon, the coins floating alongside her. When she got back out on the stairs she saw that the unicorn she had run into was in deep conversation with Karon, and the human looked quite animated, although without a center of balance.

“Uh oh,” she said then hurried down to them.

“What’s going on?” she asked, carefully eyeing the laughing Karon and the smiling unicorn. She discreetly slipped the coins over to the barmare with her magic while she waited for Karon to stop laughing.

“Oh hey! It’sch you, can you guess who thisch is? I beat you can’t,” he replied and put and arm over the stallion’s shoulders. Normally it would have been difficult, but right now Karon was stooping over so low it came without problem.

Lyra looked the stallion over a little more carefully, making note of his groomed appearance, and his confident stance despite being right next to an obviously drunk human, a dangerous creature out of legend.

“A guard of some kind,” she finally guessed, noting that the irony of being approached by a guard, just after they nearly got arrested, was the kind of humor she thought Karon would enjoy.

“You were schooo close,” he said and formed an o with his lips, “This right here is Twilight’s brother, Shining Swarmor.”

“Armor, my name is Shining Armor,” The stallion corrected with a patient smile, like he was used to dealing with drunken humans on a regular basis.

“Twilight’s brother? So you’re the captain those pegasi was waiting for to return to Canterlot. Aren’t you supposed to stay with the princesses and order around all the other guard ponies?” she asked with a frown.

“I’m here on a special assignment actually,” the stallion explained while slipping out of Karon’s grasp discreetly.

“Oh, you’re here to schpyyy on me?” Karon said and pointed at him with a shaky finger.

“No, why would somepony…never mind. No, I’m here to safeguard princess Mi Amore Cadenza during her stay in Trottingham.”

“Just you? No pony else?” Lyra continued.

“Princess Celestia didn't anticipate anything dangerous to happen, but for some reason she wanted Caden…I mean princess Mi Amore, to be guarded until her return to Canterlot.”

“I beat I know why,” Lyra whispered to herself and shifter her gaze to Karon.

He had just noticed the incessant staring of the other patrons of the inn, and he was glaring daggers right back at all of them. She had seen Karon drunk twice, both of those times ended with utter chaos and some damage to property and egos. It would be best if she could get him upstairs and away from anypony else until he was in a better mood, or at least sober.

“Hehe, well it was nice meeting you, but we should probably be going now. Need a lot of sleep after all that walking around,” she emphasized the statement with an extremely faked yawn, then walked up behind Karon and pushed him carefully towards the stairs. He stumbled forward drunkenly and turned around in protest.

“Hey watch where you stichk that horn!”

“Come on Karon, time to go sleep.”

“I don’t wanna sleep,” he objected with a whine, showing quite clearly he had picked up a thing or two from Rarity.

“Too bad, it’s time for sleep anyway,” she responded without budging and pushed him backwards.

“I said I don’t wanna!” Karon shouted and stomped his foot.

“Karon, what would Feather say if she saw you right now?” Lyra asked firmly, wincing when she saw how his face switched from angry scowl to a look of pain.

“Feather…”

“Yes, so let’s go upstairs and sleep, everything will be better tomorrow,” Lyra said in a softer tone, pushing on him carefully until he began walking towards the stairs.

She regretted having mentioned Feather Touch. Helping Karon forget and move on would be important if she didn’t want their journey together to end in disaster, but playing foalsitter to a human was not what she had had in mind when she had asked if she could follow with him. Even so, it had been a low blow, and she made a promise to herself never to use it again.

They went up the stairs and into their room. When Lyra saw her bed she felt drained and in great need of sleep. She hadn’t realized just how exhausting keeping Karon from causing a disaster was. That had been Twilight’s job, and she really didn’t want it. However it wasn’t like she could let the only human in Equestria hurt himself. The odds of her ever meeting another one were about nonexistent.

Besides, she actually liked Karon…most of the time.

She watched as he went over to his bed and shuffled the spear, map and rug sack off it to the floor. He fell down on the bed and began clumsily taking off his clothes, throwing his boots and other clothes around the room.

Clothes was one thing Lyra didn’t have to worry about, even though she had been tempted more than once to begin wearing it constantly, since humans did it. She jumped up to her large bed and stretched out on it luxuriously, then turned to her side and put one of the pillows under her head.

It didn’t take long before her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open, and she closed them happily, convinced Karon would fall asleep soon enough, despite having slept on the way to Trottingham. He wouldn’t get up to any trouble tonight, and with that she allowed herself to relax and drift off into sleep.

Her last thought was if Bon Bon was missing her?

                   **************************************************************

When Lyra woke up she yawned and felt like lingering in bed. After all, they didn’t have anything planned for the day anyway, as far as Karon had told her. With that thought she pushed herself up and glanced over at his bed, and her heart skipped a beat. It was empty.

She scrambled out of bed and nearly tripped over her sheets, the sun was spilling forth its light through the window and Lyra spotted one of Karon’s boots underneath it. If the boot was here it was unlikely he had gone outside, unless…he had gone out barefoot.

Humans didn’t do that…she thought. She had asked once and Karon had told her they wore something on their feet most of the time, that the only people that didn’t were either hippies or crazy. Lyra didn’t know what a hippie was, but she knew that Karon wasn’t crazy…not medically so anyway.

The dread that had gathered in her stomach disappeared when she heard the distinctive sound of somepony throwing up from inside the bathroom. She blew out a sigh of relief and put a hoof over her face. If he was vomiting then she hoped he would be sober when he came out.

She shuffled over to her bed sleepily and threw herself on it, the day had barely begun and she was already worrying about what Karon might do. Things wouldn’t work out if it continued.

She lied on her back and stared up at the ceiling for a while, waiting for Karon to finish. When he finally came out he did so with a pained groan, and Lyra sat up and observed his unsteady walk to his bed. However in the place in her stomach where dread had sat just a few minutes ago, now instead an aching hole remained. Then it growled and Lyra felt hunger make its presence known.

“Karon, I want to go down and get something to eat, wanna to join me?” she asked, trying to keep the malicious glee for his condition out of her voice. Maybe if he felt like this a bit more he would think twice about getting himself drunk and dangerous.

The only response she got from Karon was a loud groan that somehow managed to convey his disgust of the idea.

“Suit yourself, I’ll see if they can save something for when you’ll feel better.”

“I’ll never be better,” he responded with a whimper and pulled the covers over himself.

Lyra cracked a smile, then went out the door and headed downstairs. The sun was up and that meant that the inn would at least have begun with their breakfast menu. She eagerly bounced down the stairs two steps at a time and trotted up to the barmare.

“Hey, what do you serve for breakfast?” Lyra asked her, pretending not to hear when her stomach growled loudly in response to the question.

“We have cooked vegetable stew and several types of bread. If you prefer, we have some hay available as well, we got milk and water for drink…unless you prefer something stronger that is?”

“Oh no, I don’t need anything stronger, I’ll have some milk and a bowl of that vegetable stew. Would it be alright if I brought some of it up to our room too? My friend isn’t feeling quite well after last night.”

“I have no trouble believing that. I’ve seen ponies needing to go to a hospital for less than he drank,” the barmare said, then turned around and headed through a half open door behind her.

Lyra’s stomach growled loudly once more in anticipation and she turned to look around for a table to eat at.

The inn wasn't crowded, she only saw three more patrons beside herself, and two of those stood out. They both stood at a table together, a pink coated, multicolored maned alicorn and the captain, Shining Armor. The latter which had seen her, and was waving her over. Lyra answered with a wave back and walked over to them slowly.

She might have been allowed to see the princess Celestia in her own bedchamber while in Canterlot, but that had been because she was in company with Twilight and the other elements of harmony. Ordinary ponies like her weren’t used to speaking and being allowed to see royalty so informally. And the alicorn sitting at the table was obviously the princess Mi Amore something the captain had mentioned.

It was perfectly natural to feel a little nervous.

The princess looked on the approaching unicorn with curiosity etched on her features, in front of her was a bowl with what must be the vegetable stew Lyra herself had ordered. When she reached the table Shining Armor smiled at her and tipped his head.

“Good morning, I hope everything went well after you retired last night.”

“Oh yeah, nothing to worry about, my friend is just a little…uh, indisposed at the moment.”

Lyra swallowed a lump in her throat and forced herself not to stare at the alicorn, she didn’t know if she was supposed to talk to the princess in any certain way. Perhaps it would be best to sound as polite as possible.

She really hoped Karon would stay upstairs.

“I’m afraid I didn’t get your name…?” Shining continued with a questioning glance to her.

“Right, my name is Lyra.”

“Hello Lyra, this is princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Royal Canterlot court.”

The princess smiled at Lyra, and instantly her nervousness was gone. Cadenza must have noticed because her smile widened a little and she spoke softly.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m a princess only because I’m related to Celestia and Luna. I don’t actually do anything besides a little bit of assistance with diplomats.”

The reassurance and comforting tone of the princess's voice made Lyra feel more relaxed, and the barmare came out with the stew and milk to her at the table. After that, the conversation flowed easily. Shining Armor asking about how Twilight was doing in Ponyville, and Cadenza took great pleasure in Lyra’s accounting of when her aunt Luna appeared there during Nightmare night.

It was an amiable moment, and Lyra was enjoying it. That was until she heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. She turned her head around and saw a much dishevelled Karon descending down to the floor, the barmare spotted him as well and her usual fiery orange coat turned a little lighter.

He shuffled his feet over to the bar and had a hand up over his face, trying in vain to protect himself from the light shining in through the windows.

“Excuse me,” Lyra said to the pony pair and walked over to Karon.

“…That’ll be fine,” Karon finished telling the barmare, after which she went into the kitchen like before. The groggy human turned around and saw Lyra walking towards and rubbed his eyes.

“I see you made your way downstairs,” she told him.

“I stopped feeling sick, and now I feel hungry. Besides, I wanted to see what you were up to.”

“I’m just talking to that captain we meet last night and the princess,” she said and flicked her head in their direction.

Karon glanced over at the table Lyra had been standing at and raised an eyebrow when he saw the two ponies around it.

“She’s pink.”

“Yeah…she is.”

“And he’s totally crushing on her.”

“Wait, what?!”

Lyra spun around and stared at the table, wondering what Karon had just seen that she would have missed. But she was disappointed, neither Shining Armor nor princess Cadenza looked to be doing anything that might have led to that conclusion. They were just standing like she left them, talking to one another while smiling brightly.

She turned back to Karon, who was eyeing the two ponies intently while massaging his temples at the same time, still suffering from his hangover.

“What do you mean?” she finally gave in and asked him.

“Come on, he’s practically transfixed with her eyes, he’s mimicking her every move, and he does that nervous looking laugh when she stops talking. He’s crushing on her.” Karon fell silent after that, busy with licking his lips at the sight of the vegetable stew the barmare had just brought with her out of the kitchen to him.

“Thank you,” he said to her, grasping it in both hands and tipping it over into his mouth, drinking straight from it. Lyra observed his use of his hands with naked envy written all over her. She brought herself out of the trance quickly though by shaking her head and returning to the topic at hoof.

“That doesn’t mean he’s falling in love with the princess. Maybe he’s just overprotective and takes his duty very seriously.”

Karon slurped the content of his bowl loudly and pulled it away from his lips, he whipped his mouth with his sleeve then gave Lyra a skeptical look.

“You’re grasping for straws and you know it. Seems like I’m not the only one that can’t spot a pony couple straight away after all,” he told her with a smirk before raising the bowl to his lips again.

Lyra blew out some air in annoyance and turned observe the alleged couple closer. Now that Karon did mention it, Shining Armor was kinda following the princess's every move. And did she just flutter her eyelashes at him? Were they flirting with each other? It had certainly not seemed like it when she had been talking with them.

“Okay, you might have a point. What are we going to do about it?”

Karon coughed into his stew, then rubbed the splatter off his face with an irritated sigh.

“What do you mean ‘what are we going to do about it’? Obviously nothing, it’s not our concern.”

“We can’t just ignore it, if Shining Armor likes the princess don’t you think we should help him a little at least?”

“Uhm, no.”

“Why not? He’s been nice to us, and he’s also Twilight’s brother so you would be helping her in a way too. What if they end up being meant for each other and getting married and having children and so on. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing for Twilight? That her brother married an alicorn princess?”

“You’ve been reading too many trashy romance novels Lyra. Even if they do get together for whatever reason, they’re not going to get married and gallop off into the sunset together. If they fall in love, it will most likely last a few months at the most then end in some kind of court scandal. Their love won’t be some kind of epic legend that ends up saving Equestria or whatever.”

“Has anypony ever told you you are really cynical. What are we doing here exactly that takes priority over helping something that might become love bloom?”

“That’s…complicated.”

“Yeah? Because yesterday I remember you telling me you didn’t have a plan.”

“That was different. I meant I didn’t have a plan specifically for going to Trottingham. I do have a…grand plan in general.”

“Which would be?” she asked him and leaned against the counter, convinced what he would say next should be interesting.

“Uhh…Self-discovery,” he said and shrugged his shoulder.

Lyra facehoofed and shook her head gravely.

“And how are you planning on accomplishing this exactly?”

“I thought I might figure that out along the way.”

Lyra’s hoof smacked into her forehead once more, but then she forcefully relaxed herself and smiled at him.

“Well since you haven’t done that yet there’s nothing stopping us from giving Shining Armor a helping hoof…or hand.”

“Actually I was thinking that we should head down to the harbor today.”

“Why the harbor?”

“Well, Trottingham is located on the eastern coast of the continent, there must be plenty of ships going to all manners of places.”

“Well…yeah sure, but why would we go anywhere else? You said it yourself, no plan.”

“Yes, but this place also happens to be a den of panic-prone idiotic rac…speciesists.”

“Karon, humans aren’t exactly common anywhere. If anypony has heard of them it’s through horror stories and legends, none which paint a pretty picture. I think most ponies will react the same way no matter where we go.”

“Then we’ll go to a place where there are no ponies,” Karon said firmly.

“What!? Where the hay would we…Oh no, not a chance.”

“Come on Lyra, it can’t be that bad.”

“Have you checked the description on the map? It’s either desert where we will die of thirst or jungle where we'll be eaten by some horrible monster.”

“If the Zebras can live there so can we. Besides we’re just visitors.”

“No way, that place is obviously too dangerous.”

“You mean unlike Equestria, where a new crisis isn’t popping up every few months?”

“You don’t have to be sarcastic about it,” Lyra murmured in defeat.

“It’s settled then, we’ll go down to the harbor and see if there’s any ships going to the zebra empire on Punda Milia.”

“Fine, but if that’s how it going to be I want you to help me with Shining Armor until it’s time to leave.”

“I don’t see the point of us meddling with this.”

“I do, and if I’m going to have to suffer through whatever disasters I know you’re leading us into, I want to think I at least did something meaningful first.”

“Sure, whatever floats your boat and gives you kicks. But we will leave on the first ship going there. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Lyra said with a smile and happy glance towards the two ponies, still chatting pleasantly with each other.

“Good, let’s go down to the harbor first and look for a ship. When we find one and get a time for when it’s time to go, we can play cupid until then.”

“Play what?”

“Never mind, we can deal with the whole captain and the princess drama after we find a ship.”

“Let’s go then,” Lyra said eagerly, the prospect of helping her new friend find love driving her forward.

The way down to the harbor wasn’t marked by any signs, so they had to stop and ask for directions more than once. The ponies they meet treated them with varying amounts of suspicion and fear, which actually helped in their favor when it came to getting quick and direct descriptions.

They walked down the cobblestone street, slipping in and out of the sunlight as they passed by the ornamented houses. Eventually they reached the promised harbor, where massive ships with ropes hanging around great masts rested. Ropes clung to them like spider webs, and the great sails were tied to the rigging, waiting to be released and catch the wind.

Karon and Lyra walked down to the water edge and observed the waves splashing towards the solid rock for a few minutes. A serene calm settled over them, the beatings of their hearts slowing down to match the rhythm of the waves. Karon breathed in deeply, and the smell of salt and sea entered through his nostrils.

“Yeah, searching for a ship was the right decision to make.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Lyra poked her hoof into his side, and when he looked down at her quizzically she pointed it towards a group of rough looking ponies gathered next to a pile of stacked crates. Many of them wore loose fitted and worn clothes, several also sporting tattoos of different kinds in addition to their cutie marks.

“They do look like seafarers. Let’s go see if they know any ship leaving for Punda Milia.” Karon said and took a step towards the group.

“Karon wait…Those ponies look to be pretty tough.”

“Don’t worry Lyra, I speak testosterone,” he stated confidently with a wink and walked over to them.

“Can someone say mistake?”

The pony’s eyes had all snapped to him as one when he crossed some sort of invisible line separating the group from everpony around them. They didn’t speak, just glared at him with challenging gazes. If they felt any concern about him being human they didn’t show it.

“Uhh…Sup? I was wondering if any of you knew any ships that are heading for Punda Milia any time soon? Specifically the zebra empire?” Karon asked neutrally, ignoring their hostility.

The ponies looked at each other, remaining silent. Then one of them spoke up, a grey coated, black maned pony wearing a red bandana over his head. On his flank there was an anchor, but most notably, he was wearing an eye patch over his right eye.

“Aye mate, ther’e be ah ship sailing in t'morrow. If ye and yer lady there be ah interested it’lla be twenty gold a head for te trip. That’a ship over there it’ll be. ‘Sea Swallow’ be her name. Ah long as ye be there before the hour after sunrise ye can board with.”

The pony spoke with such a thick accent his words were nearly indistinguishable, but Karon caught the gist of it. He nodded in satisfaction and looked over at the ship the pony had been pointing to. Perhaps it would be a bad idea to board a ship whose crew he knew nothing about, but if they would get any funny ideas he had a few ways to discourage them.

“We’ll be there,” Karon said and nodded in thanks. When he and Lyra left the group behind all the ponies turned to face the speaker with surprised looks on their faces.

“By the ocean grave what did you just say to that thing?” one of them asked him.

“Oh I was just putting on a show for the land dweller. Didn’t you see his face when I started speaking like that? Hilarious, besides the lads on the Swallow could use a little entertainment on the journey, and judging by how tall that thing is, I think it’ll be a while before he gets any sea legs. Playing the stereotype seafarer will be good for a laugh or two.”

One of the other ponies sighed deeply.

“Land dwellers, hmph, thinking we are all uneducated louts. I went to the Earth pony institute for gifted ponies.”

“Yeah, well good luck with that one, he made my teeth itch, that means there’s going to be trouble.”

“When are you going to stop with that prediction nonsense Slugger?”

“I can’t help it, it runs in the family.”

“Well I for one will trust in my ship and crew. We can handle whatever trouble that thing might bring. As long as he pays I’ll treat him like any other pony.”

“I think you might come to regret those words,” Slugger said and looked after the disappearing human.

        ***********************************************************************

“Okay then, how do you want to do this?” Karon asked while cradling the small glass of whisky he had ordered earlier.

They both stood around one of the tables inside the inn. Evening had fallen and only the lanterns offered any light. Shadows melted and formed again and again around the room as ponies walked by. They sat far into one of the corners, observing Shining Armor and the princess, eating their supper quietly.

Had it not been determined for sure earlier, both Karon and Lyra knew now that the stallion had a thing for the alicorn. He kept giving her glances across their table, and sometimes opened his mouth, like he was about to speak, but kept his silence.

“I don’t know. Maybe we could just…get them talking about it.”

“Genius, I wonder why I didn’t think of that,” Karon said dryly.

“I’m waiting for you to say something better.”

“How about we trick the guy into confessing?”

“You can’t just trick somepony into confessing love! It ruins the point of it,” Lyra hissed under her breath.

“I beg to differ,” Karon said with a chuckle, and locked his eyes on Shining Armor.

He slowed his breathing, pushing it deep down into his diaphragm and releasing it steadily, working it into a pattern. His mind became unburdened, focused, and free of outside influence. The room became clearer, the outlines of everything inside sharpened, and to Karon, it felt like he was rising out of the murky waters of a dream.

Energy flowed through his mind, and shaped into a field that ran through everything inside the inn. It touched upon everything inside, echoing out from him like a sonic wave. It ran through the small clouds of astral matter, the left over remains of emotional release from troubled customers coming to drink away their problems. The energy channeled into their hopes and dreams as they had stood within and wondered where they had gone wrong. The wave swept over and registered it all, sending bursts of energy back to Karon, feeding him information of what it crossed.

He could sense all of it, it was fine magic, basic, but fine. The subtle side of the art, the one less heard of in Equestria. And he could sense when the wave crashed into Shining Armor’s aura, sending back a jolt of energy to Karon, and in return, he hooked on to it. He shaped a bridge of mental energy, linking them together. He felt the stallions fear, the fear of stepping out of line, of dishonoring the code of conduct he had been drilled so hard in during his training. He felt the raw passion, the way the stallions heart beat faster when he looked on the princess, the way her smell would make his mouth go dry. And he felt the soft, caring desire to only do good to her, love.

“Yupp, he’s fallen hard for her.”

“Let’s see if we can give him a helping hand then.”

The mental link formed between them was a one way street, Shining Armor would not have any form of information about Karon transmitted to him, not by itself. But that did not mean Karon couldn’t use it, to reach into the unicorn’s mind, to plant little suggestions, and even tamper a little with what his brain was telling him.

“Lyra, you might want to get closer for this,” Karon said, his voice sounding distant and dreamy, the words drawn out lazily.

She narrowed her eyes at him, looking between Karon, with his half-closed eyelids and slightly open mouth, to the pony pair he was intently gazing at. But she did as he said anyway, and walked over towards the two ponies discreetly, keeping out of their immediate sight. Karon felt her as she moved, he felt her aura, the flaming lines of energy leaping around her. He felt her frustration and growing concern about him, and about her decision to follow him on this journey. He filed that away for later, and waited until she appeared to be within hearing distance of the princess and her protector.

Then he sent a tiny little piece of false information, feeding it to his brain’s flow of sensory data. In reality, both he and the princess sat quietly and ate of their food slowly. But that was not what the stallion saw, or heard, for just a few seconds. To him, the princess raised her head and looked him deeply in the eyes and asked.

“When are you going to admit how you feel about me?”

Armor looked at her like she had just put the death sentence on him,

“We…I…I…I…”

The real princess head rose up, and she looked at him the same way the illusion did, and then Karon let it go, and only reality remained. Which happened to a very confused princess.

“Shining what ar-?”

“No, wait, please let me do this right,” he interrupted her, forgetting entirely that he was speaking to royalty. “I…I guess I’ve been putting this off for too long.”

The princess looked on him curiously, not quite understanding what he was on about. But she kept quiet, and waited for him to say whatever he wanted to say.

“Cadenza, I have…been with you now for only a few days, but…during those days I…I…Oh to hay with it, I’m in love with you,” he burst out.

The princess looked on him across the table, a mask of surprise on her face, which shifted into a smile.

“I know,” she simply said.

“Whu, whu, what!? You knew?”

“Yes, I was the one that…helped awaken the spark in you. You looked so lonely, whenever you talked to me you sounded so strict, so rigid. I just wanted to help you see there is more than just duty in a pony’s life…I just didn’t know the love would turn out to be for me.”

“But it is. Do you…regret that that happened?” The stallion asked, stoically trying to appear in control, like he wasn’t hanging on to every sound that passed through her lips.

Cadenza stretched her hoof across the table, and gently put it on his.

“No.”

A smile broke out on Shining Armor’s face, a smile that radiated joy, and Cadenza answered with a smile of her own. They looked to be almost fallen in trance within each other’s eyes, and Karon could feel how passion and love erupted within them, spreading out to infuse every cell of their being. However they were brought out of it when a loud squeal sounded within the inn.

Karon brought himself out of his trance as well, and looked over at Lyra, who was bouncing up and down with her hooves over her mouth, and eyes nearly double their usual size. Both Cadenza and Shining Armor blushed when they realized they had an audience, both none of them looked displeased.

“Sorry, I will leave you alone,” Lyra managed to squeeze out, her saucer eyes never leaving the couple as she moved away, balancing on her hind legs precariously.

“That went well,” Karon commented off-handedly and sipped his whiskey.

“Shhhhh, you’re ruining the moment,” She whispered and watched the couple. Karon smiled at her behavior, but looked over at the two lovebirds he had just helped bring together. They were talking, but in too low a voice for him to make anything out. However, in truth, Karon doubted what they said mattered. It was just noise, something to fill the space between them, what really mattered was that they were together. Holding each other’s hooves and basking in the comfort of the love they felt.

Karon had felt that love too, he had felt how it had turned from a trickling spring to a flood, drowning out all other emotions. And when he now looked over at the couple, at the love he had helped, in a small way, to be expressed, he felt a warm glow spread inside his chest.

“Come Lyra, let’s leave them alone to their lovey-dooveyness.”

“Do you have to ruin this?” She asked him, affronted by the callous way he spoke.

“Yeah that’s me, heart of stone,” he said, and then dragged her away.

She let him take her away from the scene with little resistance, completely satisfied with what they had accomplished, even though she might not have quite understood the method used.

Karon stopped at the bar, then waved to attract the attention of the barmare. She hurried over to them at took their order, and after a few minutes came back with their lunch. Sandwiches with dandelions which Lyra ate heartily of, and Karon happily surrendered his share of the flowers to her. They paid for another night at the inn, and the barmare accepted their money, despite that Karon must have scared away a few customers. After they were done, they both retired upstairs to their room, and spent the rest of the day discussing their future plans over the map.

When night fell, they were both mentally exhausted. There had been a lot of arguing involved, and by the time the light from the outside was not enough to illuminate the map, they were ready for bed. Lyra had worried about making sure they would awake in time to get down to the ship, but Karon had promised her he would take care of it.

He lied in bed, covers drawn up to his chin and tightly wrapped around, and relaxed. Keeping time was perhaps an issue for many, but not him. He was a mage skilled in mental magic, you didn’t become that without being able to control a lot of your own inner workings. He sent a simple message down to his subconscious, informing it that he was to wake up before sunrise, and that was that.

With the problem taken care off, Karon surrendered quickly to sleep, and did so with a warm glow still present inside his chest.

               ****************************************************************

He stood within his library, the mental representation of everything stored within his mind cluttered the bookshelves around him. He had not chosen to go there, so was he dreaming? Or was he really there, driven by something deeper than his consciousness, guided by something he had not controlled?

He looked to the sides, and when his eyes fell on the books around him, he realized where he was. He was in the section which he had forbidden Twilight to ever enter, the part containing his memories, thoughts and feelings.

He swallowed, and slowly turned around, fearing he knew exactly what would be behind him. And justly so, for before him stood the black door. When he laid eyes on it, he could hear the distant screams, and smell the smoke of burning wood…and flesh. The roaring of a fire accompanied the screams, and through the crevices of the door, thin, black smoke escaped.

Dark chains barred the door, precautions to keep it from being accessed by him. He could not reach that which was inside, he had put it away, beyond his reach to recall.

Or so he had thought.

To his horror, he watched as one of the chains began rattling, and slowly it twisted and turned, until it broke off, and fell to the floor.

                **************************************************************

Karon sprang up from his bed, panting with fear. He could feel cold sweat, marching down the spine of his back, making the normally pleasant summer air chill.

He swallowed what little saliva present in his mouth, and it trickled down his throat painfully. It felt raw, had he been screaming? Or just breathing too hard?

“What the hell was that!?”

“I’m…not sure. Actually I have no idea, perhaps it was just a bad dream?”

“No…no it wasn’t.”

He swallowed again, the taste of smoke present on his tongue. It had been too real, that didn’t happen often in the dreaming realm. No, it had really happened, but why?

He didn’t want to know, just as long as the door went unopened, he could handle it. There was no other option.

He forced out a long breath, then slowly filled his lung with the morning air. When he looked out the window it was light, but the blue light of approaching dawn, not of direct sunlight. He wiped the drops of sweat from his face, then walked into the bathroom and splashed himself with water several times. Eventually the memory of what had transpired within his mind receded, sunk back to the far depths of his subconscious, making it more distant with each passing breath.

Feeling awake finally, Karon walked back into the room and put on his clothes, savoring the feeling of fabric brushing his skin. It was a grounding feeling, and one that made him remember where he was heading.

“To far and distant lands, exotic sights and exciting adventures.”

“Or maybe just a bad case of gonorrhea.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic. Besides, is there such a thing as a good case of gonorrhea?”

“You have a point.”

When he was fully dressed he grabbed his spear, rug sack and map. Ready to depart, he walked over to Lyra and shook her gently.

“Time to wake up, we need to go.”

She stirred, and after some more goading she opened her eyes with a yawn. She looked around, orienting herself, and slowly enough she remembered where she was and what time it was.

“Already? This feels a little too early,” she sleepily commented, her mane clung to her head in a perfect example of disorderliness.

“I’m sure, sunrise isn’t that far away, you get a…sense for such things when you study magic.”

“I’ve never felt anything like that,” She halfheartedly interjected, not quite ready to abandon the comfortable bed.

“You’ve never studied real magic, but seriously, we need to get going. If we don’t get there in time they will leave without us.”

“Hey I’ve studied magic plenty much, an- Yeash, I’m going, I’m going!” she shouted to him, caving in when he began hitting her with one of the pillows.

She threw of the covers and got out of bed, her horn glowed briefly when she did and her mane corrected itself to its usual style. Because of her abrupt decision to go with him she had no baggage at all, and after a quick stop at the bathroom she was ready to leave.

They both went downstairs and said good bye to the barmare, who kept her facial expression in check, making it hard to say if she was sad or happy to see them go. Lyra told her to give Shining Armor and his new love their best wishes whenever they would come down for breakfast, and the barmare was more than happy to convey them.

Karon dug into his rug sack and pulled out a few extra coins, leaving them as a thank you for putting up with his troublemaking. After that they left the inn, and Karon took the lead in a hurried pace.

“Why don’t you calm down? They said the hour after sunrise, and it hasn’t even risen yet!” Lyra complained.

“Because I've got this nagging feeling something might happen that could cause us to miss it. And when a mage senses something, you don’t ignore it.”

“Yeah sure, says the thing with twice as tall legs,” She shot back, but didn’t add anything else.

They both travelled down the cobblestone streets briskly, the distant cries of seagulls guiding them as much as memory. Looking up at the sky Karon saw the first signs of approaching dawn, the clouds colored by lights of orange, red and green.

“Wait, what?”

His momentary confusion was heightened when he heard the distant sound of explosions, and as he turned towards the source he saw a streak of light shot up into the sky. It exploded in a shower of blue, a thousand tiny spheres of light in an expanding circle.

“Huh, fireworks this early?”

Beneath the echoing sound of the distant frizzling and booming, he could hear another sound. A chorus of angry voices, growing louder as the sounds of the fireworks died down. Then Karon saw the smoke, rising above the roofs to his right.

“You think something’s happened?” Lyra asked, turning her face from him to the smoke, then back again.

“Judging by the sound yes, though it could just be ponies angry of being woken up this early.”

“Maybe we should take a look? I mean, it’s not like we're in a rush, it’ll take just a few minutes.”

She looked up at him hopefully, and Karon had a suspicion this wouldn’t end well, but he still felt a bit curious of what might have happened. He looked down the street towards the harbor, and then up at the smoke at his right, there was a small street that looked to be leading right towards it.

“Fine, a quick look, nothing else.”

She headed down the small street that led towards the source of the commotion, Karon followed behind her with his eyes and ears on alert. The nagging feeling something was about to happen was back, stronger, and growing ever so more with every step he took.

He flexed his fingers unconsciously, a tell he was mentally preparing himself for a quick use of magic, should it be needed.

They followed the road dutifully, crossing around houses and walking by closed stores, some of them Karon recognized, since he had been unceremoniously thrown out of them. The road was leading them towards the city’s marketplace by all signs.

It was a guess proven true, when he and Lyra passed by one final set of houses and came out in an open square. Market stands and wagons stood in a semi-circle, while regular shops framed the area, doors locked and windows barred this early.

With one exception, one of the houses, a three story giant dwarfing the buildings around it, wasn’t locked, it was on fire.

Smoke rose from the building as the fire licked the wood inside, thankfully most of the actual building was stone, and with the space between the houses there was at little risk of it spreading. Several pegasi above were soaring around, gathering up the clouds, mashing them together in the attempt to use rain to douse the flames.

But not every pony was busy trying to save the building, as large crowd of a few dozen ponies were the source of the angry chorus of voices. They were slowly advancing upon a lone unicorn, and the mare in turn was slowly backing away from the crowd, not daring to take her eyes off it.

“You burned down my hotel! And you can bet your flank you’re gonna pay for all the damage!” one big stallion with a moustache shouted at her. The angry chorus made a collective sound of agreement, and advanced a little quicker towards the unicorn.

Karon and Lyra watched how the poor mare’s eyes darted between the crowd and the building currently on fire. Normally Karon would have remained where he was, satisfied with just observing, but something told him that wouldn’t do this time. The nagging feeling that something was going to happen had reached its crescendo in full, and the increasing feeling told him quite clearly that he wasn’t to sit this one out. Something very important was about to happen, something that would affect him deeply.

“Hey isn’t that-“ Lyra began saying, but were interrupted by Karon when he abruptly strode forwards towards the lone unicorn.

“Why do I get the feeling I should have stayed in bed?” she asked out loud, but went after him anyway. She couldn’t let him get into trouble without her after all.

“Ok, that’s enough!” Karon said loudly, he took position between the unicorn and the crowd, standing tall above all of them. A few of the ponies murmured nervously at the sight of him, but crowd mentality works in a funny way, and many ponies that ordinarily would have feared him instead reacted in the opposite way.

“You’re with her!? Then you can help her pay for all of this!” he roared at him, and waved his hoof to the burning hotel.

“Calm down, we’re not doing anything until I know what happened. And I would prefer if you make it quick, I have somewhere I need to be."

“I won’t calm down until that insufferable pony showers me with gold or goes to jail!” the stallion shouted at the top of his lungs.

“I would prefer if we could settle this peacefully,” Karon responded calmly, beating the butt of his spear hard into the cobblestone.

The entire crowd fell silent, staring up at the deadly weapon as one, then the stallion in the lead roared louder than Karon would have thought possible.

“MURDERERS! MURDERERS IN THE STREET! HE THREATENS TO KILL US ALL!”

“Woah, hold on I didn’t mean-“  he tried to object, but too late. The cry had been taken up by everypony in the crowd, screaming so loudly it was near deafening.

Karon spun around and looked to both of the unicorn mares beside him, then simply said.

“Run.”

The possibility that they actually heard what he’d said over the great cacophony of murder accusations was slim, but the meaning behind it became clear when he sprinted down the nearest street as fast as he could.

The two unicorn mares barely missed a beat, and went off after him. Then the crowd made a swift transformation into a full-fledged angry mob, and charged after the fleeing trio with a roar.

Karon ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the distant light of the rising sun guiding him through the winding streets towards the harbor. Lyra and the unicorn kept an even pace with him, their four legs and superior balance making it easier to turn tight corners.

It was upon turning such a corner, Karon barely missing crashing into a wall, that he came upon the last thing he had ever expected to see.

The unicorn was of an almost black color, with a white mane, even the cutie mark in the shape of a shovel became marked in Karon’s mind. However, it was not the unicorn that shocked Karon, it was the sight of his old hat sitting on the unicorn’s head that did.

He didn’t stop running once, and in a split second decision, Karon stretched out his hand and yanked the hat off the unicorn. Leaving him behind before he realized what had happened.

“Thief!”

Karon heard him shout, and the only response Karon offered was laughter. He laughed as he ran, adrenaline coursing through him with every beat of his heart. There was something about the situation, running from the mob of angry ponies, alongside Lyra and the stranger unicorn. Having retrieved his lost hat was the last puzzle piece, and now, Karon felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Close to getting lynched.

It only made him laugh harder, and with a joyful surge of speed he ran out from the cluster of houses, and found himself on the docks. The sound of the mob following them could be heard close behind, and Karon’s eyes sought possibly their only chance of escape, and he found it.

Far out in the ocean.

“God damn it!” he swore.

“Hold on, hold on. Its sails are still tied, all of them, and their still anchored. Look at the chain going down into the water.”

“Then why are they out there?”

“I don’t know, but look around for anything small we can use to get out to them.”

Both Lyra and the other unicorn looked up at Karon with frightened eyes, waiting for him to say something.

“Come on,” was the only thing he could offer, and he ran down to the water edge, his eyes scanning for any rowing boat they could borrow. He spotted one, but it was full of sailor ponies, he even recognized one of them.

“Hey you!”he shouted and ran towards them.

The sea ponies all looked up to the bridge, and the human running down it with two unicorn mares following behind. One of them recognized Karon in turn, and a grin split his face.

“Yer made it after all, Ah did think yer weren’t coming. Lucky lady be with ye today, hadn’t we forgotten o’l Foaming Shore here in ta pub we wouldn’a come back here.”

“Yes, yes, lucky us. We need to get going now!” Karon responded, jumping down into the boat. Lyra jumped down after him, but the unicorn mare they had helped looked down uncertainly.

“What’s yer rush?” The old sea stallion asked, but was answered then the roaring mob ran out into the open. They all stood still for a moment, then one of them spotted the unicorn mare, and they all took up their roar again and ran towards her.

The mare took one look at the approaching horde, then jumped down into the boat. Karon turned towards the sailor ponies and shouted.

“ROW! Row as fast as you can!”

The bloodthirsty roar of the mob was all the motivation they needed, and as one they took the oars into their hooves and rowed with all their might. The boat left the dock behind quickly, and by the time the mob reached the end of the bridge, the trio was out of their reach.

Karon chuckled at the site of the infuriated collection of ponies, many of them shaking their hooves angrily towards the boat.

“What a great way to begin the day,” he said and leaned on his spear.

Lyra only shot him a dirty look in return. It had been her idea to check out the disturbance after all. Karon gave her a grin, but turned to the unknown mare instead.

“So…who are you?”

The mare looked on him with a haughty look, yet a small measure of thankfulness could be seen in her eyes, if you looked really deep. Her mane looked almost like liquid silver, her coat was sky blue in color, and her eyes a clear lilac. On her flank was a cutie mark of a crescent moon next to a wand with a star on top. And perhaps most curiously, unlike most ponies, she wore clothes. A hat not unlike Karon’s own, but in a color matching her eyes, patterned with stars on it. And she wore a matching cloak to complete the outfit.

“I’ll have you know that you have the pleasure of addressing the Great and Powerful TRIXIEEEE!”

Chapter 33: A pirate's life for me

The wind was strong and the sea was calm. The ship cut though the water without difficulty, barely rocking on its path forward. The sailors had all described it as a smooth sail, and Karon did not believe them for a minute.

He hung over the railing, doing his utmost to keep the breakfast of saltine crackers and dried fruit down. Right next to him hung the unicorn Trixie, her usual sky blue coat had taken on a greenish tone, and like Karon, her breakfast was in grave danger of escaping.

If it were not for the fact that he suffered under the same wretched experience, Karon would have enjoyed seeing the unicorn humbled.

After their arrival on the ship, and subsequent haggling with the captain, Karon had decided to question Trixie a little further. After all, he had been forced to pay an additional twenty bits because of her. Ten because of the third passenger, since she possessed no money to pay for it herself, and ten more, simply because the crew might not be welcome in Trottingham for a while after aiding their escape.

He would have accepted the fact that sometimes, shit happens. However the unicorn hadn’t responded with thanks, instead she had addressed the issue like he had owed it to her, and the only answer she had provided to his questions was that she was so great and powerful, that her very existence was more than his meagre mind could fully handle.

Karon had done a lot of bad things in his life, but after spending ten minutes in conversation with Trixie, he suspected that his karma count most likely had swung back to the plus side. He actually preferred the sound of her vomiting to the sound of her voice.

But he liked her hat.

Karon vomited noisily as the content of his stomach sprayed out through his mouth, and into the open air. It splashed down into the sea and quickly disappeared beneath the waves, and he spat out what was left, leaving him with an acid burning in his mouth. However, since his stomach now felt empty, he thought it safe to go in search of some water.

He groaned in self-pity and stumbled towards the stairs, leading down to the lower deck where most of the crew slept. There were several barrels of fresh water stored there, but all on board had a limited amount of cups they could take from it per day. Karon found it ironic that there was such a thing as water rationing while in the middle of the sea, but then again, he hardly knew anything about sailing.

He descended the stairs groggily, and nearly tripped over one of the ponies sleeping in a hammock, the entire deck cluttered with the cocoon like beds. He continued on until he reached the collection of barrels, and grabbed one of the cups on top of them. The water inside was warm, but it helped wash away the horrid taste of vomit, and decreased his discomfort slightly

Now he just had to try and keep it down.

Walking a little steadier on his legs, Karon went back up to the top deck and took a look around.

There were three masts in total, all of them with full sails catching the winds, driving the ship forward with great speed. There was a weird creature, looking similar to a cat but with a hand on the end of its tail, up in the reeling. It apparently acted as a look out, since it was better suited than the ponies in the crew for climbing.

The captain stood at the front of the ship, the bow Karon thought it was called, right next to Lyra. Together they watched the approaching horizon, coming ever closer with the speed of the wind, while Trixie was still hanging over the railing, sea sickness holding her firm in its tentacle grip.

There were a few more members of the crew standing around the deck, most of them gathered in small groups, talking or gambling with some strange looking cards. Though the possibility of cheating the seafarers out of their money intrigued him, Karon decided it would be too risky. It wasn’t like he could run from them like he had run from the crowd in Trottingham.

“Since when did we think ahead and act responsibly?”

“Since we got to the middle of the ocean with a bunch of sailors whose accents I can barely understand.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It means it would be hard for me to decipher if they are talking about the weather or if they should try and throw me overboard.”

“I see your point.”

Karon walked over to the captain and Lyra instead. At least with her he could have a proper conversation. When he got close to them, the captain noticed and fell silent. Whatever he and Lyra had been discussing was put on hold until he had walked up to them.

“Something the matter?” Karon asked, diverging his gaze between the captain and Lyra.

“Ain’t nothing wrong here matey. We should’a arrive at ‘the island’ in the morrow methinks, if the winds favor us.”

“The island?” Karon asked with some trepidation. He had not heard anything about a stop at any island along the way.

“Aye matey, ‘Starfish Island’ be the name, though every sailor worth his grain of salt knows which island it be when a captain says ‘the island’. Only one in the sea worth mentioning.”

“And why are we stopping at this well-known island?” Karon continued asking.

“Fresh supplies, and the lads here might’a like stopping by so they can visit their mares in harbor.”

“They all have mares in the harbor?” Lyra asked this time, skeptically.

“If they don’t, they could easily buy one for t’night,” the captain told her with a grin.

Lyra rolled her eyes in the universal way a woman does to express her conviction of the hopelessness of the male species, a conviction that was only strengthened when the response Karon gave was a grin off his own.

“I’ll leave ye two to yer own company. Ah need to check the course anyways, can’t trust that damn scallywag first mate of mine.”

The captain left the two alone as promised, heading towards his cabin where Karon assumed he could do his captainy things in peace.

“So what were you talking about before I got here?” he turned to Lyra and asked.

“Nothing special. He was just telling me about the island we're going to and about the zebra town we’ll be arriving in afterwards.”

“And you managed to understand what he said despite how he speaks? Because I’m having difficulty with it.”

Lyra’s face broke out into a smile, and she answered him in an amused voice, “Really? Because to me he sounds perfectly normal.” She gave him an enigmatic look to go with the statement, then turned to observe the sea.

Karon glared at her suspiciously, but received no further response from the unicorn no matter how hard he scowled. Sighing in defeat, he turned to observe the watery expanse as well, standing next to his friend as they traveled further and further from everything familiar.

The journey to ‘the island’, as all the sailors called it, took several days. Several days where the crew quickly learned to avoid the sky blue unicorn with the funny clothes. Because of this, Karon became the sole victim of Trixie’s egocentric rants of self-importance. More than once, Lyra had to remind him that chucking the annoying pony overboard would be a bad thing. Usually, she followed that up with reminding him that it had been he who had decided to save her instead of leaving her in Trottingham.

When Trixie had heard that Karon was a magic user, she had promptly challenged him to a competition of power, where the victor would prove to everyone on board that she (because apparently the outcome was certain) was superior.

Karon had told her to shove it.

And so the days had come and gone, gradually building up Karon’s frustration, and when the lookout finally announced from his perk high above that the island was coming into view, Karon screamed in joy.

“Yes, yes, yes! Finally, as soon as we are close enough to land that she won’t drown, I will take up that devil-spawned unicorn’s challenge and throw her as far I can into the sea.…” Karon hesitated for a second, and turned to the broadly smiling Lyra, amused by his enthusiasm, and asked. “Do sharks exist in this world?”

“What’s a shark?” she questioned back, her smile turning into a curious stare.

“Never mind. I’ll say there’s a fifty-fifty chance they do since you don’t know what a shark is … I can live that. Maybe she can annoy them to death if they do.”

“Karon, don’t do anything that can actually hurt her. You know it’s wrong.”

“You only say that because she made me her only target, and has left you alone for some weird reason.”

“I have a secret weapon,” she announced smugly.

“That you refuse to tell me,” Karon noted in irritation, glancing over his shoulder to see if Trixie was sneaking up on them, prepared with another rant.

“If I told everypony about it, she might begin ignoring it, and then I would be in danger too.”

“Come on, give me a hint,” Karon pleaded to her desperately. He could feel danger creeping up on him, and since he was on a ship in the middle of nowhere, that could only mean Trixie.

“Okay, let’s just say that, I’ve seen Trixie before Trottingham, and I am all too happy to remind her about what happened then if she doesn’t leave me alone.”

“You have to give me more than that,” Karon begged her, his eyes darting from side to side in panic. The feeling of approaching danger was strengthening, to the point he felt his heart rate quickening in dread.

“Well, since we will be rid of her soon anyway. It was back in Ponyville, whe-“

“Ship ahoy!” a voice cried out from high above.

“Shut up!” Karon screamed back at the cat-thing, and glared up towards it. When he turned his gaze down though, Lyra was gone. She had run over to most of the other crew, watching the ship that had been spotted.

“Bucking hell,” Karon muttered to himself, and walked over to the others.

The ship was far off, or at least it seemed that way to Karon. He had learned it was different judging distances on the sea than it was on land. The captain walked over to the rest of them and looked at the ship with squinted eyes, and then he turned to the first mate, a brown unicorn with tattoos covering his entire body.

“What’s her course?” he asked.

The unicorn’s horn flared up in a yellow aura, and a strange fog came over the stallions eyes. Karon relaxed his own eyesight and observed the aura of the pony, seeing that there was some strange activity that went on in his mental sphere, and surmised the unicorn was performing some kind of calculations with a mental map. It must be a valuable talent for a ship captain, and it explained why he kept the first mate around, despite constantly complaining about him.

The unicorn’s eyes returned to normal, and Karon let go off his second sight as well.

“She’s on an intercept course captain,” the unicorn reported with a drawl. The captain hummed, then drew a deep breath and called up at the look-out.

“What kind of flag does she fly!?”

The entire crew waited with baited breath, while Karon turned over and whispered to Lyra.

“Do we even have a flag?”

“Every ship has a flag, even I know that,” she whispered back, and gave him a look meant to shut him up.

“Red, broken clam on black!” the look-out finally called back. The entire crew began murmuring at the news, and looked at the captain expectantly. The captain in turn remained silent, until Karon asked loudly.

“Am I missing something? And where the hell did your accent go?”

The captain gave him half a smile, and then looked back out towards the approaching ship.

“I was just joking with the accent, as for the flag … only pirates fly that flag.”

“Pirates, seriously? I mean … a broken clam; it doesn’t exactly invoke fear,” Karon said dubiously.

“It did for the otters. Starfish Island used to be a colony for the sea otters. Thing is, the other creatures living there didn’t like it that way. So after a while, a lot of zebras, gryphons, ponies and even a minotaur or two banded together and started raiding their ships. Eventually the otters gave up and told them the place was free, but a lot of the ‘freedom fighters’ had gotten a taste for plunder. Now they’re nothing but scum, killing, looting and raping indiscriminately. The island has no official government, and there's a lot of unsavory travellers and sailors there, but there's a kind of recognized agreement between all that you don't go after ships when they get this close to it, bad for business.”

Karon listened to the tale carefully, then turned his eyes towards the approaching ship like the rest of them.

“Can we outrun them?” Lyra asked, her voice betraying that she suspected that answer.

“Don’t think so. We’ll try our best but … If we’re lucky, we're close enough to ‘the island’ for some other ship to spot us, and maybe come to help once they see what’s going on.”

As one, everyone on the deck turned their eyes to the island, far off in the distance, then back at the ship. The ship was growing larger a lot of faster than the island.

“Shit,” Karon said, giving voice to, in essence, what they were all thinking.

They stood in sober silence, watching the ship grow in size the closer it got, almost hypnotized with the approaching doom. That is, until a shrill, almost nasal, voice cut through the silence like a butcher’s knife.

“Trixie demands to see what is going on!  She has spent almost ten minutes looking for a pony to tell her when her next meal will be ready.” Karon groaned out loud, an act that was copied by several of the ponies around him, and looked behind to see the horned plague that was The Great and Powerful Trixie.

But the unicorn’s interruption of their fatalistic meditation had snapped them all back into reality, and the captain bellowed orders to all of them, paying no heed to the irritating unicorn.

“Okay, that’s it. Scum of the sea they may be, but they won’t find us easy pickings! Find whatever weapons you can use and get ready to fight!”

The sailors scurried away at his command, running around in desperate search for anything they could use to defend themselves with. Karon mirrored their behavior, but in a far more controlled way. He headed down to the lower deck, and got his spear, the weight and stability of it making him feel marginally better.

“So … pirates huh?”

“Seems that way.”

“How long has it been since we last practiced using a spear?”

“Uhh … six, seven year’s maybe. No counting that time with the wolves.”

“And we’ll be going up against things that kill other things professionally?”

“That’s a fair description.”

“Hmmm … think anyone will notice if we take the lifeboat and run, I mean row, away?”

“Yes, and our best chance will be with the crew anyway. Besides … if the pirates are as bad as the captain made them out to be, I don’t want to leave anyone to them.”

“Mr. save-the-day appears to be back. Remember the last time we tried that routine?”

“That was different, and I am fairly sure that I am the best chance the crew has of fighting them off.”

“The electricity thing won’t be good against an entire pirate crew, the spear won’t work either. We can’t take them all on alone, and the sailors aren’t exactly fighter material.”

“It’s our best chance, end of story.”

“Maybe we can trade Trixie for safe passage.”

“Hey that’s not a bad ide-... No, no, they would do terrible things to her.”

“Fine, good luck with the dying. Try not to do so in an embarrassing way.”

Karon marched back up to the deck, spear gripped tightly, and saw that most of the crew had various blunt objects in hoof. Some of them were without, but they looked ready to use their bare hooves if need be, grim faces displaying that they would not die easily.

“Of course, that will most likely change when they come face to face with a band of heavily armed killers.”

“You’re right … they need something to lift their spirits, something that will inspire them to fight.”

“You’re not thinking of…”

“A speech!”

Taken with the sudden idea to rally the sailors for combat, to make their blood boil with fighting spirit, Karon jumped up unto one the nearest crate and spread his arms wide to the side, like a street prophet heralding the end of days.

The crew stood unmoved, their eyes fixed on the pirate ship, now almost close enough for them to make out the one’s on board. They hadn’t noticed Karon, so he cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to gain their attention. It didn’t work.

“Maybe we should just give-“

“Friends! Comrades! Fellow uhh … fellow creatures. Today we stand face to face with battle! Today we will fight for our lives, against an enemy so ruthless that-“

“Shut up! We’re trying to watch the ship come closer,” a single pony shouted, not even bothering to turn around, steadily observing the pirate’s approach without fault, like all of them. With the exception of Lyra and Trixie, no pony had even turned to look at him.

Karon stood with his mouth open, his arms wide, and his spear pointed towards the approaching ship. He slammed his mouth shut in shame, descended from the crate, and walked over to Lyra’s side. Trixie looked at him smugly, and stated with perfect confidence.

“Trixie would have done a much better job at giving a speech.”

“Trixie can go blow herself,” Karon grumbled, and stared down at the deck in disappointment.

Lyra patted him on the back, “I’m sure it would have been a great speech,” she said in conciliation.

Karon patted her head in thanks, and turned his eyes towards the approaching ship like the rest of them. The crew moved jittery, stomping their hooves and breathing heavier by the minute.

When the pirate ship came close enough for them to be heard, the crew began banging their makeshift weapons on the railing. They banged them together, the beat joining with that of their hearts, the beat of war drums echoing over the water. They all glared at the pirate ship and banged in defiance, and when the pirates themselves came into view they fell silent. The calm before a storm, the calm before the bloodcurdling screams of battle would sound across the waves.

The pirates stood at their ship's railing, waiting to board the ‘Sea Swallow’, armed to the teeth, in some cases literally so. The crew stood together, facing the pirates with their crude weapons in hand, ready for battle.

The pirates took one look at them and roared.

“YAAARGH!”

“We surrender!” The captain immediately shouted and dropped his weapon, as did everypony of the crew.

Karon stared in disbelief at the ponies around him, holding up their hooves in surrender. “Oh come on!” he shouted at them, but they said nothing back. They just inched away from Karon, clearly demonstrating that his decision to hold on to his weapons was not supported by the rest of the crew.

Realization about his situation dawning on him, he gulped and looked at the pirates, all of them focused entirely on the strange creature holding a spear.

“How does that lifeboat sound about now?”

“I hate you so much.”

The pirates cheered in victory, and leaped, soared or walked over to the ship on a plank they had put over the gap. They quickly threw a net over the surrendering crew, which worked in Karon’s favor, standing outside of it, though he wasn’t the only one still free.

Trixie screamed when some of the pirates turned their attention to her, and she made a desperate run for the lifeboat Karon had contemplated using himself. The pirates would have none of it, and a gryphon with grey and yellow feathers dashed after her. More by accident than design Karon suspected, she spun around just as he came in, and delivered an uppercut right into his chin. The gryphon barreled into her, but had been knocked out cold, and the unicorn tried her best to scramble out from under him, but quickly got caught by several of the other pirates.

Karon had only a few seconds to observe this before the pirates not busy with the crew or Trixie focused on him, running forward with their weapons held high, screaming in sadistic glee.

Karon jabbed with the spear towards the closest one, a zebra wearing an eye patch and swinging a curved saber. The zebra parried the clumsy jab and came in with a spin on his front hoof, bucking his hind legs straight towards him. Karon managed to stumble backwards and avoided the hooves that would no doubt have broken his ribs, but he could not avoid the swing of the saber the zebra followed through in the spin. The blade cut shallowly on his right arm, but the sudden pain was enough to make Karon drop his hold of the spear. And when the zebra came in and struck his chin with the pummel of the saber, he dropped down on the deck, barely clinging to consciousness as the spear clattered away.

It had taken the single zebra less than five seconds to disarm and defeat him.

“So much for being the ship’s best hope of victory.”

“Well, you did try at least. With pathetic results yes, but I would give it a golden star for effort.”

“You make me feel all fuzzy inside.”

Karon noticed his eyes had teared up from the pain, and there was a very loud ringing in his ears, making it difficult to hear what was going on. He tried to focus his eyes, but they only ended up rolling up inside his head. There was a tangy, distant taste in his mouth, and he realized it was blood. It didn't disturb him in the least. After everything that had happened, the taste of his own blood had become a very familiar one.

Something grabbed his ankle and dragged him across the deck. That should have bothered him though, he knew that, but right then he could only think that it was nice not having to try and stand up and walk. After a short trip over the deck the something let go off his ankle.

Karon blinked his eyes a few times, and through a blurry vision, he saw several figures standing over him, grinning faces staring down at his beaten form.

“Wakey wakey,” one of them said, and emptied a bucket of water over his face. The water splashed down on his face, and into his open mouth, it flowed down his throat, and the shock made him sit up straight and cough up all the water. The pirates around him laughed at the sight, and a few of them began jeering. However they all feel silent when a shadow fell over them, and Karon looked up to see the biggest minotaur he had ever seen, and incidentally, the only one.

And he laughed.

Karon began hysterically laughing at the sight of the huge minotaur, not because he found the insanely large muscles displayed funny, nor because he didn’t find the angry stare he received intimidating. It was because a bright green parrot sat on his shoulder.

“Hahahahah, polly wants a cracker, hahahahahaha!” he went on, his head spinning from the lack of oxygen, or possible a concussion. The Minotaur pointed at him and spoke in a deep, baritone voice.

“He … can walk the plank. The rest will do as merchandise.”

“Aye aye captain,” they all said, and grabbed Karon, hauling him over to their ship.

“Looks like we managed to insult the pirate captain.”

“It’s his fault, wearing a silly parrot on his shoulder.”

His head bounced on the way there, making his head spin even more, and nausea forced itself into the forefront of his muddled mind. Despite the ringing in his ear, the sounds around him were becoming clearer. He could make out individual voices screaming together in concert, an especially shrill voice standing out from the rest of them.

“Let me go! The Great and Powerful Trixie is warning you, unhoof me at once or I will use my most amazing magic to teach you all a lesson!”

“She’s pretty, think we can find a way to make her shut up?” a voice called out, the lecherous tone of it making it plain what the creature had in mind.

“Aye, why not. There are only two females anyway, and the harpies don’t care if they’re a little used up. As long as the meat is tender and fresh, they will buy them happily.”

Even through the painful haze around Karon’s mind, he felt something awfully chilling settle in his stomach, and it had nothing to do with the nausea. Trixie wasn’t the nicest pony around, but he couldn’t let something like that happen to her, and especially not to Lyra either.

“Don’t touch me!” Trixie’s voice screamed loud enough to make Karon wince, quickly followed by a pained roar, and the sound of someone getting hit hard.

“That’s it! This one goes out the plank too, she’s not worth it. We can share the other one once we’re back home.”

“Fine, but I’m keeping her clothes. They might fetch a nice prize with those other crazy unicorns on 'the island'.”

“Rotten hay! I should have thought of it. Hey! That one’s clothes are mine, I get to sell those,” Karon heard one of the voices exclaim, right before sharp claws began tearing at his clothes, tearing them off him within a matter of seconds.

“Aye, these should get me enough for a fine night at the pleasure house on ‘the island’.”

“Who would buy clothes made like that, I’ve never seen a … whatever that thing is before.”

“Does it matter? It’s in pretty colors. Ponies love pretty colors, zebras too.”

“Enough yapping you dung feathered cow-sons. Bind the crew, then we’ll have some fun watching those two walk the plank,” the deep rumbling of the minotaur captain sounded. After a minute of scampering sound, someone slapped him hard with a claw. It stung, and it was not until then he realized he had kept his eyes closed, and now the sun hammered down on him with its painful light.

The gryphon that had slapped him awake forced him up to his feet, and Karon stumbled around in a circle before a sense of balance settled in his mind. Around him the pirate crew roared with laughter at the scene, and several of them were clapping their hands in mock applause.

If not for the fact he knew it would make him fall over, Karon would have taken a bow in an effort to retain some form of dignity or control. Instead, he did the only thing he could to show some level of defiance and opened his mouth and threw up on the deck.

The pirate’s laughter turned to sounds of disgust, and a few of them raised objections, most likely those that would be forced to clean it up.

A half forced, wicked smile made its way to Karon’s mouth. He would have loved to find another way to antagonize the crew, but the gryphon that had somehow been appointed Karon’s keeper flew at him, and dug his talon’s hard into his shoulders, forcing him along as he flew to where Lyra and the captain stood. He failed to see it at first, but after the gryphon withdrew his talons and the glaring pain receded slightly Karon could see that there was a wide plank hemmed into the railing, leading out into the wide ocean.

“The classics never die it seems.”

“Think we can make it to shore? We can see the island from here.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it, and I can’t let them do anything to Lyra.”

“We’ll try our best, and if we fail…Well, I’ve heard drowning should be a peaceful way to die.”

“As long as it isn’t fire.”

A kind of fatalistic calm settled over Karon. The rational thoughts of how to make survival a certainty faded away, as did the tide of emotions such thoughts leave in their wake. What was left were simple truths, needing no additional depth or reasoning than they already had. He would try his best, and if he didn’t, he would die. Either way, if it weren’t for Lyra, he didn’t think he would have cared much at this point. He was tired of getting hurt.

But she was there. Lyra, standing on the other side of the deck with the rest of the pirate’s and the Sea Swallow’s crew, watching as the captain drew a cutlass from his belt.

Trixie stared with disbelieving eyes, and she turned them to Karon, trusting that her savior would come to her rescue somehow again. Instead, he sighed and climbed up to the plank carefully, making sure he wouldn't trip and fall off right away.

It sounded like Trixie was crying. He couldn’t be sure. He was concentrating too hard on staying steady on the plank. He felt the sharp point of the captain’s cutlass jab him lightly in his left leg, and took it as an incentive to walk further out. He placed one foot in front of the other slowly, suppressing the desire to hold his arms out wide for balance. That would have truly taken every last bit of dignity he had left.

He heard the clatter of hooves coming from behind him, and he carefully turned his head and saw that Trixie stood right behind him. The unicorn still looked at him with tear-filled eyes, waiting for him to find a way to save them.

“Don’t worry,” Karon said, the words that came out producing a few bubbles of blood and saliva mixed together. “We are close enough to swim to shore … maybe.”

“But…” Trixie’s voice shook, her lips trembled visibly and his words didn’t seem to have had any reassuring effect at all. In the background, Karon could hear the taunting and laughing of the pirates.

“Walk off within five seconds or I will begin cutting off limbs!” the captain bellowed, his voice so deep Karon could have sworn it made his bones vibrate.

“Wait, I got an idea.”

“Parley!” Karon croaked as loud as he could, eye fixed on the captain.

He wasn’t entirely sure he had pronounced it right, or something else, but the pirate crew fell silent along with the captain and looked upon on another for an explanation.

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he say parsley?”

“Why would he want a vegetable when he’s about to die?”

“Maybe he really likes it, maybe it’s his last wish.”

“Do we have any parsley on board?”

“I SAID PARLEY!”  Karon screamed as loud as he could, leaving his throat feeling raw.

The crew muttered quietly, and the captain looked at Karon with vague annoyance and confusion.

“And what does parley mean?” he asked, his voice silencing the rest of the pirates.

“Uhh … you know, it’s a negotiation between enemies, part of the pirate code. If an enemy invokes parley it means all hostilities must cease until the end, so we can come to an arrangement that will benefit both parties,” Karon explained, his eyes betraying a fear that he somehow had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

The pirates looked even more confused after he spoke, and the captain turned to the other pirates, waiting to see if they had anything to say that would explain what Karon had just said.

“We have a code?” one of the pirates asked the others.

“None I’ve ever heard about.”

“Why would we need a code? We’re pirates.”

“Sounds like something somepony has made up to make us far easier to connect to and accept for a wider audience reading or hearing a story of some kind. Completely disregarding the fact that we are a bunch of no-good, murderers, rapists, slave-dealers and thieves without a shred of conscience,” the pirate captain mused out loud, then shook his head.

“NOW WALK THE PLANK OR I WILL GUT YOU LIKE A PAIR OF FISH!”

“That could have gone better.”

“Trixie … we have to try and swim,” Karon offered weakly, and tried to smile encouragingly.

She stared up at him, fearful as ever, and squeaked, “I can’t swim.”

Karon’s eye went wide and disbelieving. No one could be so unfortunate, then the captain raised his cutlass like he was about to made good on his threats, so Karon grabbed Trixie’s horn and pulled her with him as he jumped out into the air. The swooshing sound of the cutlass narrowly missing Trixie giving him some small satisfaction he had made the right call.

And then he hit the water, and his wounds exploded with pure, burning pain. The salt water dug into them like tiny barb wires. His eyes overflowed with tears instantly, which had no effect whatsoever while underneath the ocean surface. He looked up with squinted eyes and saw a blurry light shining from the left. It looked like such a distant thing, so far away, the waves making it flicker about in a beautiful dance.

If it weren’t for the agonizing pain, Karon would have thought it peaceful, but then again after everything he had gone through, pain was more like an annoying neighbor whose presence you’ve simply come to accept than an enemy you bitterly do everything to avoid.

The light was growing more distant, and a pressure was building within his ears, adding yet another variant of pain to the mixture. He felt a disturbance in the water. Sounds echoed with muted tones, and he more felt than heard it, the water carrying the waves of motion with it.

Trixie was sinking down too. He could see her now, but unlike Karon she refused to stay still. Instead, was she flailing her limbs around in a parody of swimming. She was stricken by panic – not that he could blame her. It must feel really horrible slowly descending into a dark depth without being able to do anything about it.

He should help her, but doing that would be so heavy, so tiresome. He said they would try and swim, but that was before he knew she couldn’t even do that on her own. There was no way he could carry them both all the way to the island. He probably wouldn’t have been able to even if he was in top condition, and now he was battered and hurt in more ways than he wanted to consider in detail.

“After all the hits we’ve taken to the head, it’s a miracle we haven’t sustained brain damage yet.”

“Is it even worth trying? We’d just add cramps to the list of unpleasant sensations before drowning.”

“Lyra is still with the pirates, and you know what they’ll do to her. And no matter how annoying Trixie may be, she doesn’t deserve to die in like this, maybe from a painless and random lightning strike from the sky, but not like this.”

“My options have dwindled down to different ways to die, not much I can do.”

“You can try. It’s all we can ever do, really.”

“Inspiring words. It makes all my attempts at bettering myself and ultimately failing feel so rewarding.”

“Please, leave the sarcasm to the professional. Now get going, like it or not, you have friends that are depending on you right now, and Feather didn’t die just so you could sink to the bottom of the ocean without a fight. Besides … those pirates really deserve to die.”

“They sure do…and Trixie doesn't.”

“So go get her.”

He pushed his mind out of the dream-like state he had been in, and forced his arms and legs to start moving. Every single twist of his muscles sent searing pain up to his brain, and his already dizzy head was growing ever more scrambled from the lack of oxygen. His head throbbed with each beat of his heart. He felt the blood pounding hard in his veins, leaking out into the sea from the wounds the pirate’s had left him with.

Trixie was still struggling. There was no sense to her movements at all, and sheer, animal panic had taken over. Karon felt annoyed at the sight. He had gone through a lot of pain and decided to try and save her, and now he was risking getting knocked out by a flailing hoof because she didn’t have the sense to keep still.

It wasn’t the proper way to do it, but Karon grabbed the closest of her limbs, her left backhoof, and began swimming up, using his legs to propel them while his free arm almost clawed its way through the water.

Trixie was still trashing around mindlessly, probably not even aware he was trying to save her, and Karon nearly lost his grip on her several times. Above him, the sun’s light was growing larger and larger, and with a hard push of his legs he felt his hand breach the surface and fresh, cool air caressed his skin.

He turned his head down to Trixie and realized he couldn’t get her up all the way holding her like that. So, risking the possibility of being killed by a lucky shot, he quickly sank down to her and slipped an arm under her shoulders and around her chest. The unicorn was smaller than a human, so he could hold her relatively tight and avoid her trashing hooves as he pushed both of them up the last bit.

He broke the surface with a loud gasp, and as soon as air flowed down his lungs he began coughing. The water that had made its way into him was expelled painfully, and his lungs burned with the exertion.

Trixie was coughing too and still splashing around like she had no sense at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that she would sink if he dropped her, Karon would have slapped her.

“Trixie calm down! You’re gonna kill us both. We’re safe, now hold still or I’m gonna let go of you and swim away alone.”

Some part of her brain must have gotten a kick-start by the flow of oxygen because she gradually calmed down until she was completely still. Her only movement was her entire body shaking from the adrenaline and fear.

“Ple- … please don’t,” she whispered, barely daring to move her lips.

“I won’t if you at least try and keep calm … if you relax as much as you can you’ll float, okay? Because there’s no chance I will be able to take us both to shore if you are tensed like this, it makes you heavier and I’m already tired.”

The nausea was back, and the insistent rolling of the ocean waves didn’t make it easier for him to suppress the desire to vomit, not that he had anything left to expel.

  “I ... I c- ... an’t,” she forced out, all signs of her previous attitude lost.

“Then we die,” Karon stated simply, having neither the patience nor the time for easing her into it.

She whimpered when he said it, but he felt how she, very slowly, made her limbs softer. The underlying tension was still there, however it was a fair improvement to how heavy she had been before.

Maybe they did have a chance after all.

“Unless a shark eats us,” Karon said out loud, accidentally voicing his usually private thoughts.

“Eat us!? There are things that eat ponies in the sea!?” Trixie shouted, fear blowing some life back into her.

“Big fish with sharp teeth, but I don’t know if they exist … around here.”

“Plea- … please hurry. I don’t want to be eaten.”

“Never met anyone that does,” Karon commented dryly, and began taking backstrokes, shifting his head every now and then to direct his course.

The island looked to be such a close thing, looming in the empty ocean, big and obvious. But no matter how many strokes Karon did, it could have been a thousand, it could have been three, it still looked just as far away as when he started.

He was craning his neck hard, trying to see if the island grew bigger by even the tiniest degree as he swam, when Trixie spoke.

“Karon … how does a shark look?”

“As I said, really big fish with sharp teeth,” he puffed. The damn island refused to get any closer. His muscles burned with exhaustion, and he probably had lost a lot of blood by now from his wounds. Most likely he had left a trail of it all the way from where they began.

“Wait…”

“Trixie, why are you asking?” he questioned her, not daring to turn his head for fear of what he might see.

“So it’s not like a thing that sticks up from the water.”

He gulped, and felt terror induced resignation set in.

“You mean like a fin?”

“Is that what they're called? What are they?” Trixie asked.

“Things that stick up out of the water from the back of a shark,” he said, turning his head back into its rightful position, where he was given full view of a triangular fin sticking up out of the water, slowly circling them.

He could feel Trixie tense up from his words, and he really couldn’t fault her for it this time.

“I could have died a cozy death drowning. Now I’m going to get torn to pieces and eaten by a shark. Anything snarky you wish to add?”

“To be honest … I really don’t have much to say this time.”

“Trixie….”

“Y-yes?”

“Since we will most likely die, there’s something I want you to know.”

“What?” she asked, her head slowly turning as she tracked the fin.

“You’re a really annoying twit.”

She didn’t respond, either because fear had robbed her of her voice or because as far as last words go, Karon had given her something there wasn’t really a good response to, besides possible, ‘no u!’

The fin disappeared beneath the waves, and Karon knew enough to know what was coming next. The shark would go under them then attack straight up, most likely ripping Karon in half and swallowing Trixie whole, depending on its size.

He breathed in deeply, and for a second, thought about grabbing Trixie’s ass and squeezing, just for the hell of it. Then time stretched out before them, a single heartbeat expanded into a million tiny moments, slowly moving through each other like a rusty arrow on a clock.

Then a head popped out of the sea right next to them, and a broadly smiling face belonging to a dolphin asked. “Hey! Need a lift?”

The image took a while to reach Karon’s brain, and said brain needed a lot of time to properly go through the proper channels and confirm that, indeed, it seemed like he wasn’t about to die a horrible death. Even better, it seemed like he was saved by the friendliest ocean mammal in all known existence.

Apparently Trixie came to the same conclusion, for when she spoke again, she spoke in her usual shrill tone, and stated quite loudly.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks that YOU are the annoying twit.” And then threw her arms around the dolphin, looking back at Karon from her new rescuer with a glare.

Karon didn’t respond. He was too busy laughing hysterically for the second time that day.

                                   *******************************************************

The talking dolphin, named Tin-lin, was kind enough to take them both all the way to ‘the island’s’ shore. There he left them with a happy wave, right after Trixie had assured him that he was a far better rescuer than Karon had been. And after said human had spent a few minutes entertaining day-dreams of strangling Trixie, he took in his surroundings.

It looked like the most standard tropical island imaginable. Golden sand framed the shoreline, and lush jungle grew thick as soon as it ended. The island didn’t look all too big, not from where he was standing and how it had looked from a distance. Tin-lin had told them they could reach the settlement if they walked through the jungle, since he couldn’t take them all the way because of some cryptic statement about his kind not being welcomed there by the other sea creatures.

Of course, a sea-dwelling creature doesn’t really have an understanding of just how difficult trekking through a jungle is.

“Trixie, do you have any magic that could help us navigate through the jungle?” Karon asked, sneering at the thick cluster of vegetation blocking his path.

“Trixie possess more magic than you could possibly imagine! However … she is very tired from today’s events, and must rest. Ask her again tomorrow, but it would be much better if you did whatever you want yourself, Trixie might not feel like helping after what you said to her.”

Karon didn’t look back, but he knew she must have lifted her muzzle in resentment, and stared at him from whatever high pedestal she imagined her hooves stood upon.

“Okay then, you’re on your own,” he said simply, and pushed his way into the thicket before him.

“What!? Come back here immediately! Trixie demands that you remain here and help her!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie can go suck it!” Karon’s voice called back from within the jungle, and soon the sound of him trashing around faded.

Trixie stood in stunned silence, that her rescuer would abandon her like this had never occurred to her. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, she deserved to be rescued. Uncertainty and fear wrapped itself around her heart, and she bolted into the jungle after Karon, from whom she would demand an explanation.

She ran fast through the thick bush, and even she had no trouble following Karon’s trail, since he had left a clear path of broken twigs, scattered leaves and otherwise appeared to have lashed out at everything in his path.

When she spotted him, he was covered in leaves and torn off remains from the bigger plants. The greenery was sticking firmly to his naked skin, glued in place by the sweat seeping out of his pores.

“Trixie demands you wait for her!” the unicorn called out, stomping her right hoof into the ground hard. Karon completely ignored her.

Trixie stared in open shock at his back. No one had ever managed to ignore her before. She always received everypony’s attention sooner or later.

“Trixe … I … wait!” she stuttered and ran after him, the loud curses the human swore guiding her as much as the path he had cleared.

“You can’t just leave me here! I’ll … I’ll….”

“Most likely starve to death, or perhaps get eaten by a predator of some kind,” Karon told her happily, his tone almost cheerful as he said it.

“But … but … you can’t.”

“Yes I can! I’ve done enough for you, I don’t owe you crap. If it weren’t for the fact that the mere sight of you revolts me, I would think you owed me a few nights in the bed after all I’ve gone through to help you.”

“Trixie would never stoop to-“

“I don’t care about Trix- I don’t care about you! I’m done! Now I’m going to save Lyra because she’s a friend. If you want saving, try one of yours. That is on the off-chance you actually have any.”

“Trixie has plenty of friends!” she shrieked loudly in an offended voice, yet Karon caught the hurt undertone in it.

“Does anyone of them exist outside off a mirror? I would doubt it. Now go away and attract some starved tiger or something.”

“Isn’t it wrong to leave her here after having gone through all the trouble to save her?”

“She’s on a tiny island, full of lush life, which happens to be inhabited. She’ll find her way around sooner or later, I doubt there are any real predators on such an isolated scrap of land like this.”

“How do you know YOU won’t be the one to attract the … taikers!”

Karon snorted. “Because you’re an herbivorous herd animal. Everything about you scream ‘delicious prey’.”

“Maybe they think you would taste better.”

“Perhaps, but unlike you, I can climb a tree,” he finished with a grin.

Trixie drew a deep breath, and Karon could feel the rant coming, so before she had the chance to begin he turned around and grabbed her muzzle, forcing her mouth close.

“Shhh, I just saw something.”

Trixie’s eyes widened, no doubt thinking it was one of the dangerous ‘taikers’. Karon held up a finger before his mouth, then turned away and walked slowly towards one of the trees and looked up.

A chatter answered him when he got close, and a small monkey jumped down to one of the low hanging branches, curiously observing the otherworldly cousin that stood below him.

Trixie let out the breath she had held in, and gave both Karon and the monkey an irritated glare.

“Are you going to ask it for directions?” she asked sarcastically.

“Something like it yeah,” Karon responded in a calm voice.

“You speak monkey,” she asked, continuing her sarcasm streak.

“No … and animals don’t have the intelligence for complicated linguistics anyway, but basic thoughts, emotions and instincts they have, and monkeys like to steal food. I bet this one knows where the best spots are, where there is a lot of creatures and food stores and cooked, easy pickings.”

“Trixie hardly sees how that matters, if you can’t ask it.”

Karon didn’t respond, instead he stretched out his mind and connected to the little creature sitting above him. He sent a simple impulse into it, making the monkey feel relaxed, like Karon was no threat whatsoever. The monkey’s caution of meeting the new creature disappeared, leaving just the curiosity, and so it jumped down and placed itself on Karon’s shoulder, and began playfully pulling his hair.

Karon winced when the monkey put pressure on his injured shoulder. The gryphon’s talons had dug deep, and the veil of crusted blood cracked a little from the strain. But Karon held the connection to the monkey’s mind firm, and he implanted the desire to eat, to go to a place where lots of food.

A few scattered impressions flickered through the creature's tiny brain, and the strongest impression won out, that of strong smells, lots of noise, and creatures that lived close to one another, but weren’t dangerous unless you were slow.

The monkey jumped down from Karon’s shoulder and skipped forward, then stopped and looked back at his new friend, tilting its head in question.

“I think we found a guide,” Karon stated smugly, and followed after the monkey. Trixie had a lot of feelings on the subject she would have liked to express, but fear of being left behind forced her mouth shut, and she followed in silence.

The monkey led them through the jungle without difficulty, not stopping once to gain its bearings. And after less than an hour’s walk, they came out into the outskirts of a town. The houses stood low, and were made of wood, straw or merely cloth. Clamoring voices and all other sounds associated with civilization formed a din around the town, marking it as an outpost where food, shelter and company could be found.

It would be a dangerous place. If ‘the island’ was truly the ‘only island in the sea worth mentioning’ as the captain of the ‘Sea Swallow’ had said, then the pirates most likely docked there, which meant it was plain that the place would be crawling with criminals as well as honest sailors.

“So…want to see if we would make a good criminal?”

“As long as it isn’t towards someone relatively innocent.”

“In a place like this, I think you’d have to look hard to find one.”

Karon’s new furry friend was jumping up and down, waiting for Karon to follow to the food. His stomach growled in response to the thought, and he had to agree with its demand, he needed food. And clothes, and some information. After that…

He had pirates to kill, and ponies to save.

He straightened his back and twisted his face into the most terror inducing scowl he could think of, how it looked he had no idea, but the zebras, ponies and otters that saw him walking down the street stopped to stare, then quickly scurried away when he got close.

The monkey led the way to a big house of wood, a sign of some kind hung weathered from a nail on the door. Judging from the smell, laughter and general feel of the place, it had to be an inn or bar of some kind. The monkey was jumping up and down outside, and Karon grabbed the little thing and put him on his shoulder, the pain bringing clarity to his tired mind. Then he slammed open the door and headed inside, Trixie following behind carefully.

The atmosphere inside the place was one of revelry and abandonment. The smell of sour drink, sweat and desperation wafted into Karon’s nostrils like oily smoke. It was dark, a few scattered candles provided light, but otherwise the only source to be found was the windows, windows so filthy they might as well just have put dried mud there instead.

At first nothing inside changed, then the patrons closest to the entrance started to pay attention at the strange figure standing there, quiet and unmoving. Slowly, the rest of those within did the same and soon everything was quiet, an eager silence charged with anticipation of what could happen next.

Karon strode through the crowded tavern, and up to the bartender, an old zebra with a filthy apron and a scar under his mouth. Karon stopped before him, and reached up and placed the monkey on the bar.

“Food for my friend,” he said and pointed to the monkey. “And me, and also a bottle of the strongest stuff you have,” he continued in a patient tone.

The bartender took a long look at the naked, wounded, sweaty, leaf covered Karon, then shrugged his shoulder and gathered a bowl of soup of some kind and placed it before the monkey. Then he got the same thing for Karon, and placed a brown bottle next to it.

“Hope for your sake you can pay for it,” the zebra said in a gruff voice.

Karon didn’t answer, he took the bowl and tipped it into his mouth, the hot liquid poured down his throat and into his empty stomach, which growled in satisfaction. He drank the whole thing without stopping, tasting sweet beryl of some kind, and pulp of an unknown fruit.

When he finished, he almost felt like he was alive again, but the increase in sensation brought with it a fresh wave of pain. However, it was distant, dull. After a certain amount of time, pain just becomes this annoying thing in the back of the skull.

With that in mind, he clenched his teeth and opened the bottle, took a mouthful of the liquid, then held it over his head and poured it over himself. His knees went weak from the pain, and he had to grasp the bar with his free hand to keep them from giving way under him. He clenched his teeth hard, and squeezed his eyes shut even harder.

The alcohol poured into the wounds, setting them on fire, but with the trickling streams flowing down his naked skin also came the grim, leaves and sweat that had gathered during the course of the day. Karon forced himself to carefully clean every part of himself, even under his feet, where plenty of small cuts had opened from walking barefoot.

It wouldn’t do much to disinfect the wounds, but it was better than nothing, and walking through a jungle naked, with open wounds and several layers of dirt would attract so many diseases that they would trip over each other in their haste to infect him.

When the bottle ran dry he had to consider himself as ready as can be, so he raised his head and opened his eyes, looking around the crowd inside.

“If there are any innocent, law-abiding, honest or just generally none-despicable creatures inside here, get out before it’s too late. I’ll give you twenty seconds,” he finished with a growl, and in response to his statement several customers hurried out through the door. After silently counting to twenty, Karon took a careful look around, there was no sign of further movement inside, and those that remained all looked to be the not-so friendly types, all of them looking back at him with a challenge in their eyes.

They had taken the ‘despicable creatures’ comment personally by the looks of it.

“Okay then,” Karon said to himself and nodded.

“You better have a good reason for scaring away customers and causing trouble, because if you don’t, you’ll not walk out of here in one piece.”

“I have a good reason,” Karon told the bartender with a smile, then smashed the bottle as hard as he could on his head, and the bottle shattered in a rain of glass.

The zebra’s eyes glazed over, then tumbled to the side, unconscious before he hit the floor. Karon threw away the broken bottle head, and turned to address the crowd, now standing up and tensed, moving like a pack of predators ready for a fight.

“A very good reason actually,” Karon continued, like nothing had happened. “You see, the ship I was traveling with ran into this pirate who boarded us, big, gray and black minotaur, wears a brown belt with a cutlass … ring any bells? Anyway, he took the crew, and more importantly, my friend, then threw me overboard to die. I want to know where this piece of shit is, and I want to know where my friend is. One of you must know who I’m talking about … I will give you one chance to tell me exactly what I want to know, after that, I’ll start hurting you.”

Karon did his best to sound menacing, and honestly, after the day he’d been having, it came easily to him. The crowd looked around to each other, not sure if the single, naked and obviously wounded stranger was serious. Then a large earth pony, yellow coat and mane with purple eyes, stepped forward.

“Are you serious? Do you realize you don’t stand a chance against all of us?”

Karon held out his hands to his sides, like he was demonstrating just how naked and wounded he was. And the crowd inside didn't notice the slight sparkling of an electric charge in his palms.

“Do I look to have anything of value left to lose?” he asked the crowd loudly.

A few throaty laughs of anticipation rung in the air, the tension inside escalated greatly, they all felt that the action was about to begin.

“Nothing besides our life maybe.”

“As I said….”

Karon smiled grimly, but the pain and terror he had felt during the course of a single day converged, and shaped itself into resolve. He had come a little too far to back down now, and he refused to let Lyra disappear. Subtlety would take too long, he needed the information, and he needed it now.

“…nothing of value.”

And then he threw himself into combat.

                       ********************************************

The attack was sudden. Karon had given no warning that it was coming, and the earth pony that had spoken paid the price. Electricity discharged from the palms of both his hands. The energy poured into it was so highly charged that two single lines weren’t enough. Instead, lightning erupted from his palms in a branching pattern, spreading out to leap into inanimate objects as well as several of the patrons. The earth pony took the heaviest hit, and he was flung to the ground violently, shaking with spasms from the shock.

“He’s got magic!” someone screamed, and cacophony broke out inside the tavern. Shouts rang out as some of the more cowardly patrons fled outside, having no interest in the fight anymore since the victim wasn’t as helpless as he had appeared.

However, they were many left inside, and now it was their turn to act. Karon was readying to unleash another discharge of electricity against anyone within his range, when a small gryphon took to the air and shot towards him.

Its claws spread wide as it came, and though the thing was small and had little mass to make use of, it was fast. A blur of white and blue feathers swooped in, and before Karon could unleash the gathered energy, it dug both its claws into his shoulder, continuing its momentum forward and carrying Karon with him.

He shrieked loudly as he released his grip on Karon, and spun hard to avoid colliding with the bar and the many bottles stacked around it. But Karon had no such luck, and the force carried him through the air and right into one of the shelves. Glass shattered around him, and he banged his head hard against the wall as the impact drove the air from his lungs. He dropped down to the floor hard, and felt the broken glass cut into his hands as he used them to break his fall.

They started shaking uncontrollably, and Karon had to muster every shred of his willpower to brush them against his legs, the pieces of glass still stuck in his palms came off and dropped to the floor, bloody.

He was certain his back must have been injured too, but didn’t have time to check it before the gryphon came at him from the air again. It soared over the bar and twisted its body hard, so he came towards Karon with all four of the gleaming edges of its talons extended.

It was a simple tactic. First daze the victim with a quick and brutal attack, then swoop in for the kill before he recovers. Lucky for Karon, the shock of being attacked and in pain only lasts if it’s rare. If you, on the other hand, experience such things nearly on a daily basis, it just becomes another day at work.

Karon grabbed a handful of the broken glass in his right hand, and flung it towards the incoming gryphon’s eyes, then threw himself to the right, managing to get away from where the gryphon's sharp claws tore into the wall half a second later. But the gryphon's body clipped his legs, and turned his controlled jump into a stumbling tumble. However, Karon still ended up landing right next to the downed bartender, and an idea came to him. He tore off the apron from the zebra’s chest and ripped it in half, the blood pouring out from his palms making it slick.

He twirled his hands around sharply in the air, and the cloth went in circles around his palms, until he grasped the last shred and clenched his hands into fists. As far as bandages goes, it wasn’t ideal, but it would keep his hands from getting torn to shreds completely.

Hopefully…

He scanned the tavern for other threats, and unfortunately, found them in abundance. Several of them remained in the murky background, keeping to the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike while the more brawl-friendly of the lot went straight at him.

Three of them, one zebra and two otters, marched forward with their jaws locked and upper lip peeled back to reveal their teeth. They moved in unison, the zebra moving directly towards Karon, while the two otters moved to flank him on both sides.

Not waiting for them to make the first move, Karon grabbed one of the many chairs scattered about in the previous panic, and threw it towards the otters flanking his left, right in front of the bar. The little creature moved like liquid, and easily avoided the flying chair, but it had distracted him for a moment, and Karon darted in fast to try and press him up against the bar, limiting his maneuverability.

The zebra moved too fast, and barreled into Karon before he could even come close to the otter. Its  head struck like a cannon ball, but luckily Karon didn’t feel the stinging sensation of breaking ribs. Instead he just felt the impact as the both flew into one of the round tables.

The wood was obviously old, or the humidity had taken its toll on it. Either way, the result was that the table broke apart into splinters of wood and scattered into every possible direction as they crashed into it. The zebra's head was still firmly pushed into Karon’s chest, and before the equine could get back up on her feet, he snaked his right arm around her throat and constricted it.

The zebra started flaying her limbs around in panic, but her kind was not built to move on her back, and Karon twisted around so she lay on top of him, her hooves not capable of bending in a way for her to reach him.

But she didn’t need to, her two otter friends were more than happy to come to her aid, one of them armed with a small knife. Shrieking loudly, the thing came slithering forward with the knife gleaming. Karon reacted on instinct, and pulled his legs up to his chest and placed his feet against the zebra’s back, when the otter was clear of any obstructions, he pushed with his legs as hard as he could, sending the zebra flying with a sputtering scream right into the armed creature.

Karon scrambled up to his feet, and was about to run forward and finish them both of before they got a chance to recover. But he forgot the second otter accomplice, and was completely taken by surprise when the little furry thing jumped up on his back, and bit down hard on his neck. Karon screamed in pain, and threw himself to the floor and began rolling around, trying his best to shake the thing off him. He felt he nearly had succeeded, when from out of nowhere, an earth pony with bright green coat ran towards him, and while moving, got up on her hind legs and jumped, halfway through the air she turned her body, and delivered a jumping kick Karon would have sworn only a Pegasus would have been able to perform.

But his marvel at the acrobatic improbability was cut short when the kick landed squarely on his chest, sending him crashing into the wall. Unfortunately for the otter, he was still firmly attached to Karon’s back and cushioned the impact, but a crack so loud it sounded like a tree breaking in half resounded through the tavern. The otter's back had broken entirely, and the thing's grip on Karon relaxed instantly.

Karon's chest was heaving. His heart was pumping furiously and he saw actual stars blink in and out before his eyes. His chest felt wrong. He couldn’t get enough air down into his lungs, and the strain was threatening to make him pass out.

Instead, he forced himself to his feet and charged blindly forward, roaring so loud it felt like his throat would burst.

At its core, fighting is mentality. It’s about dominating and controlling the opponent. If one can shatter the other through sheer force of will, then the battle is mostly decided. But when someone completely disregards every shred of self-preservation, when one truly goes berserk and mauls the opponent with an open display of terrifying savagery, then there is no dominating the opponent. To the criminals and shady clientele that favored seedy taverns like the present one, the ability not to win a fight through bullying and intimidation is unthinkable. When the opponent is so feral that the violence and hate they bring to bear is nothing in comparison … it gives one pause.

So when Karon rushed forward in a display of animal fury, the earth pony nearly broke and ran at the sight. Karon was in the grip of a rage that occurs when someone has nothing to lose and there is nothing left but complete focus to destroy or die. It was a rage born from a person that had just had one of the few things left in his life taken from away, and he would not give up until he had her back.

Karon barreled into the stunned pony and slammed his knee into the pony's side, and they both fell down on the floor together, tangled in each others limbs. Before the pony could react, Karon raised his left foot and stomped horizontally into the same place he had just kneed the pony, and the mare wailed in pain and contorted her body into something resembling  the fetal position.

Karon dragged himself on top of the pony and began hammering strikes down on her, screaming with each pounding of his bloody fists.

“Where is she! Where is she! Tell me where she is!” He went on, the mare's coat of bright green slowly turning to a shade of scarlet red.

Karon would have turned the pony into nothing but a mass of broken bones and flesh had he been allowed to continue, instead something hit the back of his head hard, and Karon actually heard the thud of the impact, before the soothing darkness of unconsciousness dragged him down.

                            ******************************************************

“Come on … are you going to wake up soon!?”

“What? Where…?”

Karon rubbed his neck gingerly and sat up, he was wearing his clothes again, though they were different. He couldn’t place it, they were just there, he was clothed, and that was enough for the time being.

He tried to take a better look around, but all he could see was blackness.

“Am I in the void?” he asked out loud.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you would have ceased to exist by now had that been the case.”

“So where am I?”

“In the direct stream of your unconscious, and it’s actually quite disconcerting. Cognitive modules aren’t supposed to connect quite this close. We already function pretty well together, why jeopardize something that works? That’s my opinion anyway.”

“So why can’t I see anything?”

“Well, you seem to have gotten stuck somewhere in a limbo, you’re here but you’re really not, since I’m the part of us that’s supposed to be here. The connection is all messed up, maybe we did take one too many hits to the head and we’ve gone brain dead?”

“Why does it feel like that was a question?”

“Well you’re the decision maker, I only provide info and insight from my end, well … one end. There’s a lot of us.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. Now get to the point, I was kinda busy in the outside world if you don’t remember.”

“I noticed, you went a little berserk there on us huh. Maybe it would have gone better if you’d had the presence of mind to watch your back.”

“You can provide me with your, oh so indispensable advice and critique after we’ve saved Lyra.”

“How? Seriously we’re so close to death we could sneeze and drop dead, you wouldn’t believe the feedback I’ve received from our body systems. You’ve fucked up our new ride! Loki made a new one less than a year ago, and you’ve already turned it into a piece of crap you couldn’t even give away to a second-hand store for spirits shopping for bodies.”

“You extended that analogy a little too long. Now get me out of here, time is wasting.”

“Don’t get your knickers twisted, we’re communicating at the speed of thought, the temporal flow of the outside world is vastly different than the one in here.”

“Fine, so we got time for tea and biscuits, now would you please get to the point.”

“What point? You’re not supposed to be here. This isn’t some b-movie introspection quest to find yourself … well okay, we seem to be on one of those in general at the moment, but I meant this specific case.”

“You really do like the sound of your voice don’t you?”

“We’re the same dung-brain, if I do, so do you.”

“Doesn’t that mean you just insulted yourself by calling me dung-brain?”

“…Well look who suddenly decided to be clever.”

Karon sighed out loud, and for a second he wondered if other people found him as irritating as he found himself to be at the moment.

“So let me hear what you got to say then, you must have some theories for why I’m here.”

“Well a few, the most promising is simply that we got knocked to the head one too many times and our mind shielded itself by taking you out of the fight.”

“I wasn't in that bad a condition, sure some superficial wounds and such but-“

“You have no idea what you’re talking about; to you it might have felt like it wasn’t that bad. However, that might be because for the last ten minutes your mind has been running on adrenaline, exhaustion, that mouthful of alcohol, a severe concussion and pure rage … not the healthiest of cocktails. Trust me, when you wake up and the good ones wear off, you’ll feel how close our body is to closing up shop for good.”

Karon considered that for a moment, then came to the conclusion there might be some value to his words.

“So we’re in trouble, what else is new?”

“How are you planning on saving Lyra from the pirates, of which a single crew member kicked our ass in a matter of seconds, when you’re nearly dead from a bar fight?”

“I don’t know, I just know I have to try.”

“Don’t throw platitudes at me, let’s be serious for a moment. You totally lost your head, yeah I admit the whole Lou Ferrigno deal against the sleazebags in that inn was pretty badass, but all in all we’re nearly dead and lost despite of that. You probably could have taken the rest of them, especially after the mind-numbing display of your disinterest in our personal safety. But you lost your head and got clobbered. You forgot who and what we are.”

“I had good reason to.”

“There is never a good reason for forgetting who we are. We are a trickster, it’s our nature, by all means, go Rambo on future sleazebags all you want, it was awesome, but at least try and focus it. We’re not a berserker, we will inevitably lose if we try and act like one. Play to our strengths.”

“Sound advice, but what use do I have of it from in here.”

“I think you should be able to wake up, our body ought to be over the shock now that you’ve stopped flaring our brain up with so many impulses it nearly gave me an epileptic seizure. Just take it easier, use your head for something other than just a blunt object to smash into things, and we just might save the day and get the girl.”

“I have no interest in Lyra like that.”

“I know, but you could have. I mean, life is short, and it’s not like the thought hasn’t struck you.”

“That was a while ago.”

“Trixie then?”

“You must be joking.”

“Hey, it was your brain that went through 37 different sexual scenarios where you ended up banging her like crazy during the first three seconds when you saw her for the first time.”

“Really? 37 different scenarios? In three seconds?”

“Well, it kinda ran in the background. Of course, that particular part of our brain does that kind of thing to any reasonably attractive female we come across. Seriously dude, STD’s are a bitch, look out.”

“Good to know. Now, can I get going?”

“Why the hell are you asking me?”

“Because you’re the one that acts like you have all the answers.”

“I already told you, you’re the decision maker. If you want to wake up…just do it.”

“Okay then......here we…”

                                 **************************************************

“…go.”

The first sensation that struck him was of something sharp about to make its way down his throat, and Karon had to bring all of whatever small measure of willpower he had to keep himself from spitting the thing out and alerting whoever was still around that he had regained consciousness.

Something was digging into his neck, holding him up over the floor, and as the numbness of unconsciousness slowly wore off, he realized he was really, really tired. The burning rage was extinguished, and the adrenaline had run its course. The only thing his body was interested in telling him was that that he needed to lie down and rest.

A week or two should do it.

He carefully moved his tongue, easing the small object away, because no matter what it was, he didn’t want to swallow it. It was after he felt the shape of the object, and tasted the steady trickle of blood from within his mouth, that he realized it was a tooth.

“They knocked out one of my damn teeth!”

“Calm down, we can get it fixed later, now assess the situation.”

Anger stirred gently in his chest, a small tinder that only needed the slightest provocation to turn into the raging fire it had been just a few minutes ago. Karon gently breathed in, he needed to get it under control, asshole he may be, but his subconscious was right.

He opened a tiny crack between his eyelids, and noticed something was wrong with his left eye, it wouldn’t open properly. At this point, he just went with it, he could deal with whatever damage he had sustained after he had saved Lyra, before they dragged her off to whatever hellhole they had planned for her.

Looking through the crack, Karon could hardly make out anything but a blur, so he gradually eased his eyelid open until he could make out the pool of blood beneath it. There was a trickle of it coming out of the corner of his mouth, and he guessed that by the size of it he couldn’t have been hanging like this for long.

Then he heard a loud sound, like someone shoved a table away, and continued to play unconscious, listening closely to what was going on around him.

“So?” a voice spoke right above Karon, most likely the one holding him by the neck.

“I found one of his crew in the lusty lizard maid’s place. He said they raided some small merchant ship and took most of them prisoners, plans to sell ‘em off to the harpies.”

“What else? Did he tell you what they’ll pay for this one. He has it out for them and knows how to cause trouble.”

Karon heard someone spit, the sound came from his far left, which meant he knew where two of the remaining patrons where. The question was if there were more of them?

“They wouldn’t pay anything. When I told him we roughed the thing up a bit, he said they would have no problem taking him, said if scumsuckers like us could hurt him then anyone could.”

“Pah! If that’s how they want it, that means this thing is worthless, and I have a few things I want to do to him, there’s still glass in my eyes!”

So the one holding Karon was the gryphon from earlier, the one that had flung him into the bar.

“That’s one, who’s the other?”

“He made me kill Salaa, threw her right on my knife while I was trying to help her.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make him pay for that too. Salaa would have liked it.”

“Salaa can rot inTartarus for all I care. This thing saved me the trouble of giving back the thirty bits I owed her.”

Both of the voices laughed, and Karon had a mind to join in. He now had both the remaining patron's identities, the gryphon and the otter with the knife. However, there was still a chance that someone else was left in the bar, keeping silent.

But time was running away from him fast, the news that one of the pirate crew member was in town had made him close his eye in relief for a moment, and in rage’s place, hope instead asserted itself. Karon could feel his legs behind him, scraping the floor the way a doll does when he child drags it across the floor. His arms hung loose, his hands just reaching the floor, and he could feel something beneath them.

He opened his eyes a little further and saw it was the pieces from a broken chair, splintered wood that had scattered during the battle earlier. It wasn’t the highest quality, but the wood had been sturdy enough to allow the customers preferring such things to sit down. It would do nicely as an improvised weapon.

Of course, he could just try and launch a bit of lightning into the two criminals, but he would have to build up a charge first, and the few seconds it would take for him to do that might give him away.

No, straightforward but sneaky, that would work.

His heart hammered against his chest as he spread his fingers and slide them around the wood. It had once been a chair leg from the looks of it, and when Karon’s fingers had gone all the way around it without being noticed, he couldn’t suppress the wicked smile that touched his lips.

Then he opened his eyes completely and turned his head left, the gryphon held him in its right claw, and its head was turned away from him, facing the otter.

The otter saw him as Karon turned his head and smile at him, but before he could warn the gryphon, Karon pulled his right leg forward and placed it before him. He shifted his entire body weight onto it and did a pirouette while his left leg spun to his right, and the table leg followed with the turning momentum and smashed into back right kneecap of the gyphon that held him.

They could all hear the crack when the wood slammed into the knee, and broke it entirely. The gryphon howled out loud in pain, and lashed out towards Karon with his left claw, letting go off him with his right.

The claw came fast, but it wasn’t aimed. It was a blind punch, and it barely scraped Karon’s shoulder. He ducked under it, and before the gryphon could draw back the arm, Karon grabbed it and jumped backwards.

The gryphon’s balanced was ruined, and when Karon pulled him with his jump, he fell forward as his knee buckled under him and landed on the floor face first. Still gripping his arm, Karon raised the wooden leg high over his head, then brought it down on the gryphon’s arm.

It carried right through, breaking the arms into an unnatural angle, and the gryphon shrieked like a wounded bird of prey.

The element of surprise was over, and since the gryphon was immobilized, maybe forever, Karon spun to where the otter should have been standing, instead it was halfway out the door.

It must have wizened up after seeing Karon get back on his feet, and decided to flee rather than fight.

Karon couldn’t let him. The otter had talked to one of the pirates, and he might know where they made their home and where their ship was anchored.

He might know where Lyra was….

“Stop right there criminal scum!” Karon shouted in the most authoritative tone possible, though it might have been ruined by the spray of blood that came out of his mouth with the words, and all in all, it sounded more like an angry gurgling.

The otter paid absolutely no attention to him and disappeared out through the door quick as lightning while Karon tried to limp after him. However, his legs only carried him a couple of steps before he started to wobble, and wooziness set in. The door began shifting and turning, moving around the room without reason or logic. Then Karon understood it wasn’t, it was just his head spinning, and his legs gave out entirely under him.

Before he fell, something caught him and steadied him. He looked to his right to find Trixie straining to keep him standing. Her left hoof was snaked around his waist, and he could see her legs shaking under her from the weight he put on her.

“Guess the … whatever she does, doesn’t involve a lot of manual labor.”

She huffed while she walked forward, Karon doing his best to put one foot before the other, but the part of his face that wasn’t swollen and battered showed the despair he felt. There was no way he could catch up to the otter like this.

They both stumbled out the door, and Karon’s good eye widened in disbelief at what he saw before him. The otter sat outside, squirming as best he could in an attempt to escape from the rope neatly tied around him.

“What the … who…?”

Trixie helped put Karon down next to the wall, and he stared at her, stunned by the only conclusion he could draw.

“You … you did that?”

“Yes, I’m pretty good with a rope actually,” she said without a trace of her usual bragging demeanor.

“Thank you,” he said, and put a hand on her cheek.

She gently lowered it down and cleared her throat.

“Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie is used to having to save the day, and for the moment she has nowhere else to go.” She spoke in her usual way, in her usual tone of voice, but Karon could see her heart wasn’t really in it.

“I’m glad for that. I could use the Great and Powerful Trixie right now, especially if she happens to know any healing magic,” he told her with a crooked smile, then spat out the blood that was gathering in his mouth.

Trixie looked away, uncertain, then turned her face back to him.

“Trixie’s magic is … meant for greater things than that, so she didn’t learn any way to heal ponies that hurt themselves.”

“Too bad, I could use some of that un-great magic right now,” Karon commented dryly, and turned his attention to the otter.

“You … start talking,” he growled to it.

“Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you!” it quickly squealed.

“That was easy,” Karon snorted, and leaned forwards a little, his still working eye burrowing its gaze into the otter’s. “Tell me where the pirates usually keep their prisoners, and then tell me if there is a healer around here who can use magic to heal wounds fast.”

”I can't tell that!”

”You just said you'll tell me everything.”

”Not that, they will take me away and sell me to the harpies!”

”They are planning to do that with my friend, and if you don't tell me where I can find her, I will do far worse to you. I promise.”

The otter flopped around like a dying fish in panic, but it quickly became obvious it wouldn't be going anywhere, no matter how hard he tried. It squeaked something and muttered to itself, then spoke in a fearful voice.

“I don't know where they keep their prisoners. On their ship I think, but I don't know, you'll have to ask one of them. If you want a healer, there is Utole, he's a zebra most go to. He can fix wounds and sickness and that stuff. Please don't hurt me!”

“Where is the pirate's ship?” Karon asked, struggling with a pressing desire to close his eye and sleep.

“I don't know, but if they're here in town then it must be somewhere in the harbor. I swear I don't know!”

“Fine, then show me where the healer is,” Karon struggled to say, his breath blowing out hard between his teeth.

“I will, I will! If you just untie me first,” The otter said quickly, too quickly.

“Trixie could you untie his legs? And if he tries to run, bind him up again and throw him in the sea.”

The otter stopped squirming, and watched them with terrified eyes, but held still for Trixie when she approached and tipped her horn down to him, making the rope unravel a little bit, freeing his legs. He scrambled up to a standing position, and held still for a heartbeat. It was plain it was considering the possibility of escape.

Trixie's horn glowed threateningly, and she pointed it towards him with a clear message. The otter swallowed and made a chirping sound Karon guessed was some kind of otter thing, but it nodded and spoke in a steadier tone than earlier.

“Utole is that way. He lives in a tent that's yellow, and there is a lot of stuff painted on it, letters and such stuff.”

“Lead the way,” Karon told him, then signaled for Trixie to come over and help him walk.

“By the way,” Karon asked with a slight smile towards Trixie, “you think the healer can fix a tooth?” he spat out his tooth to the ground in demonstration, but Trixie only shuddered in response.

The otter couldn't walk very fast, its small legs barely free at all, which was fortunate for Karon and Trixie, the former struggling with controlling his movement, and the later simply struggling with the human's weight.

The otter led them along the street, little more than a road of dirt, and the creatures they met along the way made a point to keep out of their way and pretend they hadn't seen anything, something Karon suspected were how things normally worked in the town.

Trixie's breath became more labored with every minute of walking, and Karon wasn't as aware of what was going on around him as he should have been. The muted depths of sleep dragged him in and out again and again, and his body moved mostly on its on, guided by Trixie.

He thought he was still walking, until he was slapped hard on the cheek and his eye sprang open in surprise. He was inside somewhere. He could feel the warmth of a fire next to him, and the light it gave off illuminated what looked to be a canvas. Shaking his head in an effort to bring clarity into his mind, Karon saw he was sitting in a tent, leaning against a large chest of some kind.

Trixie stood inside, the otter was nowhere to be seen, but instead another stranger was watching him, an aged zebra with tattoos spread around his body, and a necklace made out of colored beads and bones.

“Hmmmph, not dead yet is he, but hard work healing him will be. To bring him back from the brink of death, to life and strength give into his breath, a costly endeavor it will be, so a promise you must make to me. If I shall grant you your wish of healing, you must do what I please, no matter your feeling,” the zebra said, the lilt of his voice reminding Karon of Zecora.

“What ... do you want?” Trixie asked him, her eyes brimmed with concern as she looked at Karon.

“The pirates the otter mentioned you seek, with them alive, the island's future looks bleak. They steal, murder and enslave without thought, these madmilia, to an end must be brought. 'The island', a sanctuary must be, or the end of trade and life this town will see. I will heal and direct your way as best I can, and their end I shall help you plan. If to this, you agree, from pain, I shall set your friend free.”

Trixie looked uncertain. She licked her lips and stared at Karon. His was face swollen and discolored, and his naked body was once again covered in sweat and blood, but now with the added smell of alcohol. All the wounds he had sustained during the day had re-opened, the strain of the fight more than they could handle.

“Do ... it,” Karon wheezed through cracked lips, and the zebra looked at him with fire in his old eyes.

“A bargain not entered lightly into. If you agree, to the end you will follow through.”

“I agree ... now ... get me going.”

The zebra smiled, and walked over to Karon. He opened the chest Karon was leaning against, and then brought forth a bottle with a blue liquid.

“Open wide, and cast your doubts aside,” the zebra said quietly, then poured the content of the bottle down Karon's throat. He forced his muscles to relax and readily drank of the thing. It tasted sweet, almost sickeningly so, but after he had ingested the whole thing, a cool numbness spread throughout his body.

Karon's mind cleared, like morning fog dispersing as the sun rose and brought light to the world. It was a pleasant feeling, one you can only feel when you just were released from more pain than you were even aware of.

Next came a red bottle, the content of it looked so congealed it could hardly be called a liquid, more like flowing mud. However, when the zebra put it towards his lips and tipped it, Karon drank as readily as before, and instantly regretted it. Even through the muted sensations of his body, it screamed in pain louder than ever before, every cell in his body was suddenly aflame with the fire of a star, and it would not end.

Had Karon been given the red bottle first, he suspected he would have gone mad from the pain. His entire body shook and the zebra was forced to hold him down, still pouring the liquid down his throat.

The pain faded as quickly as it had started, leaving only a faint, distant tingling at the tip of his nerve endings. His chest heaved with the deep breaths he took, and his eyes darted around the tent with no clear purpose of what he was looking for. Then he noticed both his eyes were working again.

He raised his hand, and it rose without hesitation or shivering, and slowly, he unfurled the improvised bandages, and saw that underneath them his palms were healed. Not completely of course, there still remained several angry red cuts with dried blood over them, but they were wounds one might expect from an accident more than a week ago, not just an hour.

Expectantly, he brought his right thumb into his mouth and ran them over every tooth, and to his great satisfaction, found them all whole.

“No wonder it hurt, the energy release for the increased regeneration could have powered an entire neighborhood for a month.”

“Question is where it came from? I have difficulty believing so much energy can be stored in that bottle, no matter the chemical composition.....”

“Maybe we just drank some kind of liquid uranium?”

“Don't be silly.”

“How about you just ask him?”

Still reeling a little from the amazing recovery he had just gone through, Karon dragged his fingers along his unwounded feet while staring at the zebra.

“Where did the energy come from?”

The zebra raised the zebra version of an eyebrow and looked pleased with his question.

“Ah, no more brute of fighting and killing, but a student of the magic, how very thrilling. The power came not from the drink, instead, a part of your life-force it did shrink. The liquid was merely the ignition, a gift so that you can now accomplish our mission.”

“Yes ... save Lyra,” Karon looked over at Trixie. The unicorn was ogling Karon's now almost completely healed body with an impressed look on her face. It would not surprise the human in the least if she were to try and take up the healing she had scorned before.

“Save your friend will be an ending, but the pirates are the problem that needs attending. Find and stop them we will, and if need be, the pirates we shall kill.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Karon growled, flexing his fingers in eager anticipation.

“Uhmm, I'm not sure I would go so far as ... killing them. Could we perhaps just teach them a lesson?” Trixie asked, her face showing her disconcert with the bloodthirstiness Karon was displaying.

“We must do what needs to be done to stop them, even if them, to death, we will condemn, but if a lighter solution presents itself, feel free to stop yourself,” the zebra said to Karon specifically, making it clear he considered death to be an extreme.

“We'll see what happens,” Karon said darkly and rose up from his position. He stretched his legs awkwardly, and thought he perhaps should find some clothes, but he put the thought aside. There were more immediate matters to tend to. He could worry about showing his goods off to the good people of Equus later.

“Then off we go, to find and defeat out foe,” the zebra agreed, and walked out of the tent, taking the lead.

Karon and Trixie followed the zebra down the street, tents and huts flanked it by the side, and in the distance, buildings made entirely out of wood rose above the rest.

Utole stopped a few times and talked to by passers, asking them questions in a voice to low for Karon or Trixie to hear. The responses he got looked to be vague and unwilling, but the zebra led them on without looking concerned, or giving any signs he didn't know where they were going. Karon's worry for Lyra increased every time they stopped and Utole spoke with a random stranger, and a slight tension settled over the trio.

The zebra had been been obvious in that he considered Lyra to be of secondary importance, and perhaps he couldn't be blamed. He was trying to look after his community, no matter how fraught with greed and crime it may be. But Karon wasn't interested in saving the community that accepted slavers and murderers, especially not when the victims included ponies he cared about.

“Utole, where are we going?!” Karon finally spat out, growling towards the latest stranger the zebra had stopped, until said stranger ran away in fright.

The zebra sighed and turned around, giving Karon an irritated glance.

“Preparations are done and information collected, so that we no danger neglected. The location of their ship I already know, now seed of danger in crew we must sow, to gather them all in one place, so that at once they may be brought to disgrace.”

“So what, you're spreading rumors or something? Telling all these creatures to tell the pirate crew they should run back to their ship or something?”

“My plan exactly that is, it seems the obvious you do not miss.”

“Are you insane!? What if they run back to their ship and flee!” Karon roared, almost throwing himself at the zebra where he stood.

“A direct challenge has been made, to battle all of them now must wade, or cowards will forever be their name, always walking in utmost shame.”

Karon calmed down when he heard what the zebra had in mind, and his eyes darted left and right as thought shifted and stirred within his mind.

“What kind of challenge?” he finally asked, a suspicion forming in the center of the maelstrom of thoughts.

“A duel of course, between two enemies meeting one another full force, to death or surrender it will be, and the victor must not be the scourge of the sea,” The zebra said with iron determination.

“Just ... great....”

“So you want me to fight that huge minotaur captain one-on-one ... naked?”

“I think fair it will be, if both using weapons agree.”

Karon shook his head in disbelief, the minotaur had been a huge mountain of muscle, and he had swung his cutlass like he knew how to use it. If Karon got to use his spear he might win. The length might be enough to balance against the captain's superior reach, and a diamond edge would be sharper than anything the minotaur had ever faced before.

He might pull it off.

“Fine, let's get going. Enough rumor mongering, lead me to their ship. I want to make sure they haven't .. .done anything to Lyra. If they have ... I swear I shall rip out their minds and trap them in a steel box and throw into the deepest part of the ocean.”

Even the zebra looked a little queasy at the threat, but he nodded in confirmation and led them straight towards the harbor, and the waiting pirate ship.

                                 *************************************************************

Lyra woke up in a cramped cell, every member of the 'Sea Swallow's” crew had been forced into it. There was a small patch of rotten hay on the floor, placed there a very, very long ago as a sleeping mat for the prisoners.

Whoever had built the cell had not meant for it to hold more than a few prisoners at the most, and now it held almost thirty of them. Lyra stood in the far back, surrounded by fearful ponies, and that one cat-like thing with a hand on its tail, all of them whispering to each other in unsteady voices.

“Where are we?” she asked one of them, her memory felt fuzzy with the details, she could remember seeing Karon and Trixie being forced to walk the plank, after that it got uncertain.

“We're in the pirate's ship,” a blue and green earth pony replied to her. His eyes scanned the room outside the cell, like he was expecting them to jump out of thin air and come after him.

“How long was I gone?” she continued to ask, rubbing a bump she felt on the back of her head.

“A long time, we've been stuck down here ever since they took us. How long exactly no one knows, but I think we're docked on 'the island'. One of the pirates mentioning selling some clothes then....” The stallion trailed off, and refused to meet Lyra's eyes, which only angered her.

“What!?” she asked him with more force than earlier, and the stallion flinched and stared down at the floor.

“...he said he would be coming back for you.”

Lyra remembered how the pirates had looked at her, and despair clawed its way forward to grip her heart. She forced it down, reminded herself that she wasn't some helpless mare in distress, she wasn't some no-name lyre player living a quiet life in Ponyville anymore. She wasn't just another background pony, whose only real claim to greatness was living in the same town as the elements of harmony.

She was not a victim.

“Do you have any idea when he'll be back?” Lyra asked the stallion, however the answer came on its own when all of the prisoners heard the sound of hooves descending the stairs leading to the deck.

The crowd stirred, and as like a collective mind, tried to move away from the bars and press up towards the wall as they could. The exception was Lyra, she walked to the bars and pressed her face against them, angling her face so she could look out into the dimly lit hold, waiting for the pirate to come into sight.

The sound of their approaching captor became louder until he came into plain view from the stairs, and Lyra could see who it was that had decided to come for her first. It was a pony, a pegasus, dirty white coat, black mane and what looked to be blue eyes, the light of the lone candle made it difficult to say, but she could see his wretched smile without problem, and his eyes roamed the cage, looking for her.

His eyes had not adjusted to the dark yet, and Lyra tried to came up with a plan to use it to her advantage. The pirate stood uncertain for a few moments, but then his eyes could penetrate enough of the gloom to see Lyra pressing up against the bars, almost like she was waiting for him.

“Eager for me are ya?” he asked, a heavy accent marking him as someone born far from the civilized parts of Equestria.

“Just ... let's get it over with,” Lyra replied, trying her best to make it look like she had given in.

The pegasus' smile broadened, and he walked towards the cage, grabbing a set of keys hanging from the wall on the way. Lyra's eyes widened, unseen in the dark, and she knew if she could get those keys, they could all escape.

“Get back with ya lot! Or I'll start gutting each and every one of you!” The pegasus growled before opening the cramped cell, waving a knife held in his hooves for show. And the crew obeyed, moving away as far as they could, but their was anger in their eyes as well as fear. Lyra just prayed to Celestia they wouldn't be cowards like before, when the time came.

The pegasus opened the door, and stabbed his knife in the air towards the prisoners, making sure they wouldn't get any ideas, then he leered at Lyra, and waved her towards him. Repressing a shudder, and the increasing desire to faint, Lyra pressed her legs forward and walked over to him, brushing by him when she walked out the cell.

The stallion licked his lips hungrily, and slammed the door shut, locking it in one swift move before turning to face Lyra. He eyed her with burning desire written on his face, and strode towards her with purposeful steps.

When he got close enough Lyra turned around and bucked him as hard as she could in the chest, doing her best to imitate the way she had seen Applejack do it.

The stallion stumbled backwards and dropped the keys, but he recover quickly and growled against Lyra, spit flying out his mouth with his words.

“I'm gonna make you beg until you can't speak any more.”

Lyra's horn flashed for a brief second, but no retaliation to the pegasus for his words became apparent, and with a grin he rushed her. She couldn't help yelping when he pusher her down to the floor and held her down, revulsion ran through her entire body and she couldn't suppress shuddering.

“I want you to know, its okay if you scream, I like it that way,” the stallion said, his breath stank of booze and whatever questionable content he had decided to eat, and it made Lyra's stomach churn. She felt close to giving up hope, that her improvised plan somehow had failed, when she hard the clank of the cell door opening.

“What the...?” the stallion questioned and turned his head, the sight of all prisoners casually walking out of their cell greeting him.

Before the pirate could recover his senses and flee, the crew had already surrounded him. Lyra was the first to punch him, crawling out from beneath him after, but she was not the last, and the pirate was soon transformed into a whimpering pile of bruises and broken bones.

The crew was frenzied, and had Lyra not been there, they would most likely have killed their captor and would be slave master. However she was, and she ordered all of them to throw him into the cell they had stayed in a guests instead of killing him. The fact that she was the one that had freed them enough to make her the impromptu leader of their escape.

They threw the broken pirate into the cell, cheering when they slammed the cell shut and put the key in the ... waste bucket. Even so, they all calmed down when the realized where they were, and whose attention their cheering might attract, hushing each other, they all turned to looked at Lyra, waiting for her to speak.

“Uhm, yeah?” she asked them, a little uncomfortable about being the focus of thirty ponies, staring at her like she was Celestia herself.

“So what now?” the captain asked her, as always, choosing to be the voice for his crew.

“I think it would be a good idea to get off the ship. If we are docked on 'the island' you should know how it looks, and where we could hide, right?”

“Yes,” the captain said and nodded.

“Okay then,” she said, her chest puffing up a little more in pride, she had just saved them after all.  Well, halfway saved them in any case. But when none of the other ponies, or the cat-creature, made any moves, Lyra realized they were waiting for her.

She had a mind to facehoof, but thought maybe that would be bad for morale or something, so she settled for taking a calming breath then slowly walking up the stairs with the others following close behind.

She came out onto a second deck, several bed and hammocks were scattered around next to personal belongings and what looked like loot. She had the feeling it was stolen because Karon's clothes were placed on top of one of the beds, and after closer inspection she found a huge pile where his spear was placed too.

She didn't have time to investigate further. There were additional stairs leading up from the deck, and the door they led up to must have been locked, guessing by the sounds of impact that came from it. Somepony must have forgotten the keys, and now they were trying to break it down instead, the frame was cracking with each impact, rattling the items nearby.

With no other idea of what to do, Lyra turned around and waved all of the others up to her, and the hurried to comply, lining up beside her.

“When the door breaks, just run as fast as you can and push whoever is outside away,” she told them, tensing her muscles in preparation.

The door shook a final time, then with the sound of breaking wood, came crashing in, banging up hard against the wall. Lyra and the other began screaming and rushed forward, ascending the stairs in leaping bounds, hardly paying any attention at all to what they were doing.

Which was why Lyra only noticed it was a naked Karon standing in the door frame, staring at the approaching horde of freedom tasting ponies with wide eyes.

Lyra didn't have time to slow down, and even if she had she couldn't have stopped the momentum of the ponies behind her. Just before she barreled through the opening and into Karon, she thought she heard him say.

“Naaw crap.”

         **********************************************************************

Utole had kept his word, and led them right to where the pirate's ship was docked. Only one lone sentry was left on board to guard the vessel, and Utole had been kind enough to use some kind of powder to knock the zebra pirate out completely.

To Karon's great delight, it turned out to be the same eye-patched zebra that had knocked him out when the pirate's boarded their ship. And when Trixie and Utole wasn't locking, he gave him a discreet kick in the ribs, feeling like the day might get a little better after that.

Proving once again that the universe has a nasty sense of humor.

Utole motioned him over, and pointed towards a door that that looked to either lead down into the hull, or into the captain's cabin.

“There you see my friend, to your captives I do you send. Now we should make haste and help them disappear, for the pirates will soon furiously come here.”

Karon walked over to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. He huffed in annoyance, then took a step backwards and drove his heel into the door with a kick.

“Aouch, aouch, aouch, aouch,” He repeated after, jumping around one his other leg.

“Yeah...when we practiced that kick we wore shoes.”

“Well, I don't have access to any shoes of any kind right now, so I'll have to try and suck it up.”

Bracing himself, Karon kicked the door again, then again. He felt the door shudder under the impact. Each time he kicked it cracked a little louder, until with a final thump the door broke in, leaving Karon standing in the door frame, letting out a long breath with relief.

And then he heard a sound reminding him of a stampede of angry buffaloes, and his eyes widened to double their usual size when he saw Lyra, heading a horde of ponies up the stairs towards him. It was just at the last second she glanced up and saw him standing there, and her eyes widened with surprise as well. But it was too late to stop, and before she hit him, Karon managed to summarize his entire day in one sentence.

“Naaw crap.”

Then Lyra barreled straight into him, sending him flying over the deck while Trixie and Utole quickly got out of the way of the panicking horde of ponies. It was luck alone that kept Karon from being run over by the stamping hooves, and when all of the ponies finally had made it up to the deck and realized there was no present danger, he dared to rise up from the fetal position he had crawled into.

“What the hell do you think you're doing! You all nearly killed me you ungrateful pieces of-” Karon went on for quite a while, telling all of them exactly what he thought about them, their mothers, and what they could do with the oars to the lifeboat.

Halfway through his rant he was interrupted by a very loud roar, and he fell silent immediately. All of those standing on the deck turned to watch as the furious pirate captain came walking on board with heavy steps, his cutlass already drawn.

Behind him his pirate crew came on board, all of them giving Karon and the others savage, gleeful smiles. Thought there came others that didn't look to belong with the pirates, and Karon guessed they were citizens of the town who were there to observe the duel that had been announced through the rumor mill.

“You!” the minotaur bellowed, his voice so resonate it sent the hairs on Karon's arm standing.

Before Karon could add anything, Utole stepped between him and the minotaur, ready to begin acting as a mediator of some kind.

“Before all gathered here today, these combatants will fight I say, with rage or hope they are empowered, and if one of them backs out, he shall be named a coward.”

“I am no coward!” the minotaur roared, and looked ready to charge at Karon without wait. Yet, Utole help up a hoof to stop him, and continued.

“With weapons you shall fight, no magic just raw might, and since this creature is not yet armed, you can not yet bring him any harm.”

“Uh, right, does anyone have any idea where my spear is?” Karon asked out loud, not daring to take his eyes off the enraged minotaur.

“It's down below the deck,” Lyra piped in, but before she could go get it the minotaur objected.

“That's not fair! A spear will have much wider reach than my cutlass, if there is to be any duel then it must be fought with similar weapons!”

“What!” Karon questioned, stunned by the double standards. “So what, its okay to fight with weapons that won't work against your physical superiority? What, do you like fairness only when it favors you and discard it otherwise?”

The pirates all looked at one another, then nodded their heads or voiced their affirmative, that yes indeed, that was the case. And then one of the pirates drew a cutlass, similar to the pirate captain's, and threw it over to Karon.

“There ya go, now get on with t'fight!” the otter that had thrown it hollered.

All the gathered pirates, as well as some of the spectators, shouted in approval and began stomping their hooves. Karon grasped the hilt of the cutlass at his feet and brought it up to his chest, he gave it a couple of try swings, and found it extremely lacking in just about everything one could want in a sword, including that it'd be sharp.

He gulped, then stretched out his mind to the audience until he found Lyra's, and quickly sent a message to it.

“Lyra...sneak down the stairs and get my spear, when I tell you to, throw it to me, you will need to time and aim the throw perfectly if it's to work.”

He hadn't bridged a link between them, and couldn't hear if she gave any response, he only hoped she would manage to do as he had asked in time, before the minotaur turned him into mush.

Karon waited for Utole to give some sort of sign to begin, and instead he nearly got crushed as the minotaur barreled forward with a roar, waving his cutlass in front of himself.

Karon yelped and flung himself to the right, narrowly avoiding the massive bulk of the pirate captain, and the sharp looking cutlass he was swinging without even bothered to aim. The move surprised Karon, he would have thought the captain would have done one or the other, either tried to crush him with his size, or cut him up with his blade.

A suspicion formed in the back of his mind.

But before the suspicion had time to form into a functioning plan, the minotaur turned with his cutlass held high above, and rushed forward just like before. Though this time, he was ready for Karon's dodge, and when the human tried to evade his attack, he hit him midair with a kick right into the abdomen. And Karon lost the grip on his own weapon.

“I HATE HOOVES GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!”

Karon was sent flying over the deck, and crashed into one of the spectators, the pudgy zebra dampening his fall, but Karon was still left wheezing on top of the unconscious stallion, the kick winding him.

His opponent laughed to himself at the sight, and took his time walking over to Karon. Air entered into his lung in huge gasps, the searing pain in his chest only increased with each breath, but it became of secondary concern when the pirate captain placed a hoof on his chest and tipped him over. Karon's eyes bulged when the weight of the minotaur was put on him, even if it was only a fraction, and in pure reflex he lashed out at the leg in an attempt to get the weight off.

He was lucky, his palm smashed into the side of the minotaur's knee, and it buckled under him instantly. He landed on the deck heavily, and before he could regain his footing, Karon jumped on top of him and began raining punches on his face.

The minotaur fell into a rage, obviously not accustomed to being attacked in turn. He flailed his arms around, and Karon had to roll away from him just to avoid the flurry of chops the minotaur made with his cutlass.

He spun around and looked for where his cutlass had landed, and spotted it next to one of the crewponies from the 'Sea Swallow', the pony noticed where he was looking and kicked the sword in Karon's direction. Karon bent down and grasped the weapon, just in time to spin around and swipe at the minotaur rushing towards him.

The cut took the captain on his stomach, but his muscles had been too hard to make it cut very deeply, even so, the minotaur stumbled backwards and roared like Karon had cut off an arm. And Karon's suspicion deepened.

The captain was big and scary, but Karon guessed he wasn't used to anyone challenging him, or even daring to put up a fight. It might have been many years since he had even participated in a real fight with an actual danger involved.  With that in mind, Karon went on the offensive, and began hammering away at the minotaur with various, cuts, chops and swipes.

The captain parried as best he could, but inevitably, some of it got through, and it wasn't long before several wounds had opened on his forearms and chest. Karon could see the growing fear in his eyes, and he knew he had him, that was, until the badly tempered steel of Karon's cutlass gave out when the captain paired on of his blows, and broke in half.

“This has been a really bad day for us.”

The broken top of the cutlass clattered away over the deck, and left Karon standing with a hilt in his hand, and a blade extending little more than a foot before ending abruptly. The minotaur stood dumbfounded like Karon for a second, and then he smiled and chuckled evilly when he realized what had just happened.

“Uhh...” Karon said, not quite sure if they would accept a do-over. He looked around the deck for any other objects he could use as a weapon, or perhaps he would have to resort to magic. He had no qualms about breaking the rules and use his magical abilities, but after the tremendous amount of energy Utole's potion had drawn from him, drawing and shaping energy so soon might cause considerable damage. Damage to the body is one thing, but to the spirit is an entire other level.

He scanned the crowd and caught sight of two turquoise colored hooves waving far back over the crowd, Lyra must have found the spear and was waiting for him to notice her or give the signal. And if there was ever a time for it, it would be now. He just needed to distract the minotaur for a second.

“Hey, do you happen to know what a trickster is?” Karon asked the minotaur, slowly backing away from him.

“No, is that what your kind is called?” the minotaur asked back, giving no sign he thought he was doing anything else but humoring Karon before killing him.

“Too bad, if you had, you would have known we like to cheat. Lyra!” he screamed and threw his broken cutlass at the minotaur's face.

The captain didn't expect the move, and it struck him in the nose with the hilt, and instinctively he closed his eyes and brought his hands up to it while roaring in pain and anger. Karon turned to where Lyra had been standing, and saw his spear flying towards him like a black arrow, and he caught it in mid-flight, spinning it around and bringing the tip forward.

The pirate captain didn't have time to see what had happened, before Karon rushed forward and stabbed the spear into his belly, the strong muscle gave no more resistance to the diamond edge than water would have. It cut through his entire body and exited through his back, the captain made a confused grunt, and dropped the cutlass. Karon ripped the spear out from the minotaur and stepped back, the spear pointed towards the captain's throat and ready to strike.

He didn't need to, the captain began stumbling backwards with a  confused expression on his face while he clutched the wound, like he was trying to figure out what it was. The crowed behind him scattered when he stumbled towards them, and the minotaur continued on his path all the way to the railing, until he fell over and landed in the water with a loud splash.

It must have been enough to bring him out of his shock, because everyone on board rushed to the railing and looked down to the captain, doing his best to stay over the surface, splashing around with his arms and legs while his blood flowed out of his wounds.

Either the captain couldn't swim, or his wound kept him from thinking straight and he was just panicking. Either way, Karon wasn't sure what he should do next.

The question answered itself, when the blood and splashing of the captain attracted those sea creatures not quite as inclined to help a bleeding stranger as the dolphin had been. A triangular fin cut through the water quickly, and the captain had time to turn his head and see it before he was abruptly pulled under the water with a scream.

“Huh ... so sharks do exist in this world.”

“Lucky for us that we got a dolphin instead.”

“Right ... this day has just been full of luck.”

He turned around with weariness setting in in full. The adrenaline of the combat abated and left Karon feeling like a towel that had been dried one too many times. The spectators were talking amonst themselves, and the crew of the 'Sea Swallow' were cheering, the pirates though, they remained silent. Some of them still staring at the water and the captain-turned-dinner, as if expecting him to pop up and take charge of them once more.

Karon gave Utole a glance, the zebra was watching him expectantly and waiting for the human to take the next step. Karon sighed, but he wanted to be done with all of this so he could be allowed a little rest. He walked over to the center of the deck, and leaned on his spear heavily, a line of blood was trickling down from the top onto his hand.

He could order them all to attack the pirates. They were in a cheerful enough mood to think they could pull it off, but the pirates would undoubtedly not go down without slaughtering at least a few of them, and Karon didn't have the strength, nor the inclination, for any more fighting.

He had had his fill for the day.

“Peaceful solution it is then.”

“That has to be a first for us.”

Karon snorted, then began laughing loudly at the thought, grabbing the spear with both his hands to keep from falling over. All of those on board the deck turned to stare at him, the naked, blood stained killer of the minotaur some had believed was invincible.

Karon waited until his laughter had died down, then raised his head and looked at the pirates.

“Okay, hehe ... this is how it's gonna be. You will never again sail under the pirate flag, or for that matter, do anything else but work honest trades for the rest of your lives. You know why? Because I am going to inform Princess Celestia about what has happened here, you know her right? The immortal, alicorn ruler of Equestria. Yeah that's right, I know her. And I dare say, she owes me a favor. I am going to leave this place, and Utole or anypony else living here is gonna keep an eye on all of you, and if you ever try to take up unlawful work again, either I or the princess will hear about it, and we will come for you. You could perhaps run from me, but you can be sure you cannot run from her. Do you all understand?”

Karon forced his weight back to his legs and distributed it evenly, his right hand gripped the spear tight in preparation for the pirate's refusal, and the ensuing slaughter it would lead to. However, it didn't come, instead the pirates listened to his words carefully, and then looked towards one another doubtfully.

Until one of them stepped forward, an otter with a dagger stuck in a belt, and a white shirt over his chest. He looked back to the others, then shook his head and looked at Karon, speaking in a bitter voice.

“Fine, I agree, as long as you promise you won't hurt me, or tell anyone else to hurt me if I don't do anything ... unlawful.”

“I agree. Honest living and you'll be left alone.”

The otter shook his head and muttered something, then he gave Karon a quick nod, and walked off the ship. The other pirates quickly fell in line after that. One after the other they agreed to Karon's deal, and Utole gave promises to all of them that he would be watching.

When it was all done, Lyra, Trixie and the crew of the 'Sea Swallow' walked over to him.

“So ... is it all done now?” Karon asked them, putting more and more weight on the spear he leaned on.

“Yes, I can't think of anything more that needs doing,” Lyra said and gave him a grin, and a few of the crew chuckled.

“Good, then how about we go celebrate?” he asked them, and the suggestion was meet with cheers.

“You think ... that ... they have any ... rum?” he managed to ask sleepily, right before he fell down on the deck and collapsed, finally reaching his limit and drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 34: Foreign hospitality

Karon had malaria.

Or some weird pony world version thereof, and in addition had several other diseases, infections and maladies with funny sounding names. As thanks for Karon's assistance in more or less safe-guarding “The island's” future, Utole did all he could to cure Karon, an endeavor that took three whole weeks.

Three whole weeks that Karon spent on a straw mattress in Utole's tent. He was occasionally allowed to step outside for air and sunshine, while the rest of the crew, Lyra and Trixie enjoyed the tropical climate and the late night festivities.

When the time finally came that he was healed enough to no longer be in mortal danger, the others were ready to move on as well, and so they bid their farewells and left on the 'Sea Swallow', which the 'reformed' pirates had so kindly given back. They spent an additional two weeks on the sea journeying to their destination, surrounded by endless waters and a glaring sun, growing harsher each day as they traveled east.

It was on such a day Karon that left his quiet corner in the ship's hold and walked out onto the upper deck. The heat struck against him hard, and were it not for the soothing spray of the sea, he would most likely have began panting.

The the crew members were all seasoned sailors and knew enough to keep to the shade as much as possible and conserve their movement. It was an ingrained behavior and could be seen in the tiniest details in how they moved around the ship tending to their tasks. It was also a behavior neither Lyra nor Trixie had grown into.

Lyra stood at the bow in her usual spot, doing her best to offset the heat by staying close to the sea, while Trixie sat in the shadow of the center mast. Somehow, she had managed to coax one of the crewponies into fanning her with a palm leaf, something Karon could only assume she had brought with her from 'the island' for that very purpose.

Karon shook his head in exasperation, but it was halfhearted and more for habit's sake than anything else. Ever since the incident with the pirates, Trixie had been, if not nice, at least tolerable, her arrogance balanced with an occasional glimpse of a real personality

Although, Karon had to admit they were rare.

With a lack of anything better to do, Karon walked over to the captain who happened to be in a deep conversation with his first mate. When they noticed Karon was up and about, they fell into a respectful silence, and this time Karon shook his head in real annoyance.

Ever since he helped save them, the crew of the 'Sea Swallow' had been respectful to the brink of being in awe of the human. He had found it amusing at first, but the novelty quickly wore off.

“Any idea when we'll arrive at our destination?” Karon asked, pointedly ignoring their reverent silence.

“If the winds keep favoring us as they have, tomorrow around noon I think,” the captain said with a glance to his first mate, who gave a nod in confirmation.

“Good. I should finally be able to move around without passing out by then. What was the name of the town we were docking at again?” Karon asked, and his mouth twitched when he saw that the pony fanning Trixie was replaced by another of the crew.

“Your recovery is great news, and you can be sure we're all glad to hear you'll be fine by the time you depart… of course, if you and your friends wanted to, you could remain on board. I know I could use someone like you if we should ever run into trouble again.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I would prefer to continue on my journey … I think it would defeat its purpose if I were to tie myself down to anywhere right now, even if it is on a ship.”

The captain and the first mate looked a little curious at his remark. Despite their constant attempts at uncovering more information about their rescuers, Karon had refused to divulge more than just the most basic information, and Lyra had been kind enough not to do it in his stead.

Trixie, on the other hand, had been happy to tell everyone just how great she was, and if she had any deeper personal background than “Trixie has always been great”, she didn't reveal it.

So, Karon was left to being something of an enigma to the crew, and he liked it that way. There would be enough rumors spreading around about him after everything he had done since arriving in Equestria, and he preferred it if there wouldn't be any actual truth mixed into them.

“Well, you know best yourself I guess, but you'll always be welcome aboard the 'Sea Swallow',” the captain added just for good measure, and Karon responded with a polite smile, but refrained from saying anything further.

Instead he walked over to where Trixie was indulging in the fruits of her labor, her incessant nagging about the lack of service on the ship paying off. To be fair, you could hardly blame the crewponies for giving in. Although Karon had gotten all of his possessions back from the pirates, Trixie had not been so fortunate. Her clothes had been sold and already ruined in order to make a blanket, and ever since then her mood had been quite sour, despite the jovial atmosphere after Karon's defeat of the pirate captain, and she had been more than happy to take it out on the crew.

“Enjoying yourself?” Karon asked the unicorn, her coat almost like a reflection of the sky above running down towards the horizon.

“Trixie is doing her best to suffer through this insufferable heat,” she replied and gave the crewmember a stern look, after which he quickly began fanning her twice as fast.

“I can see that. Do I need to remind you that I am the one actually paying for your trip and that you should let the crew do their job instead of adding to their workload?”

“Trixie has earned her passage on the ship many times over!” she responded with a twitch of her neck.

“Maybe you have. Still, I would suggest you let them get on with their work. The captain said we should arrive tomorrow and I'd rather not let that get delayed because you shanghaied members of the crew.”

Trixie blinked in surprise at the news, and a worried look came over her face for a moment before she managed to turn it back into her default look of haughtiness. Karon, of course, did not miss it.

“Do you have any plans what you'll do when we get there? Because as far as I know you have no possessions at all now that you lost your clothes too.”

“Trixie will always find a way. She will dazzle the citizens of whatever backwater hole we arrive in, and soon, she will be back to her rightful place as the most talented unicorn in all of Equestria!” she shouted in triumph, and jumped up on her back hooves with her arms held wide, almost like she was expecting fireworks to go off and frame her in.

“We're outside Equestria's borders now Trixie, so that will prove a little difficult I think. And I also don't think you can become the most talented simply by being recognized. You either are or aren't by virtue of actually being the most skilled.”

“Hmph, Trixie will pretend she didn't hear you. You obviously don't understand the complexities of being as great and powerful as one such as her.”

“You know, despite all the bragging about your amazing power, I haven't seen you use any magic at all.”

“Trixie doesn't want to make you jealous since you helped rescue her.”

“Right … well I do hope your amazing magic will serve you well. You'll need it if you want to survive.”

“Trixie knows how to survive on her own,” she stated with a hint of bitterness in her tone, but she looked up on Karon with a questioning look in her eyes. “However, Trixie confesses that she has … gotten used to your company lately, and she wouldn't be totally against continuing to travel with you. Until she have grown tired of your difficulty in understanding the greater things Trixie knows.”

Karon mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile, and he had to be honest with himself. Trixie could be pretty entertaining when the full brunt of her self-obsession wasn't directed at him.

“Besides, she will drive Lyra insane.”

“Well, I guess another pony would help make me seem less dangerous if the locals have stories about humans here too....”

“And her attitude will make even me appear likable.”

“...so why not? Though I will expect you to pull your own weight and all that, and I doubt our travels will be entirely without danger. Though, I think it will be hard for this world of mostly cotton candy and rainbows to throw me any worse situations than the ones I've lived through already.”

After he said it Karon felt a shiver run down his spine, and the psychic senses he had started to pick up on lately told him loud and clear, he was wrong.

So very wrong.

Suppressing the small ball of ice that had formed in his gut, Karon forced a smile and looked down on Trixie. “But I'm sure you can handle it, being so great and powerful.”

“Why uhm … yes of course, I w- Trixie will assist whenever danger threatens....”

“Good,” Karon said, ignoring the hesitant tone Trixie had used, “Then all that remains is waiting for tomorrow.”

Trixie didn't answer, a worried frown had made its way unto her face, and she didn't even notice when Karon gave the pony fanning her a look that told him to go do his real job. The pony complied with a grateful nod.

Karon left her with her thoughts and crossed the deck to where Lyra was on the bow, his hat mercifully shielding him from the worst of the suns hammering light. Lyra had no such luxury though, and she was forced to squint her eyes while doing her best to enjoy the cooling effect of the sea.

She must have heard Karon approach, because she spoke without turning around.

“So you're finally rested enough to be up and walking without help. I was begin to worry we would have to stay on the ship for a while longer until you got better.”

“No, I'm good now. Besides, I thought you liked it here on the ship.”

“I do, I love it actually. I had never been to the sea before going to Trottingham with you. It's so big and … I don't know.”

“If you really want to you could stay, I could survive without you you know.”

She snorted. “No you couldn't. And I said I would travel with you and I will. I just hope I'll get to enjoy the feeling of going over the sea again.”

“You will. We won't stay in Punda Milia forever. The map showed that there's a lot more land in this world. This is the smaller of the two continents after all … and I don't think I want to explore the more inhospitable places like the southern jungle.”

“Good, I don't want to either. If we can stay in the places where the zebras live, I promise I won't complain.”

“Yes you will,” Karon said with a smile, and Lyra turned around to him with one as well.

“By the way, Trixie is coming with us,” he added offhandedly.

And her smile disappeared.

“You … you're just joking right?” she asked, the tone of her voice making Karon suspect she was praying internally.

“Nope, she's coming with us.”

“But why?” she whined in turn, her voice shrill in a way that would have made Rarity proud.

“She did help me when I needed help, and without her, the chances I would have succeeded in saving you are pretty low.”

“But why do we have to bring her along for that? Couldn't you just give her a little of that money and let her go on her own way?” Lyra grumbled, her face twisted likes he had bitten a sour fruit.

“What's with all the hostility? I thought you got along with her on at least a neutral level ever since the pirates?” Karon wasn't entirely sure about that, his memory of the weeks spent in Utole's tent consisted mostly of fever delirium and the terrible aftertaste of the zebra's potions.

“Maybe she can be bearable to be around when she forgets about bragging about how great she is, which took more than one glass of rum, but I don't want to get stuck with her for I don't know how long. And … I don't trust her.”

Karon's mouth fell open slightly in surprise, and he stared at Lyra with a face begging an explanation. Lyra sighed, but she continued despite any reluctance she might have.

“Look, I don't dislike her, I just don't know if she'll stick around and help the next time something happens. Because you DO attract disasters like nothing else, and despite what you say, you try and save ponies all the time, and if Trixie ends up getting hurt because she tried to run away or couldn't handle it … I don't think you would do very well if you lost … somepony else.”

“So that's what it's about.”

“Lyra...” Whatever words he planned to say got stuck in his throat, and the lecture he would have given  about how he could take care of himself was abandoned. “...you're a really good friend. Thanks, but she's still coming with us if she wants to. We just have to make sure she doesn't die if … when something happens.”

“She'll still be pretty annoying too,” Lyra added as an afterthought, and Karon grinned when she did.

“I know, call it a bonus.”

Lyra narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, but didn't voice her thoughts out loud, choosing instead to turn around and go back to enjoying the spray of the sea as the ship cut through the water.

Karon walked up and stood beside her, and together they watched the approaching horizon, all the way until night had descended and the moon climbed the sky.

Sometime during the night, they both woke up from their sleep when the lookout cried out that he had spotted land.

                       ***********************************************************************

Mosimji was a fishing town with a small harbor made mostly for the fishing boats the inhabitants made their living with. So, the 'Sea Swallow' was forced to anchor further out, and the crew used the lifeboat to row into harbor carrying with them their three passengers.

The zebras did not give any second glances to the ponies when they stepped out into the wooden bridge, but they stared openly at the strange creature clad in red robe and hat. When he noticed, Karon massaged his temples and tried to calm down. At least they stared in fascination and not in fear like the ponies had. Perhaps that meant the zebras didn't have stories about humans.

They all left the boat behind and walked into the town. The houses were all made out of white stone and decorated with colorful cloth that hung from the windows. The smell of the sea mixed with that of freshly caught fish, and several carts stood around the pier with zebras next to them haggling with groups of customers.

“You sure you don't want to take us up on my offer? We'll restock our supplies then head back out to sea. There might be work further down to the south in the bigger towns,” the captain asked Karon, who shrugged in return and shook his head.

“No, I want to see what we can find in this empire. Might learn something.”

“Well, best of luck to you with that, and if you want to head deeper inland, you should go with one of the caravans. They'll help keep you safe.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Karon said and tightened the grip on his spear. He gave a curt nod to the captain and the crew, then turned around and walked away. Trixie followed him immediately while Lyra stayed behind for a longer goodbye with the captain, and Karon slowed his pace to allow her the time.

He walked around what must have been the dockside market, browsing through the stalls with curious wares and doing his best to play the part of a tourist. Around him, the zebras gave him space to walk unhindered, but not enough to give the impression of being rude. He stopped at one particular stall where wooden masks had been carved with intricate detail. He frowned when he looked closer and brought his hand over them slowly.

They hummed gently in response, and the symbols scribed into them vibrated visibly, revealing that at least some magic had been weaved into the design.

“What are these for?” Karon asked the stall owner, a stallion with a weathered face and warm brown eyes.

“They are meant to keep your house safe. This one is to keep out thieves, and this one here is to keep the spirits of the dead away, and this one right here is to protect against jackals.”

“Jackals?” Karon asked curiously, something about the word tingled his memory, and it had nothing to do with the jackals back on earth.

“Yes, jackals. I have sold many of these lately. The horrid beasts are making more trouble than usual. We’ve even had refugees coming out here after the jackals burned their homes up north.”

“Interesting....” Karon murmured to himself, and turned around when he heard Lyra clear her throat behind him.

“Said your farewell?” he asked her rhetorically, and she nodded.

“Yeah, so where to now?” she asked in turn.

“Well … the captain did say we should look for a caravan, and it sounds like good advice to me. The world map Celestia gave me isn't exactly full of details.”

Remembering that he wasn't alone with Lyra anymore, he turned to Trixie and asked, “What about you? Any suggestions?”

“Trixie is fine with you determining the course. You can bother her when something of actual importance comes up,” she stated and looked on the wooden mask with mingled curiosity and contempt.

“Right.....” Karon turned to face the stall owner and asked in what he thought to be his polite tone. “Do you know where we could find a caravan heading further inland?”

The zebra was eying Trixie with irritation, the contempt on the unicorn's face obvious even to him, and responded with a harsh edge to his voice.

“Yes, just go and look in the town center, all the caravans go there to sell their wares.” he said and pointed vaguely towards one of the streets leading into town.

“Thanks,” Karon said and headed to the street, Lyra walking beside him and Trixie trailing behind, shooting arrogant looks everywhere she could.

“See, with her with us, no one is going to notice my lack of manners,” he told the unicorn at his side with smile. Lyra only groaned in return.

The caravans were easy to find. From what he had seen of the lay-out of the town, every street inevitably led to the town square where they were gathered. Colorful wagons with symbols, tapestries and images adorned the outside while zebras stood within the open doors, hawking their wares loudly.

Even though it might have been fun going through all the different merchandise offered, Karon decided not to. The gold Celestia had given him would not last forever, and it had lost a fair chunk of its size after the trip overseas.

Instead, he walked over to the closest caravan and asked the shouting owner if they were heading inland after their stay in the town. The response was no, but he was directed towards a zebra that was supposed to, and Karon dutifully followed the directions he had been given until he found a group of green painted wagons with blue spirals on the surface. A large, mustache wearing zebra with black eyes stood next to it, screaming as loudly as he could that indeed, his wares were superior to the competition, even if they sold things he didn't.

They were that good.

“Excuse me, I heard you're heading further into the empire, could we join you?” Karon asked the zebra, who had stopped fishing after customers to stare at the strange creature before him.

“You … talk? I mean yes, yes I will be going back to Mjimkuu after I've done here for today. I have few wares left to sell, and I miss the beautiful capital of our empire.”

“So … could we join you?”

“Hmmm? Oh yes, as long as you can keep up at my pace and don't cause me any delays, you can join me. I will be going the fastest route back. My wife gets incredibly grouchy if I'm gone for too long.”

“That's fine with us.”

“If there is anything particularly enlightening to find in this part of the world, then it can probably be found in the capital of it.”

The trio spent the rest of the day walking around the town, much like Karon and Lyra had tried to do in Trottingham, but unlike the citizens of that town, the zebras of Mosimji didn't treat Karon as an animal that might lash out any second. They remained aware of his presence wherever he went, and kept a respectful distance, but treated him no different than anyone else after he approached them.

Karon found himself liking them, and so did Lyra if her multitude of smiles over the course of the day were any indication. Trixie remained her normal self, arrogant and distant with little to say besides self glorifying comments from time to time.

When the sun was setting, the trio returned to the zebra trader, Mkul was his name, as agreed and were ready to leave the town behind. The zebra in question had closed down his carriage and was standing beside it waiting for them, looking at the position of the sun every now and then for time. When he saw the human and ponies coming towards him, he put on the reins to the carriage.

“There you are, I was beginning to think I would be heading out on my own again.”

“No we're still going with you, wouldn't want to get lost,” Karon joked, and the zebra chuckled at the remark.

“Wise choice. Many of the ponies that come over can't tell one part of the savannah from the other. Let's get going then shall we.”

Without anything further to say, the trio followed the zebra on his way out of the town, leaving the coastal settlement behind for the savannah instead. The dirt road looked to stretch on endlessly. The tall grass framing the landscape was interrupted every now and then by large clusters of rock stretching out of the ground, and trees dotted the sea of grass at seemingly random intervals giving it enough of variety not to look bleak.

At some points, the road disappeared as the sea of grass gave way to wide areas of dirt and sand, and if it weren't for their native guide, Karon and the others would have lost their way for sure. But Mkul led them on without difficulty, and stopped when the night grew too dark to continue. Moon and Sun chased each other over the sky, and below them Karon and his companions went on their journey, until one day, Trixie seemed to have enough.

“Trixie demands that we stop and rest! Her hooves are aching and she is sore all over!” she shouted loudly and sat down on her haunches.

Mkul continued on like he didn't hear anything, though the small smile on his lips said otherwise. Karon sighed and walked over to the protesting unicorn, Lyra wisely deciding to stay out of it and continuing ahead with Mkul.

“Trixie come on now, you can rest when Mkul camps for the night.”

“Trixie is tired of only stopping when the fat zebra wants to stop! She demands to either ride in his wagon or she isn't walking any more.”

“Okay then, good luck with staying here. Try and not get eaten by the tigers too fast.”

“I wonder if that will work again.”

He turned his back on her and headed after Mkul and Lyra. Trixie in turn stared off after him and bit her lower lip, the desire to rest battling with her fear of being left behind apparent on her face. Fear won out, and she trotted after Karon fast enough to catch up to him quickly, but not enough to seem desperate.

“Looks like it did.”

“The deal was that we keep up with him Trixie, and unless you suddenly became very good at the local geography, I am going to stick with Mkul.”

“Trixie thinks Mkul is an evil slave-driver that cares nothing for the sophisticated habits of superior unicorns.”

“I think you're right about that one, of course, I don't either.”

“Trixie can't believe she agreed to come with you. You forget that without her you would never have succeeded against those horrible pirates.”

“That might be true, but you can only ride on the credits of old services rendered for so long, and you aren't doing much to endear yourself to anyone lately.”

“Trixie doesn't need to 'endear' herself to anypony. She is the Great and Powerful Trixie, and whatever you can do, she can do better, so she deserves everything she asks for.”

“Really, I take that challenge,” Karon said with a surprisingly chirpy voice and smiled down at the unicorn.

Trixie in turn looked shocked at the statement, then a little afraid, and finally the emotions she displayed settled somewhere around cocky.

“Fine, Trixie shall show you the true meaning of magic!”

“Oh I wasn't talking about magic. If you want to win, you have to be a better friend to Lyra than I am.”

“That doesn't count, it's not a skill,” she quickly added, obviously not pleased Karon hadn't chosen magic.

“You're very wrong about that. It's a skill, and one very hard to master, for me anyway.”

“Trixie still says it doesn't count, she is great and powerful … and doesn't have time to prove she could be a better friend than you could.”

“Really, then let me ask you a simple question. What do you have time for?”

“Well … I … Trixie has time only for challenges that let's her prove that she is superior to everypony else, and that she is the greatest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria!”

Once again she got up on her hind legs and flung her arms out, expecting some kind of explosion to go with the statement. Karon found it vaguely amusing, especially when she started wobbling as her balance gave out. He laughed at the sight and Trixie glared back at him after she got back down on all fours.

“You know for a while I was like you, when I was younger. Always trying to prove how much better I was than everyone else, that I could do all these things they couldn't.”

“Trixie understands you must have given up when you failed,” she said with a smirk, however Karon only grinned back at the insult and continued unperturbed.

“No, something Varsif told me once he got tired of my endless quest for self-gratification. He grabbed me by the neck one day after I tried outshining a bunch of campers because I could use the wind to move around stuff. He brought me back to his cabin then told me to move a couple of logs he had cut down using only the wind. I couldn't, I'm not that strong with primal stuff. Then he did it like it was nothing, made logs from huge pine tress dance in the wind like they were leaves. Scared the crap out of the local wildlife. He didn't brag afterward, he only asked if I wanted to be able to do what he had just done. I said yes of course, so then he said something that kinda got through to me, he said 'Good, then you should know it's pointless to try and rise above others, when you could rise above yourself.'.”

Karon increased his pace after he was done talking, and left Trixie trailing behind after him doing her best to understand what he had just said to her, and possibly, what it might mean. If any of it actually got through to her he didn't know, but for the remaining days of their journey towards Mjimkuu, she didn't complain once.

When they actually did arrive at the capital, and got their first glance at the height of zebra culture, all three of their jaws dropped. The city was huge, with each section rising higher above the previous one, going further and further up the more closer to the center you got. It looked to be made entirely out of white stone, but unlike Canterlot with it's towers and rounded tips, buildings of Mjimkuu were squared, with flat roofs everywhere you could see.

The city was surrounded by a large wall, and small figures could be spotted walking around on top of them on patrol. Mkul chucked when he noticed their reactions, but didn't stop to give them time to compose themselves.

“Come on now, it is even more glorious when you get inside the walls, and my wife is waiting!” he called back to them and laughed loudly.

The trio looked at each other, then hurried after the zebra, gaping at the city with each step closer they got.

“I have to admit, that is quite impressive.”

“Indeed, let's just hope they don't have anything against strange creatures inside their walls.”

The sight was impressive, however Karon noticed something seemed off when he was nearing the gates. Large cluster of tents were pitched outside the walls, and zebras hung around the encampment, wandering around with miserable looking faces, all of them displaying signs of despair.

“That doesn't bode well.”

“Uhm, Mkul is it usually like this?” Karon asked the zebra thoughtfully.

“No, no it is not. I have only been gone for two months selling my wares. I can't see what has happened, only rumor I have heard is jackals are getting braver up north, but zebras always say they are.”

“Maybe its true this time,” Karon said, the soft echoes of someone crying reaching his ears.

The gates into the city were closed, and four zebras stood guard at it, armed with spear and wearing brown armor of some kind, marked with symbols and adorned with feathers. Three of them wore black feathers, but the fourth had feather of both black and blue, and he was the only who approached the caravan when they got close enough.

“Hold, what's your business in great Mjimkuu?” The zebra asked and gave Karon a long, hard glance of suspicion.

Mkul sputtered in indignation and approached the zebra, his wagon trailing behind him.

“My business! I live here you bozibozi street cleaner!”

The zebra looked unmoved by the tone and insult, and instead pointed towards Karon and two ponies.

“And who are these, they do not look to live here?”

“Travelers from the pony lands of course, they come seeking the adventure and pleasures only great Mjimkuu can provide,” Mkul answered for them.

“That one is no pony, and he carries a spear,” The zebra said, and the three zebras behind him looked to grasp their own spears a little harder at the words.

“This is the great Majani empire, everyone carries a spear if they are out traveling.”

“You do not.”

“I'm too big and scary to need one,” Mkul said confidently and chuckled, then gave the guard a hard stare. “Now let us in before my wife comes and beats you because you kept me from her eager hooves.”

The guard didn't seem very impressed with the threat, but he stepped aside anyway and allowed them to pass through. Staring after Karon all the way through the gates.

Inside, the city was bustling. The sun still shone strong in the sky above and the inhabitants of the city were going about their business. But there was something wrong within the city walls as well, Karon could feel it in the air, and he stopped in the middle of the street and slowly raised a hand, like he was caressing the air before him.

“What are you doing?” Trixie asked with her usual undertone of arrogance, no doubt thinking that whatever he was doing, she could do it better.

“Checking something,” he answered her quietly, his focus elsewhere. Then he dropped his hand and looked at the city before him.

“There something very wrong going on in here,” he said out loud, making both the zebra and pony stare at him in question.

“What do you mean?” Lyra asked looking around.

“Every city has a pulse, the splash of energy going off from all the living creatures inside it. Emotions, thoughts, dreams and everything else swirling around, creating a vortex that cloaks the place with its own unique signature.”

“He speaks truth, every city has moyo, has heart and spirit, and the great Mjimkuu has the greatest heart and spirit in all Punda Milia.” Mkul said, his voice both somber and proud.

“Maybe, but I am sensitive about these things. I'm good with the things creatures have inside themselves, and I can tell you with certainty that right now, the 'moyo' of this city is screaming in fear and uncertainty.”

The ponies looked around like they were expecting every zebra around them to suddenly start galloping in panic, or begin screaming in terror. Mkul only looked as troubled as Karon felt, which only seemed to confirm his fears, if the zebra who was obviously so proud of the city didn't voice any objections, then it was definitely something wrong.

“Do your senses tell you what ails our great city? I have been gone for only short time, yet I am welcomed at the gates like I was a criminal,” the zebra finally asked him, his usual jovial attitude gone.

“No … but it hangs thick in the air … really thick. It feels more like liquid than gas, and that means the energy is pretty dense.”

“But what is wrong? Can you sense it?” the zebra insisted.

Karon sighed and brought both his hands up, his fingers twitching like they were bring pricked with needles.

“The city is afraid. It's like something is coming, you can't see it, but the carrion birds circle you above, and you know it is approaching. Animals are good at sensing such things, time flows both backwards and forwards, and sometimes what is or perhaps could happen in the future goes to the past, like a backwards echo, and you can sense it. The city fears something is going to happen, it is worried, but I don't think anything is certain.”

As is to emphasize what he had just said, a screech sounded from high above them, and a vulture glared down at them. Mkul spat at his side and glared right back up at the bird.

“Filthy creature. Well, if anything dares threaten great Mjumkuu it will have to go through Mkul to get to it … and also my wife, she is scarier.”

Karon gave him a halfhearted smile but didn't say anything further. They parted ways after that, Mkul invited them to dinner at his house, but Karon declined for the night and said they should find somewhere to sleep during their stay. He was pointed towards what Mkul called, “The greatest inn in the greatest city of the world.”

The three of them followed the directions Mkul had provided, and ended up outside a large three story building. A great banner hung from the roof, painted green and red on either side. “The Jungle Cat Inn” it read, and it looked clean enough from the outside to bring credence to Mkul's claim.

“Should we head inside?” Karon asked, not waiting for an answer. There wasn't a door. A thick cloth hung instead in the door frame, and Karon pushed it aside gently. The inside was cooler, and sygils glowed with light blue light at the corners of the inn, magic meant to regulate temperature Karon guessed. There were pillows placed in circles around low standing tables throughout the room, and next to stairs leading up to the higher floors were shelves lined with bottles of all colors imaginable.

The smell of incense drifted through the air. It was sweet but not overpowering enough to be annoying. In the far corner, a zebra sat with a large flute like instrument of some kind which she was playing. A rhythmic melody bounced from it, and hummed pleasantly through the inn.

All in all, Karon liked it.

They walked over to where an old matronly looking zebra stood, rummaging through a crate next to the shelves of bottles.

“Excuse me, are you the owner?” he asked her gently.

The zebra jumped and turned around quick like a viper, and didn't seem to relax when she saw who had spoken to her.

“Yes, old Kena they call me, and my house this is. Do you want to be guests here? If so, then coins are the proper gift to give the hostess,” she said in a strong voice at odds with her otherwise old appearance.

“How much per night?” He asked and took off his rug sack.

“Three coins per night, and two coins per meal if you wish to partake of my food,” she said, then flashed a smile at Trixie and Lyra.

“My, my such sweet looking ponies that come to my home. I do not know the name of his kind, but he must be something special to snare both of you at the same time,” the old zebra said, accompanied with a wiggling of her eyebrows.

Karon buried his giggles in the rug sack when he saw the looks on both Trixie's and Lyra's faces, the mares displaying a mixture of outraged shock.

“We're not his marefriends!” The both shouted in unison, then glared at Karon hopelessly trying to hide his laughter.

The old zebra made “tsk!” sound and shook her head, but didn't lose the smile. When his laughter died down, Karon brought his head out of the rug sack and dug out a handful of coins, which he gave to their new hostess.

“Here, that should cover for all of us plus some food and drink,” he said.

The zebra counted the coins then nodded. She led them over to one of the small tables with pillows around it and the three of them sat down. Traces of outrage were still fixed on both the ponies' features.

“I will bring what I made for dinner, I hope you'll like it. What would you wish to drink?” she asked, eyes jumping between the three of them.

Karon sprawled his legs out wide with a content sigh, and turned his head to the ponies.

“Water, definitely water, but something strong to go with it after a bit of hydration. What do you drink in these parts?”

“For strong drink, we have fermented seed, honey wine and-”

“Honey wine should do it, we call that mead where I'm from, bring a lot of it.”

The old zebra give him a curious stare, then her mouth twitched upwards when she looked at the two mares around the table, and she chuckled to herself when she left to get their order.

“I like her. She has a dirty mind.”

She delivered their meal quickly, and Karon found it to his liking. There was a lot of fruit involved, and an ungodly amount of different ways they've found to prepare hay, but in general the food was edible and well tasting. The copious amount of mead he poured into himself surely made it easier to eat, and even though the two ponies didn't drink quite as much, they did partake of the wine with gusto, letting the weariness of the road disappear in a haze of pleasant warmth.

It took time for Karon to get as drunk as he did. The need to stay hydrated in such heat clashed with the constant dehydration of the wine, and he had to drink as much of the water as the mead, but eventually the sun set, and the heat the sygils did their best to keep the heat at bay receded, leaving Karon to focus entirely on emptying their hostess' supply of the wine.

It was sometime during the night, when even Lyra and Trixie were beginning to feel the effect of the drink, that more and more customers piled in and lounged around on the pillows, laughing and talking louder than was necessary.

Even through the fog of inebriation, Karon could sense the underlying tension leading to it, the customers spoke loudly, laughed louder, and drank more than usual to go with it, all so they could keep their fears at bay. Not that Karon minded it, everyone dealt with bad stuff in some way, and alcohol was a good way to go.

“I wonder if that is purely a statement of theoretical knowledge, or if it perhaps stems from practical experience,” a voice said dryly inside his mind.

“Hey I'm not a drunk! And I don't self prescribe alcohol as medicine or anything, I just want to get drunk some times.”

“Funny how those times seems to come around whenever we get close to situations with a lot of fear and suffering.”

“Just shut up and stop ruining the moment.”

Karon frowned in anger at having his moment of bliss ruined, and it was at that moment he noticed the hard stare he was receiving from a zebra across the room. At first he thought it was simply because the stallion must never have seen a human before, however after staring back at the zebra for a few minutes he recognized him. It was the same zebra that had stopped them at the gates.

Karon anger grew in size, and thoughts about being stalked by the zebra fluttered through his head, even though it was most likely a coincidence. He spread his arms out wide, then flicked two fingers towards the zebra, and even though the meaning of the gesture was lost upon the creature, the general intent of it was not.

The zebra glared harder at Karon, then emptied the bowl he had been nursing and crossed the room towards him.

“You never revealed your name and what your business in Mjimkuu is … and what you are,” the zebra said aggressively, his eyes drilling into Karon.

Karon sneered at the zebra and shook his head.

“No I didn't, and I won't, so go away and stop bothering.”

“You should tell me now, before I find a reason to question you in a cell. For all we know you could be sent by the jackals to spy on us.”

Karon raised both his eyebrows at the zebra in surprise, but despite knowing he shouldn't antagonize a guard, he felt anger boiling inside, and poking him with a metaphorical stick felt like fun.

“I'm not a spy, but perhaps you've heard about humans hmmm?”

“Ponytales the ponies scare their children with,” the zebra said dismissively, and Karon responded with a wolfish grin.

“No … I'm a human, and unless you want to find out how much of those stories are true, I suggest you get lost quick … I'm feeling hungry and I haven't eaten meat for a while now.” Just for effect he licked his lips.

The zebra looked furious and stepped forward, his eyes alight with anger.

“That's it, you will come with me, and we shall find out just who you are and what threat you are to great Mjimkuu!”

“Fuck you I do what I want!” Karon shouted and flew up from his seated position.

“We shall do this the hard way then,” the zebra said with a smile, and did a motion reminiscent of someone cracking their knuckles.

“That's it, prepare to have you ass kicked,” Karon stated confidently, and cracked his knuckles for real.

                      *****************************************************************************

“I can't believe you got us sent to jail!” Lyra repeated for the fifth time.

“I heard you the first time,” Karon groaned and gently massaged the bump on his head.

“You got us sent to jail!” Lyra repeated like a broken record, pacing around in a circle while Trixie sat with an empty stare, unwilling to cope with the situation, or perhaps still drunk.

“How was I to know he had a friend sneaking up behind me?” Karon said defensively.

He had woken up in the cell with the two unicorns, and Lyra had been quick to admonish him with the few words she still seemed capable of speaking. Karon's head had spun around a lot, and he had vomited in a bucket placed within the cell, no doubt meant for other, if just as unpleasant, contents.

After an hour had passed, Karon felt good enough to stand straight, and he walked over to the bars of the cell, inspecting them closely.

“I can't believe you got us sent to jail,” Lyra repeated.

“Don't worry Lyra....” Karon said, and turned around to her with a smile.

“...I don't plan on staying.”

Chapter 35: Here we go again...

“Karon … what are you doing?” Lyra asked carefully, the subtle note of a woman ready to panic resonating in her voice.

“Getting us out of here,” came the carefree response.

“No, no, nonononono … NO!” Lyra repeated, mostly for her own benefit.

“Calm down, we'll be fine … once I figure out a way to get rid of these bars without killing us in the process.”

“This can't be happening, it can't … I just wanted to learn a little about humans. That was all, just a little....” Lyra's voice trailed off into incoherent mumbling, and she joined Trixie in the dark corner of the cell, rambling to herself.

“Those two have snapped completely this time.”

“Some just can't handle the joint.”

“They're not supposed to have to. We need to get them out. They might not survive in here.”

“You mean that we need to get all of us out of here … right?”

“Right.”

Deciding it would be easier to sort out the state of his companions' mental health once they were free, Karon resumed his analysis of the cell. The bars were thick and placed close to one another, clearly meant to keep things far smaller than Karon locked up tight. The interior looked to be made of the same white rock that Karon had seen from the outside of the city, and after touching the floor with his hand and sending trickles of energy into it, he could confirm it was as solid as the bars.

“Hmmm, maybe if I make a racket or start screaming, a guard will come, and with a little use of psychic energy and post-hypnotic suggestion, I can make him open the door.”

“Or you could just, you know, move the lock mechanism with your oh so handy telekinesis we went through hell to master....”

“...right.”

“Better get Lyra and Trixie stable first before we attempt to sneak out of here. Give them a pep talk or whatever.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Okay, I know how to get us out of here. As long as you keep behind me and do as I say, everything will be just fine,” he turned around and told them, putting as much reassurance into his voice as he could muster.

Trixie jerked her head up, her eyes shining with hope, grasping at any straws given. Lyra gave him a half amused, half skeptical glance and shaking her head.

“Why do you do it?” she asked him.

“What?” Karon said and blinked rapidly in surprise.

“Why do you do it? You're supposed to be a hero right? You try and help and save ponies when you can, always. I heard about how you went into the deep parts of the Everfree Forest after Scootaloo … alone! And I heard in Canterlot about how you made Rainbow Dash agree to take care of her after you ran away from Ponyville. You did your best to save Equestria when More-than Tardy tried to take over, and you did help save it. You saved me and the others when we were about to be sold as FOOD by the pirates. You even helped Twilight's brother admit his love for the princess … I don't get it. You're one of the heroes, like the elements of harmony … so why do you always get yourself into trouble? It's like one second your a really good hero, and the next you do something that's almost … evil, or at least bad.”

“I'm not a hero Lyra, I'm a trickster,” Karon mumbled, mostly to himself, but she heard it.

“What does that even mean?”

Karon closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thoughts evoked by the question go by him. Images and answers were fleeting, constantly replacing each other.

“Honestly Lyra … I don't know. However I will tell you, I'm not a hero, and I'm not a villain. Good and evil don't exist. I don't live in a world of my own making. I don't live in a world were what I like is good and what I don't is bad. I don't live in a world of black and white, I live in a world of colors.”

“I just don't understand you,” she looked on him with reproach in her eyes, but she appeared to have collected herself well enough for Karon to attempt escape.

“That's okay Lyra, I don't understand myself.”

“It's the reason that bastard Loki sent me here.”

“And we've done a marvelous job at resolving that issue.”

“Hey, I'm on this damn quest for enlightenment now. Better late than never.”

“Well in our case it's better really, really, really, really late than never.”

“Shut up.”

“Lyra, if you want to get into existential questions that's fine, but could we do it after we get out of this place?” Karon pleaded.

“Fine, but the reason we're in here in the first place is in the answer to my question, I know it.”

Karon paused at her words. He was going to say something clever and get on with opening the lock, but her words struck hard and resonated with something within himself. The feeling disturbed him, and he shook it off with some difficulty, the remains of it leaving a tangy taste on his tongue.

“Whatever, let's get going now,” he said and swallowed.

He forced a calming breath in and out before putting his hands on the lock. Physical manipulation might not be his specialty, but if Eldros' training had allowed him to levitate big rocks, it should work for precision work too.

His mind flowed easily into the lock, the energy becoming an extension of it, and it easily grasped the locking mechanism and began moving it. There was a slight strain that made Karon tense his jaw, then a clanking sound sprang from the lock and the door swung open smoothly without a sound.

Karon stuck out his head and glanced down in both directions of the hallway. He didn't see any guards in sight, and there came no reaction from any of the cell doors that lined the hall. He tilted his head back and waved his hand forward to Lyra and Trixie, signaling them to follow, before he slipped out.

The hall was bright. There were crystals of some kind, not unlike Celestia's sun crystals, that were worked into the stone walls, and they produced a steady light that reflected off the white rock all around. There was little point in trying to sneak around and stay in the shadows in this kind of place, so Karon walked down the hallway normally, paying a little extra attention to how loud his footsteps were.

The guard had taken his spear, along with his map and rucksack. The though of having to steal or find work to earn more money did not sit well with him while being hunted, nor did the thought of leaving Eldros' gift behind. The dragon would not appreciate that. Karon had the sense he was only borrowing it, either until a set point or until he died. Either way, the time would only seem like the blink of an eye for the ancient dragon.

“So not only do we have to avoid being seen, we have to find out where they have stashed our stuff.”

“Messing with minds is my specialty. If I can find a guard without being immediately spotted I can take care of it.”

“That's a big if, and one that comes with the possibility of either being sent back to our cell or 'accidentally' killed for trying to escape.”

“You speak like I'm guaranteed to lose if it gets down to a fight.”

“To win you have to want it.”

“What does that mean?” Karon thought in confusion, there was a tension that had come with what the voice had said, and he couldn't quite place it.

“Never mind, let's just focus on one thing at a time.”

All the cell doors he had passed had been placed on the left side of the hallway, and the right had remained a blank slate of stone with only the crystals interrupting the monotony. That was until he came upon a heavy set door made out of dark wood inscribed with several symbols. The carvings were painted with red and green and stood out clearly against the background.

Karon narrowed his eyes when he saw them, and gently sent out a small trickle of energy towards the door. The symbols reacted instantly and began to shine. The colored paint came alive with the humming of energy, and Karon took a careful step back. He moved to stand right in front of the door and raised both his hands towards it. He allowed the energy centers within his palms to generate more energy, sending it down from his mind and expanding on the field it built until it came into contact with the energy field the symbols created.

There was a sizzling sound as the two forces met, but when fields of energy meet, it is inevitable that one must give in to the other. As Karon increased the power he sent out the prime source of the door's power, the symbols connected to it didn't match the output. The symbols remained at the same level they always had, and after a few minutes of small sparks leaping about their outer linings, Karon won and the field yielded to his advance, allowing him to move closer without being felt by it.

Blowing out a sigh of relief, Karon let his hands fall to his side and wiped his brow of the sweat that had gathered. The symbols weren't diffused. They had been activated by a shaman of some kind most likely, and the land would just keep pouring energy into them until they were either broken or deactivated. Karon had no idea how the specific symbols worked and what they represented, and so he didn't know how to simply turn them off.

Which left the options of either destroying them, which there would almost assuredly exist a fail safe or alarm for, or work around them.

“Well, they look vaguely pictographic. Look, that's the sun, and that would most likely be a mountain, and that looks kinda like a tree.”

“Okay, definitely shaman then, which is damn annoying because the power source is basically the entire planet.”

“Can't cut the connection unless you destroy the symbols.”

“Which will alert someone I'm sure.”

“So that leaves figuring out how all of this functions and finding a way to trick it.”

“Yay! We get to conduct field experiment regarding completely alien symbols while we're attempting a prison break and liable to get caught in the act any moment now. Oh joyous day.”

“Come on, it's not that hard.”

“Says the guy that struggled with runes. There's only sixteen of them you know.”

“Do you ever give helpful advice?”

“Hey, I'm encouraging you.”

“Encouraging me?”

“Yea, I´'m reminding you how high the possibility is of us getting caught and spending the rest of our lives forgotten in a jail cell is. Voila, motivation!”

“Is everything alright? Why aren't we going through?” Trixie asked, licking her lips nervously.

“It's been inscribed with magical symbols and charged. I don't know what it'll do if I try and open it.”

“Are you saying we're trapped!?” she squealed in panic.

“Well … yeah, but I'll get it fixed,” he said and turned his attention back on the door.

“It's quite ingenious actually. If any prisoner gets a hold of the keys or escape by other means, they won't get further than the hallway because the only way out isn't locked with keys.”

“AHA! But if it isn't locked with a conventional lock that slides a piece of metal between the door and the wall...”

“...then the wall and the door must be connected with energy, making sure that the door is firmly stuck until the power is cut with the right trigger.”

“I'm thinking a talisman of some kind. I don't think it's a word or touch, not every guard can possibly have mastered basic magic, but they could all carry talismans. Or have a few they trade whenever someone has guard duty in the prison.”

“We can muse on the everyday life of a prison guard later. How do we open it?”

“Well, if we decipher the right trigger, then we could open it the same way the guards do.”

“But they must have used the same symbolic code for the talismans as they have the door.”

“Pictographs aren't complicated. Try and figure it out.”

Karon moved his head closer and ran his eyes up and down the door, he could see that the symbols had been carved in broad cuts, but there was a very thin cut as well painted in blue, leading from bottom to both side to the top of the door forming a diamond like etching that connection the door and the surrounding floor, wall and ceiling at four points.

“Okay, that's the point of connection. Now how is it channeled?”

“Well in the center we have the tree symbol.”

“Think it's a symbol of A tree or THE tree as in Yggdrasil?”

“I think A tree. Above it is definitely a sun.”

“Then the thing below must be earth....”

“That wavy thing at both sides between the sun and tree could be wind.”

“Wait, wait, wait. If the one below tree is earth, and the wave between tree and sun is wind, then the sun might not be sun but fire.”

“Yes! The elements, so we have fire, earth and wind.”

“And that which is run by both the fire of sun, wind and earth is...”

“Water.”

Karon brought both his hands together and energy flowed through him, gathering in his palms and forming a sphere of energy, he shaped it into the ethereal element of water. The field grew strong and almost shimmered in the air, and, holding his breath, Karon sent it forward into the field the door produced. As soon as it connected, the symbols on the door flared, and the door opened by itself.

“Woohoo! Who's the man?!”

“Us, obviously. We're surrounded by females.”

The success felt good. The simple act of figuring something out with wit reminded him of his time in study. The endless hours he'd put into mastering symbols and language, and the sweet taste of achievement when something that was an enigma yesterday became an illuminated truth today.

He missed it.

“We can get sentimental later. Now, we get out of here, find our stuff then run and don't stop until we can smell the ocean.”

“Let's go,” he whispered to his two companions, and sneaked through the door.

The door led out into a nearly identical hallway, with the exception being that there were no cell doors along one of the walls. Further down, it looked like the hall split up into several different paths. He hurried down them with Lyra and Trixie following close behind, their hooves making enough sound to make Karon glance around in fear.

“Can't you like, turn us all invisible?” Lyra whispered loudly, and Karon stopped with a grimace and whispered back.

“I don't literally turn invisible Lyra. I just send the order to ignore all sensory data concerning me, and that takes a lot of concentration and power. Especially here where light is bouncing off me all the time and you're making all that sound with your hooves!”

“You can actually turn invisible?” Trixie asked with huge eyes, effectively ignoring everything he had just said.

“Arghh … yes, yes I can. But it's difficult, so let's find other options first before we do something that could possible give me an aneurism from the strain.”

“Trixie has never heard of such magic before,” she murmured, her eyes shining with something very greedy for a moment.

“Oh dear.”

“But, couldn't we just walk out of here without fear of being noticed of we were invisible?” Lyra pressed.

“Yeah ... but I don't know how long I could hold a cloaking field containing that much … and even if I could, I still need to find our stuff. We won't survive long without money, and I'm not leaving the spear or the map for that matter.”

“How were you ever planning on finding our things when we're right in the middle of jail!?” she hissed  and glared at him.

“Hypnotizing one of the guards and having him get it for us, or getting it ourselves.”

“Well … can't you do that while invisible?” she asked, her voice halfway between accusatory and pleading.

“No … I'm not that good.”

“But what if-”

“Shhh, okay I'll cloak us, but when we run into a guard we walk up behind him or somewhere close he can't see and I'll drop it and put my mind mojo on him.”

“That's … good?”

“Yeah, now stay very close to me and move slowly and silently. The faster you move and more noise you make, the more energy I'll have to expend cloaking it.”

Lyra and Trixie walked up to him and pressed themselves hard at his sides, and he put both hands on their backs. The connection would help, and the physical contact was actually reassuring, knowing they were with him.

His aura stretched and connected to theirs, and through his energy centers, lines of energy leapt out and formed a shell around them. All energy passing through on its way out was infused with the command to be overlooked. A simple command, but one that required constant fueling of energy, and Karon could already feel the headache forming.

They moved forward with care, their heads darting to the side whenever another hallway came into view. There were a lot of them, and the jail was beginning to look more and more like a maze. The paths only seemed to beckon to them with false promises of freedom, luring them deeper and deeper into windowless corridors of rock lit only by the crystals.

Finally, after having taken more turns than Karon thought reasonable, they halted at a section of stairs carved into the end of the hallway. The problem with the stairs, and the reason he stopped before them, was that they led downwards.

“Uh oh....” Karon said out loud, and he felt through his hands how both Trixie and Lyra tensed at the sound.

“What? Why aren't we going forward?” Lyra whispered loudly.

“Because they're leading downwards,” Karon responded and bit his lower lip in thought.

“So?” Lyra insisted.

“So, there are no windows as far as we've seen despite having passed through a ridiculous amount of corridors. So either we're right in the middle of the biggest fortress in the world, or we're underground. And if we are underground, taking stairs leading further down isn't the brightest idea.”

“Couldn't they just have skipped making windows? They have those crystals anyway,” she said, glancing up at the closest one shining softly.

“Maybe, but I find that unlikely. Zebras are not nocturnal creatures, so they would need sunshine for health reasons, and windows happen to be very good for ventilation. Since this is solid rock, they would have to carve out air holes somewhere and I haven't seen any so far.”

“Well why don't w-” Lyra cut herself off when the sound of hoofsteps reached her, and all three of the escapees turned around slowly, holding their breath as the sound grew in strength, moving closer and closer. Karon strained harder, focusing all his energy to make the veil around them perfect. Sight, sound even smell would not get out through it unmodified.

Eventually they saw a zebra pass through on of the hallways, barely coming into view for more than a few seconds before disappearing down another, the echo of his steps trailing off gradually.

“Follow him,” Karon said quietly, and they moved with cautious, but hurried, steps after the guard before they lost him in the multitude of passageways.

They caught up with him shortly, and proceeded to trail behind the unsuspecting guard while Karon was forced to struggle harder and harder with the weariness of upholding the invisibility. He could feel the tingling in his palms signaling some of the energy was unfocused, splashing off like unguided water. He focused on his breathing to try and bring clarity back into his mind and the tingling receded, but it wouldn't last for long before it came back. He couldn't hold the field around them for much longer without imperfections slipping through.

Eventually the guard stopped when he reached another door much like the one Karon had cracked, symbols just like earlier graced the hard wood with their presence. The zebra didn't halt for long, he simply held up an object before the door and the symbols glowed, and the door swung open silently.

“Ha! Talisman reactive, I told you.”

The zebra yawned loudly and stepped through the door. Karon hesitated for the barest second, then pushed lightly on his two mare companions and hurried through before the door closed. The room they stepped into was circular, and there was several windows in the walls from which actual sunlight entered, ruining Karon's suspicion of them being underground.

There were a few tables around the room, all of them the low standing kind that had been used in the inn they had so briefly stayed at, and pillows were laid down around them as alternatives to couches or the piles of hay used in Ponyville.

The zebra they had been following shuffled towards another door that sat to the right of where they had entered, and he passed through without even looking around. Karon didn't follow, instead he focused his attention on the zebra that sat on one of the pillows at a table, a bowl of food before him and a tired look in his eyes.

There was no one else in the room.

“Good, he's tired. That will make this easier.”

He glanced towards the other door and waited until it closed behind the guard, then whispered to his friends.

“I'm going to drop the invisibility after we've gotten up behind that zebra over there, I'll hypnotize him and get him to tell us how to get out and where my stuff is, and perhaps he can even help us get out if I do it right.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Lyra asked at the same time Trixie asked, “Can you really do that so easily?”

“Yes, and it's not as easy as I make it sound,” he answered both of them, then pressed on their backs to get them going. They walked over to the other side of the room, when they stood right behind the guard, sure that they wouldn't get spotted instantly, Karon breathed in deeply, then let it out and dropped the veil around them at the same time.

There was a slight shift in the air, like a soap bubble they didn't know they were inside suddenly burst, however the guard didn't turn around or react at all. He kept sitting stooped over his food, and generally exhibited an aura of absolute tiredness.

Letting go off the invisibility had come with a huge sense of relief for Karon, the constant pressure that had steadily increased dissipated into nothing. However they were far from safety yet, and he would need to put far more strain on himself before the day was over, he knew it, so he breathed quietly and counted to sixty, then sneaked towards the guard until he got close enough to touch him.

The guard remained blissfully unaware of Karon's presence until he felt the human's hand on his head, but by then it was too late. The zebra's conscious was shoved back into the far reaches of his mind by the flood of psychic energy that came out of Karon's hand, brought to a place far removed from the immediate concerns of his body and what was going on around him. All he knew was stillness and peace, and he could bring no resistance when Karon started feeding his mind with impulses and questions. He wasn't aware it was even happening.

After five minutes of staring into the mind of the hypnotized guard, Karon returned to his normal state, but didn't bring the guard out of his trance quite yet.

“Okay, they're keeping my stuff in the war commander's office, their military leader, for some reason. Good news is that his office happen to be inside this building, bad news is that we're not only in a jail, we're in the empress' palace. This entire section is something called 'The Corner of War' and nearly every warrior zebra in the city comes here daily.”

“Ohh....” Lyra perfectly captured the situation with, while Trixie remained silent, the nervous twitch of her eyes speaking for her.

“Yeah, but we can still get out of here if we hurry. Makole here will be taking us straight to the war commander's office, and after grabbing our stuff he'll lead us out.”

“Why would he do that?” Lyra asked, her voice doubtful.

“Because he thinks he got ordered by this war commander to go get us and escort us to his office, and after we grab our stuff, I'll make him think the commander apologized to us because we got arrested on false charges and ask Makole to led us out and make sure we encounter no trouble. Still, if that is to work, we have to walk behind him openly and try and look like we're still prisoners.”

Lyra looked skeptic about the plan, but didn't voice any objections to it, mostly because she didn't have any alternative plans to offer. Trixie walked over to the guard zebra, his eyes glassed over and with a look of being far, far away. She brought her hoof up and waved it before his eyes with no reaction from him.

“Don't do that. If things out here in reality are contradictory to the lie I feed him, his mind will notice and he'll snap out of it.”

“This is real- I mean, Trixie finds this magic very impressive, almost as impressive as her own,” she observed the zebra with a thoughtful frown on her face.

“Uh, thanks, but we should get going unless we want to get caught. Remember, look like we are being herded away by him so … act sullen or something.”

“What if we run into another guard? Will they really believe that only one guard was needed to take three prisoners away?” Lyra asked.

“They will, I don't know why but I got the sense that the guards have supreme confidence that once you get within the 'war corner' of the palace, you don't need to watch the prisoners very closely for some reason. I think they probably imagine no one would manage to crack those inscribed doors.”

“Then let's hurry, I want to get out of here,” Lyra finished with a look towards the door the other guard had disappeared behind.

Karon placed his hand on the guard's head again, and the zebra rose form his seated position with a fluid grace that betrayed long martial training. His eyes once more looked awake and he moved forward with confident steps.

“Let's go prisoners, no shuffling behind!” he spoke loudly and glanced back at them with contempt.

Karon suppressed a smile and walked after the zebra, Trixie and Lyra falling in behind him. They passed through identical hallways to the ones they had already walked through while invisible – for all Karon knew they were the exact same ones – and only ran into other guards a few times, each of whom never spared them more than a brief glance.

Eventually, they rounded a corner and the zebra stopped at a door just like the ones they had passed through before, same carved symbols, same simple process of getting through. The zebra brought forth a round talisman that hung around his neck and brought it forward to the door and it swung open. The zebra marched in before Karon realized he hadn't gone through with the others what to do if the war commander was actually inside.

“Crap...”

“Here are the prisoners you requested commander,” the guard announced as he came in loudly. Karon clenched his teeth and made a pained face before hurrying into the room. It was pretty small for being the office of the 'war commander', circular in shape just like the earlier one, and with a single large table taking up most of the room. Behind it on the wall hung a large map of Equus, and Karon noted that it strangely enough didn't have quite as many details as the map Celestia had given him.

Facing the hypnotized zebra was the biggest example of the species Karon had ever seen. He was tall enough to nearly be at Karon's height, and he was just as wide. There was a tattoo in the shape of a leaf on his cheek, and even in the semi light of the office, lit only by the crystals in the wall, Karon could see the scars on the zebra's body.

The 'war commander' had obviously earned his title the hard way, and he faced them with a confused look on his face, but his eyes narrowed dangerously when he noticed Karon.

“I didn't order-” the commander replied in a gravely voice, and before he could finish the sentence, Karon decided to act first.

He flung his hands forward and bombarded the commander's mind with as much psychic energy he could produce, but the commander came from an old warrior family, and had been honing his discipline since he was old enough to hold a spear. He resisted the forced trance, but couldn't keep himself from swaying groggily, battling the sudden pressure that had forced itself upon his mind.

Karon had spotted his own spear standing against the wall the second he walked into the room, and he darted towards and grabbed it. Before the commander had time to focus on what was happening, Karon had already placed the tip of the spear against his throat. The veteran warrior froze, but didn't show any sign of fear as he focused his eyes on Karon, if anything, he looked calm.

“Would you mind pointing that somewhere else. It is quite sharp, I tested it,” the commander noted, using the same tone one might use to comment on the weather.

“It is, so unless you want me to use it, you better keep calm and do as I say,” Karon said.

“I am calm. As far doing as you say, I guess that depends on what you want,” the zebra continued undaunted.

Karon was about to respond when something struck him in the left leg, and it buckled under him. He gasped in surprise and spun around. The zebra he had hypnotized must have had some difficulty keeping the situation around him in context to the lie Karon had fed his brain, and he didn't looked happy about what had happened.

He held up his forelegs like he was about to smash them together around Karon's head, and as he brought his hooves together, the human ducked and jabbed the back end of the spear into his stomach hard. The zebra fall back with a large huff as the air within his lungs was forcefully expelled, and before he could recover, Karon swung the spear in a half circle over himself and brought it down on his head.

The guard smacked into the floor loudly, and his teeth rattled so hard even Karon heard it, but he was out of the fight.

Expecting to be hit from behind again, Karon didn't wait and threw himself over the prone form of the downed guard. He hit the floor in a roll and came up just beside Trixie and Lyra. Karon spun and pointed his spear towards where he had been just a heartbeat ago, but instead of finding the commander there just having failed to catch Karon off guard, he instead stood next to the wall on the far side of the room with a calm look on his face.

Karon shifted his spear until it pointed straight at the commander, and he spoke with a voice infused with as much malice as possible.

“We're going to walk out of here with someone leading us, might as well be you. Just tell me where the rest of my belongings are and we'll be gone.”

“If you had let me finish earlier, I would have told the warrior here that I had not sent for you, but that I was just about to.”

The comment caught Karon off guard, but he masked his surprise and kept his appearance of barely restrained urge to slaughter.

“I'm not one for interrogations, but for record's sake I might as well add that none of us are spies for anything,” he said dryly.

“I never thought you were. The tracker that brought you in said he thought you suspicious and perhaps spies for the jackals, and that you had attacked him cowardly from behind.”

“What-I- HE attacked ME from behind … sure it was after I said I was gonna kick his ass but … still....”

“Well, I never thought you were spies either way. The jackals don't use spies, they're grasp of tactics don't extend further than screaming really loud and being as savage as possible. I wasn't interested in whatever grudge that had brought you here, and I wasn't overly interested in the spear you had, which is of masterful making. However, I AM very interested in knowing why you carry a map with you bearing the personal seal of the royal sisters of Equestria?”

“The personal seal of the royal sisters...?”

“Oh right, that finny little thing in the right bottom corner.”

“Do you think all their maps have that? Or did Celestia put that there intentionally knowing we might get into trouble with other authorities?”

“I wouldn't put it beyond her.”

“I got that after I did Celestia a favor....” Karon said, briefly considering adding in something about having been the court wizard of Canterlot, but thinking better of it. The last thing he needed was to drag politics into his situation.

“Princess Celestia of Canterlot. You 'did her a favor'?” the commander said, raising his eyebrows in question.

“Yeah, and I really regret I ever did. Now step over here, you're going to walk us out of this place, and then we'll disappear, everyone will be so much happier that way.”

“I'm afraid I have other options that needs to be considered,” the zebra said and a cold look of calculation came over him. “Tell me, how did you get out of your cell? And how did you avoid detection?”

“Trade secret, afraid I can't share. Last warning now, either get over here or things will get bloody.”

“You have been bluffing since the start with the spear. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Then something must be wrong with yours. I'm a killer, taken plenty of lives by now … most of them this year actually, and with the way my quota has been rising steadily I wouldn't try any games with me if I were you.”

“Hmm, yes you're a killer. You hold that spear like you know how slick it gets when blood stain your … claws? But there is a difference between a killer and a murderer, and you're not the latter.”

The zebra spoke with absolute certainty, and for a moment, Karon was afraid he would actually need to kill him unless he would comply. He couldn't allow Trixie and Lyra to get locked up for long, which they would be after being part of what Karon had just done. If he killed the commander, they would be hunted, but if he gave them all the money and led them out while invisible, they could escape. Of course, they didn't know the country...

“They might get away if we split up, they take all the money and head for the coast, back the way we came.”

“If we act as a diversion yes, but we will have every zebra warrior after us if we kill their war commander … they'll catch me eventually.”

“Lyra and Trixie would get away, but...”

“It would led to our death...”

Karon stood uncertain for a second, his face was that of a man standing on the edge of a roof staring down on the ground so far below.

And then he clenched his jaw and walked forward with the tip pointed towards the commander's heart. The zebra noticed the difference in the human's expression, shifting from the faked rage to the real intent of murder. And he didn't try to move, instead he brought the talisman around his neck up to one of the large crystals in the wall, and instantly it erupted in stunning light.

All the crystals around the room exploded in light, and when Karon shielded his eyes with his arm and turned around, he saw that every crystal outside in the hallway was doing the same. Then the light outside the room died down, but the one inside instead intensified, shifting in color from bright white to harsh red. And with it came a screeching sound, piercing his mind like a thousand tiny claws ripping at everything they could reach.

He fell down on his knees and dropped the spear, grabbing his head with both hands in a futile attempt to cover his ears.

“FOCUS! It's a mental attack, not a physical sound! Fight it!”

The pain was horrifying. He wanted to tear out his own brain just so that the claws couldn't reach it. However, the long years of mental training Varsif had instilled, combined with his new found tolerance for pain, brought Karon out of it. The claws kept tearing at everything, but they no longer felt physical. He could feel their ethereal components, their structure, the force that made them be.

“Thurs Ur Reid!” Karon shouted, releasing the anchor of energy he had stored deep within his mind long ago for just an occasion such as this. Three runes flashed in gold, scarlet and azure energy before his eyes, and the energy lashed out like hungry snakes and sought the attacking force and tore into it. Karon was freed from the pain, and with his chest heaving with hard breath. He raised his head and saw both Trixie and Lyra on the floor, unconscious.

His breath calmed, and he pushed off from the floor with with a grunt, grabbing his spear on the way up. The red light from the crystals flickered uneasily, until it died down and they returned to their normal white glow. Karon heard the running hoofbeats of more zebras than he wanted to count come running towards him, bursting out from every hallway like a flood of black and white.

“If we turn invisible we could escape, they won't be expecting it.”

“I can't carry both Lyra and Trixie.”

“You could leave them, and return after to free them.”

“No … I think I've done enough damage as it is. They will get hurt if this continues.”

The zebras stopped outside the entrance to the room and leveled their spears towards him. Karon didn't respond to their glares besides raising an eyebrow, like they were being a bit excessive. He turned around to the commander, who was observing him with a curious expression.

“I was told that the magic would make anyone not wearing one of these talismans fall unconscious,” he said evenly.

Karon gave him a quick grin and responded, “I doubt your shamans took someone like me into account while designing that.”

The commander didn't look all too impressed, but Karon caught the faint flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“Even so, I hope you understand that you have no way to escape now.”

“Yes I do, I just can't bring these two along at the same time,” Karon said, nodding his head to his two sleeping companions.

“Remaining while you could escape, how noble.”

“They're my friends,” Karon replied with a shrug.

“If they weren't, you would be stupid to remain,” the commander added, and the flicker of amusement became stronger.

One of the zebras stepped over the threshold and addressed the commander, but never taking his eyes off Karon's back.

“Commander, please forgive our failure in keeping these prisoners contained, we will take them back immediately and place guards outside their cell at all times.”

“No need, no need,” the huge zebra added and held up a hoof, then stroked his chin with it. “I think I have a better idea, if you are truly as good as you make yourself out to be,” the commander continued, looking at Karon as he said the last part.

Karon tilted his head in surprise, mixed with a healthy doze of skepticism, but judging from the whispers behind him in the zebra crowd he wasn't the only one.

“Uhm … commander?” the guard behind Karon continued.

“However, you can go ahead and tell the empress that I will be coming to her shortly, with these prisoners,” the commander said to the zebra, then shifted his head and looked at the crowd of guards in the doorway.

“The rest of you, form up, standard escort formation to the empress, and go find a shaman so we can wake those two up … and can one of you please take the warrior on the floor there to the healing room,” the commander finished offhandedly, pointing towards the zebra Karon had knocked out.

One of the guards entered and took the zebra away, while the one that had been nearly shoving his spear into Karon's back retreated from the room, galloping towards wherever this empress must be.

“No need for a shaman, I can wake them up,” Karon told the commander, and walked over Trixie and Lyra.

The commander moved forward with interest and observed as Karon placed his hand gently in top of their heads, and after a few moment they opened their eyes sleepily, looking around in confusion. When they both rose up from the floor, the commander walked over to them and spoke, mostly to himself Karon suspected.

“Yes, you might work,” he said cryptically, then without further explanation walked out of the room. Half of the zebras gathered outside fell in behind him, while the other half motioned for Karon to follow, and seeing no real reason to refuse at the moment, he complied.

Trixie and Lyra fell in at his sides, and the zebras quickly formed up behind them, locking their escape either forward or backwards. They walked through corridors, one exactly like the others, and Karon had no idea how they could know where they even were, but as time passed by, they entered into hallways more lavish than the ones before. Thick yellow and green drapes clung to the walls, and the crystals that had left barely a few meters of space between them earlier couldn't be seen anywhere.

They had come out of 'The Corner of War' and entered the more civilized areas of the palace obviously. They came out into grand halls and rooms from time to time, pillows scattered in great piles around the floors and the smell of incense clinging to the air.

The interior became more and more exquisite the farther they went, with statues and carvings on the wall serving as decoration, and perhaps most noteworthy, there were huge windows leading out into balconies that offered a glorious view of the city.

They passed through a circular opening carved out of the rock where a burgundy drape served as a door, allowing air to pass through unhindered.

The inside of the room they stepped into was lavish to the point of ridiculousness, and on one really, really big pile of golden and blue pillows, a female zebra was sprawled out luxuriously. The captain had walked over to stand in front of her, and Karon and the two ponies were ushered forth, while the zebra guards took position behind them.

The zebras all fell down to their front knees in a bow, and when Karon didn't do the same, nor the ponies, the empress of the zebra empire looked surprised, then cracked a huge smile.

“Visitors, two from pony lands and one … from somewhere I no doubt have never heard of,” she turned her eyes down to the commander once more and spoke in a happy, almost chirpy, voice that reminded Karon of Pinkie Pie.

“Stand up Zuka, and tell me why you've brought these guests to me, and why I wasn't informed earlier than just a few minutes ago they were coming.”

The commander rose up, and the guards followed his example.

“These are three prisoners arrested last night, on suspicion of being spies for the jackals and assaulting one of our trackers,” the large zebra answered, his deep voice contrasting starkly to the lilting lightness of the empress.

“Hmph, nonsense, the jackals aren't smart enough to use spies, and even if they were, they wouldn't use ponies for it … and while this new creature intrigues me, I still want to know why you thought this important enough to bring to me. I was trying to think of a way to solve our trouble in the north.”

The commander coughed, then turned to the zebras standing behind the trio.

“You're all dismissed, return to your previous duties.”

From the short intake of breaths, Karon guessed they didn't like the thought of leaving him and his two companions alone with the empress, guarded only by the commander. But either their training was absolute and they never thought to question his command, or their trust that the commander was capable enough to protect the empress was absolute.

They shuffled out of the room, and after the sound of their hoofsteps faded, the commander took to words again.

“It is about our trouble in the north I'm here for empress. I think our prisoners might be of help.”

The empress looked to perk up at the news, and she looked on the three outlanders with actual interest.

“Explain,” she said, her voice still light, but there was a clang of steel in it, the kind of voice of supreme authority only real leaders possessed.

“I was brought the belongings of the prisoners after their arrest, and while I didn't take interest in the foolish claim of them being spies, I did take interest in this,” the commanded finished and offered the empress Karon's map.

She accepted it, eyes shining with curiosity, and she unraveled the parchment with glee. Her face disappeared behind the map help up in front of her for a few seconds, before she brought it down and looked at the trio with an unreadable expression.

“This comes from the personal archive of the royal alicorn sisters in Equestria … how did you ever manage to steal this?”

Before Karon could respond, the commander spoke for him.

“The creature told me that it was a gift from Princess Celestia herself, a reward for a giving aid to her in some way.”

“You should have asked for more than a map if that is true,” the empress noted and looked Karon directly in the eyes.

Karon merely gave her a smile and didn't respond. If the commander wanted to speak for him, he was welcome to do so. It would give Karon time to analyze the situation and find an advantage, and perhaps a way to escape with the ponies.

“Which brings me to why I think these three can be of help with our troubles. Before I had the opportunity to send for them, one of my guards stepped into my office with them, saying he was escorting them to me as instructed, when in truth, I had not even had time to give such an order.”

The empress actually raised both her eyebrows in surprise, and the look she gave Karon now wasn't one of amusement, it was questioning look. She didn't say anything though, and the commander continued his story.

“Before I had a chance to say much, the … creature attacked me with some sort of magic, it nearly rendered me unconscious, I fought it off, but it took all of my effort, and when my senses returned to me the spear I had received as part of his belongings was at my throat.”

The empress mouth opened slightly in shock, and she turned to her commander of war with an incredulous look on her face.

“You … defeated so easily? That hasn't happened since before I was born!” her shock turned to mirth, and she shot the commander a smug look, “Are you getting old Zuka?”

“I am, but I am not weakening by age quite yet,” the commander stated simply, offering it like it was nothing worth mentioning, “However, the creature here spoke with me politely during the entire time, and I was of course curious to know how he managed to escape a prison we've never had an escape from since Ahuitzotl five years ago, and he had plenty of outside help.”

“I can see why the security of your little corner would be of interest to you, but I still want to know what you have in mind when you say this creature could help us?”

“Of course empress, it is simple. The creature escaped the cell, avoided detection, and were it not for our crystal network, might have escaped completely.”

“Oh, so you used the crystal network, did it work?” the empress asked curiously.

“I'm not sure. The magic attacked them since they didn't have talismans just liked it should, but it only brought the two ponies under, the creature resisted it.”

Both the commander and the empress stared at Karon, and he tried his best not to look too smug about it. Lyra looked up at him and wasn't fooled for a moment, unimpressed, she just rolled her eyes.

“I see,” the empress said quietly, and sank into thought. The commander stood respectfully silent, until after a minute or two of contemplation, the empress looked up again and turned her eyes at Karon.

“You think that the creature has talent for stealth and infiltration?” she asked out loud.

“Yes,” the commander said.

“You think he could do what our own trackers have failed with. You want him to go into jackal land and find out what's getting them so excited about burning our border villages.”

“Yes.”

The empress looked thoughtful once more, but it lasted only for a few seconds before she stared straight into Karon's eyes once more, like was she testing how long he could hold her gaze without flinching.

Karon had no trouble with such a game.

“What say you creature? You have stood silent and only listened so far,” the empress said, and Karon's answer escaped from his mouth without thinking about it.

“Hmm, sorry did you say anything?”

The commander showed his first sign of anger, but it was gone the moment the empress' laughter sounded in the room.

“Ohh, it has been years since anyone dared try making a joke at my expense. I would pardon you just for that if the circumstances weren't so dire.”

“Maybe you should do it anyway, just to show you can,” Karon said, not giving much hope to the thought.

The empress shook her head, but kept the smile on her face.

“No, this won't be so simple, but I do have questions I want answered before I decide anything.”

“Ask away,” Karon offered and spread his arms wide.

“You offer answers so simply, not even trying to hold them off despite being our prisoners?”

“I never said they would be truthful.”

The empress smile split into a grin, but it returned to the smile and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Careful, my patience with disobedience does not last forever,” she threatened.

“And I have authority issues that do, what of it?” he shot back.

The empress looked like she couldn't decide if she should be angry or entertained by the strange creature giving her lip. Apparently she decided to stay in the middle ground, because her voice sounded both irritated and amused when she asked.

“Where do you come from and what are you?”

“You've never heard of it, and I'm a human … kinda,” he answered truthfully.

“Human? As in the ponytales of Equestria? How interesting … do we have any of those written down Zuka? If so I want them brought to me after this conversation is over.”

The commander nodded, and the empress returned her attention to Karon.

“Do you have name?”

“It's Karon.”

“Strange name.”

“Do you have one?” Karon asked back, staring into the empress eyes with wanton abandonment of everything respectful.

The commander hissed between his teeth, and the empress looked taken aback by the question, nevertheless she still held out a hoof to stop the commander from doing anything.

“It is Nerfeti,” she answered.

“Strange name,” Karon offered as his response, and the empress seemed to decide the best course of action was to be amused by him.

“Why did you come to my lands?” she asked.

“I hadn't been here before,” came the simple response.

“And why did you come to my city then?”

“Same answer.”

“And why did you attack one of my trackers?”

“He was really annoying and bothering me,” Karon said with a shrug.

The empress observed him quietly for a few moments, then resumed her questioning.

“And what is this service you provided for the throne of Canterlot?”

“Saved it, acted as a therapist for Luna, got the job as their first court wizard, and insulted pretty much the entire social elite of the city … that last one I'm not sure they appreciated, but I threw it in for free.”

“You accomplished very much by your description,” the empress laughed. “and judging by it, it sounds like you know the royal sisters well.”

“I've smacked both of them on the ass if that answers your question,” Karon said and brushed his fingers on the front of his robe.

The empress' mouth fell open, and she fell into her pile of pillows in a fit of giggling. The commander stared at Karon like he was crazy, as did Trixie. Lyra was only shaking her head, repeatedly facehoofing herself.

“Oh you know them very well then,” the empress finally said as her giggling receded.

“Somewhat, yes.”

“Well, I take it you succeeded in all they asked of you then?”

“I did.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“No.”

“Oh, why not?”

“It wasn't worth the sacrifice,” Karon said flatly, and the empress hesitated in asking him more, his eyes had flared briefly when he answered, like a dragon's breath. Instead she turned her attention to his companions, and she focused on Trixie first.

“And who might you be?”

“You have the pleasure of meeting the Great and Powerful Trixiiiiie!” the unicorn announced loudly and got up on her back legs as usual.

“Never heard of you,” the empress responded, and Trixie looked like she collapsed in on herself. The empress' eyes glanced over her, like she was dismissing her as unimportant, and instead went over to Lyra.

“And you are?”

“Lyra, uh, empress,” she said and quickly did gave small bow of her head.

The empress looked amused by the display, and continued in a far more comforting tone than the one she had used for Karon or Trixie.

“And what brings a pony so far from her homeland, and in such strange company?”

“Karon did, and I travel with him because he's a friend.”

“Good, so if I asked you if I could rely on him to carry out a task which could help save hundreds if not thousands of my people, what would you say?”

Lyra blinked rapidly in surprise, and she glanced up at Karon uncertainly, who in turn looked down on her with a quirked eyebrow, honestly curious at what her response would be.

“Well … if it truly will help save so many, yes … but he will do it in his own way … and I wouldn't say it would be a good idea to send any zebras along.”

“Why not?” the empress asked, the tone of authority pressing into her voice.

“Well....uh....” Lyra looked up at Karon again, but in panic this time. And he knew what the unheard answer was, what she was thinking inside her mind.

“Because those who follow him have a tendency to die.”

However, that wasn't the answers she finally gave out loud, but they both knew what she had been so close to saying.

“Because they would only get in the way, and probably get hurt.”

The empress seemed to accept that, but clearly suspected there was something that went untold. However she didn't press the issue, and instead turned to the commander.

“Do you think it can work?”

“Yes, given the right incentive and instructions.”

“I trust your judgment Zuka.”

She turned to face the trio once more, and when she spoke, the full authority of the empress of the zebra empire rang out with undoubted power.

“Karon the human, Lyra and Trixie the ponies, I hereby command you three to assist war master Zuka of house Zanshi in the attempt to discover why the jackals tribes of the northern desert are attacking our settlements. If you bring back information for why this is happening, you will be pardoned for your crimes, and if you also find a way to resolve this situation, and perhaps even do it yourself, you will be rewarded with all that only great Mjimkuu can provide.”

“So let me get this straight … we just got roped into taking another vague task from a government I have no interest in working for, all on account of some bullshit accusations of having done wrong and under threat of punishment that isn't really spoken out loud.”

“Certainly looks that way...”

Karon groaned out loud and rubbed his forehead, but couldn't come up with something to say that could allow the three of them to wriggle out of the situation. He didn't really have a choice, and if what the empress said was true, then a lot of zebras could be spared if he just snooped around a little.

“Awww fuck,” he said out loud.

“Here we go again....”

Chapter 36: The unwanted apprentice

“What's wrong!?” Lyra hissed as quietly as she could, her voice infused with rising panic.

“I can't … it's too much … I'll pass out before we get halfway through....” Karon forced out between labored breaths. He looked ready to collapse, and Trixie was quick to press herself up close to him for support.

“What are we going to do now master?” she asked, her voice betraying the rising panic she shared with Lyra, held only at bay by the new found trust she had gained in Karon.

“I don't know,” was his only response, and he blinked his eyes rapidly in a fruitless attempt to fight off the fatigue.

“You don't know?! We're in the middle of the jackal camp and you don't know!? Didn't you think of a plan B?” Lyra moaned in disbelief and looked over at the entrance to the tent they were in, the cloth flaps waving gently in the breeze, and separating them from the horde of jackals with barely a few millimeters of cloth.

“I haven't … had the best history with plan B's,” Karon noted and smiled crookedly.

Around them they could hear the sound of heavy feet running, padded by the loose dirt and sand underneath, and the shouting of angry voices mixed with frustrated growls and whines as groups of trackers called out to one another in the hunt for their quarry.

And then came the sound the three of them feared, the barking voice of the jackal leader, coming closer towards the tent, shouting to his warriors that he would return to his yurt while ordering them to continue the search. In mere moments he would push aside the lose flaps of cloth covering the opening, and he would find his prey hiding within his own tent.

“Well this certainly has been an interesting couple of weeks.”

“...You could say that.”

      *************************************************************************

“Do you understand your orders?” Zuka asked again, his tone a little more impatient than the previous time.

Karon rolled his eyes, and adopted the same tone you do when you try and explain something very complicated to a very stupid child.

“I don't follow orders, I'm doing this because I decided to.”

“Need I remind you that all three of you are still prisoners and have broken the law by attacking one of our trackers and attempting jail break … and trying to kill me?” Zuka spoke with the iron hard authority his position afforded him, and Karon remained as unmoved as he always was by titles.

“The minute we step out of this fortress of yours, you lose all control over me. I could escape now if I wanted to. The only reason I'm not doing it, is because it would be very difficult keeping Trixie and Lyra safe from an entire army looking for us, and because I might actually be able to help those zebras up north getting slaughtered. I don't care about helping you personally, or the empress. Fact is, if this was about anything less serious than the wholesale slaughter of innocents – and don't think I trust those reports you told me about – I might have denied you as a matter of principle.”

Karon wouldn't have been surprised if a lot of the descriptions Zuka gave him of the situation up north were exaggerated, or maybe they even had a hoof in causing it and were just trying to clean up a mistake. However, he had seen the refugees outside the walls, and he had felt the shroud of fear that was slowly strangling the city. There was a very real danger, and he could at least try and see if he could do anything to solve it.

Not that he planned on sticking to Zuka's instructions for it. He preferred making his own plans.

“Remember, the tracker and warriors will escort you to the edge of the savanna where the desert and jackal territories begin. There will be a well with water about three days straight north of where they will leave you, and you will have enough water to make it there. You will have enough food to last two weeks if you don't eat too much.”

“How very thoughtful. I take it the place you leave us in will incidentally be too far from any other well than the one that's in jackal territory.”

“Incidentally it is so....” Zuka confirmed in a grave tone.

“And some wonder why I have problems with people in charge....”

“Great, then I guess all that's left is giving me back my stuff before I get going.”

Zuka eyed him thoughtfully for a few moments before bringing him his spear and rucksack. Karon already carried his map over his shoulder, safely contained in the little tube Celestia had given it to him in. When Karon grabbed the spear, the zebra gave him another thoughtful look, and Karon furrowed his eyebrows and asked in an annoyed tone.

“What?”

“Back when you had me at spear point while you were trying to escape … I spoke the truth, you do not have the blood lust of a murderer.”

“Had you not activated those crystals I would have killed you,” Karon countered.

“I know, I saw the change in your eyes. That is what I wonder. Why would you do that? I have seen killers who murdered by accident, I have seen murderers who murder for fun, I have seen creatures that kill because they can only survive on meat. I have seen all of that and much more, and I am still certain you are not a murderer. You do not have the heart to live with yourself as one, so why were you prepared to murder me?”

“Maybe I just didn't like you're mane,” Karon offered and slung the rucksack onto his back, glaring at the commander.

The zebra glared back just as irritated, but didn't press the issue. Instead he motioned with his hoof towards the door leading out of his office, and Karon walked over to it opened it himself with his magic, partly because he didn't want to wait for Zuka to open it, and partly to show how easily he could fool their security measures.

The door swung open and Karon stepped out of the office. Trixie and Lyra waited outside together with ten of the zebra warriors and one of the so called 'trackers', the zebra variant of a scout and spy. Karon noticed he didn't recognize the tracker in question, and gave off a small sigh of relief. Zuka heard it and asked.

“What?”

“For a moment I was afraid you would send the tracker I picked a fight with to guide us.”

“What kind of fool would send someone with you on a dangerous mission if there is bad blood between you?” the commander asked, stunned by the sheer stupidity of the thought.

“You'd be very surprised,” was Karon's response, and he looked over at Trixie and Lyra, both waiting for him patiently, or in Trixie's case impatiently.

“Alright, we'll follow the zebras to the edge of their land, then we're on our own. How long did you say it would take to get there?” he asked while looking at the tracker.

“If you do not slow down the usual pace, a little less than two weeks.”

“Make sure you stay with them and don't try and escape. Zebras know the land, but I think you will find navigating it without our help difficult. And the sun can be merciless out here where most ponies only come to change the weather.”

“You must have a great tourist industry,” Karon commented dryly, and then pointedly turned his back on the commander. He glanced at his two companions, then over at the tracker standing in front of the group of guards that would escort them.

“Unless anyone has anything more to add, I suggest we get moving. I've quickly becoming tired of this place,” the human said, and the tracker turned to his commander with a questioning gaze. Zuka must have given some form of acknowledgment, for the tracker nodded then turned around abruptly and began walking down the hall.

Karon followed him, and Trixie and Lyra hurried to stay at his side while the guards surrounded them in every direction but forward.

The tracker led them out of the city, from the top level of the empress' palace and down to the ground level of the gateways. When they exited the city, Karon paid special attention to the camp of refugees outside the walls, and to his eyes they looked to have grown in number since he last saw them the day before. The sun was almost at its apex in sky when they headed out across the savanna, with the tracker following trails invisible to anyone else but him.

The pace he kept wasn't grueling. It actually reminded Karon a bit of the 'walking like a gatherer' technique Varsif had employed whenever he was out with Karon, teaching him some nifty trick he had forgotten long ago. However, while the pace was manageable, it was also unrelenting, never stopping once for a break. Even though Trixie didn't complain as much as Karon had suspected she would, Karon could see the weariness in both his companions, and he felt it himself eventually. The soles of his feet throbbed painfully by the time the sun was spreading its last light over the horizon.

When the tracker ordered them to stop for the night, Lyra had thrown herself off her hooves and into the grass happily, and was busy giving off noises of a little too intimate nature from the relief. Karon grinned at the display, but he frowned at Trixie's response, or rather lack of. She had looked distant and thoughtful during the entire time after their visit to the empress, and Karon was beginning to feel worried she might be falling down into a depression of some kind.

The zebra guards were all busy, off establishing watch schedule and starting a fire and doing whatever other military stuff that needed doing. And although Karon felt extreme discomfort about turning his back on someone starting a fire – even if they had cleared all the grass away and built a small fire pit – he did it anyway and walked over to Trixie.

She sat by herself and was busy observing the setting sun when he came over and sat down beside her. He watched the sun with her for a few minutes, appreciating the beautiful arrays of color the clouds took, before he tried speaking with her.

“Is everything alright with you?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is more than alright. She is always great.” She used the same words as always, but there was none of  the regular the liveliness in them. They were spoken in a flat and very unconvincing tone.

“Wanna try that again? Maybe push a little actual feeling into it?”

She gave him an angry glare but didn't say anything, stubbornly looking over at where the last remainders of the sun's light still shone.

“Ok, that was mean of me, sorry. What I meant is, are you sure nothing is wrong? I am your friend and you can tell me anything … ugh I knew it would sound cheesy.”

“Why did you fight so hard in that place, in that tavern, when the pirates had your friend?”

“You mean Lyra? She's your friend too you know.”

“No she's not. She doesn't like me. She must be jealous of how great and powerful I am.” Once again she used the words in a small voice, not even trying to infuse them with her normal conviction of how utterly true they were.

“She doesn't dislike you … she's just a little wary you might land us into trouble because of your ehh ... supreme self confidence.”

“You mean more trouble than you can manage on your own?” she asked jokingly, and Karon saw a flicker of life in her eyes.

“Was that a joke? I thought you were humor impaired or something like that.”

“Trixie doesn't like jokes. Ponies have joked about Trixie all her life,” she said, her jaw tensed with the words and Karon tilted his head.

“Even so, Lyra doesn't have anything against you. She's just afraid you'll … end up like somepony else.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Maybe some other time, don't try and distract me. What's wrong?”

“You answer first. Why did you fight so hard, I ... Trixie saw how tired you were and how much you were already hurt.” She met his eyes, and within them he saw someone struggling with herself.

Karon shrugged and held out his hands like there wasn't much to it.

“She's my friend.”

“Just that? Nothing more?”

“No, oh no no no, definitely just friends,” Karon told her half laughingly and frowned at the unicorn.

Trixie looked down on the ground, her eyes shifting from side to side like she was considering arguments, or having a very intense conversation with herself. Karon could relate, and so he waited for her patiently to return to him. She would continue when she was ready.

“Would you have done that for me … if we're friends?” she finally asked carefully.

“Yes,” Karon answered without hesitating.

Trixie fell silent again, her struggle became visibly on her face as she tensed and relaxed her muscles repeatedly. Karon leaned back on his arms and looked up at the darkening sky, waiting for the unicorn to arrive at whatever point she would reveal what was bothering her.

“Trixie is great and powerful … but she admits that she has never heard of the kind of magic you use. If she were to learn this magic that no other unicorn knows, then she would truly be the greatest in all of Equestria!”

“Ah, now I get it.”

“And why is that so important?” Karon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because Trixie is going to show them all that she IS the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria!” Her usual pathos returned to her voice, and when she spoke, Karon could hear the desperate fire in it.

“You just said that if you learned what I know, then you would truly be the greatest. Wouldn't that mean that you aren't the greatest yet?” he asked in an even voice.

“I … Of course Trixie is already the greatest! But no one could deny her if she also had magic no other pony has!”

“Why? Why is it so important to you that you are known as the 'greatest'?”

“Because … Trixie IS the greatest! And all of Equestria will know it one day!” She shook her head angrily, and the conflict inside her looked about ready to spill forth in tears any minute now if he continued pressing her.

“Fine, just as long as you know the reason why you would study magic is important, because it will demand a lot of you.”

“Trixie is already knowledgeable in magic. She wouldn't be the Great and Powerful Trixie otherwise.”

“Sure whatever. What I meant is that you need to know why you're doing it. I know unicorns must look at it differently than a human because you're all born naturally with pretty extensive psychic abilities, but there is a difference between that and the real magic.”

“I don't understand … I mean, Trixie wants you to explain better!”

“First, where did you learn to use your skills? Who was your teacher? Regular unicorn school or somepony specific?”

Trixie looked away, her face halfway between what Karon for a moment thought was pain and shame, then it turned to anger and she muttered something.

“Could you repeat that louder please?” Karon asked and held a hand to his ear.

“Trixie wasn't taught by anypony. Trixie learned everything she knows all by herself!” There was a lot of anger in her voice, and Karon didn't need the ability to see auras to know there was a lot of pain and resentment behind it.

“How so? I thought every unicorn was taught magic either by regular school or their parents.”

“Trixie doesn't want to talk about it. Can you teach me or not?” She refused to meet his eyes and looked about ready to give up on thought.

“There's a story there waiting to be told.”

“She'll tell us if she wants to. We're hardly one to blame others for wanting to keep their past far behind.”

“That's the thing isn't it. We can't, neither can she. You always carry it with you.”

“Doesn't matter! It's her own damn choice. If she can't deal with her reasons for seeking magic, then that's her own path.”

“Which we, if we would choose to accept the actual role of her teacher, are duty bound to guide her upon and help her in any way we can, even if she doesn't want us to. A role we can't even handle. We barely made it to the intermediate level of study. We aren't some real master, we're a fucking failed student.”

“She just wants to learn. It wouldn't hurt her to learn something useful. As far as I can see, all her bluster about being great is just a smokescreen for her actually being useless as far as magic goes.”

“Still … it would be good of us to teach her what we can, help her learn to survive on her own with Lyra before we....”

“Before we what?” the voice asked him sweetly, dripping with faked concern.

“Okay, I'll do it,” Karon said gently.

Trixie twitched her head in surprise, and turned to look at him with eyes shining of joy, and a mouth that kept twitching upwards in a smile. She composed herself quickly and returned to her normal look of haughtiness, but she couldn't keep the smile out of her eyes.

“Uhrm, yes, well Trixie believes it won't take long for you to teach her all that you know, but she is … grateful that you would help her in becoming even greater.”

“I swear to you that I will do my best to teach you what I know of the arts and help you develop your power and awareness, but in turn I must warn you, the real magic isn't some unicorn psychic skill or easy spell. The real powers are very much alive and they will test and judge you, and if you fail, you will suffer for it by losing it or worse. So remember why you want it, because you will have to face your fears at some point.”

“What if Trixie doesn't want to,” she asked, half in defiance and half in fear.

Karon smiled bitterly and looked over at the dying light on the horizon.

“Then you end up like me,” he said and stood up. Behind him the zebras had started the fire, and were busy talking and laughing together around it. It was noisy, and wouldn't help in getting Trixie to focus.

“Come on then Trixie, I'll teach you something basic tonight, and we'll continue during our trip to jackal land. If we work hard, you'll have learned a few useful tricks by then.”

“Trixie is sure this will be easy for someone as great and powerful as she,” she stated confidently.

Karon shook his head and remembered a time he used to think like that. She would learn, just like he had, that the easy way was the wrong way.

      *************************************************************************

The days flowed by with an easy routine where the company would stop at the dying light of the sun and sleep for most of the night. Come dawn, the tracker would rise and wake up the others, and Karon had taken it as a game to program himself to wake up just before dawn and the tracker, teasing him with always being the first up. The zebra tried to take it without showing any annoyance, but Karon only needed to take a look into the zebra's mind to see his irritation with the human.

Karon had begun doing that a lot since the journey's start, looking into the minds of the zebras, reading their emotions and even implanting and changing tiny, harmless thoughts or feelings. It wasn't for entertainment as much as practice. When he accepted the role as Trixie's teacher, he told her he would do his best, and that required his skills and knowledge to be as good as could be.

Not that it seemed to be helping a lot.

Whatever conflict existed within Trixie about how she could be great and powerful and his student at the same time had either been resolved, or she was attempting to resolve it. By constantly questioning, debating and sometimes just ignoring him completely, citing her greatness as the source of confusion. She was simply too great to be taught such trivial things like the basics, and when Karon challenged her to do something advanced and she failed, the blame was put on his teaching.

After a week's worth of traveling and a little more than halfway to their destination, Karon was sitting down in the grass alone on the far edge of their camp, away from the fire. He was looking up at the stairs growing all the brighter as the night deepened. It was beautiful, but it didn't help to brighten his mood.

“She's insufferable!”

“I'm pretty sure we were just as bad … or close at least, when we were just beginning.”

“We're not Varsif, I don't know how to deal with this shit.”

“We could just copy what he used to do to us. We've been doing that mostly anyway lesson-wise.”

“I … don't think a lot of his methods would work with Trixie. He wasn't exactly gentle.”

“Trixie doesn't need gentle. She needs a slap across the face, years of therapy and a good screw. However, barring that, we could do what Varsif did when we were getting really arrogant.”

“Ohh … that one might actually work, if she can even conceive of actually doing it.”

“So put an ultimatum, either she complies or she doesn't get the teaching until she does.”

“Suddenly I understand why Varsif found my transition period so amusing … this might be fun.”

“Or painful depending on how she reacts.”

With a wicked smile on his lips, Karon stalked around the camp until he found Trixie sitting alone on the edge of the fire's light. She was looking up at the stars, much like he had been just a few moments ago, and something made him stop and observe instead of interrupting.

Something about the way she sat, the way she held herself, made her seem different. She usually moved aggressively, and held herself high and tense, trying her utmost to literally look down on those around her. Not now, her shoulders were sagged and she held her legs tightly pressed against her body, and from what Karon could see, she wasn't trying to look at the stars in any other way than the only one you could, up.

She didn't look like the Great and Powerful Trixie, she looked like a vulnerable, alone and sad Trixie. He stood quiet and unmoving, and after what most have been half an hour at least had passed, he realized he was standing guard over her.

The thought struck him as odd, and what was more strange that so much time had passed and he hadn't known what he was doing. It made him a little nervous, it made him feel like his control was slipping, and that could lead to unpleasant things.

So he shook the feeling off and walked over to the unicorn, shattering the peace with a loud, “Good evening little student! What are you up to?”

Trixie sprang up from the ground and turned around with wide, terror filled eyes. However when she saw who it was, the terror turned to irritation, and her high pitched voice ran out across the planes.

“Why are you disturbing Trixie!? Can't you see she wishes to be alone?”

“I have splendid news concerning our little teaching deal.”

“And is this truly important enough to disturb Trixie so suddenly?”

“It is. You see, from now on, if you want me to continue teaching you, you have to do as I say, exactly as I say without debate … and you have to address me as master. If not, the deal is off.”

Trixie's eyes grew wider with each word that passed through Karon's lips, and her mouth fell open in outrage when he finished. She sputtered, and small sounds escaped her mouth, unfinished words she couldn't pronounce in her disbelief.

“What!?” she eventually managed to force out.

“You heard me. Do you want me to repeat myself, because I will.”

“Trixie has never heard anything more preposterous in her entire life! She refuses to call anypony her 'master', she is the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!”

“Not if you want me to teach you, then you're just Trixie. If you want to be a master, begin as a student to one, that's the deal.”

“Discounting the fact we never gained the title of master.”

“She doesn't need to know that. Besides, this agreement will be temporary anyway, I'm just trying to teach her stuff that will allow her and Lyra to survive on their own.”

“Planning on going somewhere, hmmmm?”

“Never mind.”

Trixie stared at him, mouth still hanging open. Karon didn't say anything, he just crossed his arms and waited for a response from the possibly catatonic unicorn. If the internal conflict she had gone through when asking him to teach her was a hard battle, then what was going on inside her now was war. He saw the pressure building in her eyes, shifting like a deer in a spotlight, and it was almost painful to watch.

A world where Trixie both allowed someone to teach her and held her title as 'Great and Powerful' might have been possible, but one where she also had a master … that couldn't be. One had to go, and Karon really hoped it would be the title. Even if it was only temporary, he was her teacher for the moment, and that demanded that he did all he could to help her.

He didn't hold a lot of things truly incontestable in his worldview, but this was one of those things. Varsif had helped him when he was truly unmanageable. He had helped him in a time of his life where no one else had and he was ready to give up. Varsif had saved his life, all because he took his duties as a teacher seriously, even when they weren't easy.

He would do the same, even if it were only for a short time.

The war raged on inside Trixie, and when enough time had passed that Karon was beginning to lose focus, he shook his head and sighed.

“Fine, you take your time to decide. When you're ready, come talk to me. If you want to continue you'll address me as master, if not … then I guess we're done. Teaching wise that is.”

Trixie's features didn't change, but he knew she had heard him, so he left her there to make her choice and headed back to where he had been sitting alone earlier. The grass was soft, and it hadn't made an entirely uncomfortable bed so far. Usually Lyra preferred to sleep close to the fire, the chill night air of the savanna didn't suit her, and she had been told by the zebras it would only get worse out in the desert.

Karon on the other hand liked to stay at the edge of the camp, far away from the fire and where he could collect his thoughts. Trixie usually stayed somewhere in between, not right in the camp nor entirely at the edge. She was in the middle, undecided.

He sat down and considered the landscape stretching out before him. The endless sea of grass that shifted in the wind, the small dots of trees stretching up with stubborn will, and in the distance he could see mountains. Thought they were colored in the blue and gray of night, he knew them to be red and yellow in the day.

He fell back into the grass and put his arms behind his head. Above him the stars burned bright, visible despite the dominant silver of the moon, shining almost as bright as the sun did by day.

He didn't hear the hoofsteps of Trixie's approach, but he wasn't surprised when her head came into view above him, a defiant look on her face.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not have a master,” she stated simply.

Karon nodded slowly, and Trixie turned and walked away from him. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the serenity of the sky above, then closed his eyes and stretched his mind out towards the retreating unicorn before she could get too far.

“Do you always run from challenges? I thought you enjoyed them oh 'Great and Powerful' Trixie?”

He could sense her stop. He felt the flare of emotions that blossomed within her aura like fireworks. Fear, shock, denial and desire, all coming together and forming a very confused unicorn.

“If you are truly so great, why does this come as such a surprise? If you truly are so great and powerful, deny me access, throw me out of your mind.”

Shock increased, anger joined the fray, fear spiraled out of control and resentment took to the stage.

“You can't. You can't deny me, and this is nothing. This is a basic trick, a small skill. Do you know what you are even giving up?”

Fear abated, shock gave way to desire and doubt, resentment still held strong but its edge became dull.

“Don't you want it for real?”

Resentment and fear exploded, raging inside like inferno itself, but desire and painful longing won.

Karon felt Trixie turn around, he felt her walking back to him and how her uncertainty grew with each step. Not just uncertainty about this choice, but uncertainty about what it meant, uncertainty about everything.

“Do I want what?” she asked in half a whisper, a question made as much to herself as him.

“Do you want to dance in creation itself? Do you want to see all that life and death holds within their domain? Is the path of the arts truly what you want? To have tea and biscuits with gods and goddesses, to listen to demons and angels and spirits, to soar together with dragons, and look at eternity and see its course. To see what dwells within yourself, to call out to the ancient and that which is to come, to seek the divine and be welcomed to it with open arms.”

Karon stopped his speech and looked up at the stars.

“To walk on a path of burning stars, a starlit path, and see what wisdom, power and secret lies undiscovered on it. To walk beside those who have come before and led those who will come with time. Do you like to look at the stars Trixie?” Karon finished and stared right into her wide eyes, clining to his every word.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Would you like to talk to them?” he asked with a smile.

Trixie stared at him, disbelief battled with longing, desperate longing.

“Yes,” she told him, her voice burning with desire even stronger than he would have thought.

“Yes what?” he asked, forcing steel into his tone.

“Yes ... master.”

She didn't spit the words out. She didn't speak them like they were toxic or sour. Instead, she just sagged from them, sank down form her high perk and hung her head in defeat. Karon surprised himself. Hearing her say it didn't bring him any pleasure, it just made his conviction to help her stronger, to make sure that the pain she had just put herself through wouldn't be for nothing.

He sat up and stroked her head gently. She didn't pull away like she had done the last time he tried that, she remained with her head hung low and spirit broken.

“Time to remind her she gave it up for a reason.”

“Come Trixie, let me show you how we can help increase your ability to connect to different field of energy.”

She raised her head and looked at him strangely, like she couldn't decide what she was supposed to be feeling. However she nodded her head, and couldn't keep the tiny smile off of her face.

“We did something good tonight.”

“Yes we did.”

As Karon led Trixie out a little further from the camp, where they could do her lesson in private, he himself wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. There were a lot of emotions that came and went quick as thought, but above it all he felt proud of himself.

    *****************************************************************************

The smoke rose thicker from the cracks of the door, and the sound of the fire seemed to rage louder than it had before. The screams pierced the silence of his inner library, and it struck him deep into the core of his soul every time.

He tried to look away, tried to avert his eyes, but he couldn't.

He could only stare as another of the black chains began to rattle, twisting and coiling like an angry serpent. Until it sprung lose and fell clattering to the floor.

Karon couldn't turn away, he couldn't stop it.

He could only scream.

***************************************************************************'

He sat up with a heaving chest, the air pushing in and out of his lungs in greedy gulps. Cold sweat covered his skin like a blanket, and blades of grass clung to him, making him look like a terrified hermit who hadn't had a bath for years.

The sun was just rising, and Karon looked over at the camp belatedly, this time the tracker had beaten him to it, and was staring back at the human with ill concealed satisfaction. Karon ignored him, he didn't care about the silly game between them. How could he when something was so very, very wrong.

He cradled his face with his hands and focused on his breathing, pushing down the lump of ice that had gathered somewhere among his entrails.

“Just a nightmare … just a nightmare.”

“Karon are you alright?” Lyra asked and put a hoof on his shoulder.

He yelped and jumped to his feet, and the sleepy unicorn recoiled from him.

“What's the matter?” she asked and rubbed her eyes.

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong,” Karon said after he found his voice, his chest still heaving gently.

Lyra didn't look entirely convinced, perhaps because Karon had the same look about him that Rarity's cat had whenever she had tried to give her a bath, tearing down half of Ponyville in the ensuing chase.

“You sure?” she pressed on, stifling a yawn.

“I'm fine. Just bad dreams, nothing more.”

Judging by his voice and appearance, Lyra suspected there was more to it, but trying to figure out what was going on inside the human's head was like trying to imagine Pinkie Pie living without sugar. It was a mental exercise without end.

“If you say so,” she offered lamely, neither of them buying it.

Besides, she hadn't searched Karon out in the time she usually reserved for glaring at the world with bleary eyes just to find out why he was acting strange this morning. She had sought him out to discover why he was acting strange all around.

“Karon … would you mind telling me why we're doing this again?”

The human grunted something and drew a hand over his head, wiping away the grass that was stuck to his skin. He didn't get it all, but Lyra knew better than to comment on it. Instead biding her time and waiting for the human to answer truthfully or try and come up with a lie, by now she knew what the most likely choice would be.

“I'm trying to save zebras, and avoiding getting on the empress' bad side,” he answered and looked over at the awakening camp.

It was a simple, logical and sane answer built on sound reasoning, which was why she didn't believe it for a second.

“No, that isn't true. I deserve to know what is going on Karon. I'm stuck out here too you know, surrounded by zebra guards that are here just to make sure we don't run away.”

The human frowned and looked at her clearly annoyed, then he sighed and moved a little closer to her, whispering to make sure he wasn't overheard.

“Look, I'm not planning on following Zuka's plan. It's stupid and clearly of a 'ends justifies the means' thinking. Been there, done that, and not interested on being the tool in such a plan. I know from experience how those usually end up.”

“So?” she asked, drawing out the words expectantly.

“So what?”

“So what is the real plan!?”

“I was going to save that for when we got to the well … you won't like it.”

“I'm already not liking it since you we're going to save it for a time I guess it would be a little to late for me to argue against it, hmmmm?”

Karon's mouth dropped open in surprise and he closed it quickly.

“Thought so,” Lyra muttered in disappointment.

“Look, it's not as bad as you might think. I didn't work out something that could be dangerous for you or Trixie, it's the opposite.”

“What do you mean?” the unicorn asked, then grimaced as she realized she probably didn't want to know.

“When we reach the well, we load up with all the water we can. There is food to last the three of us for two weeks, so you and Trixie remain at the well, doing your best to keep out of sight in case jackals come by it. In the mean time, I will head out into the desert and find some jackals. I'll get them to reveal what is going on somehow and get back to you with the information. After that you two head back to the empress and give her the info. She'll release you, and you can be on your merry way.”

“You mean we three go back to the empress … right?”

“No, after I get the information to you, I'll go back out into the desert and see if I can solve whatever the reason they're attacking the zebras.”

“Are you insane! That's suicide Karon, you can't expect to survive all alone. I heard the zebras talk about the jackals! They're all evil, and vicious and eat meat! They kill everything and eat it! They'll eat you!” she shouted at him, not caring in the least if the guards heard her, she didn't care about them right now, only Karon.

“Don't be so melodramatic Lyra. I'll be fine. I can move around and keep hidden a lot easier if I'm on my own.”

“Even you can't be this arrogant. You're not stupid Karon, I know that, but you're acting like it. You've acted strange for a long time now. This isn't like how you were back in Ponyville, not even in Canterlot, and I saw how you were changing back there.”

Lyra meet his glare without flinching, and she saw how the amber color of his eyes flared up with anger, and the sight almost made her glad. The normal glow in his eyes had been nearly gone ever since they left Canterlot. Actually they've been that way ever since....

“Is this about Feather Touch?” she asked straight on, not wasting time on being subtle.

Karon bit his tongue and looked away for a second, then replied in monotone, “No.”

“Are you sure? Because it's becoming harder and harder to recognize you.”

“Maybe you never knew me. Maybe you just thought you knew me because I was your little info dispenser for all things human related. Your own living, breathing encyclopedia.”

“It isn't like that anymore, and I know you well enough to know when you're deliberately trying to make me angry so I will forget about what we were talking about.”

Lyra suspected that the look he gave her was a mixture between being disgusted and impressed with her at the same time, but she didn't falter in her stare, Karon did.

“What do you want me to say?” he finally relented.

“That what happened is still bothering you and that its affecting your judgment.”

“My judgment? Where the hell have you been the last eight months? I HAVE no judgment.”

“Then why do you say that you are going to send us away just so you can go on some ridiculous mission that you will die from, all so you can stop zebras from dying?”

“It's complicated Lyra....”

“No its really not,” she said, and she felt her eyes begin to sting.

“Don't you dare cry, don't you dare,” she thought furiously.

Karon noticed, he always noticed. At least she could take some satisfaction in seeing the guilt on his face. She knew something was wrong, and it hurt.

“I'm trying to take care of you Lyra, both of you.”

“Yeah, I've noticed you and Trixie,” she said, perhaps letting a little too much emotion into her voice.

Karon frowned, then raised his eyebrows and asked tentatively.

“Wait, Lyra are you … jealous I'm spending so much time teaching Trixie magic?”

“No!” she exclaimed and refused to meet his eyes.

“Lyra, you know you're the only mare for me,” Karon said and forced a smile. She saw it was forced, whenever Karon smiled for real his eyes always glowed a little brighter.

“Then why do you want to leave me?” she asked pleadingly and couldn't hold back the tears that started trickling down her chin. She hated crying, the tears always made their way out to her muzzle and made her nose wet and icky.

“Because I can't let something happen to you, either of you,” he said and got down on his knees so that their eyes were at the same level.

“Don't you get that maybe I can't let anything happen to you too?” she said and wiped her muzzle with a hoof.

Karon didn't answer, and for once she had managed to leave him at a loss for words. Small victories and all that.

“I'm not leaving, that's it Karon, I'm not leaving,” she stated firmly and stomped her hoof in the ground for emphasis.

Different emotions chased over the human's face, anger and joy being the most noticeable. She had gotten used to his facial expressions enough to know them, even though she still found the inner workings of Karon's mind mostly a mystery.

This time joy won out, and a real smile, glowing eyes included, plastered itself on his face and he pulled Lyra in for hug. She put her hooves around his neck and squeezed hard, trying to tell him just how much she had grown to care for the stupid ape with with touch alone. Just to annoy him, she wiped her nose against his neck when he released his hold on her, and he pulled back with a disgusted sound and ran his hand over it.

“You two, it's time to get going!” one of the zebra guards called out from the camp, and three of them walked over towards her and Karon, probably worried they might be up to something fishy.

The human put a hand on her head and scratched it. He knew she couldn't resist the amazing sensation of having so many fingers rubbing her head, producing the most amazing feeling. She frowned in disappointment when he stopped only after a few seconds, but he didn't see it. He walked to the three approaching zebras, all innocence and with his hands spread wide like he had nothing to hide. Lyra heard the gruff voice of the middle guard, and she walked over to them to better hear what he said.

“-screaming all about?” she caught when she got closer, and Karon replied in a sickly sweet voice that dripped of feigned naivety.

“Oh she was just upset when I thought that maybe 'hey, the jackals might not be so bad at all, maybe all zebras are as annoying as the warriors going with us? If that's the case their actions would be perfectly understandable, and all that really needs doing is talking to them with a sympathetic ear.'”

The zebra's glared at him without concealing their anger, and the two flanking guards butted their spear into the ground a few times, but did nothing further.

Lyra resisted the desire to roll her eyes, having decided that if she were going to do that every time Karon decided to be foalish then she'd end up like Derpy. The guards split aside so Karon and Lyra could pass by, perhaps not trusting they wouldn't run off into the savanna unless they were walking behind them or something just as dumb.

Karon grinned from the display of distrust, and Lyra suspected he considered it as some kind of compliment. He motion for Lyra to go first, and she shook her head at the false gentlecoltly manner he was playing at, but she complied and walked ahead towards where the tracker stood, waiting for the stragglers impatiently.

Karon was still the old Karon, but she knew there was something wrong going on, something that he tried to hide, but couldn't. Not from her, she had gotten too close to him to be as easily fooled by him as most ponies were. She would find out exactly what was going on, and if he tried do shake her off at the well, or sneak away in the middle of the night....

Then he would find out just how stubborn she could be.

    ***************************************************************************

Two days passed by, three, four and finally five. On the fifth day when the sun had just passed through its zenith, the tracker held up his hoof to make the travelers behind him stop. They waited silently while the tracker looked around carefully, then turned around and spoke with his eyes fixed on Karon.

“This is the place. We leave you here. Water is three days same pace north, in those mountains there,” He spoke shortly and pointed with his hoof towards a cluster of small, rocky mountains.

The tracker's work was done, and he began heading back without any further words to any of them. The zebra warriors turned to follow him, and one of them stopped and told him curtly.

“Do not return to zebra land without finishing your task. If you return to great Mjimkuu with false knowledge, it will be discovered, and you will be punished.”

“It has been a pleasure getting to know you,” Karon said and fluttered his eyelashes.

The warrior left them behind with an angry growl. As the warriors walked away, their hooves kicked up clouds of dust and Karon could just imagine a jackal sitting somewhere hidden in a rocky outcrop and seeing it. He watched the retreating backs of the zebras for a few minutes, listening to the sound of them disappearing. Eventually he turned and took a careful look at the landscape before him.

The savanna behind him had gradually become more and more desolate, with cracked earth and dry, brittle trunks replacing the flowing grasslands and lush, if scattered, trees. Rocks had become bigger and more common, until they had entered an area with nothing but yellow sand and cliffs of red sandstone were to be found.

Which was the kind of landscape that Karon could see before him, with small scatterings of some kind of cactus plants and bushes fighting to keep a semblance of life.

“Yeah, I'm not surprised anything living here might decide to raid more hospitable places for supplies.”

“Still, if these attacks are so unusual, then something must have changed.”

“Then let's find out what.”

Trixie and Lyra walked up to him, not saying a word while observing the hostile landscape with the hostile creatures they would have to traverse. The zebras had unceremoniously dumped a bag containing the promised rations of goods next to two small water caskets connected with a strap, meant for a zebra, or pony, to carry over their back.

Trixie refused to carry the water, and Karon responded by ordering her to do it. The fact that she only complained for the first hour showed she had made some definite improvement concerning her ego, or it might just have been the fact that every time she opened her mouth moisture escaped through it. Either way, she eventually shut up.

Karon took it upon himself to carry the food, consisting mainly of root vegetables and fruit that didn't rot quickly, or so he at least hoped.

There didn't need to be much said between the three of them as they began the trip northwards, most of their focus was put towards enduring the terrible heat. Karon had it especially bad, his robe was thick enough to make sweat trickle out of his pores in a steady stream, however he didn't dare take it off for fear of getting sunburned beyond recognition. His wide brimmed hat offered the only comfort he could take, and he had to force himself from stopping all too often for water.

It took long enough for Karon to wonder if Celestia was deliberately tormenting him, but the sun eventually descended and the heat lessened. It actually dropped quickly, and by the time the light of the sun had disappeared entirely, the air was cold.

“Okay, we stop here for the night,” he announced and rubbed his arms.

Behind him Trixie moaned in relief as she finally got to take the burden off her back, too tired to make some comment about her being too great and powerful for common labor. Lyra sat down on her haunches and rubbed the soles of her hooves, and turned her head around like she was searching for something.

“What are you looking for?” Karon asked and took off his rug sack, the bag of food he had put in it had greatly increased its weight, and his shoulders ached from carrying it all day.

“Some wood for the fire,” she replied offhandedly and continued looking around.

“No fire, we're in the middle of a open plain, if we start a fire here anything in the vicinity will spot us immediately,” he said firmly.

“Karon, do you feel how cold it's getting?”

“Yes, and it'll get worse during the night.”

“So what, we're gonna freeze to death … in a desert!?”

“It won't be that bad, and if we huddle close together we'll keep warm enough.”

“If I wake up tomorrow and can't move my hooves because they're frozen, I'm not going to be kind about it,” she threatened.

“Duly noted,” he said and walked over to Trixie.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked and tilted his head, and the unicorn stopped making noises usually reserved for the bedroom.

“No, Trixie is just trying to relax after having been treated like a pack mule all day!” she replied with a note of accusation in her voice.

“Wanna try that again?” Karon asked neutrally.

Trixie sighed deeply but changed her voice to a more respectful one.

“I am just trying to relax after all the walking, master.”

“If you want maybe I can help with that?”

“How?” she asked curiously, having grown used to the way Karon used to approach lessons.

“Nothing magical per say, just something that might help your back since its probably pretty worn after carrying that water.”

“Trixie d- … yes master, I'm very sore.”

“No innuendo ... no innuendo....”

“Lay on your belly,” he said gently, and she complied.

He got down on his knees and put his hands on her back, rubbing them up and down to create some heat. He felt her tense up the instant he touched her, but slowly relaxed when he started massaging her deeper and more carefully. He wasn't very good at it by any human standard, but he did what he could and he certainly didn't hear any complaints coming from his equine apprentice.

“Apprentice, so strange.”

“You know if Varsif found out we've taken on an apprentice he'd kick our teeth in.”

“I won't tell him if you don't.”

“Humor … my you are in a good mood. What's the occasion?”

“Don't know, I'm just trying to enjoy this- ... I mean her … I mean … it.”

“Are you getting flustered from a conversation with yourself?”

“Never mind. Go back to wherever you usually hang out.”

He stopped massaging Trixie's back, and instantly she made a sound of disapproval.

“No, that will have to be enough. Wouldn't want to forget about tonight's lesson would we?”

She pushed off the ground and turned to face him with an involuntary smile. Had she been a dog, Karon imagined she would have been wagging her tail.

“I must be better than I thought.”

“What will we do tonight?” she asked enthusiastically.

“Well … we have gone through the absolute basics about energy interaction already, so … I think we should do a little more practical exercise.”

Trixie's smile widened and she nodded in delight, no doubt imagining something grand and exhilarating, it was almost a shame to let her down.

“Increasing body heat sounds like the best for tonight, since we'll need as much as we can get.”

“Can't we do something else? We can just build a fire for that … master,” she added the last word quickly.

“No fire. We will be easy to find if we do, and you shouldn't be so careless with use of fire … it's dangerous. No, heat it is. Oh don't look so glum. Besides, learning to keep warm will help develop your ability to channel more energy.”

She perked up a little at the last mention, and look about ready to begin her lesson. Karon glanced over at Lyra and saw her digging around in his rucksack for the food. The pony would most likely want to sleep after she'd finished her meal, so he'd have to get on with the lesson quickly or leave her to endure the cold alone until they were finished.

“Okay, the starting key here is breathing,” he told Trixie, adopting the lecturing tone he had gotten used to over the days, “Breathing brings oxygen into your body, gets the blood flowing and helps stabilize the nervous system if you breath down into the diaphragm. Try it, let the air flow into you deeply, pushing out your chest and stomach as far as it goes, then let it flow out on its own.”

He watched as Trixie tried it, stumbling a few times in her control and tensing far more than what was needed. Karon didn't have a perfect understanding of pony physiology, but it was good enough to understand that the basics would work. He wouldn't get into the more complex levels anyway. He found himself drifting in thought, and imagined he should have asked Twilight more about their anatomy when he had had the chance.

“Twilight....”

He brought himself out of the reverie and shook his head, bringing his mind back to the lesson at hand.

“Good, that's enough. Breathing is good, without breathing you die. You can last days without food and water, but only a few minutes without air. Now, we will go on to the next level, it is more than just our body that breaths, our spirit breaths too, but it doesn't breath air. It breathes … let's just make it simple and call it prana, it's a kind of energy. What is important right now is that by breathing with both body and spirit, we start to connect the two deeper, and the energy that the spirit breathes in flows without fault through us, and it can then take form as heat, providing our body with warmth when we need it.”

“How?” she asked, enthralled like usual once Karon got going.

“Energy feels energy, just like matter reacts to matter by way of the forces that flows through them. If you breath enough that the pattern becomes automatic, the mind and eventually spirit will follow. It's an ever flowing stream of interaction between inner and outer, top to bottom and bottom up data. And it all affects one another since they are connected.”

“I understand....” she said hesitantly, and resumed her attempt at deep breathing.

Karon leaned back with his hands digging into the cold sand and watched her struggle and slowly get into a steady rhythm without even truly noticing. He waited until her eyes became dim and distant, and he looked at her with his second sight and saw her aura shift like a flame caught in a breeze. And soon enough, the colors grew stronger, and a charge leapt around the lines of energy like electrical currents, some of it blossoming forth into heat and warming her body.

She opened her eyes, and her lilac colored orbs that shone with a look of wonder.

“What was that?” she asked quietly, slowly returning from the state of half trance.

“Well, life basically, or one side of it.”

“It was … it felt....” she struggled to find words, frowning deep enough it nearly touched her nose.

“I know, enjoy it. Like a pegasus I know would have said, 'it's … nice'.”

Trixie nodded thoughtfully while Karon got up on his feet and arched his back gingerly. He dusted off his robe and nodded his head towards where Lyra sat.

“Come, she needs some company and we need some food. Then we'll get to sleep. If things are going to be as hot tomorrow as they were today, we'll need it.”

Trixie didn't say much after the lesson. She ate her food with the look of wonder still persistent on her face while Karon made some small talk with Lyra, discussing how anything would want to live in a place as desolate as the desert they were in.

When they went to sleep the curled up next to on another, with the still pleasantly warmed Trixie in the middle and Karon to the right and Lyra to the left of her. To add to it, Karon had taken off his robe and put it over all three of them as a cover. It wasn't perfect, but the three of them ran next to no risk of being damaged by the cold like that.

Fatigue made itself known fast, and all three of them drifted into slumber gently.

Karon woke up when the moon was high up in the sky, spreading its soft light upon the sleeping figures below. The reason he woke up was a familiar one, but still so new and alien. Trixie's horn was jabbing him in the shoulder hard, and she had both her hooves wrapped around him awkwardly. She looked different when she slept, much like she had when she was sitting alone looking up at the stars. However she didn't appear like a figure burdened with sadness now, she looked peaceful, happy, a tiny content smile gracing her lips.

Her horn still jabbed into his shoulder, and he didn't mind. He just put an arm around the unicorn then went back to sleep.

   ******************************************************************************

“Well that was a mistake.”

Karon groaned in self pity, the hard ground wasn't the most comfortable of places to sleep, even if it consisted mostly of lose sand and dirt. And his left shoulder screamed in pain from having Trixie's horn jabbing into it for most of the night.

He had woken up somewhere between dawn and midday, with both the ponies already up and enjoying breakfast. If Trixie had woken up in a more intimate manner than what was traditionally appropriate between a master and apprentice, she didn't make any mention of it while Karon joined them. And after having devoured a few dried fruits and carrots, they drank a healthy amount of water and set out north once more.

The day passed by without anything eventful occurring. They passed over what Karon guessed was a dried out river, perhaps waiting for a squad of pegasi to bring a monsoon its way. They didn't see a trace of any jackals, and during the entire course of the day he kept a careful lookout for anything indicating they were being watched. But no shivers ran up his spines, and no feelings made their way into his gut. No, their day was simply filled with walking, more walking and the odd stop for water.

Come nightfall they didn't speak much, too tired by the strain they had put on their bodies to do anything else but eat. Karon walked Trixie through another basic exercise, this time helping her gently connect to another mind, something the unicorn had no success with at all, leaving her very disgruntled.

Karon did not wake up from having Trixie holding him that night, and his shoulder wasn't screaming in pain when morning came. He couldn't place if he felt relief or disappointment for it.

She had been awfully soft.

Finally, in the third day of walking they reached the jagged collection of rocks that made up the small mountains where the promised well was supposed to be. There were small winding pathways carved through the rock, and Karon led them through carefully, anticipating a jackal ambush to reign down stones and whatever weapons they made use of at any second.

They were spared that fate, only to find one possibly worse.

As the shadows cast by the cliffs grew longer and longer, and the sky above shifted from blue to orange, Karon noticed that the passage he was following grew wider, and the open areas they passed through were becoming larger and more frequent. Enough so that he was beginning to get worried. The path they had followed so far looked to have been well worn, and so he, for lack of any better options, assumed it led to the well and followed it.

He seemed to have guessed correctly, as they came out into a grand open area with the cliffs circling around. A few large boulders were scattered about, but most of the surface was covered with round tents the color of sand. Walking around the camp were bipedal, scrawny looking dog like creatures with long snouts and large pointy ears. Their fur was a matted color of beige and brown, and they wore patchwork clothing made of material that Karon didn't recognize.

And they all, without exception, carried weapons.

Karon took it all in during the course of the two seconds he stood out in the open, then hurriedly ducked back into the passage before someone could see him. Trixie and Lyra walked up to him and tried to angle around the rock to get a look at whatever had spooked him. Lyra managed to do it first and her eyes doubled in size and she inhaled sharply.

“Karon … are those?”

“Jackals? I would think so. They look like it.”

“And why are there so many camped right here!?” Her voice sunk down into a hoarse whisper.

Karon sighed and rubbed his temples.

“If I had to guess, which I do … I would say that they're camped around a valuable supply of water.”

“I really hoped you were going to say they were just taking a break and would be going away soon....”

“I wouldn't mind being able to say that but....”

“But luck has a streak of sadism when it concerns us.”

“That's one way to put it.”

“What do we do?” Trixie asked and pulled her head back from looking around the cliff, her eyes just as wide as Lyra's.

“I don't know … I'll have to think.”

      ***************************************************************************

“That's the worst idea ever!” Lyra hissed.

Above them the sky had grown dark and the stars had begun shining brightly, the moon still obscured by the tall cliffs surrounding them.

“You think of something better then!” Karon hissed right back at here.

“”Anything's better than 'you stay here and I'll look around',” she challenged and stuck her chin out defiantly.

“We need to find out what they're doing here, and we need to get more water. What little we have left will barely last half a day now.”

“Well we have to find a way into their camp for both of that,” Lyra said, motioning her hoof to the camp.

“Yes, and I can maybe get into their camp if I go alone. All three of us will take to much space and make too much of a ruckus not to be noticed!” Karon added and crossed his arms over his chest.

“We need a distraction,” Trixie said, then blinked like she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

“A … distraction,” Karon and Lyra echoed in unison.

“Yes, and the Great and Powerful Trixie will...” she grew silent when Karon cleared his throat loudly and gave her a meaningful stare. She looked from Karon to Lyra and back again to him almost pleadingly, but he only raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat even louder.

Trixie sighed then put a hoof on her chest and continued, “I will be able to give it. Tr- I know how to play a crowd and put on a show stopping scene.”

“And how exactly were you planning on giving a distraction without them attacking you?”

“I will them that I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, and that I was sent by the zebra empress to negotiate with the jackal leader. They will have to take me to him, and if he is not here, take me to whoever is in charge.”

Karon raised his hand to object, but couldn't find any words. Sure, he could argue that it was dangerous, but they were in a place where just being there was dangerous. Leaving them both here was just slightly less so for them but far more for him.

“And you were thinking about me and Lyra following you, invisible?” Karon guessed.

“Exactly, and if their leader is here, then maybe we can find out why they're attacking the zebras just by letting me talk to him.”

“It might work if you're really as good as you think … but what's your exit strategy?”

“Huh?” the ponies asked.

“What's your plan for getting out? You might be able to trick the leader to reveal his plans in true evil villain fashion, but what then? He'll not let you leave.”

“When we've found what we need to know, you can make me invisible too. You can do that right? If you're already standing beside me but the jackals don't know it?”

“I … yeah it CAN be done. I just need to extend the field to encompass you. Not easy to begin with, and if I'm already supposed to cloak both me and Lyra for the entire time, and then also make you invisible while we escape … I don't know if I can handle that much strain.”

“I trust you master,” Trixie said confidently.

There was no way to respond to such a thing when uttered by a pony other than “Okay”.

The plan set, the dice were cast and a seemingly lone unicorn walked out of the ravine. The jackals didn't notice her until she was almost inside the camp. They howled loudly towards the sky at the sight of the intruder, and they bounded towards her, some of them running on all fours others on their back legs, wielding spears and crude looking axes in their paws.

Trixie stood still and unfazed by the approaching jackals, and when they formed up around her in a circle and growled loudly with saliva dripping down their jaw she didn't react. She waited until one of them took a step forward and spoke in a jagged, throaty voice that should have belonged only to a life long chain smoker.

“Pony here, in jackal territory? You do not belong, speak why you here is or we make you dinner.”

Karon had to force himself from making a smart ass comment about the jackal's speech, and in turn revealing his and Lyra's hidden position just outside the circle surrounding Trixie, hidden behind his veil of invisibility. A veil that was even more strenuous than usual, since he was making sure all olfactory data that passed through the shell around them also was ignored.

“I am the Great and Powerful TRIXIEEEE! The most powerful and famed unicorn in all of Equestria! Be careful what you say you or I will show you unicorn magic the likes which your tiny little mind has never even DREAMED of!” she thundered loudly, attracting more jackals running out from the camp to see what was going on.

The jackal that had spoken looked confused, and kept giving glances to his compatriots and scratching his head.

“Ehhh, pony no answer question. Why is pony here in Jackal land. IS OURS, YOU CAN'T HAVE!”

Karon tried really hard to stifle his laughter, but couldn't, and was rewarded immediately by a headache as the energy needed to keep the sound ignored increased greatly.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie was sent by the zebra empress herself to speak with the leaders of the jackals. For only she is powerful enough to make the journey alone and speak with your leader without fear!”

The jackals shifted their weight around nervously. Trixie never lost her composure of utter confidence, and managed to look down on the jackals with utter contempt despite them being just as tall as Karon. Beneath her stare, the jackals found themselves in a situation they had never been before, and so they resorted to the same tactic millions of creatures in the same tight spot had made use of since ancient times.

Pass it along to someone else.

“We will take you to see chief. The big chief is not here, but chief is biggest here, you talk to him.”

The jackals led Trixie through the camp, keeping a respectful distance from her while still serving as some kind of escort. Karon made good use of the jumbled mess that was the jackal's formation, and he found less trouble than he had expected in avoiding bumping into anyone. Even so, the pressure building inside his head from keeping up the invisibility was getting worse by the minute.

The jackals stopped outside one of the bigger tents and showed Trixie in. Most of them remained outside, so Karon and Lyra had to time it perfectly when they opened the flap to the tent like structure and entered, but they managed judging by the lack of outcry.

Inside was a jackal bigger than the rest, wearing fabric looking a little less rough than the ones worn by his lesser brethren. Trixie stood with the same look of contempt on her face, and waited for the jackal chieftain to finish speaking.

“-Claim to have come from zebra boss, why would zebras send pony to speak for zebras?”

“Because the Great and Powerful Trixie possesses magic no jackal or zebra could ever hope to understand. And even though the empress is a zebra of low taste, since she didn't know of the Great and Powerful Trixie until recently, she immediately realized the value of pleading on her bare knees of my help.”

“What zebra boss want? Jackal will continue to take stuff we want, zebras are small and tasty,” the jackal leader said and licked his lips.

“The empress has asked me to investigate why you are harassing her people, and what she can do to prevent it.”

And just as they had expected, there wasn't need for more than the tiniest nudge to send the jackal into a typical bad guy unveiling of the grand scheme, which in this case, was neither grand nor really a scheme.

“Great chief Vako unite all jackal tribes! Great chief Vako say, 'I find old crown of last jackal king in old jackal city no jackal knows where is now. Crown will give us power to stop stupid zebra land-magic, jackal will have jackal magic, and great chief Vako will take us to zebra land and we will eat them and take their stuff!” he finished barking and slammed his fist hard into his chest, a move mimicked by the other jackals present inside and they all howled loud in blood thirst.

“How terribly … unoriginal.”

“Maybe it will turn out things aren't at all what they seem, and this Vako is actually an abnormally intelligent jackal with convoluted schemes and mad designs that could threaten this entire world should he go unchallenged.”

“Not likely.”

“Nah you're right. They're just idiots.”

“And how is this Vako planning on finding your lost city and crown if it is … lost?” Trixie asked and sneered at the leader.

“We have stone from lost city!” the jackal barked and pointed to a table inside the tent, upon which several large stones sat. Now that Karon looked closer, he saw that not only was there a table present inside, so was the largest bed Karon had ever seen, it could easily fit five people. It was a logistic nightmare. They would have to make use of several jackals just to carry the damn thing, and the table.

It spoke volumes of the owners ego.

“And how exactly will that help you?” Trixie asked and sniffed, and Karon was honestly surprised even such a dimwitted creature like the jackal leader would go on like he did without stopping to think.

“It's way too convenient.”

“Yeah, which usually means that fate will toss us into a terribly fucked up situation just to balance it out later.”

“Have you noticed that lately our life has been following these strange set of rules relating to drama?”

“No, I haven't. Sounds like you're becoming paranoid.”

“Jackals will find lost city and lost crown. We have rock from lost city, and jackals will sniff rocks and then sniff where lost city is!”

“Well you might have a point.”

Trixie's mask of haughtiness was broken by the disbelief that colored her features, but she adapted it quickly again and spoke in the same nasal tone usually reserved for when one spots a bug and insults it.

“Well, then the Great and Powerful Trixie has heard all she wants to know, and she will now use her great and powerful magic to return to the empress and inform her what she has heard.”

“Huh, ehhh, no! I don't think so, pony will stay here, we will go to great chief Vako and tell of you, he will decide what to do.”

“Trixie thinks not,” she said with all the flourish of a stage born actor and brushed a hoof against her chest.

“Well … here goes.”

Karon summoned all the strength he had and pushed the boundaries of the field enveloping him and Lyra further, stretching it to embrace Trixie as well. He grind his teeth and it felt like blood vessels were popping all over his head, but the field stretched far enough to devour Trixie entirely. One moment she stood in plain view, and the next she was gone.

The jackal's leader face fell, and he stood uncertain, staring at the spot where Trixie had been present just a heartbeat ago. The other jackals present did the same, until the leader started shouting loudly and ran outside.

“Find the pony! Find the pony and take her back! Vako will want pony. Vako will be angry if we don't find pony!”

The entire camp came alive at the threat of the great chieftain's rage, and the peace of the night time was broken by the howls and clamor of the jackals hunting desperately for the pony, hunting for any pony.

Inside the tent, Trixie, Lyra and Karon came out into view, and the human swayed groggily to the side, squinting his eyes in pain.

“What's wrong!?” Lyra hissed as quietly as she could, her voice infused with rising panic.

“I can't … it's too much … I'll pass out before we get halfway through....” Karon forced out between labored breaths. He looked ready to collapse, and Trixie was quick to press herself up close to him for support.

“What are we going to do now master?” she asked, her voice betraying the rising panic she shared with Lyra, held only at bay by the new found trust she had gained in Karon.

“I don't know,” was his only response, and he blinked his eyes rapidly in a fruitless attempt to fight off the fatigue.

“You don't know?! We're in the middle of the jackal camp and you don't know!? Didn't you think of a plan B?” Lyra moaned in disbelief and looked over at the entrance to the tent they were in, the cloth flaps waving gently in the breeze, and separating them from the horde of jackals with barely a few millimeters of cloth.

“I haven't … had the best history with plan B's,” Karon noted and smiled crookedly.

Around them they could hear the sound of heavy feet running, padded by the loose dirt and sand underneath, and the shouting of angry voices mixed with frustrated growls and whines as groups of trackers called out to one another in the hunt for their quarry.

And then came the sound the three of them feared, the barking voice of the jackal leader, coming closer towards the tent, shouting to his warriors  that he would return to his yurt while ordering them to continue the search. In mere moments he would push aside the lose flaps of cloth covering the opening, and he would find his prey hiding within his own tent.

“Well this certainly has been an interesting couple of weeks.”

“...You could say that.”

Karon hefted his spear with tired arms, the energy to wield it just wasn't there, and the shift in weight was nearly enough to make him fall over. He was going to try and kill the leader quick, and if he somehow managed to sound an alarm, he would distract the jackals long enough for the ponies to get away hopefully.

His plans of martyrdom were delayed when Lyra grabbed both him and Trixie and dragged them with her as she hissed,“Here, hide under here!” and pushed them under the leader's huge bed before making her way in beside them.

Mere seconds later, they heard the jackal leader enter the tent and pace around it angrily, muttering to himself in a whining language none of them understood. They remained still, their nerves raw with anticipation of what would happen next. However their fears were never realized. At some point the jackal leader must have given up, and after what could have been hours if not years of wandering around the tent, he shuffled over to the bed and threw himself on it.

After a short time his loud snoring sounded in the tent, loud enough to drown out the still clamoring of the jackals outside still searching for Trixie. Karon turned to face Lyra very slowly, and whispered straight into her ear, “You are never allowed to complain about my ideas again. Yours suck.”

Chapter 37: Sand, stone and surprises

The air was as cold at night as it was hot during the day, and the meager sheets of cloth the yurt was made of could only do so much to keep it out. Karon flexed his fingers and grasped the spear harder. His left leg had fallen asleep a long time ago, and he had himself nearly gone the same way at first. However, the exhaustion from keeping the invisibility up had mostly gone after the first hour, and he had spent the next few listening to the slowly dying racket of the jackals outside with Trixie and Lyra.

While they had at first laid underneath the bed with wide eyes, just waiting for a jackal to come inside and somehow know they were there, the fear had eventually turned to boredom. The uneasy tension in their muscles, ready to spring into action any second, had instead relaxed and left them to fully enjoy their uncomfortable positions.

More than once, Karon started to crawl out from under the bed, only to stop himself when a slight shuffling or clamoring of steel outside reached him. Had he been alone it would have been different, but he wasn't, and he couldn't risk getting caught with Lyra and Trixie right beside him.

He thought about leaving them, running out alone and attacking the jackals at random, about drawing them off and giving the ponies time to escape. He thought about it repeatedly, despite deciding against it every time. There were plenty of reasons why it was a bad idea; it would endanger Trixie and Lyra since they would be without Karon's abilities to help disappear, and they would be without Karon entirely and perhaps not make it back to Equestria. The jackals would start searching for them twice as hard after they've killed him. Reasons upon reasons, and it all boiled down to the fact that Trixie and Lyra would have a harder time surviving than if he stayed put and exhibited some patience.

Yet the idea kept returning to him.

And as the night deepened and the sounds outside gradually died down, he became more frantic about doing something before it was too late, before he lost his chance. Yet he couldn't, for the sake of his friends.

When the time came that the only sound disturbing the night's peace was that of a few jackals howling disappointingly, Karon decided he had had enough and crawled out from under the bed. Both Trixie and Lyra were quick to follow, nearly swimming through the sand on their way out.

The jackal leader was snoring heavily on the bed, his claws twitching every few seconds, perhaps dreaming of hunting down a tasty zebra.

Karon thoughtfully hefted his spear and brought the edge down towards the jackal's throat. It would be an easy thing, to strike with the spear and let the beast choke on his own blood as his life escaped. Of course, maybe it wouldn't. Maybe the jackal would wake up sensing the danger, or maybe he would make enough sound to draw attention to the yurt, and other warriors would come barging in.

More importantly, if Karon managed to kill the leader silently and leave the camp behind, the other jackals would not be happy about him dying. They only knew about Trixie, and if he kept hidden and left without causing any damage, they might decide to forget about her or find someone to blame the escape on.

”Limiting damage is key here.”

”Maybe the jackals would respect something that can kill their leader? Maybe they have a hierarchy based on killing and threatening your way to the top?”

”A lot of maybes … can't risk it. Stealth is the way out. Let's stick to it.”

”You're very boring nowadays.”

Karon suppressed his agitation at the thought. He wasn't boring, he was trying to be responsible...

”Which is boring.”

...he had companions now, friends that relied on him not to get them killed.

”Maybe we should just tell them to go home, to leave us. Maybe then we can be fun again instead of depressed and trying to find ways to-”

“Silence!”

No, it didn't work like that. They had their own reasons, their own desires and thoughts for why they were with him. It wouldn't be easy, they wouldn't want to leave him, even though he could twist their minds and hearts so they would, but such a thing wouldn't last. They would untie the knots he placed within them eventually, and perhaps more importantly, he didn't want to do it.

He didn't want to go on alone. Their presence was distracting, comforting and it gave purpose.

Karon blinked in surprise. He hadn't meant to sink so deeply into contemplation. It was a clear sign of how weary he was, to the extent his control was beginning to slip, and not just from hiding under the bed or from the last week's traveling. He was just bone deep tired. No, even deeper than bones, it stretched into his soul.

Lyra brought him out of his thought and back into reality when she laid a hoof on his arm, staring into his eyes with a clear no shining in hers. She wanted to get out of there, leave the camp of predators far behind. Trixie stood behind her, glancing ever so often at the flaps swaying gently from the chilly wind.

He bit his tongue, but drew back his spear in resignation. If they wanted to get away, he shouldn't do anything to compromise that, no matter how tempted he was to get into a fight, to sink the tip of the deadly spear into the throat of the foul beast snoring on the bed. It would have been a glorious thing to wade through the camp splattered with the blood of the jackals and to make them hurt.

Lyra looked up at his face, her confusion showing clearly as she looked upon his rage twisted features. He hadn't even noticed he was showing it or even that he was feeling such anger – no … hate.

He stalked over to the nearby table and grabbed one of the rocks the jackals had referred to as pieces of the ruin they were searching for. It was sand colored and weathered with age, yet despite the wear, it was clear that it wasn't a natural formation. It had been chiseled, the sides of it too clean and straight to be part of any natural formation.

It wasn't particularly large, and he put it into one of the many pockets Rarity had been thoughtful enough to sew into the robe. He joined the two ponies at the lose tent flaps, and they all stood there unsure of what to do, listening as hard they could for any noise outside.

The sounds that reached their ears that allowed them to make no mistake that the camp was clear, but none of them appeared to come from anywhere too close. Karon took a chance and stuck his head out and looked around.

The similar circular tents stood close together at all sides, forming small narrow streets and thankfully no jackals were in sight as far as he could see. He pulled his head back in and looked down on Trixie and Lyra in turn.

”Time to go then. I should be able to keep all three of us invisible back to the edge of the camp, as long as we hurry,” he whispered to them.

”What about the well? We need water,” Lyra whispered back to him.

”Right … forgot about that,” he replied in irritation, ”We go back to were we left our stuff, grab it, and if we find the well fast, I can keep the field up while you refill our water bags.”

”Are you sure?” Trixie asked worriedly.

”No, but I don't have a better idea. Do you?”

None of them answered, not that he was surprised. Good ideas had been in somewhat short stock lately, so mediocre ones would have to do.

He weaved the dome of invisibility around them and the throbbing pain cut its way into his head once more. They walked fast, not bothering with stealth, the field around them would take care of that, speed was of the greatest value at the moment. Get the water, get out, then run very fast.

High above, the moon was descending from its peak, crescent in shape and only spreading a small amount of light. It was enough to let them see, but the details were blurry, and with each minute that passed, Karon felt the pressure on his mind increasing.

They followed the same path the jackals had led them upon to their leader, and after having passed by a few sentries standing at the edge of the camp, they reached their gear. Lyra and Trixie grabbed all of it, strapping the packs onto their backs and allowing Karon a few minutes to rest. The pain was insistent, but manageable, and within a few more minutes they had passed by the sentries in their search for water.

They nearly ran, Karon increasing his pace more and more as the growing pain was threatening to drag him into unconsciousness.

They found the promised well eventually, nestled in the middle of a cluster of the odd tents, guarded by a single bored looking jackal. Karon didn't waste time, and after they sneaked up behind it, he struck with the butt of the spear hard on its head.

It gave off a half voiced yelp, and after waiting anxiously to see if any jackals would come to investigate, which they didn't, Trixie and Lyra hurried to the well and began filling the bags up with water. There were no other jackals in sight, so Karon dropped the field and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. However the pain had barely started to recede when Trixie and Lyra were done and motioning it was time to get out of there.

He ran, and so did they, the increased sound they produced piling more strain on him than if they had walked, but he didn't care. They ran until they were out of the camp and hidden within the maze of jutting rocks and ravines of the surrounding cliffs. Then Karon dropped the invisibility and nearly began laughing from the sensation of being light as a feather that came over him, but he didn't stop running. Trixie and Lyra kept an even pace with him as they continued their chase to get out of the jackals' reach, even though such a thing was days away.

Both Trixie and Lyra shouted the question of when to stop several times when they reached the open desert plains, but received no answer. Karon's legs kept pumping until nothing remained in them except battery acid and burning muscles, only then did he stop. Well, not stopped so much as collapsed.

He tripped over his own feet and came crashing down on the dry, brittle ground. He turned to his side and wheezed, air pushing and pulling through a windpipe that felt like it had shrunk to the size of a straw. Beside him, Lyra and Trixie sat down as well, not quite in as bad shape as Karon, but not far behind.

Karon remembered Trixie asking him something, but before he could answer her, he fell asleep.

                       ************************************************

He twitched awake when the pressing need for water overpowered his tiredness. The sun had been up for hours already and the heat had just increased since. His legs protested loudly against being used at all, and to top it off, he'd gotten sunburned on the left side of his face.

He voiced his complaints against the world with an almighty groan, one that attracted the attention of his two companions.

“Finally, I thought you'd never wake up,” Lyra's voice cut in through the layers of self pity Karon was experiencing.

“Master, we've been trying to wake you up for hours. The jackals might still be out looking for us,” Trixie's voice added, and that got Karon's attention.

He quickly got up on his legs, sending sparks of pain down along them, and turned around to face the ponies, both of them sitting in the shadow of a small boulder. Lyra was giving him a look of impatience, while surprisingly, Trixie was looking on him with concern.

“Are you … feeling alright master?” she asked, and Lyra rolled her eyes at the other unicorn's use of the title.

“No worse than usual,” he answered her and took off his rucksack.

He dug around in it for some food and together the three of them had a big breakfast, and afterwards they all drank deeply of the water. The amount they carried offered confidence that it wouldn't run out anytime soon.

“So we're heading back to the zebra's now right? We know what's going on with the jackals now,” Lyra said after a final sip.

The question lingered in the air for quite some time, and the tension grew thicker the longer Karon took to decide on his answer.

“Actually...” he began and Lyra groaned, “...actually I think this should be investigated further, by me.”

“What do you mean … master?” Trixie asked.

“It means he's trying to get rid of us,” Lyra answered and glared at Karon.

“Hey, I told you it would be for the best if you just get back to the empress with the information we have while I try and find a solution,” Karon said defensively, doing his best to keep from squirming under Lyra's gaze. The unicorn would have none of it.

“And I told you that's not your decision to make. You might be the leader, but don't think I don't get a say in what we do … or Trixie.”

“Why … why would you want to leave us? Did I do something wrong? Master, I promise I will try better if I did,” Trixie pleaded, all signs of haughtiness or control fleeing from her, leaving only a terrified pony.

“No, no, no you didn't do anything wrong Trixie. It's just … better if you get away with the information before things get worse. It will be enough for the empress to let you stay with her or go in peace.”

“And what did you think you would be doing while we went back to the zebras?” Lyra asked and pointed to him with her hoof.

“Simple, look for this lost city and crown, then get rid of it in some way so the jackals will never find it.”

“You mean the same place and the same thing every jackal is looking for? Karon, you know how dangerous it would be to even try,” Lyra said, and Trixie nodded for emphasis.

“Which is why both of you should be somewhere else,” Karon claimed and wrangled his hands nervously.

“No, that is why we should be with you, helping you. We keep each other alive Karon, you need me … us, you have said it yourself.”

“That was before...”

“Before what, Karon? Before what!?” Lyra shouted at him, losing the little patience she still had left.

He turned away from the two unicorns and stared at the desert landscape, sweat poring down his forehead. He clenched his fists several times and tried to find the words that would get the ponies out of there and make sure they were in a place where they would stay alive. He couldn't make plans this way, couldn't risk their lives.

He didn't know if he loved or hated them at that moment when the feeling of helplessness settled inside him, there to stay because the ponies refused to leave him. He thought it strange that such a good feeling could be mixed in with so much resentment.

“Never mind, I get it, you're not gonna leave...” he said with a sigh, his shoulders slumping like a great burden had been put upon them.

“Of course we're not gonna leave you here in the middle of nowhere. We're not gonna leave you anywhere … well, I'm not anyway,” Lyra said and approached Karon with a careful smile.

“Trixie would never … I would never leave my master either! I would leave him even less than you!” Trixie was quick to cut in with, giving Lyra a challenging glare to go with the statement.

Karon's right eye twitched as something resembling his old emotions made themselves known deep inside at the sound of his friends becoming so hostile towards one another.

“Catfight? CATFIGHT!?”

“That's enough,” Karon said sternly and blew out another sigh, a thoughtful one this time. “Do we have any kind of bowl or cup I can use?” he asked and looked at the two unicorns in turn.

“Uh, no,” Lyra responded after a few seconds of silence, “but there was a kind of bowl shaped piece of wood next to that dead tree,” she said and motioned towards a dried out shell of a tree standing next to the big boulder who's shadow they had relaxed in.

Karon walked over to the tree, and after a hasty look around, found a thick branch that matched her description. It was worn and broken at both ends, but in the middle it was hollowed out, giving a small incline shaped like a primitive bowl.

“What are you doing … master?” Trixie asked when Karon took the piece of wood and went over to the shadow of the boulder and sat down, the wood in his lap. He didn't answer immediately, instead he took off his rucksack and dug around inside it, pulling out one of the smaller waterskins, made out of some kind of dried and oiled leaf. He poured water into the hollowed out area in the wood, and when the waterskin was half-empty it had been filled to the brim.

“I'm going to find this lost ruin the jackals are looking for,” he responded finally, his voice calm.

“How?” both Trixie and Lyra asked, the former with more than a little curiosity present in her tone.

“Divination, I can scry for the location with that chunk of rock I grabbed from the leader's tent,” he explained, bringing forth said rock and holding it in his right hand while the piece of wood laid across the lap of his crossed legs.

“You can do that? Why didn't you try something similar back when we were looking for More-than Tardy's place?” Lyra asked with a frown.

Karon mimicked her frown and spoke, his voice a little more tense than before. “Because he was a practitioner, and it isn't that hard to trick someone trying to divine your presence, or shield a place so it becomes hard to find. If his place had been something you could find with just five minutes of scrying, Tia would have found it herself.”

“So if you can hide places from … that, why do you think you can find the jackal's city?” she continued to ask, Trixie standing beside her silent, soaking up every word.

“Did you pick up on something I missed Lyra? Because to me, the jackals didn't seem like the most intelligent species around. I doubt they've got much, if any magical skill or knowledge at all.”

She couldn't refute the statement and both the ponies remained silent, seeing that Karon had started to stare into the water with an intense look of focus on his face. It did not take long before Trixie and Lyra walked around the camp awkwardly, wearing bored expressions while they waited for Karon to bring himself out of the trance.

The sun had moved a noticeable distance up into the sky by the time he sucked in a deep breath, instantly gaining the ponies' attention.

“Well...?” Lyra asked cautiously while Karon rubbed his temples.

“There is something … I got a sense of dark tunnels underground, and not anywhere close.”

“But you know where it is?” she asked tentatively.

“Yeah, maybe three weeks northeast from here,” he said dryly and drank the water from the trunk in his lap.

“Three weeks?” Trixie repeated, her tone suggesting he should come up with something better since she didn't like the sound of that.

“Yes, three weeks. And as far as I know our water will last maybe one and a half at the most,” he said after spitting out the chips of wood the water brought with it.

“Can't you do some magic to find some? Or maybe create some?” Lyra asked, Trixie nodding her consent of the suggestions.

“I'm not all powerful Lyra. I'm not good with heavy lifting of the magical kind, you unicorns are supposed to be,”

“But can't you just summon a raincloud? I've seen Twilight do that several times,” she insisted.

“I'm not Twilight. I know a bit about weather manipulation but no, I refuse to go even near it here in Equestria. I can control weather a little back home where it's dynamic. Here though … I might seriously mess something up. I'm talking accidental tornadoes, floods and storms that will wipe out everything in their path,” he said, casting a suspicious glance upwards into the blue sky.

Lyra considered what he'd just said for a moment, and then found herself swallowing nervously.

“Okay yeah, maybe you shouldn't try that then,” she said.

“Thank you captain obvious,” Karon replied and inched a little to his left, keeping in the shadow of the boulder behind him.

Lyra scowled at him but made no further remark, instead Trixie spoke up.

“Tr-... I always thought it would be a good idea to learn how to conjure rain, in case my, uhm, fireworks would misfire. Unfortunately all I learned was how to conjure a lightning cloud,” she finished and dropped her head in defeat.

Both Karon and Lyra turned to stare at the unicorn open mouthed, to which Trixie responded with an irritated look. “What!?” she demanded off them.

“Trixie … do you even know what clouds are made of?” Lyra asked her gently.

Trixie gave her a haughty look and flicked her mane, “Of course I do! They're made out of … fluff.”

Lyra smirked back at the unicorn with unconcealed glee, however Karon merely shook his head with amusement and said, “Well, I guess technically that could be right. Let me explain.”

For the next ten minutes Karon gave a brief lecture on clouds and how Trixie could perhaps, with a little alteration, provide them with an endless supply of water. It took a long time for them to get anywhere, as Trixie had learned the piece of magic solely by trial and error – an impressive feat in itself, one that hinted that her cutie mark wasn't entirely misplaced.

Even so, it still took a lot of time and frustration before Trixie gained a fair grasp on such things as pressure, the interplay between heat and cold, vibrational frequency and electric charge – things that Karon noted someone claiming the title of 'Great and Powerful' should know. However at the end of it, when enough time had passed that the sun was setting and the air was getting colder, he was fairly certain she could manage to conjure a small cloud of rain instead of accidentally killing all of them with a hail of lightning.

But he still winced when her horn lit up.

And to all of their great relief, a small dark blue cloud snaked out of her horn and trailed a tiny way up into the sky before stopping above them. When it stayed there and did nothing, Karon and the ponies looked at each other with blank faces, and were then promptly drenched as the cloud dropped the water it contained. The trio fled in different directions, and to Trixie's despair, they found the cloud was trailing after her, making sure she could not escape her fate.

Three minutes later, Karon and Lyra did their best to keep from laughing when a miserably wet Trixie came walking towards them on shaky legs, her mane clinging to her head and a look on her face saying she was not far from weeping openly.

“Well, at least that solves the water issue,” he said before snorting out a giggle, after which Lyra fell down to the ground laughing.

After many apologies from Karon, and a not-so-heartfelt one from Lyra, the trio grabbed their gear and began moving in the direction the human had sensed the lost city would be, where dark tunnels awaited them.

               ********************************************************

Much of the journey was spent with them looking forwards in the direction of the waiting city, and backwards over their shoulders, imagining a horde of jackals suddenly on their tails. The latter was mostly Karon, since his senses kept telling him danger was lurking around somewhere, watching them. As a result, he did not sleep well at night, leaving him easily irritable and snapping off at the ponies more than once.

One week passed of trekking their way across the cracked earth of the desert, never once seeing any signs of other sentient life except at night when they sometimes heard distant howling. No one could say for certain if they came from the jackals or something else entirely, but Karon banned all camp fires after the first night they heard it.

After one week of traveling, the desert shifted from cracked earth and dried out bushes to plain sand, rolling hills shifting constantly in the wind. It grew harder to walk after that, and during the day the sand heated up to the point the ponies were complaining that it hurt their hooves. Karon did not have that trouble in his leather boots, but he faced another pain, that of overheating. His robe and thick boots kept him constantly warm to the brink of delirium, but he dared not take it off for the danger of scalding his skin with the sun's rays.

So they trudged on, defying the inhospitable landscape and heat during the day, and stopping at night to huddle close together to defy the cold. Every night that they stopped, Karon made sure they were heading in the right direction, the hills of sand looked all alike to his eyes, and it was easy to get lost.

His lessons with Trixie continued, and he was growing more and more impressed with her as they went. She possessed talent, none could argue that, and she picked up on things fast when she decided not to be quite so stubborn. Karon kept getting the urge to ask her why she was so untrained when she obviously had such potential, but every time he did, something held him back. The way the unicorn's eyes would shine whenever she mastered a basic exercise, or the way she clapped her hooves in joy whenever he gave her an honest compliment. It made him think she was not accustomed to such things, and he didn't want to spoil her mood by dragging something up that would make her sad.

When three whole weeks had passed, she had made progress, a lot of progress. The beginning was the hardest part after all. She was beginning to get a proper sense of things even though her natural inclination leaned towards more heavy energy works instead of the soft workings Karon was better at. But all in all, Karon was proud of her. He had so far taught her no specific ability, simply attuning her more properly to herself and the world around and increasing her natural ability to tap into energy fields that played in the environment. She would complain about it sometimes, but knowing the basics would make the difference between being able to channel a lightning strike, and creating a storm that could level a city, because there was no doubt, Trixie had talent for destruction.

“No, no, no! I keep telling you, the difference is in the polarity. If you have the power to destroy something, you can create. If you can kill you can heal and so on. You need to be able to control the flow, otherwise you might as well quit now. You won't be much use to anyone, least of all yourself, if all you can do is destroy,” Karon finished, throwing his hands up into the air.

Trixie sat patiently on the ground before him, doing the deep breathing he had taught her to keep the cold at bay. Above them the stars twinkled with something reminiscent of amusement, looking down on the scene below. The moon was nearing its fullness, and spread ample light across the desert, giving it a serene presence lacking in the day when the sun scorched the land.

“I'm sorry master, I don't understand exactly how...” Trixie phrased carefully, looking down on the cooling sand thoughtfully.

Karon grimaced and looked around for some kind of example he could use, and he found it lazily gliding across the sky.

“There! The moon, look at the moon! Do you sense it, the moon rays shining down, can you feel the energy? The charge? Can you feel the state of the charge, the degree it radiates force?” he said, grasping the best way he could try and explain.

Trixie nodded and looked up at the silvery orb.

“But how? The light is a reflection of the sun after all, and the sun's rays are opposite in charge, opposite in what polarity dominates the energy's structure.”

“You've told me that,” Trixie pointed out, but still looking up with knitted brows, following the train of thought he was leading her down.

“Then how? If the moon's rays are a reflection of the sun's, then how can it be the exact opposite?” he asked her, waiting patiently when silence settled.

Trixie started to look nervous when she realized he wasn't going to elaborate further, and that he was waiting to hear an answer from her.

“Because … the moon isn't like the sun?” she carefully worded, drawing out each word to give herself time.

“Exactly, more right than you think. The moon's aura, or presence if you so will, isn't one like the sun. It works as a reflection of the sun, a mirror image as it is in this case. And what is our mirror image?”

“It's … us, but switched sides, like a copy but one in direct opposite,” she said, realization dawning.

“Yes, now you get it. That's what you need to be able to do, switch sides as you put it. They are both mirrors of each other. There is always the core, but they are sides that take forms. You need to be able to let your magic take both forms, all forms on every level.”

“How?” she asked and looked into his eyes, to which he smiled a crooked smile. It was like staring into the past, when he had asked that question.

“With hard work, you'll learn with practice. Not tonight though, I think we're done for now.”

The unicorn sighed deeply and got up from the ground, brushing her flank gently. She and Karon walked over to where Lyra sat, drawing figures in the sand distantly.

“Done with the lesson?” she asked with a hint of anger.

Over the past few weeks she had adopted a passive aggressive attitude towards Karon, and an openly aggressive one towards Trixie. He had tried to steal some time to mend whatever wound had gotten between them, however between the mercilessly tiring wandering of the day – where opening one's mouth and letting moisture escape for talking could be lethal – and the lessons with Trixie at night, he simply didn't have the strength for any deep or serious talks with her. Leaving Lyra to experience the pain of neglect, and in her mind Karon had begun to suspect, the fear of being replaced.

“Yeah, we're done Lyra. And unless my senses are fooling me we should be close to the ruins now, maybe tomorrow or the day after that is all it takes,” Karon said in an attempt to cheer her up.

“We still have the way back too you know. The jackals might be in our way,” she answered back, not taking the bait.

“We'll find a way to slip past them,” he reassured.

“Then what?” she asked and brushed away the sand she had scribbled in.

“Then we get back to the empress and deliver the good news,” he said, Trixie walking over to where Lyra was, but still keeping her distance.

“And then what?” Lyra continued.

“Then … we'll see we're we end up,” was all he could offer, holding out his hands helplessly.

Lyra didn't say anything else, she merely turned over on her side, her back turned to both Karon and Trixie. A twinge of guilt played on Karon's heartstrings, a note of quiet sadness that said it was his fault Lyra was slipping from them. He had tried to push her away, tried to get her to leave, and even though she remained, she had not forgotten it seemed.

Then there was something else. She was a unicorn and possessed innate psychic abilities, even if they weren't honed by practice and study besides a few lone abilities. And at times Karon could feel some small echo of empathy and telepathy reaching out towards him with fragile tendrils, and he would find Lyra staring at him while they walked across the desert, unconsciously reaching towards his mind in an attempt to find answers to what he was hiding from her.

Besides pretty much everything.

Even though she was obviously hurting, it never once occurred to him to tell her the truth, there was no chance she would understand or let him be. She would try to 'save' him, try to convince him of his folly. Perhaps she would even be right, but as long as she didn't speak the words, so long as she remained ignorant and silent, he was spared the pain of having to go through all of that. And if there was one thing Karon was tired of, it was pain.

He remembered what he had told Luna, his meager attempt at trying to console an immortal being like her with his empty rhetoric.

“Life is pain,” he had told her, as if she didn't know.

He was so tired of pain.

He laid down besides Lyra, Trixie joining him at his other side. He took off his robe as always and spread it over the three of them like a sheet, offering some small protection from the cold. Lyra didn't move, however Trixie squirmed closer to him for comfort and warmth. For a moment he thought he heard her make a pleased sound when she buried her face in his chest, her horn dangerously close to his face and pointing over his shoulder.

It wasn't perfect, but in a place like the desert, you take what you can get. And her presence was soothing, as was Lyra's despite her back being turned to him.

Sleep took them all fast.

Karon was the first to wake, dawn was breaking and the air was slowly shifting from chilled to pleasant warmth. He had learned there was a small period of time when the sun was barely peeking over the horizon that the temperature was perfect, and he had taken to eating breakfast at that time.

He was halfway through it, munching on a dried pear, when Lyra got up from the ground the brushed of the corns of sand still clinging to her coat, leaving Trixie alone on the ground with the robe covering her completely.

“Good morning,” he told her carefully.

She looked at him bleary eye before stretching her limbs and yawning, then answered.

“Yeah, good morning,” she said and shuffled over to where he sat on the ground, two sets of provisions wrapped in soft leaves for the ponies placed out before him. Lyra grabbed one with her telekinesis and it hovered up before her. She opened her mouth and absentmindedly began chewing when a dried piece of fruit floated into it.

“How much farther is it?” she asked while looking around at the surrounding hills of sand.

“See that set of rock sticking out of the sand,” he said and pointed towards a distant collection of rock, rising above the sand. Lyra nodded.

“I think that used to be a mountain, but it has been weathered for some time now and now little remains of it. And I also think the remains of the city is below it, that the jackals built their city not only on the surface but dug deep down into the earth, perhaps making use of natural cave formations. That's the sense I get anyway, most of it is conjecture but the stone I have in my possession came from deep underground, but it still was a part of the city.”

“So … we have a partially underground city. I guess that would explain how no one could have found it, but what if the crown was in the above section? What if the tunnels were just storage or something unimportant?”

“I can't know for certain but I doubt it. If the city was lost because of war, then the caves would be where the jackals were backed into or what would have been left standing. And if the king last wearing the crown died before the city fell, then they probably took the crown in as deep into the caves they could, to keep it safe. Or any other scenario, point is the tunnels are natural places to escape to, and the crown must have made its way there somehow.”

“Fine, so are we just going to look through everything that's left of the city or...?” Lyra asked, swallowing the last of her breakfast.

Karon sighed and brought out a waterbag, which he drank deeply from before handing it over to the unicorn.

“Honestly I don't know. If the crown really is that important, then they probably didn't leave it discarded on the floor somewhere. Though that means they put it somewhere safe, most likely guarded by traps or inside a vault or hidden area or something.”

“This is going to take a while isn't it?” she asked and took a swig from the levitating waterbag.

“Yeah, unless someone else has done all our work for us and we can just waltz in and grab it.”

“That would be lucky. We don't get lucky,” Lyra said with a smile, and Karon turned to her smiling as well.

The tension that had hung over them for the last few weeks eased up a little, and Karon carefully cleared his throat before asking, “So … Lyra. Wh-”

“No Karon, I'm not having this conversation with you until you tell me what it is that's bothering you so much,” she interrupted, her voice flat and uncompromising.

“I-”

“No, I know there's something. Sometimes I can almost feel it, but I can always see it in the way you move and talk. There is something wrong and you refuse to tell me, even though you know we could get hurt.”

“Tell her, tell her, tell her what?”

“An unvoiced desire, a need too scary to bring fully to the surface. Something that would be better to leave known but not acknowledged, until it's over, done and gone.”

“Lyra, there's a thousand things always bothering me,” Karon offered.

“I know, but this is different. Your eyes don't shine anymore, not even in the dark.”

Karon flinched, then turned away from her and looked in the opposite direction.

“Maybe they don't, doesn't matter. Could you wake Trixie up and tell her to eat her breakfast? I'm going to get a better sense for where we get into the tunnels,” he said and got up, walking towards the outcrops of rock without looking back.

Lyra's eyes followed him until he sat down on his knees in the sand again, stretching his arms out like he was playing with puppets. She watched as his fingers danced for several minutes before getting up and doing as he had asked, shaking Trixie awake and pointing wordlessly to the food. The showmare understood and went over to the waiting breakfast, leaving Lyra to stare over at Karon, her eyes glistening.

After ten minutes he returned to them, avoiding Lyra's gaze and focusing on Trixie.

“The tunnels are definitely somewhere within and underneath those cliffs. If there is some topside remains of the city, we'll just have to see but I doubt it. If nothing is left but sand, it would explain why the jackals haven't found anything.”

“Is there an entrance somewhere?” Trixie asked after chewing the last of her food.

“Yeah, I can sense some kind of opening halfway up one of the cliffs, I think it's a collapsed roof.”

“How are we supposed to get up there!? We're not pegasi, we're unicorns,” Lyra asked, suppressed anger trickling into her voice.

“It's not exactly a straight wall. We can find a relatively easy way up I think.”

“Fine, let's go then.” Lyra finished, looking over her shoulder at the sea of sand they had passed through.

Karon nodded before looking in the same direction, sharing her sentiments. The feeling of being tracked lingered still, and he had no interest in playing prey.

They set off towards the waiting cliffs, weathered by the constantly shifting winds carrying sand with it. The rock had no sharp outcrops and was curiously dome like in shape, perhaps it had even been a building some time far past. Now though, it was just a patch of stone the desert had claimed for itself, but still hopefully holding the treasures of its past untouched.

They had to pass almost halfway around the cliffs before they found a slope the sand had carved out, leading up towards the top. Once there it required a bit of acrobatic maneuvering to get to the opening Karon had sensed, something the ponies took to less naturally than Karon. And Lyra glared at Karon's hands enviously during the entire ordeal.

However they eventually found it, a pitch black wound in the rock, three times Karon's size. And after they had dropped a small rock into it and waiting for a clatter, the human was the first to dare to jump into it, hoping desperately that the floor wouldn't be cracked or uneven in some way. Luck for once seemed to be smiling, or at least not spitting, in their direction and he landed on both his feet safely, though the impact sent needles running up his legs. The ponies left their gear outside, having decided earlier that what Karon carried would have to do.

The darkness was nearly impenetrable, and the small shaft of light that trickled through the opening was shadowed twice as Lyra then Trixie followed Karon down. Squinting his eyes the human cupped his palms and breathed a ball of light into being. Photons danced together and coalesced into a small sphere, which attached itself to the tip of Karon's spear, running in currents around it.

All three of them blinked when the white glare struck out into the stale air around them, chasing the darkness far down into the hallway they realized they stood in.

“Huh, so it was a collapsed roof,” Karon muttered and looked over at the unicorns.

“Where to now master?” Trixie asked and sniffed the air with a grimace.

“Don't know. Can't use divination for the crown, don't have a map and we have no real idea if the crown is even in here to begin with. All I can think of is following the paths that looks to lead to the wealthiest areas. By reason, the crown should be at the center of power and wealth.”

Lyra sighed deeply, “We really need to start going over plans before we go anywhere from now on,” she murmured, her words louder than normal in the dead silence of the tunnels.

They began marching down the hallway and Karon noted that the walls bore pictographs, not entirely unlike those used by the zebras. The feeling they evoked was unsettling and he frowned while heading deeper into the dark. He should have wanted to investigate them, to study to see what information they would have revealed. He would have never hesitated earlier in his life. Now … they merely made him feel sad.

The sound of their steps echoed off the walls, preceding them down the hallway. It made for an eerie journey, and Karon began noticing that the passage wasn't entirely horizontal, they appeared to be heading downwards steadily. That and he could almost feel the pressure of the rock above increasing as they went, the sound of their steps ringing through the empty dark like a call to all things dead and forgotten to wake.

“Drums, drums in the deep.”

“Shut up.”

“They are coming!”

“Shut up!”

They reached several crossroad as they went, and always they headed down the path that looked a little richer, a little more adorned. Something that turned out to be easy, since the pictographs on the walls always were more elaborate on the different paths. Perhaps it was how they had separated quarters back when the city was still alive?

However, when they reached a dark gap in the middle of the floor, they had to stop. Karon could see the other side clearly, and it was a little far to casually jump across even if it seemed entirely possible.

“Should we turn back or-” Lyra did not finish the question, they all had heard it. Somewhere from deeper inside, a sound echoing from the path ahead. It was faint, but still too loud and clear to be mistaken as something imagined. It had been a clanging sound, the sound a chandelier would perhaps make when falling to a stone floor, and it had frozen the trio in place.

They stood unmoving, barely breathing, waiting for some other sound to confirm what they all suddenly feared. They were not alone.

No other sound came, but instead the hallway they faced was lit at the other end by an orange light, coming closer fast. Karon felt panic rising, what was it? Was it dangerous? Should he try and attack it first before it reached them? Should he cover them in invisibility and watch unseen?

The last one sounded good, and he was about to do just that when he realized that whatever it was approaching it must see his light as clearly as Karon could see the approaching one. Since stealth was no longer an option he cursed loudly and brought his spear forward in a ready stance, the ball of light skipping from the edge to hover above him.

“Karon maybe we should run?” Lyra asked in a shaky voice.

“Are you seeing how fast that thing is? Well never get away,” he responded evenly, then stopped as a thought occurred.

“But you two should run,” he said, his eyes flickering to the ponies at his left.

“What!?” they both shouted in unison.

“I said-”

“We heard you master, and we're not leaving,” Trixie said firmly, her and Lyra giving each other a look of mutual understanding.

Karon didn't have time to argue, the light had stopped for barely a second when it was halfway towards them, then came again at an even faster speed. Karon gripped his spear hard and both the unicorns at his side entered a ready stance with their horns tipped forwards.

When it came within range Karon threw out his left palm and a bolt of lightning struck towards it, however the light dodged to the right impossibly fast, narrowly missing being hit. It changed its direction slightly and came right at Karon. He swung his spear in arc towards the light, and hastily got a glimpse of something green and yellow before it flew over him, avoiding the tip of the spear and coming at him from behind. Curiously, the light didn't attack him immediately, and when he spun around he didn't strike towards the light, instead he held the spear forward and spoke.

“What are you?” he asked, squinting in the glaring shine of whatever it was.

“Huh? Oh right the light,” He heard a slightly raspy but feminine voice say.

The light bobbed for a moment, then winked out of existence, leaving a pegasus flapping her wings steadily in its place. One that looked very familiar...

“Uhh, Rainbow Dash?” Karon asked dumbfounded, blinking away the afterimage.

“Karon … I think that's-”

“No, the name's Daaaring Do! Emphasis on the daring. Now would you mind telling me what you are doing down here in MY ruin?”

Sight returning to him, Karon took a closer look at the pegasus, and did in fact now see that it wasn't Rainbow Dash after all, just someone that looked a lot like her. The only real difference he could make out was the color of her mane and coat, yellow and gray respectively. And the fact that she wore clothes, much in the style one might have expected a British explorer have worn a couple hundred years back. Although perhaps the most noteworthy thing about her was the fact that as far as Karon's knowledge stretched, Daring Do was a fictional character, yet there she was flying in the air right in front of him, in an underground ruin, holding in her right hoof a large golden crown.

“Well I'll be damned.”

Chapter 38: Asante sana Metatron

”THE Daring Do? As in, 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Something Something' series?”

”Heh, you've read those huh? Yeah that's me. Mostly anyway. My cousin is the one writing them. I used to send her letters telling her what I've been up to, and she got it into her head that she should write a book about it. Things just went from there.” the pegasus replied and rubbed her neck awkwardly.

”That's very … interesting,” Karon politely answered before clearing his throat and taking a less aggressive stance, ”But might I ask wh-”

”Hey! I know who you are,” the pegasus proclaimed loudly and looked Karon up and down closely.

”You ... know me? If you're referring to some rumor about all those dead pegasi in Cloudsdale, that was totally not my fault! They were trying to kill me and I just … tried to kill them back. It's not my fault I was better than them at it.”

Daring stopped her close observation of his appearance and looked him right in the eyes suspiciously. She turned to Lyra and Trixie and asked, ”What is he talking about?”

Trixie shrugged and looked at Lyra curiously. The unicorn in turn facehoofed and mumbled something into her hoof before answering.

”An evil super-genius villain tried to take over Canterlot with an army and a lot of magic. Karon tried to stop him and killed over two hundred pegasi working for the villain in the process. I think at least. Some of the rumors said it was a thousand, but I don't think it could be that many.”

After the brief explanation, Daring relaxed and smiled at the trio. “Oh, that's okay. I know how stuff like that works. Mess with an artifact a little like that, a little like this and BAM! The army of Gnazi hyena troopers besieging the legendary city of the elephant master are sucked into a vortex leading into some unknown world, never to be seen again. So don't worry. Been there done that.”

Trixie and Lyra stared open mouthed at the cocky pegasus while Karon flashed a crooked smile.

“I like her.”

“So … how do you know me?” Karon asked Daring.

“My cousin mentioned a tall biped called a 'human' being very nice to her and her kid. Karon, right?”

Said human blinked in surprise and tried to think back to his stay in Equestria, and only once did he remember being nice to a mother and her child.

“Wait … you mean that your cousin, the cousin of the famous, fearless and very capable adventuress Daring Do … is Derpy?”

“Hey, her name is Ditzy!” Daring shouted with anger flashing across her face.

“Sorry, the name rubbed off on me from the ponies in Ponyville,” Karon said, looking at a very shameful Lyra to his side.

Kindly choosing to ignore the issue, Daring stopped flapping her wings and dropped nimbly down to the floor, looking up at Karon questioningly.

“So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the desert, inside a ruin that's supposed to be lost?”

“Looking for the jackal crown,” Karon said with a hint of irony, casting a quick glance down at the crown in Daring's left hoof.

The air around the group grew tense with the unspoken implications, and both Trixie and Lyra looked back and forth between Daring and Karon, who had locked gazes and seemed to be measuring the others will.

“Why?” Daring asked quietly, muscles relaxed but the hoof holding the crown inching towards a curled whip hanging at her flank.

“The jackals want it so they can gather under one leader. I plan to keep it far away from them.”

“Good,” Daring said and breathed a sigh of relief, “I was worried they might have sent you for a minute there.”

“No, the empress sent us to figure out why the jackals were attacking the zebras.”

“She did? That doesn't sound like her. She only likes to use ponies she has total control over,” Daring said scratching her chin.

“Well, we might be doing it to knock off a prison sentence. A totally bullshit prison sentence I might add,” Karon said and briefly squeezed his spear harder.

“Heh, bullshit. First time I heard that one. I like it though, and that does sound a lot more like the empress.”

“Know her personally, do you?” Karon asked bemused.

“I might have had to sneak by her warriors once or twice to smuggle some stuff. Zebras don't take kindly to anything that isn't from their own culture, and if it belongs to something they don't like, they tend to destroy it, even if those things are priceless pieces of art or ancient artifacts.”

“Careless. You never know what kind of guardian or power you might wake up like that,” Karon noted.

“Exactly! Not to mention the loss of history. Still, the zebras don't deserve to have all the jackals making war on them just because the empress and the upper nobility have an inferiority complex,” Daring added.

“I understand,  and I prefer them to the jackals too. Especially since we had to flee from one of their camps while they were looking for us,” Karon joked, but Daring blanched as soon as he had said it.

“WHAT!? The jackals are looking for you!? Please tell me you didn't leave a trail for them to follow?” she asked, panic creeping into her voice.

“Don't worry, there were no jackals in sight when we left them, and you could see pretty far back in the drylands. Besides, if we left any trail in the sand, the wind must have swept it away,” Karon said, ignoring the gnawing feeling that they had been followed. “And even if they did manage to follow us, they must be many days behind us. We can still get away.”

“Oh crap....” Daring whispered and flew up into the air, looking about ready to flee.

“What!?” Lyra asked nervously, experience telling her something just had to go wrong.

“The jackals don't track with sight, they track by smell. Even the faintest odors are enough for them. They always follow way behind, and when their prey is cornered, they rush it! They can flat out run almost as fast as I can fly, and they can keep it up for days without stopping. They just followed behind you so you could find the crown for them!”

“Hold on. How would they know we were looking for the crown, or that we would even find it,” Trixie asked.

“It's the only explanation. If they were just hunting for you, they would have overrun you. Think! Did you say anything or do anything that might have made them think you could find these ruins?” Daring asked, switching her gaze between the three of them.

Karon felt a cold chill trickle down his spine and he sighed. He knew he should have trusted his instincts when they said there was danger.

“Yeah, I stole a fragment of the ruins the jackals had and were using to sniff out this location. They must have noticed it was missing and knew we were looking for the same place.”

“Then they're following you, and as soon as they realize you've found this place, they will come running and baying for blood,” Daring said, the distant look in her eyes telling them she was trying to think of a solution.

“Do you think we can outrun them?” Karon asked her. She appeared to to know far more about the jackals than he did.

“No, not a chance. Even if you had a two day head start, they would be on you in three.”

“Judging by how far back they must have stayed to remain unnoticed, I would say we have maybe one day minimum,” Karon said, his own mind racing with calculations and possible scenarios.

“Then we're in trouble,” the pegasus said, stating the obvious.

“You could just fly away with the crown. If they know you have it, they might ignore us and try to go after you,” Karon said and tilted his head to Daring.

She responded with a frown. “That's not how I do things. Besides, even if I did, I can only fly for so long before I need to rest. The jackals can go on for much longer than me, and since there are no clouds in the desert, I would need to sleep on the ground. They would catch up with me.”

She finished with a mumbling sound, something in what she had just said looked to have made her thoughtful.

“What?” Karon asked, gripping whatever slight chance they might get.

“Well ... there is one place we might flee to. It'll take three, maybe four days to get there at normal pony running speed. But that means we'll still need at least a two day headstart.”

“And what is this place?”

“A place the jackals won't cross over into, no matter the reason,” she answered, her voice telling them she didn't doubt her words for a second.

“Okay … we've got a safe haven then, and I'm not gonna ask why they avoid it since I'm reaching for straws here. Do you think we can go now? Before the jackals get here?”

“No. The moment you crossed into the sands they will have shortened the distance between you. The hills would have obscured their approach as long as they kept it silent.”

Karon was reminded of the distant howls he had heard at night.

“How long do you think we have?” Lyra asked the pegasus.

“I'm not sure, that depends on who's leading them. This new grand warchief I've heard about sounds pretty clever. If it's him, then it might be a matter of hours, otherwise I think maybe a day.”

“Shit...” Karon breathed, capturing all of their feelings in one word.

“We'll die won't we?” Lyra asked out loud, saying it like she had expected it.

“Nah don't worry. Being trapped in a ruin while a hostile army is approaching just means it's a Wednesday for me,” Daring said.

“We still have an advantage,” Karon murmured, the cogs inside his head spinning once more.

“What do you mean?” Daring asked and twirled the crown around her hoof.

“They use surprise, shock and awe, and their superior numbers right? The first two won't work if we know they are coming, and where they are coming from.”

“Right, so what are you thinking?” Daring asked, an eager gleam making its way to her eyes.

“First of all, there must be another way out somewhere. This used to be a city, and even if most of the entryways are blocked or collapsed, the only access can't be a single hole in the roof.”

“Sure, but it might take a very long time to find it, longer than we have,” Lyra noted.

“Let me worry about finding a way out,” Karon answered her.

“Alright,” Daring said, not asking what he was planning. “We still have the problem of the jackals following us.”

“Then we find a way to prevent them from following us or at least make it harder for them to.”

“I'm listening,” the pegasus said, putting her arms behind her neck and floating in the air casually.

“We have lots of possibilities as long as we find another way out of here. If the jackals come and follow us into this ruin, we just have to lead them further towards the other exit, then stop them from following all the way. We can collapse the roof, maybe find some gate to lock or whatever. Point is, they will be busy trying to get through to us, not thinking we're slipping out of here and heading towards whatever that safe haven is. As long as we make sure it takes time to get through the obstacles we leave behind, we will have time....” Karon offered, to the positive nods of the ponies.

“...and if that is not enough, I can find a choke point and hold them off while you escape,” he finished.

“NO! I told you we're not leaving you!” Lyra screamed at him, her voice bouncing off the walls and echoing down the hallways.

Karon was about to respond when he slammed his mouth shut. He strained his ears to pick up on a sound he feared he had already heard. The other three looked on him at first with confusion, however Daring quickly understood what he was doing and flew off into the darkness, the light she had carried igniting once more.

Karon listened so hard his ears started to hurt, his blood pumping painfully within his head. Then he heard it, a distant shuffling, a small clang as metal bounced against rock and a quickly silenced yelp.

The jackals were already inside.

“Just great...” he whispered to himself, watching as Daring's light disappeared around a bend. She would be back soon, bringing the news he already had discovered. He needed to be fast or they wouldn't make it out of the ruins at all.

He dropped his spear and it clattered to the floor loudly, making Lyra and Trixie flinch from the sudden sound, and walked over to the wall at his left, putting both hands on it before closing his eyes.

The world melted away and the only thing that remained was the solid rock pressing against his palms, the patient stone carved by small meatbags with tiny tools. Karon's mind sunk into the rock, and impressions from the stone flowed through his thoughts. Ages could pass and the rock would hardly notice. The flickering beginnings and ends of the creatures walking upon the skin of the planet was hardly worthy of notice, so the energy of the stone did not resist when Karon's own mixed in with it, tapping into its awareness.

He felt the different frequencies of the energy, suspended in time and made matter, and the different fields they produced. He felt the history of this place imprinted upon the stone, echoes and phantoms of times past recorded in the traces of energy that had been left behind.

It would have been interesting to watch it, to try and piece together what had once happened to the jackals, but there was no time. The rock didn't understand,  couldn't comprehend this rush, but it yielded when Karon pushed and sought the greater feeling of the rock, of the slow weathering its skin endured from the wind and sand above. He coasted along the outer edge, seeking an anomaly, something different, something that broke the pattern.

He found it. Far away, following one of the great tunnels that the jackals had once dug together with another species. Flickering images of small creatures with clever minds flashed through Karon's skull, and he forced himself to ignore it. There was another exit.

A great collapse had happened once. The creatures had been careless and not paid enough attention to the weight above, and they had payed with many lives when it came crashing down. Now there was a big hole, opening up to the sky above and letting the wind and sand into once crowded halls.

Karon withdrew his mind, cutting the connection and returning to his fragile body of flesh and bone. When he opened his eyes, he felt sick. The squishing and flushing of liquids, the constant movement of tiny organisms, the feel of muscles contracting and relaxing again and again. He took a deep breath and centered himself, pushing the memory of the stone away and keeping only the knowledge of the road they had to take to reach the other way out.

After a few seconds he shuddered and felt enough like himself again to speak.

“I found a way out,” he said and swallowed hard, and to his disgust he could feel the saliva trickle down his throat all the way to his stomach.

Both Lyra and Trixie watched him worriedly. It was hard for them to miss that he didn't look so good.

“Did something happen?” Lyra asked.

“Just a … slight side effect. The mind adapts to what it connects to … I'll be alright,” he assured them, taking up his spear.

The faint light down the tunnels heralded Daring's return, and after a few moments she zipped around the bend and reached them a heartbeat later and her light winked out.

“Well, we got good new and bad news,” she said and took in the three creatures below her carefully.

“Bad first,” Karon said groggily and massaged his left temple.

“The one walking in front of the rest is twice as big as a normal jackal, wielding the biggest ax I have ever seen since I was in Toro and got into a fight with a minotaur … so I would guess that's the infamous Vako, the would-be king of the jackals.”

“Honestly, I didn't expect anyone else. And the good news?”

“They're still trying to be sneaky,” she said and shrugged her shoulders.

“They didn't notice you?” Trixie asked.

“Nah, I flew dark the last bit. They didn't see anything walking around with those torches right in front of their noses. Jackals don't see very well to begin with anyway.”

“How long until they get here?” Karon asked and drew up a mental map of what he had sensed from the rock about the underground city.

“Maybe fifteen minutes, they obviously want you to find the crown for them so they're hanging back and taking things slow.”

“Do you have any ideas for slowing them down?” Karon asked.

“Usually I would say go for the leaders. Most jackals hate having to think for themselves, but since the leader is a huge monster that would make a minotaur nervous, I don't think that's the number one choice we should be aiming for.”

“Indeed,” Karon said dryly. “Anything else?”

“Well, I tend to try and lure my enemies into traps whenever I happen to be inside an old ruin, but I was disappointed this time. Not a single trap so far in the entire city,” she said, her voice tinged with slight disapproval, like she didn't appreciate the lack of challenge presented.

“We're running out of time you two,” Lyra interrupted, fiddling with her hooves nervously.

“Right,” Karon said and turned around, facing the gap in the floor and measuring the distance. When he felt confident he could make it, he took a calming breath and with a few sprinting steeps he leapt over the chasm and landed safely on the other side. The two ponies followed with a little help from Daring, giving them a boost with her wings.

“That won't stop them,” the pegasus noted.

“I know, but if they can't find our scent on this side, then they will hopefully assume we all didn't notice the gap and fell in,” Karon answered.

“How were you planning on hiding our scent?” Daring asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Magic,” came the easy answer.

“Ah, should have known you were a magic user. The hat kinda gives it away,” the pegasus said and flew down closer.

“Okay, here's the plan,” Karon said and looked each pony in the eyes. “I'll veil us from sight, sound and smell, as well as any trail we leave behind. I might be able to keep it up for at most twenty minutes, so we need to run fast to get some distance. Once I can't veil us anymore, everything I veiled will cease to be charged, including our scent, and unless they're complete idiots they will realize we know they're down here. I felt a pretty big exit maybe an hour away if we run.”

“What about stalling them? We need more than twenty minutes if we want to make it,” Daring said.

“How about we think about that while we run, because right now I don't have anything,” Karon said and looked behind him nervously.

The three ponies looked at one another, and then fell in behind Karon when he began running down the hallway, the slight tingling of energy in the air telling them he had worked his magic. Now it was just a matter of gaining as much ground as possible before it failed.

Daring glided close to the running group, easily keeping to their speed and looking almost bored after a few minutes of monotony. The light fixed above Karon's head spread its white glow around them, dispersing the darkness and lighting the way down the seemingly endless hallways.

Karon was busy maintaining the field around them while simultaneously keeping the impressions that he had gained through the stone with him, turning without hesitation whenever they reached a crossroads. As they went, the hallways shifted from lavishly painted to mostly bare symbols and reserved images.

With each stride he took, Karon felt his mind slipping, like he was walking against a torrent of water growing ever stronger. His vision flickered in and out of time. One second he was running through the hall with the ponies, the next he was standing in the same hall, but it was brightly lit and jackals as well as smaller, yellow colored mammals of some kind were walking through it. They were pushing carts of wares, making conversation and just generally contributing to the hustle and bustle of a regular city. And then he was back in the dark halls lit only by his small light, his ragged breath sounding loudly in his ears.

The memories of the stone were trickling into his mind, and he didn't have the strength available to push it back. And so he let it come, and he kept flickering in and out of time, growing more and more distant from where he truly was.

Until he heard a distant echo of an echo, a howl of rage bouncing down the walls from the far dark they had left behind. Only then did he discover he had let the veil slip and the game was up. The jackals knew they were running, and now the hunt was on.

“I think that means they know what's going on,” Daring noted, her voice calm and without worry.

“How far to the exit!?” Lyra shouted, increasing her pace like the rest of them had.

“We might be … halfway there,” Karon said through gritted teeth.

“Not good enough, I'll go back and slow them down,” Daring offered and patted the whip hanging at her side.

“You sure that's a good idea?” Karon asked her, to which the mare only shrugged.

“It's not like this is the first time I've been chased through an ancient ruin. I'll be fine, you just keep going,” she said, and with a tip of her hat shot back down the hall, her light shining once more.

“Do you think she's going to be okay?” Lyra asked out loud, and received no answer.

Karon cursed inwardly and prayed to whatever deity might listen that Daring would return safe. With no obvious way to stop the jackals from pursuing, he would take on that task, buying the ponies time to flee with his life, but he needed Daring to get them back to safety for that.

They kept on running, and over the sound of their heavy breathing and soles hitting the floor, they could hear distant yelps of pain and anger respectively. It gave Karon some relief each time he heard it, since it meant Daring was still alive and giving them trouble. However, after a while the sounds stopped reaching them, and if it was because they had moved out of the sound's reach or if it was because something had happened he didn't dare guess.

When he felt only a short stretch was left before reaching the exit, Daring returned, her light reaching them from behind a few heartbeats before the mare herself came into view at breakneck speed, passing by them while gradually slowing down until she stopped and waited impatiently for them to catch up.

“I might have bought you some extra time there. I kept hitting their torchbearers and one of them accidentally set another jackal on fire. They must have been different tribes because when I left them, all of the jackals where about ready to start fighting each other. Vako is going to need time to get them all back in line,” the pegasus reported and fell in above them.

“Good,” was all Karon said.

“Watch out for him though, he's pretty accurate with those little ax things he threw,” Daring said and rubbed a cut she had received on her right hoof.

Karon felt some relief return to him alongside Daring, until his veins felt like they had turned to ice when a deafening howl reached his ears. It was enough to make him stop and wince, as did the ponies beside him. Even Daring looked to have been shaken by it when she covered her ears with her hooves and squinted her eyes in pain.

The monumental howl was followed by a massive chorus of others, lesser in strength, but the combined sound of it all was enough to make the walls shake, and dust trickle down from the ceiling.

When the echo died down, Daring looked behind them with the first clear sign of fear on her face. “Okay … that must have gotten them back in line.”

“We're almost there,” Karon reassured and started running again, fear making his feet barely touch the floor.

The unicorns kept an equal pace, their faces mirroring the fear on Karon's own, and above, Daring flew with a singularly focused look with no trace of her easy bravado left.

They ran until the corridor opened up into a large dome, and Karon had a brief image flash before his eyes of jackals and the unknown creatures standing in large groups around stalls and wagons, bartering and trading goods with beautifully crafted fountains spraying water for anyone to drink from. The image lasted only for a second, but it was enough for Karon to know it had once been a place of great commerce, and perhaps more importantly, a place of tragedy, demonstrated by the collapse evident halfway across the square where a pile of sand and rock cut off all signs of civilization.

“Where's the exit!?” Lyra half shouted and looked around.

Karon closed his eyes and he felt a fleeting impression of wind and sand coming from a place forward and up. Eyes still closed he let his finger track the feeling until he found its location and opened his eyes. He was pointing at the upper part of the pile of sand.

“There! The wind has covered it with sand, but it's not thick. We can dig our way out.”

“We don't have much time,” Daring said and glanced back the way they came.

“Then hurry,” came the short reply from the human, and he hurried up the slope of sand and began shuffling it away.

He was joined in by the unicorns while Daring flew around the opening of the hallway, waiting for the jackals' arrival. After a few minutes of digging, a beam of light broke through, and the trio began digging in earnest, opening a small passage wide enough to crawl through.

“Go, go, go!” Karon shouted and close to pushed Trixie and Lyra through the opening, before turning around and shouting to Daring.

“Come on! You too!”

Reluctantly, the pegasus flew over and was about to go through the opening when the jackals came pouring in through the hallway at an almost impossible speed, a blur of fur, fangs and brandished weapons. At the front was a great beast, and Karon remembered the alpha wolf he had killed in the Everfree forest, a prime example of its species.

Great chief Vako, the one with enough ambition and cunning to seek to unite all jackals and lead them in conquest. He stopped halfway to Karon and Daring, going up on his two hind legs and walking as easily as he had ran on all fours. On his back, a huge ax hung in a loop, which he grabbed and swung through the air with a roar.

“Great...” Karon huffed.

Vako's eyes fixed instantly on the crown Daring and attached to her belt, and his voice bellowed with a barking quality to it.

“Pony has retrieved crown for us! If she gives it to me now I might forget the pain she caused earlier!” The statement was met with a few growl from the ranks behind him, said pain still fresh.

“You'll have to deal with me first,” Karon said and stepped in front of the pegasus, doing his best to sound menacing.

“So we're really going through with this whole honorable sacrifice thing?”

“It seems so.”

“I'm not going to complain, at this point it's useless. Allow me just to say … it is such a waste, there was so much waiting for us.”

“So much pain you mean.”

Vako fell silent as did the rest of the jackals as they stared at the strange creature they had never seen before. They stared at his odd form, oddly reminiscent of the monkeys found in the savanna, and his odd clothes. They stared at his glowering face, and they stared at the jet black spear he held.

And they continued to stare.

And continued.

And continued.

Finally Karon grew almost insulted that they would give more attention to the spear than they would him.

“Uhh, what's the matter with you?” he finally asked as his patience wore out, and Vako's eyes snapped up to meet his.

“It cannot be,” the jackal growled.

“What?” Karon asked in an oblivious voice.

“Bator's promise! Is it Bator's promise!?” Vako roared.

Karon stood stunned, still not quite comprehending what was going on. Daring came to stand next to him and looked the spear up and down closely.

“Oh yeah … I should have recognized that. Where did you get it?” she asked in a whisper.

“It was a gift, from a … dragon....” Karon said, his mind going back to when Eldros had explained where he had gotten it in the first place.

“Oops...”

“I take it the spear is kinda important?” Karon asked in a whisper, not taking his eyes of the shocked army of jackals before him.

“Yeah ... The jackals have this legend about their greatest leader Bator, who made it and promised to slay an ancient dragon with it and bring back its treasure, thus marking the beginning of a new era for all jackals and the start of a conquest that was supposed to bring the entire continent under their rule.”

“It didn't go so well after what I've heard,” Karon mumbled.

“Nope, he got eaten. No surprise there, but the jackals greatest legend says that whoever recovers the spear will fulfill Bator's promise and bring Punda Milia under jackal control.”

“So it is true!” Vakor roared, and Karon cursed himself. He should have considered that jackals might have good ears as well as noses.

Vako turned his head to the jackals behind them, numbering in the hundreds and continuing far back into the hallway beyond Karon's sight.

“FORGET THE CROWN! GET THE SPEAR!” the great chief roared and the jackals swarmed forward to do his bidding.

“Oh shit.”

“Daring, take the others and get them to safety!” he said and threw his rucksack and map through the opening. Twirling his spear and bringing it to bear against the approaching horde.

The light that had kept to a point above his head darted forward at his mental command, and with a great surge of energy it flashed brighter than the sun for an instant before winking out, stopping all the jackals in their tracks and leaving them blinded.

Daring darted through the opening, leaving Karon facing the jackals alone. The sand beneath him would shift when the weight of the jackals were placed on it, and the loose footing would not serve them well when trying to reach him. That and the length of his spear should prove enough of an advantage for a little while, then he could retreat through the opening and stab anything that tried to get out. It wouldn't last, sooner or later they would get through, and he would be cut down. Hopefully by then the ponies would have gained enough distance to reach whatever safe place Daring had mentioned.

“So this is it, after everything that's happened we will die at the dirty paws of a few mangy mutts?”

“It is kind of ironic isn't it? When Eldros sent us out to kill the wolf pack he had said that the wolves were my superiors because I could not kill them. Now here I stand, about to die at the hands of a pack of talking, walking, foul smelling wolves.”

“Yeah … great going there on making something of yourself.”

“It's better this way. The ponies will make it to safety, and if we kill Vako, then the rest of the tribes will fight over who is to wield the spear. They will destroy themselves and what remains, the zebras should be able to handle. It will fix every problem, it will give the greatest outcome … it will solve everything.”

“I have never seen us as stupid, do you know that? Full of ourselves, prone to throwing ourselves into things without thinking, yes. Easy to goad and easy to bring out of balance yes, but never stupid. However selfish, ignorant or in over our head we may have been there has always been a slight degree of watchfulness, of awareness and quick thinking making sure that no matter how dark it got, we pushed through. However, now you are stupid. We were never a hero, but we were a survivor.”

“I know … that was always the problem.”

“What has changed? Ever since we met Twilight, we moved forward, we grew and we gained. What changed?”

“Nothing changed … nothing ever did.”

The conversation flashed through his mind in a brief instant, drawing out time in small slices, each heartbeat lasting what felt like an eon. The jackals were growling, barking and roaring, Vako loudest of them all.

Karon found himself feeling annoyed, this was supposed to be his last stand, doing something suitably heroic, giving his life to ensure the escape of his friends. They were totally ruining the moment. The strange feeling was interrupted when another sound reached him above the cacophony.

Lyra was shouting.

“NO! No! NO! I'm not leaving him! Karon I'm not leaving without you! If you want us to leave, you have to leave with us!”

The sound made him frown. She was ruining things, making it more difficult. Couldn't she see that this was the best solution?

It would solve everything.

“MASTER! Please hurry! You have to come with us! You can't leave us, you can't leave me!” Trixie's voice joined Lyra's, and Karon's resolve shook.

It angered him. This wasn't the time for hesitation and second thoughts. He had brief seconds before the jackals would recover.

“Please!” the voices begged, and something shifted inside him.

“Give me your hooves!” Karon shouted and threw himself at the opening, stretching his left hand out into the sunlight.

Two hooves met his hand, but instead of dragging him to safety he held back.

“No, channel all your energy to me. Don't ask questions just do it!” he screamed.

Behind him he heard a few confused growls, sounds telling him the jackals were regaining their sight. Fear caught his heart for a brief instant, and then it got flooded with light. Power burst through the small contact of skin on skin, and all sense of fear vanished. Time slowed, everything slowed, all that was was light, was power, coursing through him. Making his hairs stand on edge and his veins burn. Every part of his being, his spirit and mind, his soul was screaming in fierce joy. Sparks of light danced between the hairs on his arms, and when he opened his mouth to breath, he could see tiny specks of light in the air, rushing to fill his lungs. Every shape and color was enhanced, vibrant and alive.

He let go of the hooves, the living hooves, vibrating visibly to his eyes and he turned around. The jackals were moving in slow motion, and he could see their muscles playing with the movement,  their pupils slitted to barely no size at all, the faint tremor that went through the earth when their paws hit the ground, sending shivers up their legs. He could see the sounds, like blue waves of energy sweeping outwards.

Karon's mind stretched, it felt for the roof, but it was solid and would not yield without a fight. He felt the walls but they were the same, held in steady place by the pressure from above. However, below the floor Karon felt a hollowness. And within that hollowness there was water, the water that had once supplied the fountains of the market with its soothing relief from the desert heat. It had carved a greater stream below the floor as the years passed by, and what once had been a steady stream, was now a rushing torrent.

The floor was not thick, and it would yield to the power he now wielded.

His decision made, Karon's mind reluctantly slipped into his normal awareness and the world returned to normal. Vako was the first to regain his sight, and with Karon outlined so perfectly from the light behind, he rushed forward with a roar.

When the would-be-conqueror passed over the section of the floor right above the stream Karon lifted his spear up high.

“How about we do this in style?”

“Why not.”

“YOU, SHALL NOT-” he didn't get any farther before a whooshing sound interrupted him, and he managed to duck just in time to avoid a throwing ax from Vako splitting his skull.

“Something new then,” Karon growled and held the spear high above with his right hand, while flipping the jackals off with his left.

“Abracadabra, bitch!” he screamed and slammed the spear down into the sand, where it barely made a sound.

The same can not be said of the stone floor.

A huge thundering sound lashed out as the floor split open like a wound, and with the collapsing rock, jackals fell down into the eagerly waiting torrent and were carried down into the deep, screaming. Karon fell to his knees, exhaustion pressing him down. He watched the jackals with labored breaths and smiled wickedly.

Until he saw Vako.

The monstrous jackal came clawing his way up from the collapsed section of the floor, and even in the dimly lit cave, Karon could clearly see the near madness shining in his yellow eyes.

“Ho...ly...shit...”

Even worse, behind him the jackal horde was looking for a place where the broken floor sections were close enough to leap over, and they found it. It was with disbelief marking every inch of his face that Karon watched as the jackals just shrugged off what had been an epic demonstration of magical might, giving no second thoughts to what must have been half a hundred jackals that had been flushed away by the water.

Karon took the sight in for a moment, then he threw himself to the opening and crawled through. The flare of bright light made him squint his eyes, but he didn't stop, instead he began running as soon as he was out, grabbing his gear and pushing the unicorns forward.

“Run!” he simply screamed, and led by example.

“Did you stop them!?” Daring asked loudly as she flew alongside the fleeing trio.

“I split the floor in half and it barely slowed them down!” Karon shouted shrilly, just before he started to stumble.

He stopped and stood on shaky legs. The energy he had commanded, had channeled … it had burned him out. He was useless magic wise, and his body was not far behind. He needed time to recover, time they didn't have. He couldn't do anything more.

“I can't … go on....” he rasped and tried to swallow.

Trixie and Lyra walked up to him, and Lyra put her hoof on his shoulder.

“We're not leaving you,” she said with a sad smile.

“You can't-”

“I can do whatever I want,” she interrupted him, and Trixie nodded.

“Master … thank you for everything you've taught me,” the sky blue unicorn said without a hint of sarcasm.

Karon's eyes widened.

“Trixie … you can save us,” he said and met her eyes.

“What … me? What do you-”

“Trixie! I'm spent. I've got nothing more to give, but you … you don't get it. I'm not a real master, but that doesn't matter. I've begun teaching you, that means through me you have begun your first steps to greater things, to gaining entrance to the true masters and powers. They will know this, and so far you have done nothing to fail them, nothing to make them doubt you. Trixie … you can save us.”

“How?” she asked, doubt written all over her face.

“They will protect their own, nature will respond to you if you only reach for it. Let yourself go, give in, give in to the calling and you will reach everything you ever wanted and need.”

She stared at him fearfully. It shone out of her eyes like beckoning stars, and it kept her back. Karon could do no more. He had told her was she had to do. She would succeed or they would die, it was up to her now.

Behind them, they could hear the sound of Vako crawling through the small opening, shuffling sand around himself as he tried to push through. Trixie looked at Karon with terror, the struggle raging inside her was plain on her face. He could remember the feeling, the need to tense up, to demand control, to cling to the safety blanket that was one's fear.

With every moment of struggle with herself, she tensed more, constricted herself more, she didn't realize that there was no end to that struggle, that there was no light at the end of that tunnel, but he couldn't tell her that.

Vako barked victoriously when he broke through, and his smaller brethren followed out after him quicker. The jackals saw them just standing there, like they were waiting for them. Perhaps Vako thought they had given in to defeat and was waiting for him to come end them, for he chuckled to himself and walked casually towards them.

“Perhaps we should say something encouraging, dramatic and cliché?”

“Like what? 'I believe in you' or something similar?”

“Maybe not that cliché.”

Then it happened, it was so easy he could see the shock in her eyes. The moment you stop struggling, the moment you realize the only enemy is yourself, and you let go. Trixie let go of her fear, let go of her doubt and gave in. She had been called, and she had answered the calling.

And now it came to answer her.

The effect was instantaneous. A wind whipped up the sand around them in a great storm, so thick it blocked out the sun's light almost entirely, leaving them in a sand colored gloom and the roar of the storm drowning out the surprised shouts the jackals must have made.

With a wondrous look in her eyes, Trixie turned to Karon with tears in her eyes, and simply said, “Thank you.”

“Congratulations, now let's get out of here.”

Daring looked around them at the swirling cyclone of sand and her expression turned dubious.

“Uhh, not to object to the life saving bit of magic, but I have no idea which way is south-east now,” she said.

“That way,” came the sure response from Trixie, and she looked at her hoof strangely after she spoke.

“You have no idea how you knew that correct?” Karon asked with amusement in his voice.

“Yes...” came Trixie's uncertain reply.

“You get used to it,” he said back and turned to the direction she had pointed. “This way you say? Can you keep up the living compass thing until we reach safety?”

“I … think so,” she replied.

“Good, then we should get going,” Karon announced and motioned for Trixie to take the lead.

The unicorn hesitated only for a second before she walked in the direction she had indicated, the other falling in behind her. All around them, the wind kept shrieking and the sand whipped around with speed enough to tear away skin, yet it didn't touch them.

They kept following Trixie, and soon lost all track of time. Lyra and Daring had to help Karon walk, and a few times they had to stop and allow him time for rest. It made them nervous every time, none of them knew what was going on outside of their little safety bubble. Eventually they all got too tired to go on, and as soon as they had decided to stop and try to get some sleep, the wind broke away from them.

It was like passing through a sheet, leaving the sand behind and opening up to the desert landscape before them, serene and unmoving beneath a starry sky. They looked behind them and gasped, it hadn't just been a tornado or cyclone shifting around them as a shield, no, Trixie's call had been answered viciously, and now a huge sandstorm raged in the area they had left behind.

“How long do you think it'll last?” Lyra asked.

“I think … it will last just as long as we need it to,” Trixie replied.

“Well then ... let's try and get some sleep,” Karon said, and the suggestion was meet with tired confirmations.

Despite their tired states and the excitement of the day, they slept uneasily. The howling of the sandstorm was a constant reminder that the jackals were out there, and they would not be happy if they found them. When they woke up, the sandstorm still raged, and they continued on their way southeast, putting as much distance from it as they could.

The water and food Karon had in his rucksack was enough to last them a few days, but the specter of what would happen after that loomed over them constantly. Trixie might be able to provide the water, but food was not easy to come by in the desert, and they would need food for such a long journey as the one back to the zebra lands.

They repeated the same thing the next day, and the one after that. Conversation was kept to a minimum, the only thought or desire that possessed them at the moment was escape, getting away from the jackals. One night, Lyra had started a conversation with Karon that sounded like she had wanted to say something important, however she stopped herself before she had gotten to the point of what she wanted, and the situation had left both of them feeling confused as to what had happened.

The next day repeated as the ones before, and at the end when the sun was beginning to set, they reached an invisible border marked by the beginning of a savanna, much like the land the trio had passed through on their way to the jackals' territory.

As soon as they passed into the tall grasses, Daring let out a sigh and glided through the air on her back lazily, chuckling from relief.

“What is it?” Karon asked and leaned heavily on his spear.

“We're here. We're safe,” she said and continued doing backwards strokes and looked to be enjoying herself immensely.

Karon looked around skeptically, as did the unicorns.

“Think you could explain?” Karon asked and sat down on the grass, taking off his boots and massaging the soles of his feet.

“This … might not sound so good. Don't overreact.”

“Great, just what I wanted to hear,” he grumbled.

“This is nyegere territory. Nothing smart enough to speak would ever cross into this land unless they want to die.”

“And you're leading us right into it.”

“Well, you don't enter nyegere territory because you don't want to attract their attention and led them to the rest of your tribe or city. They're pretty much unstoppable as I have heard it.”

“Unstoppable?”

“Yes, there's an ancient saying in old zebrihili, 'nyegere haitoi kutomba, ni tu inachukua nini anataka'.”

“And that means?”

“Basically, you don't stand a chance, so don't mess with a nyegere.”

“Comforting, so why did you led us here now again?”

“Because unlike most creatures, I can fly. I can scout the plains ahead and make sure you avoid running into one. They're pretty rare to begin with, and if you stay put at night and don't attract attention, we should do fine.”

“If these nyegere are as dangerous as you think, should we perhaps consider other options?” Karon said and looked questioningly to Lyra and Trixie.

“Stop worrying. I'll handle it,” Daring responded confidently and raced off into the sky, scouting for these dangerous nyegere.

Karon sighed and put on his boots once more before standing up and looking suspiciously at the tall grass stretching out in front of him.

“Let's go then.”

They followed the small figure of Daring flying high in the sky, diverting their course just once when she abruptly stopped and went straight right for a while before heading down south once more, perhaps spotting one of the infamous nyegere or some other threat. They went on for a few more hours before the the sky had darkened and the sun hung on the horizon, when Daring came gliding down and landed on the ground.

“I won't be able to see much from now on. We should stay for the night and wait until morning before going on,” she said and arched her back lazily.

“Fine,” Karon said and dumped his rucksack and map on the ground.

The ponies fell down in the soft grass happily, moaning softly as they took the weight off their hooves. They ate in silence, and a tentative calm seemed to have settled over them. They had escaped one great danger only to trade it for another, but at least they weren't in a rush anymore.

“We should take turns watching over the others, in case one of these nyegere comes around,” Karon said after they had all eaten and were ready to go to sleep.

“Ughh, please tell me I don't have to go first,” Lyra pleaded.

“That's okay, I can go first,” Daring offered.

“Good, Trixie you're up after Daring, then me then Lyra will stay up until sunrise when we'll all get going again.”

“Fine,” Lyra said and rested her head on a hoof, falling asleep almost instantly.

Trixie and Karon weren't slow to follow her example, and soon only Daring remained awake, looking out over the grassland watchfully.

Sometime during the night Karon was woken up by Trixie, pressing a hoof down on him gently.

“Huh? Wah...?”

“It's your turn,” she replied with a yawn before shuffling over to her spot.

Karon groaned and slapped himself twice to wake up, then got up and walked over to a nearby rock sitting halfway up a hill close by, giving him a better look at the surrounding landscape.

The wind was playing over the grass, creating waves that threatened to mesmerize him, so he shifted his eyes reluctantly and stared up into the night sky, knowing what would come next. He had spent the past days focusing on nothing but getting away, of surviving, as he knew the other also had.

Now that luxury had passed, and even though Daring had warned that there was plenty of danger where they were now too, it didn't seem as immediate and threatening as a raving jackal horde had. And without an immediate threat to distract him and focus his mind, thought and feelings were starting to trickle out into his consciousness.

“We really need to make up our mind,” the voice announced dryly.

“You know we already have.”

“Then what was that back with the jackals?”

“I followed them because they still need me.”

“What if Trixie and Lyra will always need us?”

“You know they won't. We just have to wait until the right time to...”

“You don't even dare to put it into words do you? Should I say it instead?”

“No...just...no.”

“There is still much waiting for us.”

“You said that, back with the jackals. But you're wrong, there is nothing waiting for us but the same thing. What we have done … what we did … it will always come back at us, will always haunt us. We can never escape it, it is all we will ever have. There's no point to this anymore.”

The words seemed to send echoes out into the world, and the wind died down, the small distant sounds of living creatures went silent, and everything was still. Karon looked around with a raised eyebrow and walked down to the camp, retrieving his spear. What had just happened stank of magic and the shifting of fate, and he wanted to be prepared for whatever might come next.

He stalked around the small camp where the ponies slept, but couldn't find anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, as far he understood ordinary for the savanna.

That was until he heard something. It was rhythmic and coming closer, sounding almost like a voice. He sneaked towards the sound, keeping low in the tall grass and listening intently. He realized the sound was coming from one of the few trees scattered around, and that it was of someone … singing.

“Asante sana squash banana. Wewe nugu mimi hapana!” it sang, repeating it over and over, sometimes laughing happily in between.

When Karon reached the base of the tree and looked up at the tree canopy he could see nothing at first, but then something dropped out of the thick cluster of branches and landed right beside him, laughing deeply. The sudden drop of the creature made Karon flinch and when he tried to turn and face the creature he tripped over his spear and fell down on the ground.

The creature chuckled from the sight and then jumped into clear view, it was a monkey. It looked a lot like a baboon, but a bent tail stuck out from its back and in its right hand it held a gnarly old wooden staff.

And it could speak.

“Wohohoho, what have we here? A trickster all blessed up and far from home? What brings you around to these parts, hmmm?” it asked and bounced back a few steps, giving Karon room to get up.

“Looking for something out of place,” he replied and held his spear firmly, the monkey could be a lot more dangerous than he appeared.

“Oh, then you've found it. It's you! Bwhahahah!” the monkey replied and slapped its knees like it had told the most hilarious joke.

“Funny, personally I would have thought it would be the talking monkey standing before me,” Karon said evenly and glared at the creature.

“Oh no, no, no, no. I'm exactly where I should be. I fit in perfectly don't you think?” the monkey asked and spread his arms out wide.

“Monkeys don't generally talk,” Karon noted.

“That depends on where you're from!” came the quick reply before the monkey danced away and disappeared amongst the grass.

Karon thought of pursuing, but discarded the idea and began heading back to the ponies. Halfway there, the same monkey popped up from the grass and came landing right before him.

“So what are you doing now?” it asked and smiled broadly.

“Same thing as before,” Karon replied and grind his teeth.

“Why? I told you, it's you!”

“Fine, I'm out of place. Happy now?”

“Course I am, I helped! Mwhahaha. But why do you still look so sad then?” the monkey asked, his voice a little lower.

“I'm not sad,” Karon replied automatically.

“Hmmm, that sounds rehearsed. Tell you what, if you can say the same thing but in five different ways, I will believe you.”

Karon felt his muscles tensing in irritation for a moment, before he sighed and let it go.

“What do you want?” Karon simply asked.

“To help of course. You seem a little lost.”

“We already got a guide thank you.”

“No, no, no. Not that kind of lost, I mean the big kind of lost.”

“'The big kind of lost'?”

“Exactly! I thought you might need some help getting back on track, since you are so out of place.”

“And how were you planning on doing that?”

“Why, with words of course,” the monkey laughed.

“Enough of this,” Karon growled and pushed by the monkey, only to receive a bash to the head from his stick.

“Aouch! Do that again and I will do the same to you!”

“That does sound fair,” the monkey replied and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“Well my stick has a pointy end,” Karon said with a grim smile.

“Oh no, that would be cheating. What's your name?”

“I … uh … Karon.” the reply eventually came.

“Karon! I know a Charon, works with public service and transportation, a little grim but a nice person all things considered.”

“And your name would be...?” Karon asked a little curious, the monkey was obviously more than he appeared to be.

“My name!? My name is Metat … no wait that isn't right. It's Rafiki now.”

That settled Karon's suspicions, something was going on.

“Fine, you want to talk? So talk,” Karon told him and leaned on his spear.

“Hmm what manners, so rude to old Rafiki. Normally I don't even deal with this, normally it's big U that handles these things, but he was busy at the moment, something about a wizard that had himself killed to get out of a deal.”

“Fine, uhrm. Please oh great wise one, enthrall me with your wisdom,” Karon said dryly.

“Sarcasm! Wonderful, this is going great so far! Now for a question. Why haven't you told Lyra what is going on with you?”

“Enough with this,” Karon muttered and ignored the question, turning around and walking towards the camp.

“Killing yourself won't solve anything, you know,” Rafiki called to him, and Karon stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned around slowly and asked in a shaky voice.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean? I mean what I just said; killing yourself won't solve anything.”

“I'm not...”

“Yes you are. You're tired and afraid, tired of the pain that eats you from inside, and now you are afraid because a certain set of chains are being undone and a certain black door won't remain locked forever.”

“How do you...?”

“It's my job of course. Now, of course you can't just outright kill yourself, that wouldn't be right. Not after dear Feather Touch gave her life for yours. It would be an act of betrayal to kill yourself after that, but the pain and fear is so much. It is too much right? But what if you would die while doing something heroic? Like, trying to give your friends time to flee while you cover their backs and tragically die in the attempt. No one could blame you for that, hmmm? Tell me, was it really that nice, sinking towards the bottom of the sea? Feeling the wafting breath of death upon your nape?”

“It … was.”

“It won't solve anything, you know. Your past will always be your past, unless you go back in time and change it of course, but then again, trying to might make things worse.”

“How am I supposed to go on like this then!? Just take it!? I can't, I can't carry all of this anymore, it hurts too much. I need it to go away … or I will die inside.”

“Well, you're the one making it hurt, and only you can make it stop.”

“How?” Karon asked, despair washing over him like thick oil.

“You know the answer to that question; it ends where it started.”

“I can't...”

“You need to, it is inevitable. You said it yourself, you can't escape it. It is a part of you after all.”

“I can't...”

“You will know when the time is right. You fear those memories because they would kill you, in more ways than one. So listen closely now, the time to face what happened is the time when you risk that happening anyway if you don't.”

“What? I don't understand...?”

“Of course not, because it's not time quite yet. You got other stuff to deal with first after all, chains still wrapped tight and all.”

“I'm listening,” Karon said quietly.

“Good, well first thing first. You can't live for a dead person. Feather's gone, she made her choice and she does not regret it. I got inside sources, so you'll just have to trust me.”

Karon only nodded, it was easier said than done.

“Second, don't try to kill yourself, that one should be obvious. So no more picking fights or wading into battle like you want to die, because you're not allowed to want to die anymore, capish?”

Karon nodded again and sighed.

“Third and lastly … have fun.”

“What?” came the incredulous response.

“You heard me, stop denying yourself joy. Trust your instincts and follow your desires. You are a trickster after all and will never find out what it means to be one unless you actually ARE one, in action. And you need to learn the answer to that question. You didn't get blessed by this world just for laughs and giggles trickster. There are many, many lives that will depend on you understanding a few things before the end.”

“No pressure right?” Karon snorted and the being calling itself Rafiki laughed loudly.

“That's it! Trust yourself, and don't deny your inner voice completely no matter how stupid it might be at times.”

“Hey!”

“Are you sure about that last one?” Karon asked with a small smile.

“HEY!”

“Course I am! I'm a, a … I'm a monkey, I know stuff. Like that thing over there!” the monkey said and pointed to something behind the human.

Karon turned around and looked, but he couldn't see anything, and when he turned back the being disguised as a monkey was gone.

“He did make a few good points.”

“Fine, he did.”

“So can we go back to being fun now?”

“Yes … we can.”

“WOHOOOOOO!”

                                 *****************************************

Karon's mind was spinning after the strange visitation, and he didn't know what to think of the fact that he seemed to have caught the attention of beings that were very, very powerful. Despite that though, he managed to fall asleep quickly after he had woken Lyra for the last turn of keeping watch, and when he woke up he felt … oddly refreshed.

Though more than one strange thing had occurred during the night.

“I don't get it, I know I woke you up for your turn keeping guard,” Karon said in a defensive tone while Lyra and Trixie looked at him accusingly.

“No, you didn't. I didn't wake up until just now,” Lyra held firm.

“Fine, fine. Let's just wait until Daring get's back and see what she has to say.”

Karon, Trixie and Lyra had been woken up by Daring, who had been fast to demand an explanation of why she had woken in an entirely different place from where she had fallen asleep in. And after having shaken the sleepiness off, the trio had seen for themselves that the entire landscape had changed. They were still in a savanna, but there were different trees and hills around them than in the place they had went to sleep in.

Daring had flown off in order to get her bearings while the trio had remained stationary, arguing about whose fault this was. Karon had a suspicion, and it did not involve any of the three ponies, but he kept his mouth shut about that.

Daring swooped them with a big grin after few minutes of absence and spoke happily.

“I think our food problem is solved.”

“How's so?” Karon asked.

“Because unless I'm completely lost, which I'm not, I think we're just a few hours away from Mjimkuu.”

“What!? How?” Lyra demanded and cast two suspicious eyes towards Karon.

“Hey I didn't do it,” he answered truthfully.

“Well, whatever happened wasn't bad. So perhaps we should get going? After all we have the crown and we know what the jackals were planning. We have done everything the empress asked and more.” Trixie said.

“Yeah uhh … I would appreciate it if you didn't mention me having the crown, they'll only want to destroy it if they know I have it,” Daring asked.

“What were you planning to do with it?” Lyra asked and cocked her head.

“It has a place waiting in Canterlot's Royal Museum, and Celestia pays a great deal to those who help her preserve history,” the pegasus answered.

“Good enough for me. Just keep it out of sight when we arrive and everything should work out,” Karon finished, and they started upon the last stretch of their journey.

Their moods were in high spirit and they talked, joked and laughed more than Karon had done in months. He still felt the deep scars after all he had been through, and he knew more would come, but it wasn't the only thing he dared feel anymore. And it was in true trickster fashion that he rebelled against the pain and laughed honestly out of joy.

And then, while they were busy listening to one of Daring's stories of adventure, he felt a twinge of foreboding. A shiver running gently up his spine, warning him something was wrong.

His eyes were guided by the feeling, and soon he noticed something drifting up from beyond a few large hills before them, blocking their view. Black smoke.

“Daring … could you fly on ahead and … make sure everything is alright?” Karon interrupted.

The pegasus went silent and followed his gaze, and her face shifted from happy carelessness to complete focus instantly. Without any further words she raced off into the sky, and Karon began running in the same direction, Trixie and Lyra following behind.

A few seconds later Daring came flying down from the sky, landing on top of the hills without looking back on them. The trio ran up the hill to where she stood waiting, and saw what was causing the smoke.

Mjimkuu was under attack.

Chapter 39: Trickster, monster, legend

The smoke rising from the city hung thick in the air above it as black tendrils reaching for the sky. The ponies and human were still too far away to make out any sounds, but Karon was sensitive enough to catch the energy released within the city, the intense pain and fear echoing outwards and etching itself into the landscape. Many ghosts would be born this day as memories of an event so terrible that the city had been feeling the echo through time several weeks in advance.

Karon and the ponies stood unmoving and watched the distant city. Had it not been for the smoke, nothing would have seemed out of the ordinary. There were no great fires raging as far as they could see, but that should not have been surprising since the city was mostly made out of stone.

Time passed them by as they remained upon that hill, and it was Lyra that finally broke the silence.

“What are we going to do?” she asked without taking her eyes off the city.

“What we always do,” Karon replied, and the two unicorn's nodded without protest.

“I take it you aren't going to run?” Daring asked and looked at the human standing next to her.

Karon shook his head slowly, and then turned his head to look at Trixie and Lyra.

“We will need a plan,” he said.

“I like the sound of that,” Lyra agreed.

“Do you think it's the jackals?” Trixie asked and looked over at the distant city.

“Has to be,” Daring said before flapping her wings and rising into the air. “I think it's best if I fly ahead and check just to be safe though, get a sense for how it looks inside the city.”

Karon nodded and hefted his spear, tapping a finger to it thoughtfully.

“Try and find a zebra warrior or someone that is a part of the military. They should know at least vaguely what is going on,” he added before the pegasus nodded and flew off.

“Do you think it's too late to help?” Lyra asked, her eyes meeting Karon's.

“It can't be. It's only been a few days since we fought the jackals in the ruins. Even if they ran without stopping, they could only have arrived recently. And, the city was divided in sections. They must have managed to stop them at one point or another,” he said, though his voice held no assurances.

However, it seemed good enough for the two ponies since they said nothing further and simply followed Karon's lead when he began walking towards the city.

Halfway there though, the silence between them ended when Trixie spoke.

“You said something about a plan?” she asked carefully.

“Can't really make one without knowing at least a little about what is going on inside,” Karon replied and wiped the sweat off his brow.

“You've got something. You always have something, even if it's not very good,” Lyra noted and pointed at him with a wry smile.

“Well, I have a few ideas on how to best use my abilities … can't decide on anything yet though.”

“Still, you've got something. I mean, you must have some idea for how we could possible help against an entire army of jackals?” Lyra pressed on.

“I do, but it involves a lot of improvisation from my side.”

“What else is new,” came the sarcastic response. Surprisingly though, it came from Trixie.

“Still,” Karon continued and ignored her comment, “There are a few things that needs to be done. One is making sure that the empress and any other leaders of the city are safe so they can organize the defenses.”

“What else?” Lyra asked and frowned.

”Finding a way to get rid of the jackals,” Karon said simply.

“Well yeah, but how?” Lyra asked, and looked over at the ever growing sight of the city as they came closer to it.

“Can we talk about this after Daring is back with some news?” Karon asked. His voice was without anger, but the tension in it said plainly that it wasn't a request.

They stopped pushing him for details for the rest of the walk, and their eyes were inevitably drawn to the makeshift camp that had been set up outside the walls by the refugees. They were still too far away from it to see anything clearly, but they didn't need to. What little they could see told them enough.

When they got close enough to actually make out the details, Karon had to stop for a few minutes to allow them the time to adjust to the scene. Trixie staggered over to the side and retched, and if it weren't for the sudden onset of rage the sight before him evoked, Karon would have liked to join her.

Flies were buzzing loudly around the camp, gathering around the stinking corpses scattered around and already rotting underneath the hot savanna sun. The stench was awful, not only because of the blood and body parts, but also because it was mixed in with the smell of desperation and unwashed bodies that had clung to the camp even before the jackals had arrived.

However, the most disturbing part of it all wasn't the massacred zebra's, nor was it the fact that many of the bodies bore sign of mutilation and having been chewed on. No, the worst part by far was the fact that among the bodies there were smaller figures that had been spared no more than the adults had been.

It was one thing to have heard it in rumors and tales told by the zebras, and another to witness with his own eyes the sheer brutality of the jackals. Perhaps it wasn't something one could just put in a box and label evil. They were predators after all by their nature, just as the zebras were prey by theirs. However, neither of the two were simple animals living by pure instinct anymore, so maybe they were just two irrevocably different sides fated to be at eternal war with each other?

Whatever the case may be, Karon knew which side he was on.

Trixie came stumbling back, and the human turned around and gave her a sad look of understanding before turning to Lyra, who was standing with a dazed expression on her face.

“I need you two to keep yourselves from falling apart ... this might only be the beginning.”

The two unicorns looked even more sick at the thought of things being even worse inside the city, but both eventually gave him shaky nods.

They remained standing amongst the carnage outside the great gate, which had been left open wide. Screams drifted down the street and out the gate from time to time, and the howls of the jackals answered them always.

It was when Karon didn't think he could keep himself from throwing up any longer that he was distracted by the swooshing sound of Daring coming down from the sky and landing next to him, her coat a few shades greener from what she had seen.

Her first words did nothing to comfort them.

“It's … it's really bad. The jackals are everywhere in the city. Every circle of it has been breached all the way to fifth level with the palace.”

“How!?” Karon asked and stared at her, unable to fathom how the entire city could have fallen so fast.

“I managed to find a small group of warriors sneaking over the rooftops on the third city level. They told me the jackals had come running like they were insane, and when the gate guards had tried to get as many refugees inside as possible, the jackals had just swept over them before they could close the doors again. The jackals are furious about something and nothing the warriors had tried to discourage them worked. They don't care about casualties at all anymore it seems.”

Karon had a sinking feeling the spear he held in his right hand had something to do with that. He still remembered the maddened hate he had seen shining out of Vako's eyes after he realized the human carried Bator's promise.

“Did they have any information about the empress?” he asked in a low voice.

“Last they'd heard, she was within the palace, but there's no one leading the defense anymore. The only things that's left are scattered groups of zebras around the city being hunted by the jackals, and no one is sure what's going on or even who's in charge.”

Karon bowed his head low and tried to process the news.

“This is worse than we thought.”

“Is it even possible? The jackals are going berserk. Vako must have figured the zebras knew about the spear after he lost us in the sandstorm.”

“If he is even alive. That storm was no gentle thing. This might be the work of some other jackal that has taken his place, or maybe it's just every jackal being taken with the idea of just them taking the spear and becoming the great conqueror.”

“Did you not see what I saw back in that ruin? He came crawling out of that shattered floor like it was nothing. He survived. He's too strong and angry to be killed by any storm.”

“Fine, let's just assume he's the one leading all of this. That would mean this is organized chaos, and if the jackals are spread out over the city, then that must mean they have already breached every point of opposition and have the empress. Otherwise he would just throw everything he has at it until it cracked.”

“Okay, so he already has the empress and whoever else that was with her. What's next?”

“We need to break the jackals' spirit. As long as they keep acting like rabid dogs, nothing the zebras do will get them to retreat.”

Karon raised his head and took a good look around at the slaughter – not that he needed to, the image was burned into his mind.

“I will enjoy that.”

“Wonderful. Best send the ponies away for that though.”

“Agreed, I don't want them to see what I'm going to do.”

“Trixie, Lyra ... I want you to try and gather as many of the zebra warriors as you can find and organize them for an attempt to retake the palace. Daring, could you help them from above, keeping them from running into any jackals and helping them out if they do?”

“Sure, I'll make certain we manage to get enough warriors to manage whatever you're planning. But I want to know what you're gonna do in the mean time,” the pegasus asked.

“I'd like to know that too,” Lyra asked and Trixie gave him a look asking the same thing.

“You'll focus on the zebras. I'll focus on the jackals,” he answered with a low growl.

“Karon … are you alright?” Lyra asked and moved closer to him, looking at his face strangely.

“I … yes. Why do you ask?”

“Well, your eyes, they're … glowing again.” she said.

Karon blinked in surprise and brought his left hand up without thinking to the corner of his left eye, letting it trace the outlines around it.

“Good,” he eventually said, but did not elaborate further.

Lyra smiled at him, a genuine smile of happiness despite standing in a field of death.

“So … are you sure you'll manage without us?” she asked him, not quite able to keep the joy out of her voice.

“I'll do just fine, for a little while at least. Best if I try not to stay away for too long though. Who knows what might happen,” he said and tried to imitate her good mood.

As if by some unspoken command, all four of them turned towards the gate and the street branching upwards into the city. Without saying anything Daring gave the other three a determined nod and took to the skies, waiting high above to guide the unicorns to whatever warriors might remain.

“Where do you want us to wait for you?” Lyra asked and glanced up at Karon.

“Somewhere just before the entrance to the palace or close by. Just make sure you remain undetected so we have the element of surprise when we storm the place,” he responded.

“Okay,” she said, and they all heard a distant scream of terror coming from higher up in the city.

Trixie gulped loudly and Karon saw Lyra's face tense as the good mood she had briefly experienced was drained from her. She turned to face Karon and went up on her backlegs, putting her arms around him in wordless hug.

He hugged her back tight and held her there for a moment before letting go. She gave him a half smile before she went down on all fours again, then turned and carefully approached the seemingly empty street inside the city.

Trixie looked at Karon nervously and he looked right back at her, not quite sure what to make of her fidgeting hooves. The air between them grew awkward and they both stood uncertain of what to do until she trotted over and gave him a quick hug like Lyra had, then turned around and followed her without looking Karon in the eyes.

“Well that was … odd.”

“Deal with it later. We have work to do.”

He waited until the ponies had disappeared out of sight before entering the city himself, breathing in deeply of the stomach churning aroma that clung to the air. It fanned the rage he felt building inside, but it was a controlled rage, there was purpose to it. He would channel it and make a tool out of it.

The being that had introduced itself as Rafiki had put him back on track. No more meaningless confrontations when there could be deception, no more battles where there could be manipulation, and no more thoughtlessly throwing himself into situations without thinking ahead.

The jackals' strength was in their physical prowess, so he wouldn't hit them were they were strong. He would hit them were they were soft, weak and easily hurt.

He was going to attack their minds, and also, their hearts. They had showed no mercy to the zebras. They had slaughtered them all, even the children. They had brought something sick and depraved upon the city and now they were loose inside, no doubt enjoying the spoils, murdering more of them. Murdering children.

More-than Tardy had been wrong. Karon wasn't like him at all. The professor had been guided by cold pragmatism, heartless calculations meant solely to satisfy his ambitions and ego. Karon wasn't like him, he wasn't guided by anything cold and pragmatic. Karon was guided by emotions. He was a trickster, and he didn't calculate, he felt. He didn't do what he did for his ego. He did it because it made him feel.

He wasn't a machine. He was a raging fire locked behind a black door wrapped in chains.

The howls of the jackals rang out as they tracked their prey, and Karon strode to answer them. He passed by the empty houses and shops. He saw bodies inside some of them, primarily zebras, but there were other creatures he didn't recognize as well. In some places he saw to his satisfaction the cooling corpses of slain jackals, but they were far between and pitifully few.

He stalked through the street, keeping low and close to the nearby buildings to obscure his outline. The jackals' eyesight was bad, and in the stench of death and fear that cloaked the city, they would not be able to use their noses very well. That tipped the odds in Karon's favor.

Eventually, as he carefully looked around a corner, he heard the barking laughter of the jackals coming from further down the street he was looking, from inside one of the houses.

He clenched his jaw hard and took off his rucksack and map, leaving them at the corner together with his hat. His hair clung to his skin, drenched in sweat from the temperature as well his rising concern as he crept closer to the house, hugging the walls along the street.

“For great leader Vako!” He heard a voice bark out, and it was met with at least two other distinct voices roaring in delight.

“So long since I tasted zebra flesh. Vako is great leader to make this happen. He will take Bator's promise, and we will eat of all the other ones in this land,” another voice rasped.

Another roar, two voices like earlier.

“Three of them.”

“That is not a lot. There must be thousands around the city.”

“It is a start. We only need to take care of a few and the fear and uncertainty will spread.”

“Let's make it good.”

“No, lets make it bad … really bad.”

When he reached the sturdy house of yellow stone, he stopped and took a deep breath, imagining that the jackals would be able to hear his beating heart. There was a hole cut in the rock over which a red piece of cloth hung, a window letting in air but not the sun. Through it drifted the slobbering sound of the jackals eating, and the rage inside Karon flared.

He veiled himself in invisibility and entered through the doorway. The door itself was smashed, and splinters laid scattered on the floor of the large room it opened into. It looked like most of the house was simply this one room, and it wasn't particularly furnished. There was a pile of pillows in garish colors in one corner, and a single wooden desk stood against one of the walls.

In the middle of the room, three jackals sat hunched over two zebras, tearing into their flesh and eagerly swallowing the pieces whole. Karon kept his focus, concentrating on the field around him keeping the jackals from knowing he was there. He let the image of the dead zebras being eaten simply slide by his mind, storing it for later to fuel his anger.

It was one thing to veil oneself in invisibility, to make sure you remain unnoticed. It was an entirely other thing to do so while at the same time invading the mind of a jackal without the jackal feeling the alien presence creeping into his skull.

“What said you!?” one of the jackals growled for no apparent reason, as far as the other two were concerned. The jackal himself thought he was responding to a quiet whisper the second jackal had made to the third, telling him they should kill the first jackal – whose mind Karon had wrapped around his finger – so they could have more of the zebras to themselves.

“I said nothing,” came the defensive response, sounding almost like a whine.

The first jackal growled with suspicion and rose to his full height, putting a paw upon the curved knife the worse on his belt.

“You would like more zebra to yourselves? I think you should die instead, and I keep zebras all to myself!” he growled and drew the knife.

The second and third jackal didn't have time to recover from their shock before the first and plunged his knife into the eye of the second, killing him with a wet squelch. The third was faster, and when the crazed jackal draw back his knife and tried to stab him in the throat, he dodged to the side and swiped at him with his claws, catching him in the belly.

The first howled in pain and swung at the third in wide arcs but hit nothing but air. The third was quick in his movements, and when the first overextended in an attempt to stab him in the chest, he grabbed the knife and twisted it. When the first's body followed the movement, he crashed to the floor and his wrist cracked as it broke from the impact.

The jackal howled even louder in pain, but it lasted only for a second before the third stomped his neck several time until he fell silent, the twisted form leaving no doubt he was dead.

Scratching his head in confusion at what had just happened, the spear that materialized from nowhere and stabbed him in the leg came completely by surprise, and the jackal fell to the floor howling just like the other one had.

Karon dropped the veil entirely and the jackal's eyes widened impossibly large when it realized who stood before him, and what weapon he was wielding.

“Bator's … Bator's promise,” it barked, forcing the words out with a pained expression.

“Yes it is, and I want you to know you will never have it jackal, none of you will,” Karon said in a low hiss.

“Vako will take it! Vako will make jackals the new rulers of everything!” the jackal spat.

“No,” Karon said and lowered the tip to the jackals throat, “He will not. Vako will die today. Do you want to know how?”

The jackal didn't say anything. It simply stared at the spear, but the low growl in its chest was enough answer.

“He will die screaming jackal, I will make sure you all hear it.”

“Vako will never die! You are too weak!” the jackal said, not letting its eyes of the spear.

“Look at me,” Karon hissed, and the jackal shifted his eyes to meet Karon's.

It was an easy thing, to invade the mind of a creature in so much turmoil, barely having any control over themselves already. Karon's eyes flashed with an inner fire, and he smiled a wicked smile and he drew the jackal in.

“You're right, I'm too weak. But I don't need to be strong, I have an army of the nyegere on my side,” he said in slow, hypnotic voice.

“Nye … nyegere,” the jackal repeated groggily.

“Yes, don't you remember? You saw them, arriving when I did, and they killed the others you were with. And now they're stalking the streets looking for jackals to kill. You remember how they appeared out of nowhere to slaughter everything I looked at.”

The jackal began shaking with fear as false memories pressed themselves upon its mind. Karon didn't need to do anything else, the brain would fill in the blanks by itself.

“Do you want to know what happens next?” Karon leaned in and asked the terrified jackal.

It whined low in answer and Karon gave it a sickeningly sweet smile.

“I'm going to let you go, so you can run to all the other jackals and tell them to flee, tell them the nyegere is coming for all of them. Your only chance is running back to your own land and hiding there for the rest of your lives.”

The jackal began hyperventilating so hard Karon briefly wondered if it would pass out. He stepped back and brought the spear away from its throat, then motioning with his hand towards the door.

“Run!” he shouted, and the jackal scrambled on all fours out the door, yelping like a beaten dog all the way.

Karon took one last look at the dead zebra couple, their innards exposed to the world and pieces of them thrown around the room in the feeding frenzy of the jackals.

He spat on the floor, but the acid tang on his tongue refused to leave. So he turned around and walked out of the house. Above him the thick smoke had obscured the sun and left the city in a darkened gloom, to which he nodded, pleased. They wouldn't see him coming, and it wouldn't be long before the zebras weren't the only ones who were scared.

Turning left and keeping against the walls, Karon moved on in search of more prey.

                                **************************************************************

Trixie hesitated at the threshold. The windows had all been covered with thick cloth and with so little light shining in through the door opening, it was nearly pitch black inside the large building. It could easily be a trap of some kind, either for the jackals or the zebras.

Either way she didn't want to walk into one.

“Hello? Is somepony there?” she called out carefully.

She received no answer at first, Daring had said she saw several zebras sneak into the place but that didn't mean they hadn't sneaked out again some other way.

“A pony?” a voice asked out loud from just to her left and Trixie jumped into the air of fright.

When she came down to the floor again she tried to straighten herself and present a dignified pose. It wouldn't do thinking her some easily frightened filly.

“Yes, who's asking?” she demanded in the most authoritative tone she could muster.

From the dark, zebras emerged, melting into sight like they had been one with the shadows. They all wore armor or headgear of different kinds, and in their hooves they held hooked spears or curved swords. The one who had spoken stood in the middle, wearing a feathered head band and wielding a spear.

“I am tracker Mota, I am in charge here,” he said with a heavy accent.

“Good, we have been looking for the zebra warriors. How many of you are there?” Trixie asked, forcing herself not to waver beneath the hard looks they gave her.

“We?” Mota asked, ignoring her question.

To answer his question Trixie leaned out through the door and waved to Lyra and Daring to join her inside. The two ponies strode in carefully and waited a few moments for their eyes to adjust before looking around at the gathered zebras.

“You!” Mota hissed and his warriors looked uncertainly at each other when they heard his reaction to the newcomers.

“Uh oh,” Daring said while looking at the tracker. “Hey Mota … still holding a grudge I see.”

“You know each other?” Lyra asked and eye the zebra nervously.

“A little … he kinda chased me when I was down south in the jungle recovering an artifact,” Daring answered.

“She led me into a swamp where I was nearly eaten by crocodiles. Only afterward did I discover she had already given the artifact to an accomplice and it was halfway across the sea by then,” Mota added angrily.

“Hey, don't blame me for wanting to protect priceless pieces of history from your careless hooves!”

“That artifact once belonged to the enemies of the zebra empire and should be destroyed!”

“Could you two save this for another time!” Trixie shouted.

The two combatants glared at one another but didn't go beyond that, and the zebras as well as the ponies around them breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.

“We need you to come with us. We're going to gather as many warriors we can for an assault on the palace,” Trixie said and looked at each of the zebras in turn.

“We don't take orders from ponies,” Mota said and sounded bitter, “and we can not reach the palace.”

All the zebras looked down on the floor. The anger displayed on their faces was not only directed towards the jackals, but also themselves.

“Yes we can! We only need to gather as many of you as possible,” Lyra insisted.

“We are at the lowest circle. There are not many jackals left down here, but they are everywhere the higher up you go. The only reason we still have any warriors left is because they can't smell us with all this smoke,” Mota said, looking ashamed of the words he spoke.

“Don't worry about the jackals … there's someone already taking care of that,” Lyra said with absolute certainty in her voice.

“The jackals have gone insane. There is nothing that will stop them. They just kept coming,” Mota told her, but there was a small hint of hope in his eyes.

Lyra saw it and gave a confident smile.

“You'll see. I don't know what exactly he was planning to do, but it will work.”

The tracker didn't look convinced, but his expression had changed from that of a warrior thinking himself a coward, to a warrior ready to fight for the slim chance of victory.

“Ha! So be it. We will fight the invaders and win or die! For great Mjimkuu!”

And so the three ponies left with forty two warriors following behind them, guided by Daring from high above, and following the slim hope Trixie and Lyra had given that their city might be saved.

                            ***********************************************************

Karon stood completely still, not sure what he was feeling could even be described as emotions. At his feet laid the chewed up corpses of Mkul, the humorous trader that had guided them from the harbor city,  and a female zebra, perhaps the wife he had spoken of.

They had died together, and from the many cuts Karon could see on both of them, they had not died quickly.

There had been a single jackal busily feeding on the wife, and it hadn't even noticed when Karon walked up from behind and rammed his spear through its belly. It had screamed for a long time in pain – stomach wounds are not nice to die from. The screams had echoed out across the nearby quarters, and after a few minutes of silence following the jackals demise, Karon picked up on the sound of something approaching.

He veiled himself in invisibility and waited.

From a narrow alley there came three zebras, two of them carrying spears and wearing the feathered head bands that Karon had come to associate with trackers. The one in the middle leading them was different. She wore a brown cloth over her body with several large pouches attached to it. Her face was tattooed all over and in her right hoof she held a wand or rod of some kind like a weapon.

The trackers moved forward with their eyes darting around frantically until they fell upon the jackal's corpse. They stopped and looked around, searching for any signs of what had happened.

The shaman had squinted her eyes and was chanting something under her breath, shaking the rod from time to time. Karon felt a pressure force itself upon his veil, another field of energy trying to extinguish his own. So he dropped the veil and remained unmoving as the trackers both snapped their spears towards him when he appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

He didn't bother looking at them, instead he met the shaman mare's gaze and have a small nod of respect.

“You are stranger here, and with the ability to disappear?” she asked.

“Yes, I'm a stranger and practitioner of the arts,” Karon answered.

“You slayed the jackal at your feet. Have you come to save us from defeat?”

“I will do what I can,” he simply answered again and looked up towards the towering palace.

The shaman nodded and motioned for the trackers to stand down.

“My friends are out gathering warriors for an attempt to retake the palace. I told them to get to the entrance with as many as they could find. If you get there, you could join up,” Karon continued.

The trackers looked at one another then to the shaman, who hummed thoughtfully.

“Jackals swarm the city, getting there will not be pretty.”

“Let me deal with getting the jackals soft for a counterattack,” Karon said.

The shaman nodded and gave Karon a polite nod of thanks. She said something in a different language and the trackers turned and followed her back down the alley.

“The jackals are having the time of their lives here.”

“We will make them regret it. Doesn't matter how angry or hungry they are, it will all disappear beneath the fear we will make them feel.”

“It's not enough to get them out of here, we need to make sure they never dare to even think about returning.”

“Yes. The legend of Bator's promise is important to them, so let's add a new part to it, that of the new wielder of the spear. Of the absolute monster that holds it, of the monster that waits should they ever get it into their heads to return to zebra lands.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“Me too. So come, let's make a horror story out of their legend.”

Karon stalked away from the scene and headed towards the city's second level. He passed through the great gate leading up to it unhindered, finding only the corpses of the zebra warriors littered around it. He was forced to slow down his approach as several times he heard the barks and loud growls of large groups of jackals pass close by.

He crept forward carefully, slipping in and out of invisibility whenever he was unsure of what was waiting around the next corner. He was beginning to notice the strain it took on his mind, but he was constantly fueled by the anger burning inside of him, and rage is nothing if not a good anesthetic.

It was when he passed by one of the many nearly identical buildings that he heard the slobbering sounds of jackals enjoying a feast coming from inside. He stopped and cloaked himself before heading in, careful not to bump into anything and attract attention. The interior was lavishly decorated with pillows, drapes and colorful cloth covering nearly every inch of masonry the building was made of.

Scattered around the room were the jackals, seven in total, sitting alone and enjoying different parts of the zebras they had literally torn to pieces.

“Seven might be too many, don't let the rage control us. They will win if we get ourselves killed battling more than we can handle in a straight fight.”

He was about to turn and head out the door and search for a smaller group when he spotted something on the floor. It was a small pile of toys, carved zebra warriors carrying tiny weapons.

They were splattered with blood.

The spear came out of nowhere and pierced the heart of the jackal closest to him. It hadn't even been a decision. There could be no choice when faced with a moment like this, there could only be a reaction.

The remaining six jackals turned to look at their fallen comrade and quickly brought their weapons to bear. While they were unable to see Karon, they still knew something was inside with them. The sudden attention the jackals had given to the sensory data they received made remaining unseen a lot more difficult, as Karon was not only pushing against the weariness of veiling himself but also pushing against the combined mental energy the jackals put into trying to spot him. He ran outside, and something in his focus must have slipped because he heard a growl from behind and the sound of the jackals following him.

When he got through the door opening, he turned and dropped all attempts at veiling himself, driving the spear forward just in time to catch the first jackal trying to get out in the throat, cutting of the growl it was making. The five behind barreled into the jackal and tripped, falling into a pile at Karon's feet.

He didn't waste time and started thrusting and stabbing every part he could get at, and the growls quickly turned to hurt yelps and whines as they tried to scramble away. Four of them managed to dodge, crawl and roll out of his reach, the other two laid still. The pools of blood gathered underneath the three bodies stating plainly that if they weren't dead yet, they soon would be.

However, the four remaining jackals were a lot more careful now, circling around him and waiting for an opening. Karon tried to deny them as best he could, twirling the spear around in wide arcs leaving little time for them to try and close the distance he kept them at. But the jackals weren't limited to fighting with conventional weapons standing on two legs, they could do just as well on all fours with their fangs.

Karon made a mistake and swung the spear too high, one of the jackals noticed and threw itself forward underneath it, opening its fangs wide as it went straight for Karon's throat.

He managed to bring the spear up in horizontally before him, letting the jackal catch it in with its fangs instead of his throat. It didn't stop the charging mass of its body though and it flew into Karon, knocking him backwards and ripping the spear out of his hands. The human kicked straight up with both feet into the jackal's jaw, eliciting a pained whine as it staggered away and clutched the broken bone.

The other three jackals didn't bother with their hurt comrade, and came charging at the downed human with their weapons held high. Thinking fast, Karon stretched both his arms out wide. He might not be the most talented when it came to telekinesis, but taking all the dirt and lose sand on the street and throwing it towards the two jackals coming at him from the front didn't prove too difficult. It hit them in a large cloud and stopped them dead as they began scratching at their eyes.

He didn't have time to do anything to the one coming from behind, and when Karon heard the swooshing sound of a blade cutting through air he rolled to his left, narrowly avoiding getting sliced by an ax. It missed his body but still managed to catch his robe, nailing it to the dirt road. Before the jackal could brandish it again Karon put his hands against its chest and unleashed a bolt of lightning point blank, sending the jackal flying from the sudden surge and twitching for a few seconds as it landed several meters away.

The one cradling its jaw came running towards him with a small knife in its right paw, still clutching his face with the left. Karon felt his strength leaving him, rage fueling him or not, it was hard shaping energy into actual magic no matter how much of the former you had available. When the jackal was just a few steps away Karon reached out and simply flung as much mental energy at it as he could. The jackal screamed a barking scream when its brain experienced what could be described as an overload. But it didn't stop its own momentum and so simply tripped over Karon and fell to the ground face first, hitting its already broken jaw hard.

It wailed loudly and before it could recover Karon grabbed the ax nailing his robe in place and tore it free, throwing himself upon the jackal and hacking away at its neck, until finally, its head rolled free.

He didn't have time to turn around before something hit him hard in the head and he fell over, dazed and tasting copper in his mouth. The two jackals he had thrown the dirt towards stood over him, one with a short spear held high, about to thrust it downwards into Karon's chest.

Instead it dropped it and clutched at its throat, as did the other jackal.

Confused, Karon sat up and held his head carefully, watching as the jackals began puking water. It ran out of their mouths and noses in a stream, showing no sign of stopping, and the jackals grew more and more panicked as they couldn't breath. They began shaking in spasms, clawing at the dirt and their own throats, until eventually they fell down with bulging eyes, and a last bit of water trickled out.

Karon turned his head and saw the shaman from earlier walk out from one of the buildings, only one tracker following her this time and looking a lot worse than he had earlier. Blood stained the both of them, and the tracker looked to have a bad cut on his face. Smiling in gratitude Karon stood up on shaky legs and walked over to them, picking up his spear on the way.

When he reached them, the shaman didn't say anything, she merely touched him with her rod and he felt healing energies being channeled into him, speeding the healing process greatly and bringing relief to the strain the magic had put on his mind.

It was with a bit of irritation that Karon realized that killing the jackals had been a waste. His plan demanded there was at least one survivor to go spread fear amongst the other jackals. One or two would not be enough. He needed to have a lot of terrified jackals looking over their shoulders to the point they simply gave up and ran all the way home.

An idea took form in his head, and looked at the shaman and asked, “Can you summon more water? A lot of water?”

“To call on nature and grant me aid, allows me to call of water, if need be an entire cascade.”

“Good, then I have an idea...”

                              ******************************************************

“Something is going on with the jackals on the lower levels,” Daring reported.

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked.

“Well, the jackals on the higher levels are running around, chasing zebras and looking like they're ... enjoying themselves. The jackals on the lower two levels are not. They sneak around in big numbers and keep looking over their shoulders like they're afraid something is gonna pop up any moment and eat them.”

“Maybe it's Karon's doing?” Lyra suggested.

“Well whatever it is he's doing, it's not enough. There's a LOT of jackals on the upper three levels and we will lose pretty much every warrior if we try getting to the palace as things stand now,” Daring told the two ponies and looked at the assembled zebras waiting behind them.

They had picked up three separate groups, making a total of one hundred and three zebras following them. Most were warriors with a few trackers and two magic users – zebras called them shamans – thrown in the mix.

The small army was hiding inside a large storage building of some kind right at the great gate between the second and third city level. They had been waiting for Daring to come back with news before planning to move forward, but with the news she had brought it seemed they couldn't move without risking total slaughter.

“Well … try and scout some more then … we'll just have to wait for master to come through for us,” Trixie said and fiddled with her hooves.

Daring sighed but did as the unicorn said. It would be up to Karon to give them an opening.

                            ****************************************************

The square was packed with jackals, numbering in the hundreds. Either arguing over spoils they had taken from the zebras they had murdered, or enjoying a leg or flank from said zebras. There was a big pile of them in the middle of the square, free for any jackal to grab from and eat. The square was on the third level of the city, and the news of the insane human with pet nyegere at his beck and call had yet to reach them.

So when a zebra tracker suddenly ran out in open view and stopped wide eyed as he saw all the gathered jackals, they didn't think twice of pursuing him as he turned and ran. The entire collection of jackals turned into a howling horde as predatory instincts kicked in and they ran snarling after what they perceived to be easy pickings.

Yet when the horde passed around a corner, they all stopped simultaneously as they came upon the waiting Karon. He stood in a wide stance, spear held loosely at his side and a sneer on his face, and most notably, he stood within a circle of seven jackal heads spitted on wooden poles.

The horde stood unmoving, barely comprehending the scene before them. Group thinking soon reasserted itself and the jackals howled in blood-thirst, the zebra forgotten entirely they rushed forward to answer the insult Karon had delivered upon their fallen.

“So predictable.”

They rushed towards the human standing in the center of their dead, seemingly waiting for them to reach him patiently. So it was with great surprise the first jackal threw itself at him with open jaws and passed right through the illusion, which disappeared at the physical contact. The swarm of jackals stopped, looking around confused at what had just happened.

And they became even more confused when from the sky a great body of water was suddenly dumped upon them, drenching every single jackal in the hundreds strong group. Dripping wet they all turned their faces when one of them barked and pointed at Karon standing on one of the rooftops looking down on their wet forms.

They snarled loudly in challenge, to which Karon simply raised his left hand, sparks dancing between his fingertips.

There was a single jackal in that sea of hundreds smart enough to cringe as it realized what was about to happen. The rest were blissfully unaware, until Karon's lightning struck down on them. It was a spectacular scene, and the screaming of hundreds of jackals writhing in pain was nearly deafening. No jackal within the city could have missed hearing it.

But Karon's plan hadn't been to kill them. No, the water wasn't enough to for that and despite him having sent as much electricity as he could possibly generate. But it had been enough to render them senseless, leaving their bodies hurt, and most importantly, vulnerable to mental influence.

He went back inside the house and descended the stairs. On the ground floor, the zebra tracker had stood guard while the shaman sat completely still in deep communication with nature. It had taxed all her strength to ask such a grand favor of it, and she would need several days rest to recover her strength. Karon had not been bothered to hear that news. He could handle the rest now that he had hundreds of jackals to spread the message of terror to the rest of them.

A few had died after all, but most remained alive if slightly singed, and judging by the mental landscape Karon entered into, more than a few had sustained brain damage. At first the messages was elaborate, if slightly varied.

“You saw it, ponies coming to save the zebras. They killed so many of you with their magics, and there is an entire army coming led by the princesses themselves. You saw me standing amongst so many corpses, I was laughing. You must run, tell as many jackals as you can to run before you are all killed.”

“It was horrible, the magic unleashed killed so many so fast. You were led into a trap, I was waiting for you and I slaughtered you. With a single move of my hand so many screamed and fell down dead, and those that I kept alive I forced to eat the dead. I forced jackals to eat jackals. I forced you to eat of your dead, and I let you go only so you could tell all the others in the city that I am coming for them. I stood there, laughing while you died.”

“You couldn't stop me, you couldn't fight me. I swept through you like it was nothing. I used Bator's promise against you, your greatest dream tasted a river of jackal blood. You have to flee, you have to warn all the others to flee. Bator's promise is lost. Bator's promise is in the hands of a monster. I laughed the entire time, I laughed as I killed jackal after jackal.”

As the strain of implanting the memories and suggestions grew after each jackal, the complexity of the messages lessened, and at the end when Karon had gone through nearly all of them, he didn't even care to specify what had happened.

“You felt fear, you are terrified of me. I did horrible things, you must flee before I come for the others. Warn them before it is too late.”

“I brought your greatest fear to life and waded through dead jackals while laughing, you must warn the others and flee.”

“Run, run back home screaming and never forget the sight of me laughing while killing you in the hundreds.”

Exhausted from invading the minds of a little less than three hundred jackals, Karon staggered back into the house where the tracker was watching over the shaman. He fell down on one of the piles of pillows and closed his eyes, savoring the moment of rest. Now he would have to wait, the jackals would wake up soon, and even thought their experiences would be flawed and very different from jackal to jackal, they underlying message would be clear.

Time to go home.

                                  *****************************************************

“Something is definitely going on,” Daring told Trixie and Lyra after having come back form one of her scouting trips.

The zebras had been growing restless, and the tentative leadership position the ponies had found themselves in was beginning crack under the pressure.

“Explain,” Lyra asked and rubbed her forehead with a grimace.

“Well, something has made the jackals very upset. They're running around like crazy, gathering up into their usual tribes from what I can see before fleeing.”

“What!?” both unicorns present asked, stunned by the sudden change of fortune.

“Yeah, they're running for their lives I would say. There's still plenty of jackals left, but they're all gathered in big groups and looks like they don't want to stick around. And most of the ones located on the upper city levels are making their way down to the lower ones or into the palace.”

“Must be Karon,” Trixie commented, her voice infused with pride.

“You think it's safe to move on now?” Lyra asked the pegasus and received a shrug in return.

“Well, I don't think safe is the right word. The city is still invaded and there's plenty of jackals left around and inside the palace, but if you could fly up with me you would see maybe a thousand  jackals out on the savanna running north, and more are streaming out as we speak.”

“Good enough,” Lyra said and raised her voice loud. “The jackals are fleeing! Those that are won't be enough to stop us! It's time to go save the empress!”

The news was meet with cheers and hooves stomping the floor in eager anticipation, and it was with high spirits the warriors left their hiding place and started on the path towards the palace. Picking up all the scattered groups of warriors they could find on the way with Daring's help. One way or another they wouldn't stop until they had retaken their city. The jackals gave little resistance to their advance, giving ground quickly and retreating at the slightest pressure.

Never did the zebras screaming their battle cries and charging forward understand that it wasn't them the jackals feared, as much as the thought that somewhere in that advancing army of black and white there was a red clad monster, laughing with blood thirst, wielding their greatest treasure against them.

                                  *********************************************************

An hour, maybe two had passed before all the jackals that would wake up had done so and left. Some of them had run screaming as false memories ravaged their minds, forcing them to feel terror and despair, imagination clashing with reality until all they really felt was the need to warn as many of their own and then flee.

Karon had waited an additional half hour after those jackals had left, wanting to make sure they had ample time to spread panic amongst their ranks. The stories would all be different, but the thing they all had in common was the sight of Karon laughing and doing something horrible to them. It would be enough, and the clashing accounts would only serve to make them more afraid as confusion and uncertainty set in.

After making sure the shaman was alright, he had left her and her tracker guardian, making his way up another level of the city. At first, he had sneaked and done his best to keep hidden, but after having encountered a small group of four jackals openly, only to have them run screaming away at the first sight of him, he dropped all attempts at stealth.

He wandered openly in the middle of the grand road leading towards the palace, and always, always the jackals fled. It didn't matter if it was two or twenty, they all fled eventually. One large group Karon encountered had hesitated, until Karon had launched a lightning bolt into the jackal at the front, then like the rest they scattered in all directions, thinking he could do the same to all of them.

Had they actually stayed and fought, he would have been crushed within less than a minute, but the power of deception was working in Karon's favor, and with each encounter and story spread between the remaining jackals the fear grew until it seemed to take a life on its own. The legend of Bator's promise was replaced that day. The glorious dream of conquest had changed into a story telling of a nightmare that waited down in the zebra lands.

The zebras would tell their children horror stories about the jackals, the jackals would tell their children horror stories about Karon. Such was the power of a trickster's deceptions.

“A lesson well learned. We have quite a bit of power it seems, to have nearly sent an army packing because they think I'm coming for them....”

“We're not done yet, but I see your point.”

“I think I understand now why Varsif was so adamant about us not turning into some kind of classic villain bent on destruction.”

“Well, we're not. However the jackals don't need to know that.”

His ascent towards the palace went unchallenged, and he noticed not just a few dead jackals on his way up. Either the zebras had fought a lot harder here than when the jackals first arrived, or Karon wasn't the only one heading up towards the palace.

“We'll see if they the three of them managed to scrounge up some warriors to help.”

“Fear or not, if the jackals up in the palace feel they are backed into a corner they will fight hard. And I'm not sure if we can manage even if Trixie and Lyra scraped together some zebras.”

“If not we'll try stealth. If we kill Vako and get the empress and Zuku and any of their other leaders to organize the warriors, they can handle driving the jackals out now that they're so broken.”

Getting to Vako was key. He was the one that had gathered the jackals and forced them into working together. Kill him and the jackal unity would break.

With the loose plan in mind, Karon reached the great gate outside the palace. It was guarded by jackals who actually didn't run screaming at the first sight of him. Though they were moving in nervous twitches and kept looking at one another for what to do.

Karon ignored them and looked to the buildings around him. It was obvious that they belonged to nobles or wealthy merchants from their size, and if the ponies had managed to get any warriors for an assault, they should be hiding somewhere inside one of them. So he turned away from the fearful jackals waiting to see what he would do and took a left, walking into one of the manors. And was promptly meet with about ten spears leveled at his throat.

From the gloom zebras emerged, a lot of them. The entrance was a big open space, and yet it was cramped with zebras hiding.

“You wouldn't happen to have been brought here by three ponies?” Karon asked innocently, and the zebras looked confused.

“We were,” came the answer, and then he received a question in return.”Who are you?”

“I'm Karon, trickster, mage and traveler that likes to pick up stray ponies. Now where are they?”

“The ponies are in the house across the street, there are warriors inside with them.”

“Oh … so how many of you did they get?”

The way he formed the question didn't make the zebras look happy, but they put away their spears and answered him still.

“We are more than four hundred strong warriors and trackers, we were waiting for the ponies to give sign that whatever they planned was done and it was time to attack.”

“It should come any minute now, they were just waiting for me.”

“For you? Good, then we can finally take back great Mjimkuu from the filthy jackals!”

“Get ready then,” Karon said in good bye and walked out into the street, crossing it without giving the jackals standing at the gate a second glance.

When he entered into the house he was welcomed exactly as he had been in the last, the difference here was that his friends were present.

“Karon! Finally, we've been waiting for hours,” Lyra told him after the zebras had given them some space.

“Master, we managed to gather little more than four hundred zebras for the attack,” Trixie quickly added and smiled proudly.

“Good. Who is the highest ranking zebra here?” he called out loudly.

“I am,” a tracker wearing golden feathers on his headband said and stepped forward.

“Good, you're in charge. You can go ahead and attack whenever you want to. The jackals should be as soft a target as they'll ever be right about now.” Karon told him.

The zebra grinned fiercely and ran out the door and into the street, there he turned to face the confused jackals guarding the gate. He screamed a shrill looping scream, and in answer every zebra warrior gathered for the attack poured out of their hiding places and charged at the gate.

Karon and the ponies hung back, waiting for the house to be emptied, then he spoke.

“We let the zebras deal with the jackals. The important thing is getting to Vako. Kill him and we're pretty much done, at least with our part in this whole thing.”

“So we just let them fight while we do what?” Lyra asked.

“Sneak inside. I can veil us for a short time.”

“You three do that. I'll go help the zebras with breaking the jackal ranks. A little air support never hurts,” Daring said and patted the whip at her flank.

Karon nodded to her in understanding and she zipped out of the house, leaving the trio behind in the gloom.

“What if he's in the middle of the battle?” Lyra asked him.

“Then we can let the zebras deal with him and go find the empress instead.”

“So ... how were you planning on finding him master?” Trixie asked.

“With magic of course,” came the vague response.

“And how long will this magic take?” Lyra asked and raised an eyebrow.

“A few minutes maybe, not long,” Karon said easily and sat down cross legged.

Lyra sighed and rolled her eyes at the lack of explanation and walked out the door to observe the battle while Trixie remained and watched over Karon.

                                         ***************************************************

He was soaring over the fight raging on the ground. The jackals were savage in their technique and tore into their opponents. However the zebras nurtured a centuries old hatred for the jackals that had been bred into them for many generations, and now they were defending the very heart of their empire. And so they fought back just as savagely, wielding spear, knives and other exotic weaponry Karon had no name for.

From his position over it all, Karon could see quite clearly that while the zebra's thoughts were united, moving like a wave forward, the jackals were clumsy. There was no unity of thought, and they all fractured into tiny groups fighting the zebras and payed no attention to the other groups alongside them.

He had done a good job destroying the jackals' morale, and it had also had an unexpected effect. The fear he had spread among them had forced the jackals to seek safety in their tribal brothers, which had made the already present cracks between them all the bigger.

There was no jackal army anymore. Vako had already lost his leadership, he just wasn't aware of it yet. The zebras were fighting a collection of tribes who if not for the common enemy, would be fighting each other, and it showed. Soon they would break completely, and as one tribe would try to escape, so would all the others.

Pleased with the turn of events, Karon turned from the palace courtyard and flew inside, moving through the corridors and rich rooms filled with art and treasure. Much of it had been trashed or piled up by the jackals, no doubt thinking they would bring it back home. Or perhaps Vako had gained ideas about simply keeping the city as the first of many he would conquer once he got a hold of Bator's promise.

However, despite the great mobility presented by traveling as a spirit, the palace was still a huge place, and finding where Vako was could take hours. And as the zebras would push back or drive the jackals off, Vako would grow more desperate, and the empress and whoever else was with her would be in danger.

Karon did not particularly care for her, and he stopped in shock when he realized that he wasn't doing this for her at all. This was not about serving the empress, nor was it about taking revenge on Vako and the jackals for the untold slaughter they had committed. He was doing it because it was right, because it felt right. Opposing Vako felt right, just as giving the empress lip and opposing her should she do something he didn't care for felt right.

It was HIS nature … it was a trickster's nature.

He was the challenger, the radical change and the being of many faces. He was not easily caught or defined. He was complexity and whim, laughter with a subtle undertone of clever understanding.

The epiphany brought a smile to his ethereal lips, and he felt he was joined by a presence. He turned his head and saw another spirit form hovering to his left. It was the zebra shaman who had helped him down in the city. He felt her sending him an impression, she wanted him to follow her. She knew where he was supposed to go, where he had a role to play.

He nodded his head and followed her through the walls and upwards, passing through the stone of the palace like it was nothing but air. Until they reached a grand chamber, perhaps one of the empress's personal ones. The empress herself was there, on the floor, battered and mistreated but nothing that looked fatal.

Zuku on the other hand was worse. He was bloodied and his entire face was swollen. In addition to that, his right foreleg was obviously broken if the bone sticking out was any indication.

And Vako was there too. He was growling to himself and observing the battle going on down in the courtyard from a balcony. There were four other jackals in the room, guarding the door and keeping an eye on the prisoners. An idea struck him, and even though it would be taxing, he felt guided to it, like it would provide exactly the reaction the situation required.

He floated over to one of the jackals, and he could see how the shaman gave him a crooked smile as she understood what he was doing. She gave him a wave of farewell just before he bridged a connection to the jackal's aura and was sucked in.

                           ********************************************************

“Why aren't they fighting better!” Vako growled loudly and turned away from the balcony. His jackals were being bested by ZEBRAS! He had heard the tales so many jackals had come running with, of grand armies and unspeakable horrors streaming into the city to hunt for the jackals, led by that strange creature that had somehow found Bator's promise. That cursed creature that had escaped within the sandstorm, escaped using magic!

Vako growled loudly again and marched over to the pathetic leader of all zebras.

“You said he was nothing! You said he was just a prisoner, a disposable spy! So why are your warriors attacking me? Do they not care for their empress? It is that thing's doing. First he stole our greatest treasure and now he tries to steal this city from me!” he screamed at the empress.

She coughed and cleared her throat before replying, spitting out the blood collecting in her mouth.

“I have no control over what the human does, and if he is making so much trouble why don't you go out and face him? Or is the great Vako afraid?” she laughed.

Vako roared and struck her hard in the jaw, and raised his paw to strike again, but something happened first. One of the guards posted at the door went insane. It started screamed and grabbed the jagged sword that hung at its belt, striking out against the three other jackals standing around him.

It took them entirely by surprise, and before they could properly react, two were already on the floor, clutching their leaking throats as their life fled from them. The fourth guard was quicker, and parried the frantic blows with practiced ease, before stabbing his own sword into the insane jackal. But his eyes widened in fear when the jackal's insanity proved stronger than the pain, and the jackal tore out the guard's throat with its fangs before he could pull his sword back for another swing.

Chest heaving, the insane jackal turned to Vako who was staring in disbelief at what had just happened. Blood trickled out of the jackal's mouth when it spoke, but the voice remained clear.

“Hello Vako...” it said, twisting the head until it looked like it would fall off. “I take it you want my spear? Don't worry, I will be here soon, and you can try and take it from me.”

“Filthy magic!” Vako growled, but Karon saw the fear despite the bad eyesight of the jackal he was possessing.

“Yes Vako … magiiiiiic. Do you think you can protect yourself from it?...You can't. There is nothing you can do … except wait.”

The jackal fell to the floor abruptly, and it started shaking as it understood what had just happened, and it clutched the sword sticking out of its stomach with a pitiful whine.

Vako marched out to the balcony again and looked down. He couldn't see the creature, the human, but he knew he was coming. He roared so loud that it could be heard even above the clamoring of the battle down below, and the jackals found themselves feeling very afraid.

                                        *******************************************

Karon rose from the floor with a wicked smile on his face.

“That should put him out of balance.”

“But not enough, I have no interest in fighting a beast like Vako in a straightforward battle.”

“So we cheat, what's the problem?”

“He's smarter than most jackals and has a strong will. We saw that while inside the ruin.”

“Okay, but he must be feeling at least some fear right now, just keep on pushing him. Make him lose himself to emotions, then we can strike.”

“We could always try just trash talking him until he goes completely insane with rage.”

“That sounds kinda risky. Let's save that as a back up plan.”

“Master, have you found him?” Trixie asked carefully and approached him.

“I have. He's with the empress and Zuka,” he told her and walked out of the building into the street.

Lyra stood there, watching as the zebras and jackals were busy killing one another inside the courtyard.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

She turned to face him looking thoughtful.

“No I … I never thought I could watch somepony die and not feel terrified or disgusted.”

“So what do you feel?”

“Honestly … I feel like it's sad but not terrible. Like … sometimes it can't be avoided, and it's not about trying to stay alive but … finding something worth dying for.”

“Maybe you're right,” Karon said simply and looked over at the raging battle, the bodies of dead zebras and jackals littering the ground.

“I'm not sure it's a good thing I feel this way,” she said and shook her head.

“You're not sure it's a bad thing either,” Karon commented, and they were joined by Trixie. “Anyway, I have found where Vako is. I'll veil us and we can get behind the jackal line unseen. After that, we get to him as fast as possible and make up a plan for confronting him.”

The ponies nodded in consent and felt the field of invisibility form around them. They headed through the gates and kept to the far reaches of the courtyard where there were fewer combatants, slinking through the jackal lines without trouble.

The entrance into the palace interior was heavily guarded and jackals blocked every inch of it, forcing the ponies to stand on Karon's shoulders and crawl through a window before helping him do the same. The corridors themselves were largely empty, and only a few times did they actually pass by any jackals, and they looked busy trying to gather as many valuables as possible and made little makeshift bags from tapestries and rugs to carry it with them once they fled.

Karon dropped the field once they got close to the chamber where Vako would be waiting, unless he had actually done the smart thing and fled, which seemed unlikely.

“So, what's the plan?” Lyra asked when Karon stopped and told them they were almost there.

“He's huge and incredibly dangerous, so I would prefer if we found a way that didn't involve me fighting him directly.”

“So you want to try and use some kind of magic to beat him?” Trixie asked and looked delighted.

“Yes … anyone got any ideas?”

“Well ... we could throw things at him with our telekinesis,” she proposed.

“Do you know if there's anything we could use for that inside?” Lyra asked.

“...well I saw a lot of pillows,” Karon offered weakly.

Lyra facehoofed and Trixie looked like she wanted to do the same.

“No, no, no, no wait. It might actually worth, pillows are light so you should be able to bombard him with them. Okay here's the plan, we will go inside and I will proceed to taunt Vako, really make him angry. And when he can't take it anymore and attacks, you throw all the pillows you can at him and keep going. He will be frothing at the mouth pretty quickly. When he gets angry enough that he loses all mental control, I will be able to attack his mind. Once I get my grip on his brain it will be over.”

“Are you sure this will work? This plans sounds like it hinges on you making a dangerous enemy as dangerous as possible,” Lyra noted.

“Well … yeah,” Karon admitted and grinned at the two unicorns.

They both rolled their eyes at exactly the same time, but they couldn't keep a slight smile from their faces.

“Let's go then,” he said and led them towards the chamber.

When they got to the door Karon hesitated, then shrugged his shoulder and kicked the door open, which slammed into the walls with a satisfying bang.

“Okay, stylish. Now come up with some standard derogatory taunting dialogue and proceed to let him get pummeled with pillows.”

“When you say it like that, it just sounds silly.”

Vako stood in the center of the room, giant ax resting in his paws and a look of fury already on his face.

“This will be easy.”

“Okay, trash talk ... what you got?”

“Truth.”

“So you've come to deliver Bator's promise to me?” Vako said, gripping his ax so hard Karon heard his knuckles crack. “As thanks I will reward you with a swi-”

“I'm gonna stop you right there fur-face. Not that I can't appreciate a good villain monologue and megalomaniac ranting, but you've simply not earned that right. You've invaded a city with pure shock and awe, congratu-fucking-lations. You've managed to temporarily best a species of grass eaters. Done your ancestors proud on that one I'm sure. Of course they're down there now kicking your jackal asses. Well, the jackals that haven't already fled from the city screaming in terror like little bitches, that is."

“So what did you think would happen? You would come here demanding the empress order me to give you the spear and you'll run into the sunset and take over the world? I've met idiots with delusions of grandeur before, but at least they had the mental capacity to figure out how soap works. You never had a chance Vako, not against me. I'm not a hero, but I have faced villains before far greater than you. Hell I've faced a giant dodo bird that was greater than you. You are all bark and no bite. You are a pathetic little mutt trying no doubt to compensate for having a tiny dick. I'm not a hero, but I'm a great fucking trickster and before me you are NOTHING. I've faced great villains and bested them Vako, and in the world of villains, you're the high school drop out.”

The jackal roared with righteous anger, charging at Karon with spit flying out of his open jaw to tear the insolent creature apart. Halfway there, his roar was silenced as a silky pillow flew into his mouth, and he stopped and coughed out the feathers he had breathed in after it had torn from his sharp fangs.

And then more pillows flew at him, a constant barrage of pillows that hit him in the face, blinding him as they punched into his eyes and rendering him unable to express the absolute fury that overtook him unless he wished to swallow more feathers.

“That should do it.”

Karon stretched out towards the infuriated jackal and latched on to his aura easily, it burned like a fire with nothing but rage. There was not a single coherent thought inside his head at the moment, only the primal desire to destroy everything in sight. It was almost too easy, taking control of the process, switching the energy from rage to fear. A tiny little change, and suddenly Vako was cowering on the floor, holding his arms up like he was shielding himself from a blow.

His mind became aware again then, the sudden change didn't compute with what had just happened around him. So Karon gave it a logical reason for why he was feeling such terror.

“You have lost everything.”

Vako shook his head back and forth, whimpering like a little child as his world was taken from him with a single mental suggestion.

“I have taken your strength. You are weak.”

The jackal whimpered even louder and the ax fell from limp hands, thinking himself to weak to hold such a heavy weapon.

“There is only one thing that can save you. One thing to keep your worst nightmares from becoming real.”

A tiny sliver of hope, and it made the terror all the more terrible for it.

“The balcony; you must jump from it. Only then can you escape me.”

Vako screamed as conflicting thoughts and emotions raged inside of him. Parts of him knew he would die and something was very wrong, but the other parts were firmly in Karon's grip. The jackal threw himself from side to side like he was trying to make the invisible claws let him go, but they didn't. Karon feed all the energy he could into the suggestion, into the fear, into the absolute certainty that there was no other option left.

He fell down to his knees, and at the same time Vako rose from the floor and ran out the balcony. And with a last roar of terror, rage and disbelief, he found himself falling towards his death. Only in the last instant before hitting the ground did Karon let go, and Vako's mind became his own, and only then did he realize what had happened.

By then it was far too late.

The entire battle had stopped for a moment when the combatants heard Vako's final scream, and after it had ended with his death, it took on another shape completely. Not a single jackal had any thought about remaining in the city after watching their great chief fall to his death, and the zebras chased them all the way out the city gates with great zeal.

Up in the chamber Karon was sitting against a wall, breathing calmly and letting his mind wander freely. After all the mental magic he had performed that day, it was not surprising reality seemed fluid, and his focus kept drifting now that he could allow himself to rest.

Trixie and Lyra were busy checking up on the empress and Zuka, helping the former to stand and the later to sit more comfortably. The empress reassured them she was alright, and she walked over to Karon with an unreadable expression. Before she could say anything, Karon spoke.

“You have no idea how much you owe us for all of this.”

Chapter 40: What we carry with us...

The empress was not a personable zebra.

Certainly, she had bestowed a great deal of praise upon the trio, and a begrudging thanks to Daring who had been a hair's breadth from being named a national enemy. However, between the work needed to bring the city back on its hooves and the investigation into the current state of the jackals, Nerfeti had found ample opportunity to avoid conversation with them.

And in all honesty, Karon didn't object. The rooms that had been made available for their use were luxurious, and there was always a servant nearby ready to fetch whatever was desired. That was what he had been told anyway, and Karon had found great pleasure in testing the boundaries of what the servants could bring to him. Things like alcohol, local crystals and herbs, zebra writings and … consorts, had been brought to him with impressive speed.

While things like the pink moss of fun turned out to be more difficult to acquire, there was little Karon could think of that great Mjimkuu didn't offer apparently. The only exception had been meat, which the servant had fainted after being ordered to procure. Karon had tried to laugh it off and tell the poor thing it had been a joke, and the servant had nervously bought it. After all, the strange creature calling itself a human had proven to be quick to laugh and even quicker to play jokes on the zebras around him.

His attitude had started to wear on their gratefulness towards him though, and it was most apparent in the somewhat chilly response he had started to receive. It might also have to do with the fact that most of the credit for saving great Mjimkuu was not granted to Karon, but rather it was given to the zebra warriors that had fought the jackals, and the three ponies that had helped bring them together.

The fact that Karon had gone to great lengths to break the jackals' morale, and that without him the attack would have most likely ended in a bloodbath in the jackals' favor, was either overlooked or not even known to most of Mjimkuu. His part as a central player in the incident was remembered only by the jackals, who would forever refer to him as “the blood monster”. A name that, thanks to the jackals' limited imagination, was mostly founded on the fact that he had worn red clothes.

Eight days had passed since the jackals were beaten back, and in those eight days, Karon had – besides testing the limits of the servants' patience – done some thorough soul searching. Most of it had been with the assistance of alcohol, the lovely zebra consorts and the pink moss of fun, but there had been long nights after those activities where he had reflected on what had happened to him during the last few months.

During those eight days, busy with self discovery and hedonistic exploration, Karon had usually only seen Lyra at breakfast, after which she spent most of her day out in the city seeing what great Mjimkuu could offer. Trixie was the opposite, and he usually only saw her in the evening before he went out, during which time they continued to have their usual lessons.

Though the lessons were as usual, the atmosphere between him and Trixie was not. He couldn't put his finger on what had changed, but there was a slight shift in the way she talked, moved, looked at him and everything else for that matter. The mystery would have aggravated him had he been less busy enjoying whatever pleasures the grand capital could provide, so instead it remained something he had kept in the back of his mind.

And it was on such a night, after he had watched Trixie close his door behind her after another lesson, that he sprawled himself in the pile of pillows the zebras used as beds and tried to summarize the last day's results of introspection in words.

It didn't work.

For every sentence he tried to form, every word sought, something was left out. Curiously enough, it didn't upset him in any way, and if anything, it made him calm. The fact that he couldn't capture what was going on within himself was probably a good sign. It meant that the absolute certainty that things couldn't get better and that he was doomed to misery was perhaps not altogether right. He was a mystery even to himself, and that left enough room for a tiny sliver of hope.

He smiled up at the ceiling and then rose; it was high time to get going. Amusing as it had been to enjoy the decadence of Mjimkuu, it was only a brief moment of much needed rest. The road was calling and so was....

Destiny?

Whatever the answer may be, the result was the same. However, there was something he needed to do first before informing the ponies that they should pack their things. He needed to talk to Lyra. She had been very patient with him after all, accepting his irrational behavior before the attack and holding her tongue after, waiting for when he felt he was ready to talk. She had earned her place beside him – in more ways than he could ever have asked of her – and he needed to let her know that.

He walked through the dark corridors silently, sticking to the shadows out of pure habit. Lyra's room wasn't far away, and when he reached the ornamented door he knocked on it gently and waited. The unicorn opened it looking a bit sleepy.

“Karon? Oh, uhm … what do you want?” she asked and rubbed her eyes.

“To talk, if that's okay with you?” he asked and leaned against the frame.

Lyra blinked a few times then held open the door for him to enter, “Yeah, sure, come in.”

He stepped inside and looked around briefly. He had been inside her room before and noted that it was of a higher grade of luxury than his own. It might have made some think it showed the gratitude the empress felt towards those who had helped save her city, however in truth such luxury was the standard within the palace, and enjoyed even by most of the guests.

He walked over to one of the windows and looked out at the city draped in moonlight, turning the gold and red into midnight blue and gray, broken only by the light shining out through hundreds of windows. Where many cities would have fallen asleep at the late hour, great Mjimkuu was only now truly waking up.

“What did you want to talk about?” Lyra asked and walked over to one of the tables, taking one of the cups of water upon it.

“My favorite subject of course. Me.”

Karon didn't see Lyra roll her eyes, but he could well enough imagine it.

“I should have guessed. Anything special about yourself you want to talk about?” he heard her ask in an exasperated voice.

“My tendency to make a lot of mistakes would be a good start I think,” he answered with a slight smile.

“If you want to talk about that, we won't get any sleep tonight.”

The slight smile turned into a grin and he turned around to face her.

“Well how about we talk about you instead of me then?” he asked and quirked an eyebrow.

“Me?” Lyra asked and sputtered.

“What? Don't act so surprised that I care about you.”

“Well yeah, it's just that … we've never talked about me before,” she said and coughed gently.

“I know, but I'm asking now,” Karon responded and walked over to her, taking the cup from her and placing it back on the table.

She looked up at him with mixed emotions warring on her face, eventually her eyes narrowed as suspicion won.

“Are you trying to distract me from something?”

“No.”

“Are you trying to trick me into giving away some piece of information you'll use for some hidden agenda?”

“No.”

“Then what are you planning!?” she half shouted in frustration.

“Mostly I just want to know how you're doing … after everything that's happened I mean,” he answered and held out his palms placatingly.

She grumbled something to herself and walked over to the pile of pillows that was her bed, which she laid down upon with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“I'm good, I guess....” she said and left the words hanging in the air.

“I get the feeling there is more to it than that,” Karon noted and crossed his arms.

“Well I don't know, okay!” she responded irritated. “How am I supposed to know what's fine and what's not when I can barely understand half of what's going on?! I would never have been able to imagine anything like what we've been through happening to me back in Ponyville, so how am I supposed to know what I should be feeling!?”

“I've got no answer for that,” Karon shrugged and walked over to the unicorn before dumping himself down beside her.

“Figures when it comes to my own feelings you don't have anything to say,” she sighed.

“Well, if you're looking at it like you're supposed to feel something because that's what you're supposed to feel, I think you're looking at it the wrong way,” he said sagely, thinking back on Big Mac.

“Well what else am I to do? It's not like I understand how ponies like Daring are supposed to act and think and feel and whatever else.”

“You think you're like Daring?” Karon asked, more than a little surprised.

“I don't know … maybe. I don't mean her personally just … ponies like her, adventure ponies, great ponies. Like her, and the elements of harmony and everypony else you hear about in stories and ponytales. Because that's what we're doing right? The kind of things you hear about in stories?” she asked in a distant tone, her gaze roaming across the ceiling.

“I guess so, though I don't know who'll ever tell our stories,” Karon answered honestly.

“I'm certain somepony will, or a zebra, or something else. I don't know how much of it will be true though when they tell it,” Lyra said thoughtfully.

“Does it really matter? They might be the ones who tell the story, but these are our lives to live.”

“You're right. Still, it doesn't make it any less confusing. It would be nice to have somepony telling me our story so I know if it's a happy or sad one.”

“I can do that for you,” he responded confidently and cleared his throat before starting to speak in a deep and dramatic voice.

“Uhrm … This story is one of romance, of love and hate intermingled and desire walking hand in hoof with doubt. It is a story of tragedy, of flaws and weaknesses both in body and spirit, mind and heart, that leads to dark depths and from there rises. This tale is a dark tale, where the light doesn’t just cast a dark shadow, but instead is the canvas upon which small stars burn. This story is one of laughter, of foolish mistakes and clever trickery meant only to inspire a smile because it is a worthy cause. This tale, our tale, is one of adventure, of discovery both within and without, and the danger that dwells in both. Our tale, this story that is just a small glimpse of our lives Lyra, is all these things. But above all … it is an awesome tale.”

She turned her head and smiled at him.

“That doesn't sound so bad,” she said.

“No … it doesn't,” he agreed and looked her in the eyes.

“Karon....”

“Yes Lyra?”

“If you try and kiss me now or anything, I will slap you.”

He chuckled and sat up, leaning back on his elbows.

“I'll try and control myself then.”

“Just checking,” she said and chucked with him.

They both enjoyed the ensuing silence. Not for what it was alone, but rather because it was born out of a moment where they were both content and didn't need to say anything further. However, after a few minutes Karon broke it anyway.

“Ever since that time Trixie and I were forced to walk the plank, after I nearly died from drowning, I have tried to kill myself Lyra,” he admitted.

She meet his gaze steadily and answered quietly.

“I know.”

“You did? You never said anything,” he said with furrowed eyebrows.

“It wouldn't have helped. It would have just made you afraid that I would find a way to stop you, and you would have rushed into it without thinking. I could see it in your eyes, they were growing colder every day no matter how many times you smiled. You can't fool me Karon, I KNOW you. I might not know everything about where you have been and what you think and feel, but I know enough.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am, but I can't help you if you don't let me. If you keep acting like a stranger to me instead of a friend, I can't help you. I won't hurt you, I promise.”

“I'm not afraid of you hurting me Lyra, I just don't know what I'll do to myself if I would let anyone see me without hiding anything … It's risky.”

“You will never know if you don't try it,” she noted wisely, pointing at him with a light accusation in her voice.

“I know … but never is a long time, and I know it's not time for it yet.”

Lyra looked like she had bitten down on a sour fruit, and she turned her face away from him. For a moment anger, pain and fear flickered across her face one after the other, and settled on worry before she turned back to face him. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then held her silence, hesitating. Karon got the sense that if she'd had hands she would have balled them into fists out of helplessness, and the anger that followed. And when she finally spoke, there was a bitter undertone of surrender, but only temporary, because it was founded on compassion.

“Okay Karon, but will you at least promise that you will try and be a little more open with me, just a little bit. I would like to think that after what we've been through together there is a little part of you that I can call my own.”

“'Your own'?” Karon asked with a hint of laughter.

“Yeah, like 'that part is just for you, because you're my friend and I can share that part with you'.”

Karon laughed at the suggestion, however when the laughter receded the words didn't drift from his mind.

“Something I would share with just her huh?”

“Come on, be nice. Think of something.”

“Uhh, well … If I think of something I'll let you know,” he told her and got up.

“Coward.”

She looked up at him with disappointment written over her face, and when Karon turned around his own features softened.

“Lyra, thank you for everything you've done. I'm glad you're with me.”

She gave him a half smile of self satisfaction and tilted her head, recognizing the acknowledgment for what it was. He bade her good night after that and left her room behind for his own bed. He was far from tired, but if it was truly time to leave Mjimkuu, he should make an attempt at getting some sleep. The walk to wherever they would head to next would probably be long no matter where it lay.

After he took off his clothes and laid down on the mass of pillows, he felt strangely heavy, and despite the fact that he shouldn't be as tired as he was, fatigue overtook him. His eyelids closed all on their own, and it was as if he could feel the weariness of the coming days reach out to him, a small taste of what was to come.

But it didn't matter. Let the dark days come. He was ready for them now, and whatever waited ahead, he would face it with Trixie and Lyra at his side.

He fell asleep with a smile.

                               *******************************************************

He faced the black door with a clenched jaw, he knew what was happening. He could feel it, the erosion of his strength. He tried to will it firm, to force it to remain unbroken with the pure power of his mind. It didn't work, he couldn't fight against himself. And it was by the will of something inside him that the black chains twisted and coiled like serpents.

He tried to stop it, but the screams only grew louder, the smoke thickened and the roaring of a distant fire grew. The chains shook with raw power as they tried to escape the magic he had once wrought on himself. Until one of them sprung free, and fell clattering to the floor. The remaining chains calmed after that, but he knew it would not be for long.

And the screams grew ever louder, until a single shrieking voice roared out from them.

“YOUR FAULT!”

                                 ***********************************************************

Karon twitched awake violently, throwing his cover off and shaking with heaving breaths. Cold perspiration clung to his skin, making the air feel chilled and unwelcoming. He waited for the beating of his heart to slow its frantic pace, and rested his face in his hands.

He swallowed hard. It was coming undone. It would open soon and devour him, kill him from the inside.

He fell back on the pillows and wiped away the tears that had gathered around his eyes. On his hand a muted orange glow could be seen in the deep dark of night. The sight made him snort.

“Glowing eyes, what a stupid thing.”

“Well at least it looks cool.”

“How would you know? We've hardly seen it.”

“It's glowing eyes, of course it's cool.”

“I guess that's something at least.”

“Enough of this,” he half-growled and rose from the bed, putting his clothes on with angry movements. He grabbed his spear on the way out, itching for a chance to use it. Perhaps not to kill, but at least beat someone up and channel some of the excess emotional energy tearing at his heartstrings.

He had no such luck, and the zebras down in the city avoided making trouble with the human. He had garnered a bit of reputation down in some parts of the city, and so he was welcomed in certain establishments and found other ways to spend that energy until the point of exhaustion.

Even so, he didn't sleep anymore that night.

When dawn arrived, its deep orange was reflected in two bleary eyes of the same color, and a slight sardonic smile graced Karon's lips. The zebras knew how to have a good time, he would give them that, and it had been a nice distraction for the night. However, it was time to get moving, and even though the lack of sleep would make the traveling hellish, he only felt more convinced than before in the decision to leave.

On the way back to his room, he stopped at both Trixie's and Lyra's rooms and gave them the news, that it was time to leave. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised, but both the ponies seemed relieved when he told them, like they had just been waiting for him to give them the sign to pack up.

The trio had no idea where Daring was. The pegasus had stopped by from time to time and spent a while in their company before disappearing just as mysteriously, maybe preparing for or already on another of her grand adventures.

Karon had discovered after the tumult of the invasion had settled down, that his bag of bits had decreased in size drastically during his rather brief stay in prison. And after he had made his irritation clear to the empress about this, she had more or less showered him in golden trinkets and jewels. And although there were many mysterious and things unknown about the world of Equus to him still, he wasn't fool enough to think that jewels had quite the same value here as they did back on Earth. And so, he carefully picked among the finest crafted trinkets of gold, silver and some more unknown metals, yet their aura showed plainly that they were of the 'noble' kind.

But that was just payment, what he planned to use for selling and gaining money to use their travels. The real treasure he would take with him from great Mjimkuu wasn't anything of gold or careful crafting. The real treasure was one he would receive after he heard a knocking on his door, while he was going through the trinkets he had stuffed in his rucksack.

He shoved the glittering pieces back into it and walked over to the door, opening it with a slight creak, and hiding his surprise when he saw the zebra shaman that had helped him during the invasion standing outside.

“Hello?” he asked uncertainly when she didn't say anything.

“In deep sleep dreaming I was, when a spirit visit me does. A pony of white and gold says a message I must bring,'to be prepared to the past, no longer cling. That you must promise your loyal servant not to hold trapped within, that which you must share or your fear will win. It is okay to be afraid and take what time you need, but time is running out and right now your soul does bleed. And when the hope in the eyes has dried, your time has come, to be free or die inside'.”

Karon stared hard at the shaman, hiding his shaking hands behind his back. He swallowed hard and spoke in a voice held carefully neutral.

“Was that ... all?”

“No, she bade me give you this as well, to your unease, help you quell,” the shaman replied and presented to him her hoof, upon which a single white feather lay.

He took the feather tentatively, and felt a slight pulse echo from it. Spreading a calm through his nerves and easing his breath. He held it carefully and gave the shaman a grateful nod. She turned around to leave but hesitated, then tilted her head with a distant look in her eyes before speaking, the voice lighter than it had been before.

“And please remember to wash your clothes master. They're absolutely filthy and I'm not here to do it anymore.”

A shiver ran up Karon's spine and he felt a slight breeze touch his face, a cold distant presence that had reached out across the veils to him. The shaman shook her head and looked up towards the ceiling with an annoyed glance, then gave Karon a 'you know how it is' look and left him standing in the doorway.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to pile of pillows, stroking the feather in his hand with his thumb. It was smooth and very real, no simple illusion or ghostly image. Yet it didn't come from anything physical. It wasn't just a feather. It came from her spirit. She had given him a tiny piece of herself.

Karon rummaged through the trinkets he had shoved into the rucksack until he found a golden chain, he snapped a bit of the leather rope off the rucksack and tied the feather to the chain, before putting it around his neck.

Satisfied, he packed the rest of his things and took his spear and map and walked out of the room. He would need to say good bye to the empress. She wouldn't appreciate it if her 'heroes' sneaked out of her city without informing her that they were leaving. On the way to her favorite room, where he was most likely to find her, he stopped by at Trixie's and Lyra's rooms and told them to meet him there when they were ready to leave.

Neither of them needed any more time, and joined up with him as he went. Both the unicorns carried saddlebags that looked to be half full, perhaps loaded with similar trinkets like the ones Karon carried, or other treasure they had picked up in their stay at the capital.

They found the empress in her favorite room, which was incidentally the same one where Vako had been holding her and Zuka hostage. Most rulers would have avoided the place where they had been brought low by a competitor, however Karon suspected that the empress found some twisted glee in being in the same room Vako had plunged to his death from.

She was lounging on a pillow twice her size, two servants flanking her and four warriors guarding the entrance. They let the trio through without question, and the zebra didn't show any reaction to the surprise visit.

“Ah, my saviors. Did you wish to ask something more of me? Gold? Knowledge? Perhaps a few of our very skilled consorts?” she asked the last one with a brief flash of smile towards Karon.

“No, just wanted to let you know we feel it's time to move on,” the human replied evenly.

“Oh? Grown tired of our hospitality already?”

“I grew tired of it after the first minute in your jail. But it has been improved on since then, a little I admit. Even so, it's time to move on,” he said, keeping a diplomatic tone as best he could.

The empress' eyes glinted with vague amusement for a moment, then she waved her hoof dismissively.

“Very well, ask of us whatever provisions you need for your journey, and know that you will always be honored guests in our empire for as long as I rule.”

“We don't need much. Trixie, could you get some food for the trip and meet us at the outer gates? Something that will last us at least to the coast,” he asked the unicorn.

She nodded, and one of the two servants quickly joined the unicorn on her way out when the empress motioned for him to do so.

“Was there anything else you needed?” the empress asked.

“No, I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to stay here and the generous rewards,” Karon said.

Lyra stared at him like he had just grown two heads, and the empress couldn't hide her surprise quick enough for it to go unnoticed. More than surprised, she also looked a bit disappointed before adopting her usual expression.

“It was the least I could do for our saviors. Now if that was the last thing you wanted to say, I would ask you to leave me. I will have dinner with another merchant family soon and I need to be rested for it,” she said in a bored tone.

“Of course empress,” Karon said and bowed respectfully before exiting the room.

Lyra followed him, stumbling over herself with a shocked look and her mouth half open. When they were almost down the corridor and away from the room Karon stopped and looked down on her with a grin.

“What?”

“I … I just … you were NICE when you talked to hear. Polite even … Is something wrong?” she stuttered.

“Nothing's wrong,” Karon answered with eyes far too innocent looking for Lyra to be assured, and she didn't try to hide it.

“What? Can't I be polite to the ruler of an entire empire without others looking at me like it's something suspicious?” he asked in mock offense.

Lyra snorted, but accepted the explanation and walked down the hall with Karon following behind, not hiding his grin.

“Well, it's not like you were very respectful towards Princess Celestia OR Princess Luna ... or anypony else. Actually, I thought you said you actually smacked both of them on … the … Karon?” she turned around and didn't see anyone in the hall besides herself.

She swallowed hard as her suspicion grew, and she couldn't help but wince when she heard a loud sound, like something slapping somepony hard, drift down the hallway from the empress' room. The sound was followed by a large commotion and indignant shouting, accompanied by roaring laughter coming from an invisible source.

Lyra didn't stay to see what happened. She turned and ran towards the exit and the waiting city gate. She and Trixie would do well to hurry away before the empress decided her warriors should hunt more than just jackals. And all the way down the streets, she could hear laughter rising and ebbing, sometimes from the invisible Karon, sometimes from herself.

                 ***********************************************************************

The trio would leave the great Majani empire the same way they arrived, through the harbor town of Mosimji.

Karon stood on the wooden dock stretching out towards the sea, fishing boats lined it, and out in the deep water sat several larger vessels. They had spoken with the zebras around the docks and gotten to know the captain of one of the ships. A female gryphon who had eyed Karon with a lot of mistrust. After a short conversation he had concluded it would probably be best if they found another captain to take them away, less chance of him being killed in his sleep that way.

“What are you looking at?” Lyra asked and followed his gaze out the sea.

“I have a feeling we're supposed to stand here and wait for something?” he responded.

“Any idea what?” she asked and looked around.

“No, but I get the sense it's-”

“LYRA! What are you doing back here!? And Karon as well! You still even have the annoying unicorn forcing my stallions into slave labor with you!”

Mouth twitching at the description, Karon turned around and saw the familiar face of the captain of the 'Sea Swallow' walking towards them. Lyra ran to meet him while Karon and Trixie followed behind at an easy pace. The captain was wearing a large grin as he listened to Lyra's happy chattering.

“Well, now I know what we were waiting for at least,” Karon muttered and put on a smile.

“So you have been making trouble with the zebras?” the captain asked and looked up at Karon.

“You could call it that,” he told the captain and shrugged.

“Well, if you're done with whatever you wanted to do here, we would be more than happy to have you on board again,” the stallion carefully suggested.

Karon resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded.

“We are looking for a ship to take us back to the main continent. Are you heading there?” Lyra asked the old sailor.

“Sure we are, got a shipment for the minotaurs in Toro. The harpies are harassing ships on the southern route down the continent, so we'll be taking the northern detour around the continent then back down the other side of it. We'll be stopping at Las Pegasus on the way there if you want back into Equestria,” he finished.

Karon didn't respond, as he was busy investigating a feeling demanding his attention. He was being drawn, something or someone was calling to him. It came from a great distance, and he couldn't make out any details other than that he should go with the captain.

“I'm not sure where we're heading, but we'll go with you until I know,” he finally said.

“We'll then, let's get out there. The stallions are still out in town, but they'll be back on board before sunset, and then we'll haul anchor and move on,” the captain announced.

They took a small boat out to the ship, we're they meet some of the sailors, who were happy to have Lyra and Karon back. Though when they spotted Trixie, most of them found something to busy themselves with elsewhere.

They were given the same place to sleep as before, and after eating on top of the deck while watching the setting sun, the rest of the sailors returned from the town and they set sail.

The journey across the ocean was long, and weeks passed by where nothing but endless waters stretched in all directions. They ate, spoke and gambled with the crew to pass the time. And some nights, the sailors told stories of distant lands and stories they had heard about. Trixie mixed in well with the company thanks to her new found personality, and she looked a lot happier most of the time from it.

Eventually they reached the main continent, upon which rested the kingdom of Equestria, as well as the gryphon tribal lands, the minotaur nation of Toro, the otter kingdom and a lot of wild lands unclaimed by any governing body. They would be going around the northern edge of the continent, passing by the pine forests and tundra inhabited by the nomadic moose folk, renowned for their mastery of language, embodiment of masculinity, and breeding healthy and strong offspring like rabbits. Heading south and west after that they would reach Equestria's northern border with Las Pegasus at the tip, surrounded by desert and badlands.

And the place where Karon's infamy would move from rumors to legends.

It was before arriving in that city's harbor that Karon stood on deck with Trixie, watching as they got closer. The sense of something calling was still nagging at the back of his skull, however after the city came into view, he had realized it did not come from there.

“I've been to Las Pegasus before, doing a show. I hope they don't remember me there,” Trixie said and moved uneasily.

“You didn't mention anything about that before. Did something bad happen?” he asked.

“Well … maybe. But without my old clothes and wagon, I don't think anypony will notice me … I hope.”

“Hey cheer up. We could have died back around those cliffs when we were passing the moose's by.”

“I'm not sure this will be much better if they remember me,” Trixie said in a half whisper.

“Yeah, you're right. If we'd have crashed back there, we could at least have survived on eating pine cones,” Karon joked.

“Hey, I'm off the pine cones! I swore I would never touch the stuff again!” Trixie exclaimed defensively, and Karon looked at her with a weird face.

“Yeah ... okay, I'm going to get ready to get off. If you're gonna bring something, you should get it. Lyra mentioned she wanted to stay at least one night in the city, and since the ship is docking for three days, that's the minimum,” Karon finished and walked away.

Trixie watched him go uncertainly, then turned her gaze back towards the fast approaching city. She knew deep in her heart things wouldn't turn out well during their stay. Even so, when the rowboat was loaded and they went to shore, she didn't try to stay, and she went with them without saying anything.

She would come to regret that.

Chapter 41: Old ghosts

“Well … it could have been worse,” Lyra noted absently, staring out at the sea with a shocked expression.

She had been wearing the exact same look on her face for days now, and Karon knew it would stick with her for many more. He knew because his face was frozen in the exact same one, that of numb shock.

He heard the door leading to the lower deck open behind him, and when he turned to see who it was that was up at the late hour, his eyes locked with Trixie's. They stared at one another for a brief moment, then turned their gaze away awkwardly. And the unicorn went back down without a word.

They hadn't talked since the events in Las Pegasus, instead falling into the same awkward silence whenever they dared look into the other's eyes. Both of them knew they would have to talk about it sooner or later, and ordinarily Karon would have been the one to laugh it off and treat it as nothing.

However, this time it hadn't been nothing. It had definitely been something and he knew it, as did Trixie.

“Do … do you think the princesses will know it was us?” Lyra asked, a small frown breaking the monotony of the shock.

”I don't doubt they know it was us for a second … I signed all those documents with my name after all.”

”Maybe there's a pony somewhere named 'Karon the Awesome' that has no ties to us at all,” she suggested hopefully.

”Maybe … If so I feel really bad for him.”

”Yeah … the Equestrian army didn't look like they thought the whole thing funny,” she said, thinking back to the endless ranks of guard ponies ready to charge into the city.

”No, they didn't. Those siege weapons weren't there for fun,” Karon said, thinking back to the same scene.

”What do you think will happen to the city?”

”They'll get some small iota of common sense back and be re-assimilated into Equestria.”

”That's almost a shame. I worked hard on that flag,” Lyra sighed.

”Well I'm pretty sure it will crop up in some bars as a curiosity, or possible with some rebel faction wanting to bring back the 'Empire of Sin'.”

”I don't think Celestia or Luna likes the idea of having a tiny empire within Equestria,” Lyra noted dryly.

”I guess not. But at least we had some fun,” he said, trying to make it sound like a joke.

Lyra slowly turned her head to face him, and her shocked expression became unreadable.

”Karon … you created a city state and founded a religion....”

”Among other things,” he was quick to add.

Lyra stared at him for several minutes in total silence, then turned back to face the sea.

”Yeah … It was fun.”

Karon's mouth twitched at the corners, and then walked over to the door leading down to the lower deck. The city was far behind them now, and it was safe to say they must have escaped any immediate retribution. Even so, it would be a good precaution getting some sleep, on the off-chance that they were still being followed and would be attacked.

After all, that gorgon had been really pissed.

                               ***********************************************************

The days rolled by to the sound of crashing waves, the weather grew bad when the ship was attempting to take the north route around a large island, and as a result they had to take the south. Karon didn't understand why this seemed to bother the crew so much, and when he asked they only said it was because it would take them close to the mainland.

It was only when Karon cornered the captain in his own cabin that he finally got his answer.

”The land here is cursed, there's just wasteland and bones there. No sailor knows what that place is really, but we all know to stay away.”

”Bones? So you've been there at one point?” Karon asked.

”Me? Oh no, I would never set hoof anywhere near that place. But I know the stories of the fools that have. They say there's bones strewn around everywhere … alicorn bones.” the captain finished with a whisper.

Karon resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the captain's drama, but what he had just said did strike a note with Karon. Without another word, he exited the cabin and left the captain to resume his duties, heading down deck and grabbing his map. He unrolled it and traced his finger along the northern coast until he reached the area where the ship must be.

His fingers stopped just outside the coast of a large peninsula, upon which was written the words 'Alicorn wasteland'.

He tapped his fingers thoughtfully at the map.

”Must be where the alicorn kingdom used to be, the place Luna described.”

”Do you think it's important?”

”I don't know....”

”We should be able to see it soon from the deck.”

He rolled up the map once more and put it back in the tube, heading back up to the deck and grabbing the first sailor he saw.

”When will the mainland come into view?” he asked, ignoring the fearful expression the sailor displayed at the mention of the cursed land.

“M-maybe in an hour,” came the stuttered reply.

Karon turned his back on the sailor and walked to the bow of the ship, where Lyra stood in her usual place.

“Hey,” she said absently when he stopped next to her.

“Hey,” he said back, his eyes scanning the horizon to his left.

“Looking for something?” she asked when she noticed how intently his eyes were roaming the distance.

“Yes, and I have a sneaking suspicion about it,” he answered.

Lyra didn't ask further, She knew she would only gain a quasi mystical answer anyway. Instead she remained silent and waited for Karon to reveal what he was doing. She had to wait for more than an hour, and only when almost two had passed did Karon tense up and lean forward.

Far out in the distance, land could be seen. It had a vague sense of emptiness to it, despite the fact that it was barely within view. Lyra didn't understand why Karon squinted his eyes and took on such a look of concentration as he did, but that was because she didn't feel the calling he did. It rolled out in waves, much like the sea upon which the ship sailed, and it was half something he could hear and half something he felt.

It called to him, drew him towards it much like a siren's call. Not so strong that he would throw himself overboard and try to swim just to reach it, but strong enough that the closer the ship got the harder it became to ignore it.

“Shit.”

“I don't think whatever is calling to us will allow us to pass by without first stopping by and saying hello.”

“Nope.”

“Looks like we have a destination then.”

“Oh the captain is just going to love this.”

“Lyra...” Karon said and broke the silence.

“Yes?” she responded curiously, waiting for an explanation.

“Get your things, we're getting off there,” he said and nodded towards the distant shores.

He left her behind and went to inform the captain, and Lyra looked over at the approaching land thoughtfully, then went to get her belongings and tell Trixie.

As could be expected, the captain did not take the news well.

“NO! I refuse to take my ship closer to those damned shores than I absolutely have to! And what are you thinking, wanting to get off in such a place?!”

“You don't have to worry about us, we'll be safe. And nothing will happen to you or the ship from taking us ashore,” Karon reassured the livid stallion.

“I said NO! I am the captain of this ship and I say we will sail by that place without stopping and not even once look back!”

“Then I guess we will have to swim,” Karon said with a shrug.

“What?” the captain asked, halting his anger for just a moment.

“You heard me, I don't really have much choice in this. I need to get to that wasteland, even if it means I have to swim. Sure, Trixie and Lyra doesn't have to, but I don't think they'll let me go alone, so they'll swim too. Chances are of course that at least one of us will drown considering how far it is to shore.”

The captain looked helplessly at the human, and Karon knew he had him. The captains shoulder sagged and he sighed in defeat.

“Fine, I'll let you off at that thrice cursed place. But don't say I didn't warn you that there's evil there.”

“Noted. Now change the course.”

The captain mumbled to himself and went outside to bring the ship towards land, no doubt thinking he was leading the three of them to their deaths. Karon didn't have those concerns. Maybe the place did have its fair share of dangerous creatures, but no more than most places would. And the thing calling him had plenty of power to be able to contact him when he was almost halfway across the planet. It would provide some measure of safety for them, he knew that.

However sailors are superstitious, and the captain had long ago decided that the place was evil and held only certain death. Nothing Karon could say to him would change that.

The crew came close to mutiny when the captain turned the ship towards the shore, but after he told them they were only going to get close enough so that they could see Karon and the unicorn mares to shore with the rowing boat the grudgingly saw to their duties.

When they got close enough that the captain announced they would be rowing the rest of the way, Karon, Trixie and Lyra got in the little boat they had dropped into the sea. The captain had to force a few of the bravest of the crew to help get them to shore, and the entire way there the sailor looked ready to turn around at a second's notice.

Nothing happened to give them an excuse to do so though, and the trio jumped out of the boat into the sea, reaching up to Karon's waist and the ponies throats when the captain said he would take them no further. He bade Trixie and Karon good bye, and gave Lyra a quick hug, thinking it to be the last time he would see them.

Karon left them behind and waded to shore while Trixie followed, Lyra remained behind trying to convince the captain they would be alright.

When he sat foot on dry land, cracked and yellow with dust shifting in the wind, the calling reached a crescendo. It filled his mind completely, blocking out everything else, and Karon walked forward in a a haze, images flickering by like loose sheets of paper in front of his eyes.

“Karon?...Karon!?”

The worried voice hardly registered. There was only the calling, reaching out to him, and without really knowing, Karon reached back.

“KARON!”

He fell to his knees, dropping the spear and everything else he carried. He heard voices, and he tried to answer back, but his words only became senseless whispers. Hooves wrapped around him,shaking him, a voice screamed in his ear. It wanted him to listen, to come back.

He couldn't, he was already somewhere else.

                                             **************************************************************

The sun was shining with a pleasant warmth, making the day just hot enough that it drew the alicorns towards the water. Several lakes sat around the city, surrounded by trees in deep green at the height of their growth. Flowerbeds ran in beautiful patterns, mixing colors and smells in a way that both inspired serenity and passion amongst those who enjoyed their leisure time close by.

At the bank of a river, stretching out from one of the lakes, two young alicorn mares where busy splashing around in the water. Guards in white gold armor carved with glyphs and carrying sharp swords stood at a respectful distance. Enough to grant privacy, but close enough still to come to aid in a moments notice should anything happen.

Not that there was any reason to suspect the presence of danger, the few creatures that would name themselves enemies of the rulers of this world knew to keep away from their kingdom. And they certainly would know better than to threaten the two princesses currently playing together in the river, least they bring down such a retribution that the skies themselves would catch on fire.

The smaller of the two, a blue alicorn with a light blue mane, was busy trying to avoid getting splashed by her older sister, an alicorn of slightly pinkish white coat and a mane in a multitude of colors, constantly shifting with the whims of the mare herself.

“What's the matter sister? Isch wittle Woona afjaid of a little water!?” the bigger sister shouted, doing her best to drench the evasive mare thoroughly.

“Tia stop it! You're gonna ruin my mane!” the little sister responded desperately.

Too late, for with a great whoop of triumph the white alicorn threw herself at her sister and pushed her down into the water completely. She stepped back quickly and kept her mane away as the little sister burst from the water with an angry shout, and looked over at her bigger sister with a hurt look, her mane clinging to her face as water dripped from it.

“Look what you did,” she said, pouting her lips and looking miserable.

“Stop being such a foal. It was your idea to go down into the water,” the bigger sister reminded, tossing her still dry mane absently.

The blue alicorn didn't respond, she remained in the slow current of the river, refusing to meet her sister's eyes. The big sister in turn fought to keep her eyes from rolling and walked over to her drenched sibling cautiously. It was one thing to have Looney's mane ruined, it was completely another to have HER's destroyed.

Her's was much prettier after all.

“Alright, stand still,” she said needlessly. Her horn started to shine with a rainbow glow, and she stuck her tongue out slightly in concentration.

The little sister looked up hopefully when she felt the magical energies gather around her mane, twisting and coiling it, warming it. Until eventually it died down, and she looked down to see her own reflection in the water. She gasped in horror at what she saw, her normally beautiful mane was curled and broken in an uneven pattern, looking like somepony had electrocuted a small animal and put it on her head.

“Whoops,” the older sister said and tried to hide her giggle behind a hoof.

“What did you do!?” the little sister cried, close to bursting into tears from the looks of it. The older sister quickly regained her posture at that, she hated when her sister started crying.

“Calm down Looney,” she tried to comfort her, but only seemed to be making it worse.

“Stop calling me that, I hate it!”the little sister screamed and stomped her hoof, sending water splashing and making her sibling retreat.

“Don't forget what mother says, 'hating is a sure way t-” the white sister began.

“I don't care what mother says! She never ruins my mane like this and laughs at me!”

“Fine, fine. Just stop screaming and we'll go back to the castle. Somepony there will know how to fix your mane properly,” the older sister tried to lament with.

The blue alicorn stood uncertain, looking over in the direction of the castle with hesitation in her eyes.

“But Tia … everypony on the way there will SEE me like this,” she whined.

Celestia couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes now, and she couldn't keep the impatience out of her voice either.

“You're supposed to be a princess Loon … Luna, just suck it up. No alicorn, not even the little ponies, will respect you if you can't even handle a little mane problem.”

Without anything further to add, Celestia turned around and walked over to where the guards stood watch, and Luna soon followed after with a sullen look on her face. They passed the guards by without as much as a glance towards them, they would follow anyway.

The walk towards the palace cut through the capital of Equus, the world of the ponies. From one end to the other, over all of the three great continents of the planet, the alicorns ruled over the lesser ponies, guided them in their ways and taught to them the great mysteries of this world. There were small areas where other creatures resided, some of them able to rival the lesser ponies in intelligence. However they were of no real concern to the alicorns, as long as they did not interfere in the governing of the harmonic balance and the ruling of the world, there was no reason to interfere with them, few as they were.

The capital itself had no name, it was simple the capital. There was no separation of states, no borders except the natural ones, and as such there was only one capital. The center of the world, the home of the alicorn king and queen, the sister's father and mother. For they were princesses, and one day Celestia would take her mothers place, and the stallion she found worthy as a mate would take that of her father.

And it was in the streets of the capital the sisters now walked, one with her head held high and eyes beaming with pride as the immortal beings that saw her bowed their heads in deep respect. Respect for her, a mere filly of twenty, while most of them would have seen at least centuries pass by. It filled her heart with a fierce joy seeing it all, the glory of her home. The only thing that sullied it was the pitiful groans her sisters was making when the pedestrians eyes turned to her.

“Looney stop whining so much, it's not like they'll remember it for long,” Celestia whispered out of the corners of her mouth.

Luna didn't respond, she merely hid her face as well as she could behind her curled tragedy of a mane and looked down in shame. She knew the other alicorns would be staring, most likely sniggering behind her back once she'd passed them by. It wasn't the first time her sister had embarrassed her, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

Halfway to the castle Celestia stopped and looked to her left thoughtfully, in the direction of the market district where treasures from around the world could be found amidst creatures from everywhere, not just ponies.

“Tia, hurry!” her sister hissed and looked around with a face more red than blue from shame.

“You can go on ahead without me, it's not like you need me to fix your mane anyway,” Celestia answered her dismissively.

Luna stomped a hoof to the ground angrily and marched off to the palace, doing all she could to keep from running. Celestia watched her go with a look of half pity, half amusement. It had been a dreadful mane she had given her after all. Not that it had been on purpose, she just had never tried to fix somepony's mane so quick before. Usually she was allowed to spend at least an hour getting her own perfect each morning.

Shaking her head in annoyance at the failure, she headed towards the market. Perhaps she would find a gift there to cheer up her grumpy sister. She walked amongst the beautifully carved marble structures, the pillars upon which huge roofs rested upon, the street whose marble bricks were so seamlessly fit together that it seemed just a road of liquid light during the day. And the platforms that floated by magic in the air, connected to huge towers that reigned them in and brought order to the chaos.

She never tired of the sight, nor the many creatures that could be found there amidst the exotic wares. Not only the lesser ponies, but also striped ponies calling themselves zebras, which she had been informed was not of the lesser pony kind at all. Often they were accompanied by the elephant rulers of their small piece of distant jungle land, unfit for any pony to live in, and served as their servants.

Then there were the gryphons, lion and eagle as one, and talking to boot. Celestia had yet to meet one with anything intelligent to talk about, fighting and squabbling amongst themselves like common seagulls perched upon their mountain tops.

That, and so much more, could all be found in the capital's market. She walked amongst them and gracefully bowed her head to each and every one that saw her, freezing in place and staring transfixed at her passing. It had often been remarked that she was the most beautiful creature in all the world, and in her experience that was probably true if all the stares she had received since she was born was anything to go by.

However, after having passed by so many strange yet still familiar creatures, she stopped before something she had never seen before. It was grotesque in it's shape, compromised of so many different creatures that the whole was marred, leaving her with the impression he was nothing but asymmetry and chaos, the face of entropy.

She kept herself from backing away with a disgusted face. He was after all a creature of this world and she would one day be its ruler. It wouldn't do well treating any creature unfair no matter how revolting it was. However, she couldn't help but feel a little unwell when it looked on her with … well adoration, no wait more than that … infatuation.

Celestia swallowed hard and kept her regal composure, instead simply lifting an eyebrow in question at the creature blocking her way forward.

“Yes?” she asked, perhaps a little bit cold, but she really did try and sound as friendly as she could.

“I … I … here,” the creature replied, revealing in its talons a bundle of flowers it had kept hidden behind its back.

Celestia looked at the flowers uncertainly, not sure what it meant by it, different creatures had different customs of gift giving and it meant different things. She remained unmoving, not sure what it would mean if she accepted the gift. The creature started to look nervous when she didn't immediately take them, so she focused her attention on him instead and ignored the flowers for a moment.

“What do you want with me?” she asked, keeping as neutral a tone as possible.

“I … I was just thinking … if you … how do you ponies call it … have any special … somepony?” it asked carefully.

“YOU?” she half shouted in disbelief. Did this unknown creature, really think he was fit to become her mate, the first princess and the most beautiful mare in the entire world!? But she carefully remember herself and forced herself to act like a princess should, with grace.

“No I do not have a mate, but I will one day and he shall be the next king. Why are you asking?” she asked with a hint of suspicion.

“I was just...I...Well!” the creature quickly said, panic shining out of his eyes. “I just...have followed you these last days and you've neve-”

“You have WHAT!?” Celestia shouted, not bothering to try and hide her indignation.

The creature reeled back from her like she had struck a blow, and his eyes told of nothing but terror when everything seemed to go wrong. The guards that had followed the princess appeared out of thin air to stand around the two, reacting on her distress and would bring their full force down on the strange creature should she give the word. She didn't.

“I … please … I didn't mean it like-”

“Be silent! I don't know who you are you or what you want, but if I ever catch you stalking me I will not stop my guards from punishing you. I don't know what you want and I don't care. Go away, and never let me see you again. You don't belong here and I don't want you. Go, go to whatever place you have in the world. I will only be as merciful as I am right now once, and only because I am supposed to be,” Celestia said in a low hiss, glancing at the crowd around them staring curiously.

The creature looked to be in pain, his face was twisted in disbelief, like he couldn't understand how things had gone so wrong. He sank down to the ground in defeat, and the flowers he had carried fell from his talons. For a brief moment Celestia felt pity at his broken spirit, but she quickly corrected herself and lifted her head high, looking down on it with cold judgment, before turning around and leaving it there.

The encounter had robbed her of any desire to remain at the market, and it was in a foul mood she headed back towards the palace. She had never heard of that kind of creature before, and it was strange for all living things had been discovered and cataloged. Even the smallest of tribes like the otters were well known, so where had the creature come from?

She decided she would tell her parents about it all. She wanted to know what it had been that apparently had stalked her without being discovered. And if it wasn't dangerous, it could be sent back to its own kind to remain there, far away from her and the beautiful alicorn kingdom. Such a creature had no place among them, and certainly not with her. Had she just imagined it or had the creature actually seemed … interested in her? If so, it was foolish as well as repulsive. No, it would go away and stay with its own kind, she would see to it.

Never once did it occur to her that it was alone in the world.

                                    *****************************************************

“Karon wake up!” a voice screamed in his ear.

Two pairs of hooves were wrapped around him and … was he flying? His body wasn't touching the ground, and what little he could feel there seemed to be air all around him, except where two pony bodies were pressing themselves against him, trying to bring him down.

He tried to speak, wanted to reassure them that it was fine, that there was no point in resisting. Something wanted him to see, wanted him to know. And nothing would keep that from happening.

He wanted to reassure them, but he couldn't. And before he even managed to open his mouth he was yanked back into the past.

                              **********************************************************

There was nothing that could be said that hadn't been said already. It had gone on for so long now, never before had a tragedy like this struck the peaceful world of the alicorns, and the charges they had been deemed to watch over. Even so, one lone voice kept on it's rebellious protest, denying defeat and holding on to the small sliver of hope.

“Mom! You promised! You promised, you promised, you promised, you promised!” princess Luna screamed, making sure that the queen knew full well, that she had indeed promised.

“I know my Luna, but the little ponies need us. Something has been interfering with their duties and making the lives of many difficult, they have asked for our help.”

“But can't they wait?! You promised just you and me would be going to visit the old forest today!”

“I'm sorry, but I can't abandon the little ponies if they have asked for our help. Your father and I will go and make everything right, and when we return you and I can go to the forest.”

Luna pouted and looked away angrily, but still asked in a careful voice.

“You and me … JUST you and me. Tia isn't allowed to come?”

“Yes Luna, just you and me.”

Luna shifted her weight from hoof to hoof carefully as she contemplated the promise, and arrived at the conclusion that there was little she could say or do anyway to change it.

She sighed and nodded, her mother smiled down at her in understanding and nuzzled her briefly. Then her face turned serious and she left the room, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts. The mare remained where she stood for a few minutes, going over how long it might take her parents to go to the lesser ponies and fix whatever problem they had.

The most optimistic answer seemed to be measured in weeks, and it didn't leave Luna happy about it. Several weeks with only her sister as real company? It was better than nothing for sure, anything to avoid having to visit another of the lords dinners and having them question if her sister had found a mate yet.

Because they always had a suggestion otherwise, but never one for her.

She went outside into the grand hall, marble pillars held up the ceiling high above and kept the walls separating the outside with the inside to a minimum. She could see her parents fly away from the courtyard down below, her mothers golden coat and red mane standing in stark contrast to her fathers deep black coat and silver mane. With them flew many guards, very many,

Luna stopped and watched them disappear into the sky with a worried frown. What kind of problem could the lesser ponies be having that required so many guards?

She shoved the question out of her mind, it didn't really matter anyway. Whatever it was it would not prove a threat to the king and queen. Their power was legendary, and Luna didn't believe for a second anything in this peaceful world could or even would seek to harm them.

She walked through the halls until she reached her sister's room, well one of them, but it was her favorite and was where she could usually be found.

She knocked on the shining door, made mostly out of gold, and waited. It took a long time before her sister opened it, and when she did she looked … ruffled. Well not really, however Luna did notice that while no hair was out of place and she looked as groomed as always, her usually vibrant mane was of darker colors, and her eyes didn't shine with confidence as much as normal.

“What do you want Looney?” she asked curtly.

“Mom and dad has left, so I was just wondering if you wanted to do anything?” she asked back, ignoring the twinge of irritation at the name.

“Can't, I'm too busy right now,” Celestia told her, about to close the door.

“Wait! Doing what?” Luna quickly asked.

“Just … reading,” the older sister said.

“About what? Is it something I can help with? Please...?” Luna hastily begged, thinking of how many lords families must be itching to invite her to another dinner.

“I … fine. Just don't touch anything else and you can come in,” Celestia agreed, opening the door wide and letting her little sister in.

Luna entered and saw a huge stack of books next to a coach upon which several books laid open. Curious, Luna trotted over and read the titles. They were all dealing with different creatures besides the ponies that lived in the world.

“So … what can I help with?” Luna quickly asked, she knew her sister would kick her out in case she got bored with her.

“I'm...looking for something. A creature...” Celestia said, contempt and irritation clear in her voice.

“Any special creature?” Luna asked and levitated a book up before her.

“Yes … I just don't know what it's called, and it's driving me crazy. I meet it a few weeks ago in the market and it said it had been … stalking me. I told mom and dad but they didn't know what it was either, but said they would tell the guards to look for it just to be safe,” Celestia told her.

“Why didn't you tell me!? What if it has been following me too?” Luna asked, shocked her sister hadn't even mentioned it once.

“Oh please, I think it was in love with me. Why would it be in love with you too?”

“Because you're so much better and deserving of love than me?” Luna asked with venom in her voice.

Celestia sighed and shook her head, “I never said that.”

“No, but you thought it,” Luna murmured and the room fell silent.

Celestia walked over to the books and sat down in the couch wordlessly, not looking over at her sister when she levitated a book to herself, instead asking out loud, “So...? Are you gonna help me find out what this creature is or not?”

Luna went over and sat down beside her sister, levitating one of the books and opening it before asking in a flat voice, “What does it look like?”

Celestia paused her reading and thought back to her encounter.

“It was like, a mix of so many different animals. It had a goat's head I think, but two different horns. And … A lion's paw on one arm and … an eagle's talon on the other. And much more, if you find it, you will know it.”

Luna wasn't sure what to make of the description. It sounded like something her sister would have made up to gain more attention. Not that she needed more. Still, it was better than dinner with the lords, and so she dug into the pile of books with her sister. She had expected the game to last maybe the rest of the day, instead by the end of it, they had found not a single reference to such a strange creature like she claimed to have seen.

And so the days went on, and Luna found herself in her sister's room more than all the times before. The collected books were read and thrown out in a fit of frustration, and servants and scribes found and brought new ones in, with the same result as before.

Days turned to weeks, and both the princesses found themselves torn between their new found obsession, keeping to it mostly out of a stubbornness not to surrender, and worry for why the king and queen had not returned.

There were many officials and alicorn nobles that helped run the day-to-day basis of the alicorn rule, yet none of them seemed to have any idea why the king and queen were late in their return. The thought that something could actually go wrong with the rulers … it had never even been considered.

The sisters had not been happy with that answer, and in an attempt to calm them down, five hundred of the alicorn guard had been sent to assist in whatever was holding the king and queen from returning. Doing so had gained a begrudging thank you from the princesses, but had not cured them of their worry.

To add to their burden, weeks of searching hundreds of books had gained them absolutely nothing. Even though Equus had turned out to be full of strange and fascinating creatures, no mention of the strange creature that had stalked Celestia could be found. Which was making them even more worried. What could this mysterious being want?

“What if it's something new, something that has never existed before?” Luna asked one day, staring up at the ceiling.

Celestia looked up from her usual place on the coach, putting down the book hovering in front of her face. “Don't be ridiculous, we know of every living thing that exists in this world.”

“Then where is this thing you met? Why can't we find him or his kind somewhere?”

“I don't know … maybe, maybe he's the only one that exists,” Celestia suggested.

Luna held her tongue at the thought. The only one.

“If that's true … he must be so lonely,” she finally whispered.

Celestia looked at her like she was insane, or just plain dumb.

“He didn't look lonely, he just looked … wrong,” she said and shuddered.

Luna did not look convinced. She sat still and stared with a distant expression at the ceiling. Abruptly, the stillness and calm of the lazy afternoon was broken by a scream from outside, and after the princesses shared a look of surprise, they ran out to investigate.

Outside, in the far distance, framed in by the pillars holding up the hall, was a cloud. But not just any cloud, not the usual white fluffy clouds the pegasi created. No, this cloud was pink, and red lightning seemed to be shooting out from it. Alicorn guards were flying up towards it, their horns alight with powerful magics that went flying into the cloud.

The ones watching the event from down below were gasping and screaming in surprise at what was happening. The magic of the guards battled with the power of the strange cloud, sparks of all kinds of colors were shooting out of it, and Celestia's mane was shining in a pale yellow of fear at the sight.

Eventually the cloud dispersed, and the alicorns cheered as the guards returned down to the city victorious. But the princesses didn't cheer, instead they both stood with the same deep frowns, their sisterhood obvious to any that would have looked at them.

“What was that?” Celestia asked out loud.

“I don't know,” Luna said.

“Of course not. Thank you, commander obvious,” the white mare added dryly, not quite hiding the nervousness underneath the sarcasm.

“Sis … I have a really bad feeling,” Luna continued, not caring about her sister's jab.

Celestia didn't answer, she didn't need to. They both felt it, the chill touch of fate, marking this moment. The king and queen possessed great skill in reading the times and the coming future, and they had said both the princesses would develop it soon enough. And now they felt it, for the first time destiny was whispering of what was to come.

At that moment, they both wished their parents could be there, to tell them a comforting lie. To tell them it was nothing, and they didn't need to as afraid as they felt.

After all, it had just been a pink cloud, how bad could that be?

                                                       ********************************************************

“Karon … please answer....”

“...Lyra?” he croaked, parched lips slowly parting to let the words slip out.

“Karon!” two voices shouted in relief, and briefly his eyes fluttered open to see both the unicorns' faces staring down at him.

“It's okay … please just … wait,” he whispered.

“What? Karon wait...!?”

His eyelids fluttered, then closed. Their protests turned dim and distant, unimportant. The voices, the minds that whispered across the empty wasteland, they called to him. They knew the distress of his companions, and they knew patience, ancient patience. But time was growing short, and he needed to know. He knew because he was allowed to know.

And so he didn't resist, when they dragged him back to another time.

                                                              ***********************************************

“Dad … what is wrong? Please tell us,” Celestia begged with her sister standing silent at her side.

The three of them were standing at the queen's sickbed. Grim faced, their father had remained silent ever since his return, only asking them to remain silent and not to get in anypony's way. Neither Celestia or Luna had obeyed of course, but their insistent questions had come to a halt when guards had brought their mother back hours after their father, sick.

The king had disappeared into some kind of council with the other alicorn lords, and he had not come out from it until the sun had set and midnight struck. By that time, the princesses had stood at their unconscious mother's bed for hours, waiting in fear for somepony to break the silence and tell them what was wrong.

He joined them at his mate's side, looking down on her with a haunted expression. Despite fearing the answer, Celestia asked in a strained voice, “What's wrong?”

“We don't know,” came the hushed reply, and the father motioned his two daughters to the other side of the room.

“What you mean you don't know? What happened to mom!?” she asked loudly.

Her father tried to give her a stern look, however it was tarnished by the deep weariness marking his features. He sighed deeply and looked over at his beloved mate, her mane slick with sweat and a feverish blush shining on her cheeks. His face darkened as he thought back to whatever had happened, and when he looked back to his daughters there was something in his eyes the sister had never seen before.

Anger.

“We arrived at the summit held by the lesser pony leaders. They told us of some monstrous creature tormenting them, disrupting the harmony that allowed the ponies to live as they were meant to, the harmony we alicorns are duty bound to guard,” he began explaining, and the sister listened with rapt attention.

“They said at first it had been nothing, harmless pranks and small disturbances. Some of it had even been amusing to the ponies apparently. But they increased in malice and greatness, until they lost entire harvests, control of the weather, and had their magic rendered useless. That's when they called to us...” their father shook his head and thought back to the conversation.

“We were so sure it would be quickly and easily solved, there was no reason to suspect otherwise … until we meet the creature. It was a parody of everything of this world, a mix of many different beings, both animal and thinking creature. It spoke to us, taunted us and accused us of ruining its fun...”

Both Luna and Celestia's eyes had widened at the description of the creature, but they didn't dare interrupt their father's story.

“We tried to use our magic against the creature, to bind it from causing more harm until we could understand it and how to help it … nothing worked. For every spell cast and form of magic weaved, it evaded us. It was like its very nature eluded us. Its own magic was so powerful, so strong … and it didn't work like ours. It mocked the rules our power shapes itself after, and turned it against us, and the more we struggled, the more it twisted our power and took it for its own … we lost.”

The two sister looked at one another, the conflicting emotions within them plain for the other to see, yet they didn't speak up about their suspicions. Luna was waiting for her older sister to take charge, like she always did, but Celestia didn't for reasons unknown to her.

“Dad … what happened to mom?” the white mare asked instead.

“It … the creature … it cursed her. It had spread disease amongst the ponies, in addition to the famine it is creating, and it cursed her with that disease,” he answered slowly.

“But … but we're alicorns! We can't grow sick....” Luna protested in disbelief.

“No, we can not. We were freed from that weakness when the first alicorn was created … but this creature, it has changed the rules. It has taken the harmony we have preserved and the structure we have built around it, and it has replaced it with something else, fouled and corrupted. It doesn't obey any laws or reasoning I can guess at. It is … pure chaos and corruption … it is discord.”

“But what are you gonna do? We can cure mom … right? And you're not gonna let this creature continue doing bad stuff?” Luna asked, looking up at her father.

He didn't answer, and that scared the sisters more than anything else so far. He extended his wings and hugged his daughters close, Luna pressed herself to her father's side and stared over at her sick mother with uncertainty and fear. While Celestia pressed her wings harder against her body, and stared down at the floor, her gaze distant and one of self torment.

It did not take long before the sisters were ushered out of the room by old alicorns there to tend to the queen, claiming their presence would hinder their work. The king disappeared to try and rest, and prepare for the many duties he would have to see to when he woke, leaving Luna and Celestia alone with their dark thoughts.

It was in Celestia's room, surrounded by the discarded books from their long hours of searching for the creature that seemed to have been wreaking havoc right under their noses, that the sisters sat on the usual coach. No light was lit, and the dark was total for a long time before some alicorn somewhere took up the royal task of raising the moon. That was the final sign, the one act that tipped the scales to make it impossible to deny that something was happening, something was changing. And for the worse.

“Tia … why didn't you say anything about-”

“Because I didn't want to okay! It's not like it will matter anyway....”

“You don't know that. What if all of this has something to do with that time you saw it in the market?”

Luna regretted the question as soon as it had left her lips. Her sister, the older, smarter, prettier and confident Celestia looked over at her with a terrible malice flaring up within her eyes. It was a look beyond anything Luna had ever received from her sister, even after she had done something that had really annoyed or angered her, never had Celestia looked on her like that.

“It. Had. NOTHING! To do with that,” she said slowly, and Luna shrank back in fear of her sister and nodded emphatically, too afraid to speak.

Celestia looked away hastily, breaking eye contact like she was ashamed of what she had just done, and when Luna dared to raise her head her sister refused to meet her eyes.

“I'm sorry Looney … I'm just … It has nothing to do with that okay? Mom isn't sick because of anything I did, I didn't do anything wrong....”

“I believe you Tia,” Luna said and moved over to her sister, placing a wing around her tentatively.

It was something she had never done before. Her sister had always been the one comforting her, often after having done something mean to upset her. Now it was different, everything was different. In just a few weeks beginning with her walking in to her sister's room and helping her search for a mystical creature that would soon turn out to be a monster.

Her sister didn't move, didn't react to the unexpected presence of her sister's wing around herself. She simply stared out into nothing with eyes Luna didn't want to look into. It was better to simply hold her bigger sister, to lean into her and hope that things would get better soon.

They both fell asleep on the couch together, and after an uneasy rest plagued with nightmares, Celestia was the first to wake up. The sun shone in through the windows, and judging by its strength, it was late. Although, since it took so long before somepony raised the moon, it was entirely possible it had only passed a short time before the sun had been raised with abnormal speed.

“So easy,” the white mare whispered to herself, thinking of just how fragile their existence was.

It was all it took, one sick regent, one rhythm disturbed and harmony was lost. The realization begged more questions out of her, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answers to them. After all, if one sick regent- one sick mother- was all it took to shatter the flow of peace, what could happen if even worse changes occurred. What if her father grew sick too? What if her sister got sick? What if the sun or moon refused to be raised or lowered? What if … what if … what if it was all her fault?

She had started breathing heavily, panic crushed her chest into a small rock of doubt and shame, and she was close to hyperventilating. It wasn't right, nothing was right. She was the beautiful Princess Celestia. She was adored by everypony, every living creature. A being like her couldn't cause something like this, wouldn't do anything to make her mother sick.

No, it had nothing to do with what happened at the market. Maybe it was not the same creature … and if it was, it was still not her fault. It was his fault … that ugly, deformed creature … the discord.

“Discord,” she whispered out loud, tasting the name she had just given it.

It would do.

She turned to her still sleeping sister, she hesitated at waking her up, despite her own uneasy sleep Luna didn't look to be suffering of any nightmares, she looked peaceful. Celestia decided it would be best to leave her there to enjoy her sleep, it would not last anyway. She turned from her sister and exited the room, her nightmares fading from memory, but the feeling they had brought forth still haunting her. The worst part wasn't that they had left her with a sick feeling, the worst part was that she couldn't tell whether they were just nightmares or visions of what was to come.

Or so she told herself, and firmly ignored the sickness in her chest, whispering that she already knew the answer.

She went to see her mother first, but was told to stay away by the guards outside her chamber, saying the queen needed rest. She was going to protest if it wasn't for one of her mother's favorite servants telling her her mother had regained consciousness, but was still too weak to speak with anypony, and if she returned later, maybe the queen would be strong enough to see her daughter.

Worried about her mother, and angry at the insensitive guards, she went in search of her father. He would no doubt be commanding the guards to search for Discord, and once he was found they could put a stop to all of this. They would force him to lift the curse and cure her mother. They would restore harmony to the land and make right all wrongs. That was the duty of the alicorns. It was the reason for which they existed, and they would never fail that duty, for as long as they remained.

With the guidance of a pair of guards – was it just her imagination, or was there a lot more of them than usual – she found her father. He was inside a room that she had been told hadn't been used in centuries, the war room. It had an enormous map painted over an entire wall, and a large circular table stood in the middle of the otherwise barren room. At the moment, three alicorns stood there and, surprisingly, one pegasus.

Celestia cleared her throat before making her entrance, and all four of them looked up, three with disinterest, and one with sadness. Her father was the latter, and Celestia's voice stuck in her throat at the sight. What could possibly have happened to have her father look even more sorrowful than before?

“Dad, what's wrong?”

“Everything my dear, absolutely everything,” he said with a weariness that sounded wrong coming from her father, the alicorn king of black and silver that had always seemed so strong and indomitable.

“Now, now Astra, it's not all beyond hope. This creature of yours-”

“Discord,” Celestia interrupted, and the others blinked in  surprise.

“What?” her father asked in confusion.

“The creature, it needs a name, and since it has not given one, we will name it Discord,” she said calmly.

“Discord,” her father repeated, as did the others before nodding in satisfaction.

“Well, as I was saying....” the alicorn that had spoken continued, a stallion with red coat and copper mane. “This Discord might be powerful, and we don't yet now where it can draw such power from, but it is not all powerful, we know that. And even though we are having difficulty calculating just how much power it has, it would be simply impossible for it to resist the combined might of the alicorns,” he finished.

The pegasus present, a light blue mare with a mane white as snow, cleared her throat loudly and gave the alicorn a stern glance. He in return looked at her bemused but added, “and the power of our lesser kin of course. They are right now busy searching the lands for this Discord, along with thousands of our guards, nearly the entire force we possess. Once we have located its hideout, where it is no doubt shaking in fear right now, we will contain him and bring him here.”

“And what will you do with him?” Celestia asked, not sure what answer she would be satisfied to hear.

“We have yet to decide. The most optimal solution would be to remove his power, either by binding it or perhaps placing a curse of forgetfulness, or perhaps sealing a part of its mind or soul into a soul jar. It simply depends entirely on what the nature of the creature is, a nature we do not yet understand.”

The rest of the gathering looked to want to add something to the stallion's brief accounting of their options, however her father looked at them sternly and shook his head.

“Celestia, I love you, but this isn't your place. We need to discuss further how to mobilize the guards to make sure this creature doesn't slip through our net, and your mother needs her rest to fight the disease … please, see to your sister. Your mother and I will do all we can to take care of this world and correct the wrongs that have been made by this Discord. It will be your task to see to your sister and to care for her.”

“Looney can take care of herself, I want to help!” she protested loudly, just barely keeping herself from stomping her hoof.

“Don't call her that! And your time for that will come eventually … and I pray to the stars it will not be anytime soon. You are not ready for this kind of thing Celestia. You haven't seen the places of suffering that still exists in this world despite my and your mother's best efforts. It will change you to see those kind of horrors, and how easily it spreads, so go,” her father finished with a voice of iron.

It was pointless to resist, she knew that. So she turned around with all the grace she could muster and walked out of the room, leaving them to plot whatever things they would be plotting. She definitely didn't want to go back to Looney now that her father had ordered her to do it, so instead she decided to walk out into the city. Maybe she could find something to distract her, or a gift for her mother once she was strong enough to talk.

Her new found enthusiasm for the idea quickly died once she actually reached the market. Where it usually was a place of color and life it was now … strained. The usual banners flew from the high perches of the city's buildings, and the market was just as crowded as usual with all the interesting characters from all over the world. But it wasn't the same. There were even more present at the market than usual, however many of them were ponies with miserable expressions, huddling together in groups and speaking in hushed voices.

Celestia received the usual stares, but they were different as well. She was used to awe and adoration, not … hope mixed with fear. They were looking at her in a completely different way, they were looking at her like she was something she was not. There was no word for it she could think of, and it unnerved her. Even here, in her favorite place in all the world, this Discord had touched and warped everything.

She shuddered from their collective gazes, and when she realized that looking for a gift would have to entail speaking to the owners of those stares, she quickly changed her mind and headed back to the castle. She didn't want to be in the the presence of such...

She didn't know ponies, even alicorns, could look so … pitiful.

It couldn't be that bad, right?

When she reached the palace, she realized she had no where else to go than back to her sister, hopefully still sleeping. Despite  the fact that Luna would probably ask a lot of stupid and annoying questions, Celestia didn't want to be alone.

When she reached her room, she found Looney, still fast asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief and joined her sister on the couch, resting her head on a fluffy pillow. Luna's calm breathing was reassuring to listen to – even if she snorted at the thought as soon as it had entered her mind – and it did not take long before she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

It was nice, to shut away the world and its wrongness for a moment, yet not have to deal with all those nightmares taunting her, telling her they weren't nightmares but the future.

She drifted into a state of meditative half sleep, keeping herself from surrendering to the tempting blackness entirely. She knew what waited there. Soon enough Luna woke up, and, with some reluctance, Celestia opened her eyes and watched her sister sit up and look around confused. Her expression was dazed, but as the mist of her dreams cleared away and memory returned to her, the peaceful expression she bore fell. Then she noticed Celestia staring at her.

“I thought for a moment it wasn't true, that it was just another dream,” she said quietly.

Celestia didn't reply. She sat up wordlessly and looked out the window. She must have been inside longer than she thought, for the sun was nearly gone, and soon her father would raise the moon. To remind her that some things never changed, her stomach growled.

In response, Luna's stomach growled loudly as well, and after a quick expression of shock, Celestia began giggling. Luna smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, nor did it drive away the worry from them.

“Do you think mom's better?” she asked.

Celestia's mirth vanished without a trace, and she looked her sister in the eyes.

“I was awake before, and went to check on her. They said she was awake but couldn't talk to anypony, that she needed more rest alone. And dad is busy doing guard stuff or something,” she said.

Her sister accepted the news stoically, doing nothing but looking away sadly, and pressing herself a little closer to her sister. Remembering what her father had said about taking care of her sister, Celestia put a wing over Luna and leaned her head against her's.

“Do you think everything will be ok?” Luna asked quietly, her voice trembling.

“Of course it will, eventually,” Celestia replied, ignoring the mocking jeering of her dreams.

They asked servants to get them food, and then ate entirely in silence. Celestia busily trying to distract herself from her dark thoughts, and Luna eating simply because she felt empty, and didn't know what else to do.

Despite having just woken up, they went to rest after that, Celestia alone in her bed across the room, and Luna back in her own room. They had asked the servants to make sure they both knew the first minute their mother was strong enough to see them, and had been reassured it would be seen to.

It still took three days before they were told they could see her.

Both the sisters ran towards their mother's chamber as soon as they got the news, both of them wearing big smiles on their faces. Finally, after days of waiting and hearing nothing from their mother or father, they could see her. And she would tell them everything was alright, that she was well now and would go with their father and put everything back together the way it was supposed to be.

The guards finally let them through at the door, but once they were inside they realized something was wrong. The room was almost in pitch black, the windows were covered and a lone candle stood lit at the table besides the bed. Nephete, the alicorn queen of the world, and their mother laid on the bed, looking far worse than the last time they had seen her.

Beside her stood their father, his cheeks wet with tears and a look of despair in his eyes. Luna didn't stop inside, she went straight over to her mother and threw her wings and hooves around her, hugging her frail form tight. Celestia stopped, stood unmoving and staring in denial at her mother.

“No,” she whispered, refusing to believe what she knew the scene before her meant.

In the back of her mind the visions in her dreams cackled with glee, gloating with their truthfulness, their very existence.

“Tia, my sweet Tia,” her mother said when she saw her oldest daughter standing frozen.

She moved Luna over to one side, offering her now free left hoof forward towards Celestia, beckoning with an embrace. But Celestia couldn't move, refused to move. She absolutely refused to acknowledge a reality where this could be true, where those nightmares could become reality.

“Tia please, I don't know … how long I can stay,” her mother said sadly.

Something inside her broke, and Celestia ran to her mother and threw herself into her offered embrace. She began crying hysterically, sobbing so hard it felt like her chest was going to explode. Luna was taken aback by her sisters behavior, but then she looked over at her father, the trails the tears had left behind on his cheeks and the pained expression he wore. Then she looked at her mother, noted the frailty of the usually sleek and beautiful alicorn.

And she understood.

Her lips started to tremble and tears forced their way from her eyes. She drew a shuddering breath to ask if it was true, but then she met her mother's eyes, and they told her everything. She fell in beside her sister, hugging her mother as hard as she dared, feeling how skinny her body had become, and hating her for it. Hating her for daring to die so soon, it was supposed to be centuries before it was even supposed to be possible.

She hated her mother for dying, and then she hated herself for hating her mother when she wasn't even going to be alive soon. Not going to hold her on the nights when she felt lonely, or comforting her after Tia had done something mean and not even apologized for it. She loved her, couldn't she understand that? You couldn't die if somepony loved you so much, she needed to stay.

Why couldn't she stay?

Their father soon joined them in the embrace, and Celestia felt hot tears land on her face, but she barely noticed. She tried to bury herself in her mother, to hold on to her so tight she couldn't leave. All the while the dreams haunted her, pressing at her mind. And all the while a memory was pressing at her heart, a memory of meeting a repulsive creature at the market one day, and from the memory sprang a question that was eating her heart.

Was it her fault?

                                                  *************************************************

“No, no please...” Karon rasped, his throat so parched it felt more like a dried leaf than flesh.

“You're awake,” Trixie's voice said, relief evident despite the muddy mist that surrounded Karon's mind.

“I...I don't want to...” he begged quietly, clutching at his chest like it was breaking.

“What? What's happening?” Lyra asked, quickly joining Trixie at his side.

“I don't want...please...no more,” he begged to unseen listeners.

“Karon, please tell us what is happening?” came the desperate plea from Trixie, her hoof stroking his forehead.

He couldn't speak anymore, already the pull was strengthening. The ones pulling him understood, but it changed nothing. It wasn't over yet.

                                             ******************************************************

The queen of the alicorns, the queen of the entire world of Equus, was dead. And she wasn't alone. Thousand had died by now, weeks had passed without capturing Discord, and during that time the situation had worsened by far.

Drought, famine, storms and disease ravaged the entire planet. Great swarms of insects were spawning in places they'd never been seen in before, devouring crops and leaving nothing for the starving population. Any magic the ponies used either didn't work as intended, or the effect was soon useless because something else happened that changed everything.

Entire pegasi cities had crumbled when they turned to liquid chocolate or something else, some ground houses had been turned to gingerbread, leaving the nearby population fighting each other for the scraps. In other places the animals had changed, in distant lands where the elephants, zebras and camels lived, the small and, until now, harmless jackals had grown and gained real intelligence. And now they hunted mercilessly anything they could get their paws on.

And neither the alicorns or unicorns could restore control over the sun and moon, no matter how much they pooled their power, it was never too long before they went back to an arrhythmic cycle. Sleep was denied to all, and only when they collapsed out of exhaustion was anypony able to sleep, and never for long, as some new change occurred that demanded adaption … or inevitable destruction.

What was worse, the magic of the alicorns seemed to be failing. It had sustained the peace and harmony of Equus for times untold, and it was built into everything, the entire world depended on it. The great platforms that hung suspended in the air, tied to the great towers of the capital, had crashed when the magic couldn't support them anymore, killing hundreds.

War broke out, a word unfamiliar in its meaning previously, and only in existence as a kind of contrast to the idea of how Equus was supposed to be. The distant nightmare of what could happen if the alicorns failed in their duty. And they had failed.

Celestia and Luna sat with their father, his appearance aged by centuries over the course of months. Two months, since his wife had died, and he was already halfway towards joining her. A disease similar to the one she had succumbed to ravaging him, as it did so many other alicorns.

By some miracle, neither of the princesses had been tainted by the impossibility. The idea itself was so ridiculous, an alicorn disease? They couldn't get sick, they were immune to the weaknesses of the lesser species, it was how they were made. And now this impossibility was killing them all, along with their land and the world they were sworn to protect.

Two thirds of the alicorns had died, ironically many of them had died out in the world, doing their best to maintain order and harmony, fighting Discord's influence. It was an irony, because many deaths had been at the hooves, claws or paws of the lesser creatures they were trying to aid, desperation and anger driving them against the alicorns.

And now, the sisters sat with their father in the war room, the great map had been recolored to display the many changes that had come to the land. And where it had nearly been completely green before, now only a few patches remained amidst the sea of brown and yellow of rot and desert. Dust of crumbled buildings, decaying much faster than they should have, sweeping in great storm across the land, burying those still daring to cling to life.

“Dad … what are we going to do?” Luna asked.

Her father shifted uneasily, his eyes revealed that there was no certainty in whatever answer he could provide. He turned to face the great map, slowly trailing his eyes over it, until they stopped at a few mountains, located to the far south, on the small continent where the gryphons lived on tall mountain tops.

“There is … one that might be able to help us. But I can't be sure that he will do anything, or if he is even there anymore,” he said quietly.

“Who?” Celestia asked, her voice emotionless.

“An old being, older than any alicorn. I have never meet him myself, but his existence has been recorded for all alicorn royalty to know of, and it is told that if any great crisis should arise, he should be consulted.”

“But who is it?” Celestia asked again in monotone.

“A dragon. One of the truly ancient ones, I don't know his real name, they guard such things closely. But the name recorded is Eldros, and it is written his last location was in a cave below the mountain the gryphons call Elpis.”

“So why haven't you already gone to him if he can help!?” Celestia asked, a little anger slipping into her voice.

Her father stared at the map for a long time before answering.

“I didn't think it would get this bad, and once it did … what time was there? But now we have tried everything we could think of, and nothing has worked. There's no hope left save for ancient stories left by ancient beings about ancient powers....”

The defeat in her father's voice made Celestia narrow her eyes. That he would give up after all they had paid? All that had been stolen? But she had to admit to herself that much of the anger was because she understood him.

“When are you leaving?” Luna asked in a small voice.

“I'm not,” her father replied without taking his eyes off the map.

Luna and Celestia gave each other a look at the response.

“Who are you sending then, Fortitude?” Celestia asked.

“No, only alicorn royalty were allowed the knowledge of this Eldro's location. And it was said only the royal line would be allowed to see him.”

“You mean we're supposed to go?” Celestia asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

“Yes, you and Luna … I need to remain here and stay in charge of what we have left. The pegasi say there is a great dust storm heading this way, and who knows what it might be carrying with it. We need to shield the capital as much as we can from it. You, you my beautiful daughters, need to go to this Eldros. Find out if he has a solution, a way to stop this monster called Discord, and return if there is one....”

The king fell silent for a few heartbeats before continuing, his voice determined.

“...And if there is none, I want you to stay with him.”

“What!? NO!” Celestia shouted, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Luna stood frozen, her mouth open in shock at the suggestion, no, order.

“Yes, you will. If the records speak truth, then he possesses power beyond anything we or this Discord can hope to wield or fight against. You will be safe with him, if nothing else remains...”

“I'm not going to stay in some dark cave with some old dragon while you and everypony else suffers and … dies like mom,” Celestia said, her voice containing as much determination as her father.

“If nothing remains out here but death, you will. If you have not returned within two weeks, I will gather everything we have left to fight Discord's magic. Hopefully, it will draw him out at some point, and give us one chance at stopping him.”

“How?”

“I don't know, it doesn't matter. Whatever it takes. There is no room left for hesitation.”

“But … how will we find the way? I have never been very far from the capital … and neither has Tia,” Luna asked carefully.

The king turned around to face his daughters, and the question looked to have genuinely confused him. He turned thoughtful for a minute, then his face shifted into resignation.

“I will send you there,” he said.

“But...” the sister's eyes turned to the map, and the huge distance between the capital and the far away mountains of the gryphons.

“Is it even … possible?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, but it will leave me weak. And I don't know how much power I will be able to use to protect the city. I will have to rely upon the others strength mostly. But you will have to return on your own, or if you can convince him of it, let Eldros send you back here.”

“Are you sure?” Luna asked with concern, her eyes taking in her father's tired form.

“There's little choice left to us. Eldros might well be our only hope,” he answered.

He walked over to them, looking down at his children while a small smile touching his lips.

“I love you Celestia, and you too Luna. I love you more than anything. You're the real hope for the future.”

“What are you talking about!? You're still here with us!” Celestia shouted angrily.

“I am, but I don't know for how long. Even if we will catch and stop this Discord, I'm sick and tired. This disease has stolen most of my old strength, and even if this would be over tomorrow, it will not return to me.”

Celestia shook her head, refusing to listen to what he'd said. Luna stood silent, trying to hide her trembling.

“My daughters … please look at me.”

Reluctantly, Celestia meet his gaze, and Luna joined her at her side, tears trickling silently down her cheeks.

“I love you, as doe- … as did your mother. You are the most beautiful things in this entire world, and you will live on no matter what happens. You. Will. Live.”

Celestia couldn't keep herself from weeping, why would her father say such thing. Didn't he get it? They had already lost mom, what was left if they lost him too?

“Find Eldros, find a solution. Remember what once was, and make it real again. I'm trusting you, placing a burden that is too heavy for you, because I love you, because I can't see any other way. And I hope … I hope Eldros has no solution. I hope he says no and you remain with him, until another age comes by, where all of this is history so ancient it has no meaning any more, and you can return grown and whole. I hope it's true, because if it isn't … you will suffer so much.”

He pulled them into an embrace and kissed their manes before pushing them away, tears fell to the floor freely, and his horn shone with a silver glow. Too late, the sister realized what he was doing. Celestia only had the time to open her mouth to shout, to scream, before she was swallowed by light, and then left in darkness.

She screamed for a long time, and from her left came the sound of Luna's sobbing, joining with her cries as it echoed down in the dark. Only when her throat was worn sore, and Luna's sobbing had grown tired, soundless, did she realize they were in no limbo of teleportation. They were below ground, in a cavern.

Their echoes hung in the air, all the more distinct amidst the silence that had reigned there for such a long time, that any sound was an unwelcome stranger.

“Hast thou finally ceased thy weeping? Long have I slept, and yet waking to the sound of breaking hearts was not a welcome change.”

The voice rumbled forward out of the darkness, and a light began to shine. Red as the early morning sun, and as the sisters carefully approached it, the shape of an enormous red dragon took shape. Both the sister's eyes widened in fear. Just the sight of the ancient being was enough to have their instincts scream in terror. It did not move, nor did it open its eyes. It was still asleep in body, but its spirit was awake, and lightly touching upon the princesses' minds, yet the power still threatened to simply burn them away.

“I've been waiting for thy arrival sun bringer, and thine as well moon keeper. I am aware of the goings of the world above, and I have what ye seek. A price must always be paid for such power, and if ye are willing, it will be done.”

“What ... power?” Celestia croaked out, her voice trembling in a way it had never done before.

“Two kinds: one of ancient force, and the other … knowledge.”

“And ... the price?”

“A vow.”

“What … kind of vow?” Celestia carefully asked, swallowing the worst of her fear.

“To be the guardians of this ancient force, until the time where the new wielders shall appear.”

“I … and how will we know when that happens?”

“The new wielders will form a bond to these forces by their own spirits. No action on thy part is needed. Thy task will be simple, to protect these forces from theft in any manner, until they are passed on.”

“I accept,” she said, a small measure of her former confidence returning.

What could these forces be? And what knowledge did he talk about? She would accept all he could offer, and she would use it. Now they had a chance.

“And thy sister? Doest thou accept moon keeper?”

“Moon...? Yes, I accept,” Luna said, her voice barely audible.

“It is done.”

The voice rang out with the clarity of metal striking rock, and the vibration of the voice left the cave quaking, alongside the sisters' spirits.

And from the red gloom, other lights began to shine. In a miasma of rainbows there rose six gleaming crystals from the dragons treasure, and floated before the princesses. They were tantalizing in their beauty, somehow both complex and simple in their symmetry.

“These are the very Elements of Harmony. They are the spirit of this world given focus, tools to channel the power of the living planet. They can only be wielded while serving its design, and thou may only use it in service of it. Anything less … and thine punishment shall be severe.”

“But … how?” Celestia asked, unable to take her eyes off the crystals.

“It shall be natural. If this world desires its power to be used, it shall happen. Thou will only be the channel through which the water flows. If the elements accept thy heart as worthy that is.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“Open thy heart and see.”

At first she didn't understand, but then she felt it. Celestia felt the light of the crystals bathe her in it, tasting her, testing her. It was sinking into every part of her being it could find, until finally it was satisfied.

“It is over, the test is done and the choice is made.”

Luna backed away a bit, so that she wouldn't get in the way of her sister, and whatever this new power would do to her. She was just happy there was hope again.

“Sun bringer. Thy heart has been weighted, and in thee Laughter, Magic, and Generosity have found a home.”

Three of the crystals floated forward until they touched her brow, and there they twisted, melted into pure light until they took the form of  a large golden crown. She smiled, but then she noticed the three remaining crystals, hovering before her, unmoving.

“Moon bringer, in thy heart Kindess, Honesty and … Loyalty have found a home.”

Luna stared in disbelief as the three crystals floated over to her and formed a crown upon her head, similar to her sisters, but silver instead of gold.

“The secret to the elements lies in the attunement to the wielder. Keep within thy hearts the presence of their spirit, and they shall channel their power. Sun bringer, in thy heart there is the need to share, both in wealth and laughter, and it has been deemed enough. Do not lose those qualities, or the elements shall abandon thee. Magic is the binding component of all the elements, and proved the clear focus of their power. Thou shall be the center. As long as thy sister and thou remain bonded strong, the elements shall be linked as well.”

“And thou, moon keeper, to thy heart has kindness taken root. For thou has within it the presence of compassion, even for wicked souls, for thou know the burden of loneliness and the pain it may bring. And thou know no deceit, thy mind is clear and so is thy voice of falsehood, as thy heart is still young. And loyalty is the strength of thy heart and spirit. Despite the mocking and trickery played on thou by thy sister, thou have remained loyal and true. For thou know she is thy sister and know of her love for thee … and as long as thou know thou are loved, as long as thou are sure of thine bond as sisters and do not forget … thy loyalty will remain....”

There was something about the final words the dragon spoke that struck a cord deep within Luna's heart, and she didn't like the foreboding feeling it evoked. Nevertheless, the sisters stood taller than they had in months, now wielders of an ancient power, strong enough to defeat this Discord.

But it wasn't over yet, and the dragon had promised two gifts of power....

“What is the knowledge tho- I mean you, spoke of?” Celestia asked.

“Hmmm. Thou has named thine enemy Discord. A fitting name, more than thou suspects. Before thou leave my home, thy minds need to understand his reasons. What ails him at his core, and drives this madness.”

Celestia held her breath, the dragon knew. It knew it was her fault, and he would say it, he would accuse her, blame her.

“It is his nature.”

Celestia stopped squirming for a moment, processing what the dragon had just said, his voice heard only in her mind.

“What?” she eventually dared ask.

“It is in his nature. He is in truth Discord, and his nature is to cause such things. To upset the order, bring wrongful corruption and twist harmony into disharmony. A discordant tone in the harmonic song that was once sung, and echoes still.”

“But...”

“His actions were inevitable, it took time for him to form a body, a consciousness, a thinking mind. Yet, it was inevitable, as was the chaos he would bring.”

“Then why didn't you stop him!” Celestia asked, anger giving her the strength to actually let a bit of accusation enter her voice.

“It is not in my nature, nor is it my purpose. That is thy task, and the purpose of the alicorns. I have waited, and now thou are here.”

“It could all have been saved....”

“Perchance, or maybe what has been destroyed was destined to fall. However it may be, thy role is clear, as is thy path.”

“Defeat Discord,” she said.

“More.”

Confused, she felt the need to look back at her flank, and she twitched in shock at what she saw. Her mark, what the lesser ponies called the cutie mark. It had appeared, so soon. It was normal for it to take a century before an alicorn found themselves, yet there it was, a sun.

She heard a gasp, and saw Luna staring at her own flank, where a patch of darkness now sat with a crescent moon in its center.

“Thy road is far lengthier than thou suspects....”

Celestia was going to respond, was going to ask more questions. But the red glow winked out of existence, and in surprise she held her tongue until another light blinded her, and after she had held up a hoof to shield her eyes, she saw she was somewhere else.

They were standing on a beach, and before them stretched a sea as long as their eyes could see. They turned around and saw what once would have been a jungle, teeming with life. Now it was only a few rotten plants, hollow and dried out husks of trees … and bones. Bones of elephants, picked clean by starving birds and other creatures.

Upon their heads the crowns began to chime with a soft note, and Luna and Celestia both felt a calling. Like the elements were speaking to them, and they knew what they were supposed to do. And so, armed with the very forces of the world they stood upon, they went about their task.

Guided by the elements, giving impressions and feelings, they flew across the land, restoring the natural, harmonic flow of nature's balance. The power of the elements restored life, made withered seeds awaken once more and grow. They made the weather bow to their will once more, and soft rain feed the growing life. What would have taken years took minutes, as the world itself was healing the wounds wrought by a mistake given form.

They flew across the land, and slowly what was lost was restored. And what couldn't be restored, was soon replaced with something new. The elements knitted the patterns of creation seamlessly, and neither the princess of the moon or the sun tried to interfere, the power flowed through them without halt.

They slowly made their way across the lands, from jungle to savannah, where the trees were beyond saving, barring a few. To the arctic cold of the north, where a meager few of the strong pine trees still held up, accustomed as they were to hardship. And they would be the parents to many of the forests that grew.

Slowly but surely they moved, restoring order, reshaping the wicked and mad rules and forms Discord had imposed on the environment. His magic was resisting, he was noticing what was going on, but against the elements his power was meaningless.

The two bearers calmed the storms, quenched the droughts, eradicated the famine and healed the plagues. All that was wrong and unintended was pushed back. Weeks passed, and when almost a month had passed of tireless work, where the elements had sustained the bearers, temporarily freeing them from the need of rest, food or drink, turning them into perfect mediums. Only then did they return home.

It was all that remained, all else that could be saved had been saved.

The minds of Luna and Celestia gradually regained control, and the elements retreated into the back of their minds, waiting for the moment when the power would be unleashed and the final wasteland restored.

The sisters landed outside the capital, and simply stood there, at the gates of the greatest city of their world.

It was broken, the gates unhinged and rotten. The walls were weathered and worn, splattered with filth of all kinds, and the city was more a ruin than any home. Eventually they entered, their hoofsteps sounding on the cracked marble roads. It was Eerie to them, they had seen so much destruction, but it had been against distant lands they had never seen before. Now they were home, in a city they had grown up in, and they couldn't recognize it even. The few landmarks that remained were twisted parodies of what they had once been.

All the living things were dead, and to their shared horror, alicorn bones littered the streets. Skulls of what could have been friends grinned at them from the dust covering the ground, all that remained of once splendid buildings and beautiful works of art. When they reached the palace they slowed their steps, not wanting to but knowing they had to face the destruction of their childhood home.

Their kingdom, in ruins. Their legacy, cracked and blanketed with dust and bones.

They searched their rooms, the gathering halls, the archives. And it was finally in the war room they found the first signs of life. Inside were several alicorns, all half starved and many of them with a deranged look to their eyes.

They didn't recognize any of them, save one.

“Fortitude!” Celestia exclaimed, and ran to the stallion.

His red coat was washed out, and his usually shiny copper mane was ragged and clinging to his face, stinking of despair and sweat.

“Princess?” he asked in surprise, and looked over at Luna much the same.

A few of the other alicorns reacted to what the stallion had just said, but most remained still, staring into nothing with empty eyes.

“Yes, we're back. We have brought with us something, something that has helped us drive back Discord's wicked magic. The land of the alicorn's is all that's left now, OUR land is all that's left in need of saving. All that remains now is finding where Discord is hiding in it, then end him and restore our land.”

“You have … saved the others? Saved the lesser ponies and the other living creatures?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, we have been in all the parts of the world. The … elements have lent us the power, and with it we have been able to do so much in so little time, and now we're almost finished.”

“I had no idea … we all thought you were gone, having fled or been taken by Discord perhaps.”

“But … Dad sent us away, to bring back help. Didn't he tell you?” Luna asked, confused.

Fortitude stood uncomprehending for a moment, then his face twisted into a grimace of sorrow.

“You don't know … I found your father in this room weeks ago … I don't know if it was the disease but … the healers said he'd used up too much magic, it drained him of all he had left. His heart didn't have the strength to keep beating.”

Celestia slowly backed away, shaking her head slowly. Beside her Luna stared at the stallion who had known her since birth, firmly convinced he would tell them he was just playing a cruel joke.

Then it sank into her, her dad was dead. The queen was dead, and the king was dead. That left them … there was no one else, they were the rulers now. It was all their responsibility, it was all their burden.

“You … you will all help us find Discord, you will gather all the forces we have left … and you will help us destroy him!” Celestia hissed, rage unlike anything she had ever felt before gripped her heart firmly.

But the stallion only shook his head, looking over at the other alicorns.

“You don't understand, this is it. We … this is what's left,” he said and motion with his hoof at the others.

“No,” Luna whispered, looking at the sick and broken individuals barely holding on to life.

“Yes, it is. When I found your father dead, I did what we had planned. I gathered all we had left, every single alicorn still alive, all the wisest, strongest and most powerful of the lesser ponies as well. And we made our stand here when the great storm came. It was … a stupid move, but it was all desperation had left us with I'm afraid.”

“When the storm hit, and the accursed magic came with it, we tried to push back. But so many of us were barely conscious, so hungry and deprived of any real sleep for so long … our own magic ended up misfiring in so many ways that I think we killed ourselves more than the storm did. And then Discord's own magic came into play, twisting what we did into other forms. Most of it could have been harmless had it not been mixed with all the other magic being thrown around...and so...” he finished, nodding towards the group of alicorns huddling together. “We are all that's left, the rest died, either by exhaustion or some magic accident.”

It was too much. Celestia turned and ran out the room, Luna followed after her, leaving behind them the ugly evidence of their doom, the doom of their entire race.

Without a word she took to the air, the power of the elements exploding from her crown. It sent out ripples of power, bouncing from every thing it came across, and carrying with it the whispers of what was found. Luna lost herself to the power as well, and soon the two avatars of the world were searching frantically for their enemy.

They found him, and they chased him. Chased him across the wasteland, where every broken ruin and empty desert of dust and bones cackled with malicious glee at them. Finally, they cornered him within the capital, the only place they had left for him to run to.

They arrived soon after he did, and it was in a broken plaza where fountains had once stood. Now it was a mass of cracked stone and piles of broken masonry. Discord stood there, waiting for them, he was wearing an expression of annoyance on his face, and barely seemed to acknowledge their existence.

The sisters rushed forward, their magic taking over completely, and before Discord could utter a word, and he had much to say if the look of surprise was anything to go by, a beam of rainbow lights struck him.

He tried to shield himself, to escape, far too late. And slowly, from his feet up, he started to turn to stone. When the transformation reached his waist, he turned his eyes to meet Celestia's, and just for a moment, something wordless passed between them.

Perhaps it was his nature, perhaps it was inevitable. But it was she that had given the push, that final push. It was not her fault entirely, but it had been her pride and naivety that had helped him to embrace the monster he had been born as. She was not guilty, but she was not innocent.

He threw his head back and laughed, a laugh of the irony of fate, and just how cruel in its apathy it could be. He put a paw to his chest and raised his talons high, as if receiving praise after having put on a good show, never once halting his laughter. And then, it disappeared, and all that was left was stone.

The sisters stood silent, their enemy, beaten. Finally, after all the suffering and wanton destruction, it was over. But not all could be saved, not all could be restored. The sisters looked at the other with sadness, and most of all, weariness. It was their duty now, to govern the entire world, to rule over all in peace and harmony.

It was what alicorns lived for, their sole purpose.

But their age was over, and when Luna and Celestia looked at the city around them, this strange sad place that echoed of something familiar, they felt nothing. It was all emptiness.

They turned as one, and looked at the castle, where the last alicorns beside themselves were hiding, nursing their wounds. Wounds that ran to deep to be licked, too deep to do anything but fester in darkness.

The sisters left that day, ignoring the elements winking out and becoming dormant, ignoring the cutie marks speaking of their place in the world. They left their home, the graveyard of their people, and the place where one sister's pride had helped lead to the destruction of an entire era of peace and prosperity. The duty of the alicorns was forgotten by choice, and the seat of their power remained empty.

They left, but they never stopped carrying the memories.

                                                               ***********************************************

Karon sat up slowly, his head throbbed like crazy and his heart felt like it had been wrung out multiple times and then spanked with a riding crop for good measure.

“Wow....”

“That's … one way to put it.”

“He's awake!” he heard Lyra shout from behind him, and before he could react she was in front of him, staring into his eyes like he would disappear at any moment.

“Yeah I'm awake,” he said and tried to stand up, only to fall back on his ass.

“Gravity … thou art a heartless bitch.”

“Karon!” he heard Trixie shout, and felt two hooves wrap around his neck and holding him up.

The unicorn herself moved into sight at his left, looking at him with terrified eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I'm alright. It's over now,” he said and rubbed his head.

“What's over?” Lyra asked.

“It's...” Karon went silent when he felt a presence, and he turned his head to the right, where in the desert sun two ghostly figures took shape.

“What is it?” Trixie asked, noticing his expression.

“Ghosts,” he whispered.

Lyra and Trixie looked around nervously, unable to see them.

“G-g-ghosts? What do they want?” Lyra asked, spinning around trying to spot them.

Two alicorns, one a stallion with a dark coat and mane of liquid silver, the other a mare of golden coat and red mane, like autumn leaves fluttering in the breeze. They stood silent, unmoving, and there was such a sadness about them that Karon's heart began to ache.

“They're waiting,” he finally said, understanding.

“Waiting for what?” Lyra asked, as if expecting the answer to be, 'for you to drop your guard'.

“For their daughters to come home and heal what was broken,” he said quietly.

“What? Something here needs fixing,” she asked half joking.

“Yes, everything … but most of all themselves.”

The ghosts stood silent, sad, their message heard, the story of a fall told.

The dust billowed in the wind, and then they were gone.

------------------------------------------------------------Author's note--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to admit that I partly took inspiration from Discordantly made by cosmicunicorn over at Deviantart. You should go check it out, or alternatively, you could go here.

Also, I was listening to Deionarra's theme from Planescape: Torment for like 80% of the time I was writing this, so blame the tragedy of it all on subtle influence from game masterpieces. In case you're curious and have never actually played it (shame on you...seriously) you can find it here.

Chapter 42: For queen and otter

The captain had been gracious enough to leave them with their supplies after having let them off. Of course that might have had something to do with the fact that his crew started rowing away from the beach so fast they nearly took off into the air after Karon fell unconscious. To the human, the whole ordeal had felt like months, years of nearly endless suffering. In reality not even a full day had passed.

The sun was about to set when he was returned to the land of the living, instead of a past so horrible the memories were carved into the very earth. The appearance of the ghosts and the revealing of their identities had struck Karon harder than everything else he had experienced in those memories.

For thousands, actually thousands of years, Celestia and Luna had been carrying the wounds left from those events. And during all that time, the ghosts had been waiting for them to return home and heal those wounds, and in doing so, heal the land they had left behind.

Karon had told Trixie and Lyra about what he'd been allowed to see, and they had listened in silence as the youth of their beloved rulers was revealed. The silence they had held during the story lasted even after Karon was finished, and the three companions had waited for the night to fall without saying a word, all of them deep in their own thoughts.

Somewhere far to the south and east, Luna was using her magic to raise the moon that Karon's eyes followed across the sky. Hours passed in quiet contemplation for all three of them, but it would have been a fair thing to say that Karon's time had been the most troubling.

“You know...”

“What?”

“Their situation isn't entirely unlike our own.”

“Yeah I'm pretty sure it is.”

“No, it isn't. Sure the exact details are, but the results are the same. Celestia made a mistake … a single mistake in her naive youth, and it had terrible consequences. She and Luna has been carrying that pain with them for all this time, refusing to face the destruction that haunts them … and after thousands of years running, they still haven't managed to escape, and they never will.”

“What's your point?”

“My point is that there is a lesson to be learned from that, one we could stand to learn ourselves.”

“...Do you think they will ever return? And that even if they did they could heal all of this?”

“They have little choice. This empty wasteland, this graveyard we're sitting on … they carry it inside them, wherever they go. They might shut it away from their consciousness or they might distract themselves with something else to lessen the presence of it, but it is always there, festering like hungry maggots. It will never go away … unless they return here, for better or worse.”

“How are they supposed to do that?”

“I have no idea. The only way I can see is to change it. If they don't want to carry the wound, then turn it into something else. You can't heal a wound if you can't imagine yourself whole or if you stick with the idea that this is how it is supposed to be.”

“What if it can't be healed?”

“That's my point idiot. That's the mindset that traps you. You would rather avoid it or accept it as a burden you just have to bear, despite the fact that it is too heavy and will break you and chain you down … with chains you yourself put there.”

“Are we still talking about Celestia and Luna, or us?”

“Both. You can't heal the wound unless you acknowledge you are wounded. You must take the wound, embrace it in its entirety, then change it, heal it. If you can't remember or see yourself as happy then how are you supposed to mend that wound? What is worse is that as long as it stays with you, it will eat at you. The pain will edge the rest of your being away piece by piece until it devours you.”

“You think that's what's happening to us? And the princesses?”

“I know it. Can you imagine a body being able to heal a cut if it can't even remember what healthy skin feels like, and it starts believing that the injury is a normal part of itself? Slowly, it will start changing the healthy skin it can no longer understand, or maybe even deny it ever existed because the knowledge of what it could be like should it heal itself and make itself whole, is too painful. There are pains that will threaten to make you weak, but that's because you don't rise above it, master it. It will make you strong, strong enough to shape yourself, to choose if you want to be a whole or damaged being. And once you have that strength, suffered through that trial, you can always heal such wounds … no matter where you find them.”

Karon's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The voice wasn't normally this ... sober. And it had a note of something different in it, something that both terrified and made him ache with longing.

“I'm not some outside spirit trying to manipulate you, dumbass. Did it ever occur to you that we could be, ARE, far wiser than you pretend to be?”

“Uhm ... no.”

“No, because you have shut away so much of yourself out of fear. Fear will kill you if you allow it to rule you. You're a mage. You're educated in the arts and mysteries, even if that education was cut short. You know that kind of control demands you to know both sides of a force to control the its energy. You must master the polarities before you can use the whole. You must carry the knowledge of both the pain and the joy. You must know what it is to be hurt and what it is to be healed, before you can take control and decide which one of those you want to express.”

“Yeah, yeah magic 101, but it is different outside of a classroom, and lessons taught only in words ring hollow.”

“You're right, they do. Then again, what we are experiencing aren't just words but the actual thing.”

“Are you saying all of this is just a lesson?”

“I'm saying we really need to start actually learning, for real, and not to just remember the words, but to understand their meaning if we want to have any chance to] survive and … do whatever the hell we're supposed to do. What you choose to think is up to you, but that isn't really the important bit is it?”

“So what, you think all of this is just a trial for the real thing that lies ahead? Do you even realize how fucked up that sounds? That all this shit we've been through is just a taste, a test, to prepare us for the real shit we're going to get thrown into?”

“The thought has crossed my mind, so it has also crossed yours.”

“That doesn't make me feel better....”

“If you want to feel better, start doing good stuff and you will feel good.”

“Brilliant, you should totally get your own talk show and leave me alone.”

“I AM you. Everything I say is something you're trying to tell yourself. The fact that you perceive me as something different or external to yourself only shows how fractured you've become. You only do this so you can hide from the bad things inside yourself , as well as the good. After all, if you are going to acknowledge and reach out for the good, you also have to do so for the bad.”

“The bad is bigger than the good in this case.”

“No ... it isn't. I want you to stop for a moment and just imagine what we could have been if... the incident had never happened. I mean look at us. We've saved an empire and helped save a kingdom, rescued a child from an infamous and incredibly dangerous forest, and so much more. All that while running around as an incomplete, wounded and self-loathing person. Imagine who we could have been had we done all of that whole, strong and happy, if we were an inspiration instead of an example of what can happen should you do wrong...”

“I...”

“Good, now that isn't possible since it has already happened. And no, we're not going to mess with time travel. We'll turn off the universe or something if we try that. Instead, imagine who we could become. All we have done, we have done handicapped. Imagine who we could become, what we could do...”

Karon's mind fell silent, and the moment hung suspended in time. There was such a temptation to the thought, the potential of it all. To be free, truly free. No longer following a path directed by what you ran from, but rather by what roads you chose to walk.

The possibilities...

But to get there, he had to grow. He had to be strong enough to make those kind of decisions, to become more than he was now … and he couldn't do that. Not as long as he was incomplete and weighed down by black chains.

“Imagine what Celestia and Luna could have been if they had they faced their past.”

Shivers ran down Karon's spine. Thousands of years of torment, every day and night suffering, or thousands of years of true harmony. Carrying the potential for both hurt and healing within, and choosing which one to express.

“A person knowing nothing but hurt can only cause hurt ... and you're losing everything else.”

Celestia and Luna had endured for so long, and all that time, it seem impossible that they could have done it at all. They seemed to have found some kind of way to counter the pain by ruling the ponies with benevolence, but even that wouldn't be enough in time. And it was a fragile way, easily broken, as was shown with Nightmare Moon.

A creature that nearly turned the world into a frozen ball of ice, all because the sliver of hope and love she had left seemed to have deserted her, and what was left was the memories … and the pain they bore with them.

“Luna isn't stupid. She must have known eternal night would mean the end. And we have spent a lot of time with her. She can be aggressive at times, but she is not sadistic. She is kind, compassionate, and wants to be loved and love others in turn. Even so, she nearly killed everything...”

“I know.”

“What if she didn't try to bring about eternal night just as part of an asinine plan to force others to love her? Maybe she did it hoping it would kill everything, including herself. Because the only thing she thought that was left for her was something so awful that she would rather see everything dead.”

“I...”

“How do you think we will be in a thousand years? Hell, Luna is just plain nicer than us. I doubt it would take even that long for us to snap. Imagine Twilight, Trixie, Rarity, Lyra and everyone else … dead, because the only thing left in us was the desire to hurt others as we hurt.”

“It won't happen. We don't even possess that kind of power.”

“Oh really? Are you saying we couldn't lock them in eternal nightmares? Visions so terrible, so sickening it would kill them through fear?”

Karon felt sick to his core. The voice wasn't lying. He could do it, but he never would...

“Because you still care about them, because you can still love. If the pain moves past the point of being bearable, and it will, you will forget what it is to love. What then?”

He clutched his stomach. He thought he might actually throw up. The idea was so horrible it … and it was true. The potential was there, it could happen.

“It will happen.”

“No … no … no.”

He repeated the words again and again, shutting it out, pushing it away.

“Like you have tried to silence something else? Like you tried to lock another horrible truth away? Because it didn't work, it's still there.”

“Please stop,” he whispered out loud, clutching at his chest.

“And the absolute worst part about it … is that you chose that path, knowing where it would lead.”

“No!” he cried, hot tears streaming down his face.

“Karon what is it!?” Trixie ran to him and asked, Lyra just one step behind.

“I … I ... I...”

“Shhh, Karon what is it?” Trixie asked again carefully, placing her hooves around him in an embrace.

Lyra joined her and placed one hoof on his shoulder, unsure of what to make of his terrified expression.

“I...I...”

“Yes?” Trixie coached him tentatively, stroking his back slowly, almost cradling him.

“I ... I'm going to kill you....” he blubbered and clung to her hooves.

“What?” they both asked in unison.

“I can't help it ... I'm going to kill … you all,” he whispered, his voice nearly failing him.

“No, you're not,” Lyra said, her voice both soothing and demanding.

She sat down opposite Trixie and put her hooves around him, and together the ponies held him while he shook with sobs, begging their forgiveness. Stuttering words tumbled out of him in an incoherent mess, and half the time the unicorns had no idea what he was trying to say. Eventually he exhausted himself, and fell asleep as they held him.

They lowered his head down to the ground. His face was slick with tears and they were careful to make sure his head didn't fall on its side, least he wake up with his face covered in the caked dust of crumbled buildings and desiccated bones.

After moving away from the sleeping human, the two unicorns looked on each other with uncertainty in their eyes. Lyra was the first to speak.

“What do you think he meant by that?”

“I don't know, but master would never do anything to intentionally hurt us … right?”

“I can't believe you're even asking that question!” Lyra hissed angrily.

“I didn't mean it like that. I was just thinking about … those ghosts, and what they made him see. What if they did something else with him?”

“No, I don't think they could have. Karon wouldn't let them do anything that would make him hurt us.”

“Then what did he mean when he said he would kill us, and that he didn't have a choice?”

“I don't know. Maybe just a nightmare?” Lyra suggested.

“He wasn't even sleeping,” Trixie said, a little scorn slipping into her voice.

“I don't know if you have to be asleep in this place for nightmares to find you,” Lyra said, and they both looked around with a shiver.

“Whatever it was about … Karon will need us, and I'm not leaving him,” she continued and gave Trixie a hard stare.

“And I'm not leaving him either,” Trixie said and shot her an equally hard look.

A begrudging respect passed between the two ponies, and they nodded at one another in understanding. It didn't matter what Karon was going through, he would not have to face it alone no matter what he'd have to say about the subject. The two unicorns tried to go to sleep after that, but it was not an easy thing to do in the wasteland of the alicorns, and once they finally did, their dreams turned out to be just as empty as the land they slept upon.

When morning came, it came slowly, as if the sun itself hesitated to show its face in such a place. None of the travelers had slept well, and they awoke with a sense of unease pressing down on them. They had overstayed their welcome, and it was made clear in no uncertain terms that they should leave with as much haste as was possible.

Even so, after the ponies had both opened their eyes and shaken off the last remnants of their sleep, they ate slowly and took their time, waiting for Karon to wake up.

In truth, he had woken up before either of the unicorns, and listened to them as they moved around while eating breakfast. He remained still, feigning sleep for a long time. Too long, if someone had a say about it.

“Just get up. We can't stay here for much longer.”

“What the hell am I supposed to say after I get up then? 'Morning ladies, remember that thing last night about me killing you? Well don't you worry, that should be at least a few years off.'”

“You're awful at sarcasm. Leave that to me.”

“My point still stands.”

“Maybe you should, you know, confide in them?”

“Are you really that stupid?”

“How have you still not gotten this 'I'm you and you are me' deal? You know what I mean. Yeah, maybe there is a bit of sense in not revealing our dark side to total strangers, but Lyra and Trixie have both proven to be our friends. They won't abandon you, they have already accepted you. What remains is for you to accept that they have accepted you.”

“I liked you better when you were just making sarcastic remarks and spouting innuendo instead of being all wise.”

“That was me being all wise. Wise doesn't mean celibate.”

“Sigh, I guess you won't shut up until I get up, is that it?”

“See, we ARE smart.”

He stirred a little, moving his limbs slowly and stretching them. The sounds of Trixie and Lyra eating went silent when he did, and they sat still as they waited for him to get up. After a few cracks from his joints, there was little reason to postpone it further. He turned around and got up from the ground, facing the patiently waiting unicorns.

“Morning,” he said and rubbed his face.

Despite the ponies' attempt, his face had brushed against the ground many times during the course of the night, and his face was smeared with dried tears and thick dust.

The ponies didn't say anything, just observed him as he moved to his pack and got out one of the bottles of water they had brought with them. He opened it and carefully washed his face, making sure it was completely clean before drinking the rest of the bottle's contents. The water made him feel slightly better, and when he faced the two unicorns' gazes, he didn't falter as much as he had thought he would.

“Karon … about what you said last night...” Lyra began, but Karon held up a hand to stop her.

“Lyra, Trixie … I'm not sure where to even begin. I'm … torn on this matter, way more so than you would believe...”

“Well, you got that right.”

“Still, I would like to think that we have grown close enough that I can share things about myself I wouldn't share with others.”

Trixie looked surprised and curious at what he'd said, however Lyra was leaning forward with hunger and hope burning in her eyes. She had been waiting for this, for a long time now, and finally it was about to happen.

“I just ... give me a little more time. To sort it out, to ... figure out a way I can actually put it in words.”

Lyra's shoulders slumped with bitter disappointment. But she still nodded in understanding, as did Trixie, even though she didn't quite understand if her confused expression was any indication.

“We will have time later, because you're not getting rid of us Karon,” Lyra said, just to clear things up.

“Good, because I don't want to,” he said and smiled a crooked, but honest, smile.

Lyra answered the smile with her own, and she gave him a tiny nod just to make sure he knew that she understood. When they broke eye contact, Karon cleared his throat and patted his stomach.

“Well, I'm starving. Let's eat then get going. I don't want to stay here any longer than we've already been.”

The suggestion was meet with approval from both ponies, and so they ate their breakfast with spirits a little higher, the thought of leaving the wasteland behind beckoning. After they finished, Karon pulled out his map and they spent a few minutes orienting themselves. And unless they read the map wrong, they were three to four days north of the border between the wasteland and the otter river lands, where they had founded a kingdom.

The food supply was more than enough to reach one of the larger towns near the border, and the water would too. Not that it was any problem with Trixie's ability to summon rain anyway. And so they set out, following a path straight south. They were careful to make sure they didn't deviate, as the empty wasteland provided no landmarks for them to guide themselves with. However, after their time spent in the desert, it wasn't as difficult as it would have been otherwise, and they encountered no further problems on their route.

The days and nights passed by with unremarkable ease. The sun was warmer than was perhaps desirable, but yet again, their time in the desert had made them accustomed to such. The monotone landscape left nothing worth observing, and they had learned to keep conversations to a minimum in hot areas, least the moisture be stolen right from their mouths.

On the third day, the trio saw something in the distance. Far to the east sat an enormous structure of weathered marble, gleaming in the sun's light. All three of them knew what it must be, and for as long as it remained within view, they walked a little quicker and a little more tensely.

Eventually though, it fell from view, and only hours after, the landscape began changing. The ground became a little less bleak, and in the distance ahead, they could see what was probably a forest. As they came closer, the assumption was confirmed, and they hurried their pace, eager to leave the sorrowful wastes behind for a place where life didn't feel unwelcome.

The gradual shift from bleached yellow to vibrant green came as a relief to the travelers, and they walked with lighter steps as the ground softened beneath their feet and hooves. The air was almost sweet in comparison to the wasteland, filled with the many tastes of growing things. The trio breathed in deep and felt the troubles of the last few months wash away. It was an incredible thing, how wonderful something taken for granted could prove to be once another perspective had been experienced.

After a few hours of walking in what they thought of as paradise, the trio stopped and consulted the map. On it there was a large river that led to the city of Poffington, and they all agreed that it seemed the surest way to reach the city without getting lost. It would take time before they were used to moving through thick forests instead of open plains.

They managed to find the river and followed it down, leading south-west. It took them the rest of the day, wandering at a leisure pace to reach the city, and when it first came into view, they halted and stared, unsure what to make of what they saw.

The city was huge. The grand manors and buildings rose tall over the surrounding forest, and a grand wall circled it entirely. However, it was all made out of wood. Lyra and Trixie looked on it all with eyes filled with wonder, like they couldn't quite fathom just how much wood was needed to build anything like it. Karon on the other hand, was regretting coming to the city with all his heart. Absolutely everything about it screamed fire hazard.

And he hated fire.

His concerns were not shared however, and both the unicorns headed towards the impressive city's gate with a spring in their steps while Karon trailed behind nervously. When they arrived at the gates, they found them open, but just barely, the small crack guarded by four otters wearing colorful clothes with small sabers strapped to their waists.

“Hold!” one of them commanded and held out a paw.

Karon forgot his worry for a moment at the sight and nearly started giggling. The creature was tiny, even smaller than the ponies though not by much, and if Karon wanted to, he could just have kicked the little thing away without difficulty. That, in addition to the outfits they wore, left the impression the guards gave off as comical rather than intimidating.

“Yeah?” Karon asked in an amused tone, leaning on his spear.

The otter's eyes were inevitably drawn to the dark tip, a blackness the sunlight enhanced rather than dispelled. They tensed notably, and the one that had spoken took a step backwards towards the safety of the group. It seemed to give him a little of his confidence back, and he spoke in a harsh voice.

“What's your business in Poffington?”

“Kill, loot, pillage, plunder and rape,” Karon responded jovially.

The guards' eyes nearly boggled out of their sockets, and all four of them backed up against the narrow opening in the gate, prepared to run through and close it in a moment's notice. Trixie turned around and looked at him questionably, like she wanted him to confirm if that was what they were really going to do. Lyra on the other hoof was shaking her head and groaning repeatedly.

“He's joking,” she told the terrified otter guards.

“Are you sure?” came the hesitant response.

She sighed deeply and glared at Karon, who smiled back and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes, I'm sure. He just has a terrible sense of humor. He hit his head a lot and can't understand how to behave properly,” Lyra told them.

“Ah, I have a cousin like that. You can go inside, just keep him from urinating on anything expensive.”

“Sure,” she said and tried to stifle her laughter.

The otters moved aside and allowed them to pass, their eyes following Karon all the way until he was out of sight.

“Why do we always manage to piss of the guards of a city no matter what nation or species is involved?”

“I don't know, maybe something about us seems sketchy?”

The trio took their time following the street into the city. The city's perhaps most notable feature – with the exception of everything being built out of wood – was that there were rivers flowing wherever you looked. And what was more, the city looked to be divided into two sections. Down in the rivers, unclothed otters swam and walked on the walkways that ran alongside them, and there were doors that seemed to lead into homes easily accessible from the walkways.

In addition, there were clothed otters wearing fancy outfits ranging from elegant dresses for the females and costumes for the males, and nearly all of the latter were wearing top hats.

“Great, I'm stuck in an anglophile's fable.”

The more fancifully dressed otters were walking along the stone roads Karon and the unicorns were following, and after passing through a few blocks, it became clear that the lower class made their homes close to the riverbeds, while the high class otters lived in the huge wooden mansions rising above the trees.

Karon's finger began to itch at the thought. The otters they passed by gave them curious, albeit aloof stares. It would have been fun taking them down a notch, but the threat of the whole city catching on fire was still present in his mind, and he couldn't help feeling that was how it would end should he decide to have a little fun.

All in all, it looked like their stay in the city would be terribly boring.

That was until they heard a twittery voice call out in the most horrible British accent Karon ever had the misfortune to hear.

“Can it be? Why yes it can! The great host and party thrower himself! My, just the other day I was telling Lady Scruggyposh about our marvelous evening. And now you're here in Poffington? Capital I say, just capital!”

Karon turned his head to the source, as did the ponies, and saw the most pompously dressed otter they had seen so far. He was wearing a yellow and blue frock with white frilly laces. On his head sat a stark green top hat, and in its little right paw he held a walking cane. Karon wasn't sure what to say to the creature as it walked up to him and waited for him to respond.

“Uhh...I...”

“Why surely you can't have forgotten me? Sir Bottomsworth, remember? I was invited to that glorious gathering you threw in … what was it called? Ponyville? Yes I think so, that's it. I must say, I have never before seen such a creative use of library books. Why that pink one sure had a good aim. And I see you brought the singer with a fetish for humans if I remember correctly, hmm yes?”

Karon's stunned mind slowly dragged up the memory of an otter attending the party he had once thrown for the express purpose of getting Pinkie drunk. Twilight had started teleporting out invitations to random locations, and one of them must have reached this ...Sir  Bottomsworth.

“Ah yes, of course, Sir Bottomsworth. I was just surprised seeing you here,” Karon quickly said, gaining a satisfied nod from the otter.

“Why yes. This is as much a surprise to me as it is to you … and … is everything alright with you dear?” the otter asked carefully and looked at Lyra.

Karon turned his gaze down to the unicorn, who was staring at the otter with the most horrified expression he had ever seen on her face.

“You've told others … about me singing that?” she asked, ashen gray in the face.

“Why, of course! I have a ear for music and I still remember the lyrics. Why, it has turned out rather popular in the seedier parts of the city. You can count on it being sung at least once every night in some dank pub somewhere, or in an olium den.”

“Bu-… wha- … and I don't have a human fetish!” she shouted angrily.

“You totally do,” Karon said.

Lyra turned her head up towards him to protest, but Karon held up his hands and began wriggling his fingers. Her face twisted as anger and fascination warred for dominance, but no sound escaped her.

“Well, good show regardless. Say, where are you staying during your visit?” the otter continued, taking it all in good stride.

“We arrived less than an hour ago and haven't made any arrangements yet,” Karon admitted.

“Well what glorious news! You simply must come and stay at my estate for as long as you remain here. Come, come, it is not far from here, and I assure you it is all you could ever ask for.”

“Well...” Karon looked at his two companions for help, but he gained no support from Trixie, and Lyra was not in a mood to even look him in the eyes.

“...Of course, how could I refuse,” he finished for lack of anything better.

“The smooth talking, socially manipulating trickster strikes again!”

“I have a lot on my mind, okay.”

The otter led them through the streets of Poffington, happily divulging what he considered to be the incredibly fascinating history behind the buildings that they passed. Both Trixie and Lyra appeared to pay attention to his ramblings, but Karon wasn't. He was busy considering what he was supposed to tell Trixie and Lyra about what he had said about killing them now that he didn't need to think about where they were going or finding a place to sleep.

However, by the time they had arrived at their destination, a large manor – one that was not very distinct from every other manor around it but still obviously belonging to someone with wealth – he had reached no conclusion. The otter was wearing a huge grin on his furry face, no doubt delighted to show off his home to what he considered to be esteemed guests.

They were met at the door by another otter, wearing a stylish suit of a less garish nature. Karon guessed it was a servant from the looks of it, and the guess was proven right when Bottomsworth gave him orders to prepare a feast for the evening, to celebrate the trio's stay with him.

The tour around the house lasted for hours where they were shown every single nook and cranny of the manor, and made to listen to whatever story about the place Bottomsworth could think of. If any one of them were actually true or not was beyond Karon. His attention had been lost very quickly after the first tale of which ancestor had once had an affair with whom in that very spot.

Once the tour was over, dinner was almost done, and Bottomsworth directed another servant to show the trio to their rooms to refresh themselves. Karon was given a relatively small room, though by otter standards he guessed it would be considered quite big. It was extremely colorful – perhaps to offset the monotone colors of the wooden structures – and had been painted in every conceivable color.

There was a bed there, but it was so small that Karon would never be able to fit. He would have to ask Bottomsworth about maybe getting an extra two so he could put them together.

“Well, we're here. What now?”

“I don't know. A bit of food and whatever conversation the otter wants to make. After that … I don't know. There are a lot of things to think about, so I don't think making plans is the best thing to occupy our mind with at the moment.”

“So, you are finally going to confide in them, for real?”

“Yeah....”

“Interesting. And what are you going to do about … the door?”

“I … one thing at a time.”

“Fine, just don't postpone it for too long. Get going with the confiding tonight so we can finally have some progress.”

“Who are you? Really?”

“I told you, I am you.”

“You're not like me.”

“You don't know yourself.”

The voice fell silent after that, pleased with itself, which aggravated Karon since it meant he was pleased with the internal conversation. A man could go mad for less.

He left the spear, map and rucksack in the room. There was a small washroom next to his room, and , using the sink therein, he splashed his face with water several times before he felt calmer. There was a small mirror next to the sink, and when he looked into it, he expected something, maybe an explosion of emotion or some deep revelation rising to the surface of his mind.

Instead, there was nothing, only his reflection.

He left the washroom behind and headed towards the grand dining hall he'd been shown earlier. Trixie, Lyra and Bottomsworth were waiting around a table for him. The otter was seated on a chair, while pillows had been brought for the ponies. At the side stood several servants, one of them with a chair ready and another with a pillow, no doubt waiting to see which one Karon preferred.

He considered the chair for a moment, but it was so small that it was more akin to a stool, so he pointed to the servant with a pillow and nodded. The servant hurried forward to the first seat at Bottomworth's right and placed the cushion there, where a plate of hot food waited.

Karon sat down on the pillow and looked down on the plate. On it were steamed vegetables neatly piled up and next to them were several clams and oysters. Karon looked down on them doubtfully, and Bottomsworth caught his glance.

“Ah, yes. You are a human, yes? Like in the ponytales? Your kind don't eat delicious clams?”

“Uh, no,” Karon lied for convenience sake.

“Such a shame, they are quite delicious,” he said and picked one of them up, placed it on his stomach, and bashed it open with a small rock placed next to his plate.

The trio stared at the otter for a few seconds before returning to their own food. They ate mostly in silence, which came as a surprise to Karon. He had expected Bottomsworth to make conversation for as long as he was physically able. Instead, there was a silence only broken by the sounds of them eating.

And it was only when they were all done eating and reclining in their seats as best they could that the otter spoke.

“Ah, delicious as always. Bring in the desert,” he said and clapped his furry little paws.

The servants hurried away and soon returned with trays upon which stood bowls of … ice cream? It looked like that, and some kind of sauce next to them.

“Excellent, you may leave us now,” he said after the servants placed the trays before them.

Dutifully, the servants scurried away, and the otter breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Karon noticed and asked in the most diplomatic tone he could muster.

“Is something wrong?”

The otter looked at him with a slightly apologetic face and shook his head.

“No, it is merely customary to save all conversation until desert, when the servants are no longer needed and can be dismissed.”

“You don't trust your servants?” Karon asked, a little curious.

“Of course I do, but you never really know if it is really your faithful servant since years back standing next to you or not,” he finished darkly and poured the sauce over his ice cream, before passing it over to Karon.

He smelled the contents of the bottle and nearly jumped backwards to get away from it.

“Ugh, what is this kind of sauce?” he asked and tried not to sound all too disgusted.

“Fish liver sauce. Delicious with ice cream and a personal favorite,” the otter explained in a lighter tone.

Karon didn't comment on that, instead he silently passed it on to Lyra on the other side of the table, who looked on it like it was a poisonous snake. He then turned back to the otter and tried to continue the discussion.

“What do you mean you can never really know?”

The otter looked surprised by the question, then his face fell into the same look he had worn when he told them of the city's history.

“Ah yes, you are all new to the otter kingdom? Well, allow me to give you a little history lesson about the darker part of our beautiful land,” the otter cleared his throat before continuing.

“You see, the otter kingdom has stood for many centuries. We used to be a collection of small tribes and states, but we were united about 600 years ago. During those centuries, it was only for the first two hundred years that the king actually helped rule the land. The practice fell out of style though since they just couldn't keep check of all the scheming. And so, for the past four centuries we have all been ruled by queens, who take mates only in order to produce children.”

He sighed when he finished, and took a bite out of his ice cream before going on.

“Unfortunately, we aren't the only ones who call this land our home. And ours is not the only queen that claims to rule the river lands.”

“Ohh, who would this other queen be the queen of then?” Karon asked and ate absentmindedly.

“The changelings,” Bottomsworth said with a disgusted face.

“The changelings?” Karon repeated.

“Yes, foul creatures. They appear similar to ponies in their real forms I've heard, but I've never seen one like that, so I can't say for sure.”

“You mean they're shapeshifters?” Karon asked, now more than a little curious.

After all, technically he now belonged to a species of shapeshifters.

“Yes, that's what they are. And worse, they use their abilities to change into otters, family members and the like, and feed on the love they receive in their stolen forms. The real otter … often disappears and is never seen again. Sometimes they straggle out of the dark part of the forest, but even in those rare times, they never fully recover anyway.”

“Is this a serious problem?” Lyra asked.

“The issue has risen and fallen in severity through the centuries, but lately it has grown far worse than it has in a very long time, maybe worse than ever before. The poorer otters are the ones struck the most, but even the nobles are taken nowadays.

“Are you doing anything about it?” Karon asked and finished his desert.

“Me, personally? No. I wouldn't know what to do or how to handle something like this. And the guards are terrified of sending anyone out to investigate what the changeling queen is up to. After all … who knows if those that return are even the real guards?”

“Gentlemen, we have a dilemma it seems.”

“In all honesty, it does sound serious.”

“So offer your assistance then.”

“I didn't mean it like that.”

“Why not? We've handled worse.”

“Remember what I said about taking it calm and trying to sort things out with Trixie and Lyra?”

“Remember what I said about doing good things and we will start to feel good?”

“Yeah, but-”

“No buts. Do you also remember that part of it being kinda important, that we don't lose the ability to experience and understand those feelings?”

“You suck, you know that?”

“You are me, I am you, how can this still be so hard to understand? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you should do this without having a hidden agenda, without doing it for a selfish reason you hide behind a veil of altruism. Do it, just because it is a good thing to do. Who knows, maybe it'll actually lead to something.”

“Sigh...”

“Well, Sir Bottomsworth … it so happens that me and my companions are experienced in helping to solve difficult situations.”

“Whatever do you mean?” the otter replied.

“Well, we three have helped solve a lot of problems before,” Karon said, hoping he wouldn't have to go into details.

“I'm not sure I understand,” the otter continued with a confused expression.

Karon sighed, and tried not to sound too boastful. He was trying to do something good after all.

“We have, among other things, saved the zebra empire from being invaded by jackals – well technically they were invaded, but they didn't manage to take over the entire empire, in large parts thanks to us. I was also Equestria's first court wizard and helped avoid a coup from an insane consortium member, and a few other things.” he finished.

The otter stared at the human in a completely new way, but there was a look of calculation within it.

“So … you're saying that you think you, the three of you, could solve our troubles with the changelings? Would this be … permanently?”

The last part was asked in an extremely careful tone of voice that could not be interpreted as either approving or disapproving.

“Yes, though I don't know if killing the queen is the best solution. But, I will do whatever it takes to fix it,” Karon said firmly, though evenly to avoid revealing his own feelings on the matter of killing.

Which, in truth, basically boiled down to 'shit happens'.

“Well, that sounds just terrific. But I'm not sure exactly how such a dangerous task should be rewarded. I might be of fine breeding, but such a fortune is simply outside of my reach … maybe if I contacted a few other nobles and we pooled our resources...” the otter trailed off and looked at Karon, waiting to hear what he'd have to say about it.

“No charge, we'll do it for free,” Karon said and tried to hide his grinding teeth with a smile.

Across the table, Lyra spat out the ice cream she was busy swallowing in a fit of coughing that lasted for several minutes. She ignored the mess in front of her completely and stared at Karon like she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Beside her, Trixie had a similar look, but one also tinted with a vague sense of disappointment.

“You can take the mare out of the show business....”

“Well, I don't know quite what to say. That is incredibly generous of you, all three of you. I shall speak very highly of you to the queen herself! Surely she will reward you with a title should you succeed!”

The rest of the evening was of a more jovial nature. Karon's offer had certainly lightened the otter lord's mood, and he was quick to share a bottle of what he swore was the same brandy the queen herself drank in the evenings. True or not, Karon found it to be of high quality, and the alcohol helped to block out the glares he received from the unicorns.

Eventually, evening shifted into deep night, and the otter declared it was time for bed. He bade them all a healthy sleep and retired to his own quarters, leaving Karon alone with the two mares.

“Karon … is there something you wanna tell us?” Lyra asked and tapped one hoof to the floor.

“What is there to say? You heard how they have it here. Centuries of not being sure if the person you love the most in the world is really who you think it is, instead of a changeling who has taken that person's place.”

“Yeah, I know it sounds terrible. I understand that and I do agree we should try and help … but why for free?”

“Yes, I want to know that as well,” Trixie added with a huff.

“Don't be greedy you two,” Karon joked.

“We're not … I'm not,” Lyra corrected when she spotted Trixie's expression.

“Then what's this about?” he demanded.

“You, what else. This isn't like you at all, and if you do something like this, it means you're up to something, making plans,” she claimed and pointed a hoof towards him.

“Not always. Is it really impossible for me to decide to do something simply because it is a good deed?”

“No, but it is unlike you. And you don't make a switch like that without a reason … and you haven't been yourself recently...” she trailed off, and all three of them looked away awkwardly.

“Look … I am still planning on telling you everything … well as much as I can. But could we save that for after checking this changeling stuff out? When this is over and we can enjoy being celebrated as heroes and whatever?”

“I thought you said before that you weren't a hero,” Lyra said with a smirk.

“Yeah, well, people seem to have a problem believing that,” he muttered in return.

“Maybe they're not entirely wrong,” she said and smiled.

Karon's eyes turned to slits as he tried to discern if she had said that as an encouragement or merely to tease him.

“Anyway, if you want us all to go searching for changelings tomorrow, we should probably go to sleep now. Just because we've survived worse doesn't mean it will be easy,” Lyra reasoned.

Trixie yawned in agreement – though she still looked peeved that they wouldn't get paid for their troubles – and the three said good night to one another and went to their rooms. When he reached his own, Karon realized that he had forgotten to ask for more beds, and, not feeling up to waking Bottomsworth or trying to find a servant, he simply piled as many pillows as he could find on the floor and laid down.

It was surprisingly comfortable, and he fell asleep quickly.

                                          ****************************************************

The town guards had been thrilled beyond belief when they were told the trio would set out in an attempt to rid them of the changelings. They helped in every way they could, sharing experiences, stories and plain rumors, offering local maps and telling them of weaknesses they had discovered over the years.

It had taken a few hours, but eventually the trio felt that they had gathered all that could help them in their … quest. And so, they left the city behind them, following the rivers and pathways according to the guards' descriptions. It took an additional few hours before they reached the part of the forest the guards had mentioned, where no otter went willingly.

It was darker, the trees blocking out most of the sunlight. Between the large tree trunks, there clung some kind of slimy webs, not those of spiders but … something different.

They traveled more cautiously within this shadowy domain, and the unicorn mares looked around themselves nervously. Karon blended in more easily, despite wearing a robe of deep red. He was more accustomed to dark forests, and after experiencing the Everfree first hand for days, the changeling woods didn't impress him much.

The slimy strings increased in numbers, and large chunks of them came together to form entire platforms high above the ground. Karon stretched out his senses to guard from enemies, and although he couldn't detect anything dangerous nearby, there was a sort of distant humming that picked at his attention.

The woods got slimier and slimier, and soon it covered much of the ground as well as the trees. The fact that they had gone so far without being spotted as intruders was making Karon suspicious, and apparently Trixie as well, for she commented nervously after she stepped in the slime.

“This isn't right. If anything lived here we should have been seen, or heard, or something. I think we might be heading towards a trap.”

Karon was about to respond, but someone beat him to it.

“Oh clever pony, but I am afraid the trap has already been sprung.”

From above, the distant buzzing exploding into a chorus, and from the canopy shadows there descended a horde of pony like creatures. They were insect like, covered in dark chitin and with blue bug like eyes. However among them was a bigger creature, and where the other changelings were similar to ponies, this one was similar to an alicorn.

She was beautiful, in a defiled, twisted sort of way. A kind of savage marking that told him the world had broken her, many times, and in her broken form she had found strength. She landed on the ground before the trio, surrounded by a swarm of her kind, a paragon of corruption and hunger.

“I was wondering when you'd show up,” Karon said mockingly and leaned on his spear.

“You were?” Trixie, Lyra and the alicorn changeling all asked in unison.

“Nope.”

“I'm not stupid, that buzzing your wings make is kinda noisy after all,” he said, chancing that it had been them all along, following them from above and somehow veiled from his senses.

“So, you did sense our presence after all,” the queen said, her voice melodic and hypnotizing.

“I did,” he lied.

“And you still dared proceed into my home, the home of my children?”

“Yeah, I thought to give talking a try before I stick my spear into your heart,” he answered casually.

“Oh, you think you have the power to challenge the queen of the changelings? Foolish little mortal, you stand before a being your superior in every way.”

“Yeah, I have opposable thumbs, so I win,” he responded with a smile.

“You think yourself humorous? Perhaps you are a creature that inspires joy in others, and they love you for it? One of my children will take your place, and feed on the love others feel for you.”

“I think you might be disappointed,” Karon responded, but his tone became serious.

The changelings didn't sense it, but he was slowly starting to weave his magic around him, and while the queen was busy delivering the most classic of villain's exposition, he got to work.

“Is that so? It doesn't matter. I know who you are. I have many of my children out in the world as spies, and they have heard of you, Karon. You are well known for what happened in the city of Las Pegasus, and even though it amused me to hear you caused the princesses of Equestria such difficulty, it will not be enough to spare you from me. Your form will be useful, and with it and your friends' we will be able to do much. I have a plan for my children you see, to take them to a place where love flows beyond what I have seen in a long time.”

“You won't get away with whatever you're planning!” Trixie shouted, and Karon nearly aborted his magic just so he could facepalm.

“Oh, but I will little pony. But first, you will reveal everything about yourself. With my magic, I will access all of your memories, all of them, and I shall use them to make my children indistinguishable from you.”

Karon panicked when he heard what she'd just said.

“Accessing my memories...”

“That would mean that...”

“What the hell are you waiting for! Take her down!”

“No you won't!” Karon shouted and held out his right palm, directing the energies he had shaped into a ball of mental energy. It was so focused it took nearly his entire will to keep it from exploding and affecting everyone gathered. It wouldn't kill anything, but anyone hit with the energy would fall deeply asleep, and remain asleep as long as the magic remained powered by him.

The energy shone with a deep blue vibrancy, but before he could unleash it towards the changelings, the queen struck first.

She had held the spell prepared in her mind after all, and it took little mental effort for her to power it with her magic. It lashed out towards Karon, a green jet of energy that slammed into him, but it did not bring him under her control as it was meant to.

It was supposed to bring him under her control, to enable her to extract his memories and ask him questions he could only answer truthfully. Instead, the green energy intermingled with Karon's blue, and for a second nothing happened.

Then it all exploded out in a miasma of colors, and every single living thing nearby fell to the ground, deep asleep.

Chapter 44: No mercy

Far away from the new lovers in the glittering city of Canterlot, a shadowy figure was walking through a garden filled with statues. Some of them were beautiful, ponies or other creatures captured in heroic poses. Others were sad, the last dying breath of someone who's task was not yet done, or the weeping mother mourning the loss of her only child. And then there were others that were just strange.

The shadowy figure was humming to himself and giving a general impression of enjoyment, but if anyone had looked closer at the figure, they would have noticed that something was off. Its shadowy appearance wasn't a result of dark clothing but rather because it wasn't really there. Like a mirage in the hot air, it seemed to flicker and only maintain its presence through a colossal amount of power.

It stopped before one of the strangest of the statues, one that depicted a creature who was a mixture of so many different animals that it seemed unlikely it should even be possible for it to exist. It wore a look of utter surprise on its face, and its arms were cast up as if it was trying to shield itself from something.

The shadowy figure made a “tsk” sound and shook its head, like it was disappointed in the statue. Then something caught its eye and it picked up a small colorful envelope that was laying at the statue's feet. He opened it and smiled a crooked smile when he saw it was a party invitation for someplace called Ponyville.

He discarded the invitation and looked up at the statue before cracking his fingers loudly, then stepped forward and put one hand against the statue. For a second nothing happened, but with each passing heartbeat a small amount of color seemed to return to the statue. And a sound was starting to escape it.

“Ooooooooooooo-”

“Yes, yes we can all hear you,” the shadow interrupted and slapped the statue's face to silence it.

After a minute, every trace that the creature had ever been a statue was gone, and it regarded the shadow before itself with a curious look on its face. The shadow watched as the creature brushed the last trace of dust from its chest and spoke with a careless, almost mocking voice.

“Thank you for that. You have no idea how stiff you can get being encased in marble after a while. I guess introductions are in order, wouldn't you agree?” it said and swirled through the air lazily, stretching its limbs.

“I am Loke,” the shadow replied with a smile.

“And I am Discord. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, I will have things to do, chaos to sow and all that, so I would rather we hurried things up and you just tell me why you decided to free me.”

“My reasons are my own. Suffice it to say, I want you to do the exact same thing you did last time you were freed,” Loke responded.

“Hmm, that's a bit of a problem, you see. Last time didn't go all that well, and I'd much prefer do something more spontaneous. I mean really, repetition becomes so boring after the first time, which is to say, always.”

“I am not expecting things to go the same way, and the reason I want you to follow the same pattern as last time is because it will truly confuse them. And in that confusion and uncertainty they will try the same play as before. They did win after all.”

“I take it you have some small adjustment in mind?” Discord asked.

“Yes, I have seen what happened last time and I know that if not for one single thing you would have won,” Loke stated simply.

“Oh? Well don't keep it to yourself,” Discord said with hungry eyes.

“Well then take a seat, and allow me to tell you how to defeat the elements of harmony once and for all...”

                                              *******************************************************

Karon woke up to a hoof lightly dragging itself across his chest, and when he opened his eyes he was meet by the sight of Trixie's face smiling down at him. He smiled back sleepily and put a hand behind his head, but quickly pulled it back when he noticed how cold it was, which also made him notice how cold he was in general.

The sun was up high already, and even though its rays washed him with a pleasant warmth, it wasn't quite enough to dispel the cold. He gave Trixie and apologetic look and moved her hoof away before rising from the ground. She looked disappointed when he put on his clothes and he chuckled.

”Don't look so sad Trixie, there will be time for that later.”

”Are we going somewhere in a rush?” she asked and sighed.

”No, but unlike ponies, we humans don't have that thick of a skin, and summer is over by the feel of it. Since neither of us is good with healing, I would prefer not to get sick.”

She seemed to accept the explanation, but didn't like it. But it wasn't enough to ruin hers or Karon's mood, and they ate breakfast together with an air of contentedness around them. When they finished, they set out once more on their way south, making small talk concerning their surroundings and, of all things, the weather.

What's worse, not once did Karon find it boring.

It was with the setting sun at their backs that they saw the distant city of Hoofington on the horizon and increased their pace. They might have gotten used to it during all their travels, but no one really likes sleeping on the ground, especially not when it's only a month or so before the frost will start appearing in the morning.

When they were halfway there, Karon stopped when a screeching caught his ears, and he looked up into the sky to see something bright flying above them. When Trixie noticed what he was staring at, she stopped as well, and together they stood and watched as the avian was getting closer.

Eventually it got big enough that they both could see the stark colors contrasting against the blue sky, and Karon raised an eyebrow.

”Is that a parrot?” he asked.

”I don't know. Never seen one outside of Las Pegasus,” she responded and tilted her head.

”Well you're the one native to this world,” Karon said and shrugged his shoulders.

”Speaking of which, you never told me or Lyra how you got here...” Trixie said and trailed off.

”It's complicated to say the least,” Karon answered and sighed.

”Are we doing anything special tonight that would mean you didn't have the time to tell me?” she asked.

”I don't know, you tell me?” he said and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She giggled in response, and inwardly Karon high fived himself for getting off the hook. However the bird they had been watching was now close enough for them to make out details, and Trixie frowned.

”Karon, is the bird coming towards us?”

”Yeah, how's so?”

”No I mean, is it coming right at us?”

”Huh?” Karon looked a bit closer, and after a moment he had to agree with Trixie's assessment. The bird had it's eyes locked on them and was following a straight path.

Perhaps some people would label it as paranoia when you immediately suspect a bird flying in your direction of being a threat and one should prepare for battle, but those people have never been dropped from a magic cloud city built by small winged ponies.

Mentally preparing themselves for trouble, Trixie and Karon stood silent and unmoving while the bird approached at great speed. In his hand Promise was singing in joy, finally about to prove its value to Karon by spilling blood.

When the bird came within reach of Promise it stopped and screeched. Karon's eyes were inevitably drawn to its talons, were it held a parchment, and he looked at the bird curiously. It was of red and yellow colored feathers and had a regal air about itself.

“Well look here, a stylish carrier pigeon,” Karon said with a laugh and relaxed.

Trixie spotted the parchment and relaxed as well, and Karon held out his hand for the bird to drop the delivery into. It did so, and with a screech it turned around and flew back the way it came. Karon unrolled the scroll and winced when he saw who it was from, but it didn't say what he expected it to, and his face turned serious when he began reading.

Karon

Something disastrous has happened and we need you to return to Canterlot as fast as you possibly can. The elements' safety might be dependent on it, and we fear the threat of what has happened is greater than ever before. Hurry.

PS. We are NOT happy about what happened in Las Pegasus and we will have a serious discussion about it after this is taken care of.

Celestia

“What's wrong?” Trixie asked when she noticed his face.

“It's … damn I think we have to go to Canterlot,” he said and took a deep breath.

“What? Why?”

“Something's wrong and they want me to come help,” he explained and crumpled the parchment.

“What about going south?”

“We'll have to save that for later I'm afraid.”

“Why can't they handle things on their own?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

“Don't know. Maybe they can and this is just a pretense to get me to return to Canterlot where they can confront me about Las Pegasus. Doesn't matter. If they really are in need of my help and something might happen without me, then I need to go,” he said and shrugged his shoulders.

“We'll I'm certainly not letting you go alone,” she said.

“Didn't expect you to,” he said and gave her a warm smile.

She returned the smile and together they continued towards Hoofington. The town itself was quite large and renowned as one of the border outposts at the edge of Equestria, and as such it was filled with not only ponies but also otters, gryphons, minotaurs and donkeys.

Trixie and Karon spent the night at one of the inns, and as soon as they woke up, they packed their things and got on the first train heading for Canterlot. It was a five day journey with only two stops along the way, and normally it would have driven Karon crazy to be confined in the small private sleeping car for so long. As it was though, he and Trixie had found ways to entertain themselves for the journey, and when it was announced five days later that Canterlot was only an hour away, he felt a bit disappointed.

They got off the train only to be met by rain, and rushed between cover to cover towards the castle. The guards at the gate instantly recognized Karon and let him through without problem, and with the help of a few servants, the human and unicorn found their way to a medium sized room at the far end of the palace where Celestia and Luna had apparently spent most of their time lately.

Karon stopped when he reached the door and his suspicions about just how serious the situation was went up. Outside the room at the door were eight guards, four solar and four nocturnal guards working side by side. When they saw Karon, one of them slunk inside, and by the time Karon had arrived at the door with Trixie, he had come back out, telling them they were allowed to enter.

Karon walked in first while Trixie trailed behind slowly, eyeing the guards with their stoic expressions nervously.

Inside, the room was dark, lit only by glyphs and runes carved into the wall alight with magical energies of all colors imaginable. At the center of the room stood Celestia and Luna together with Nightchill and a unicorn Karon had not expected to see again any time soon.

“Shining Armor?” he asked curiously.

“Karon, thank you for coming. We've been hoping you would arrive soon after Philomena returned.”

“The parrot thing?” he asked while studying the symbols on the wall.

“She's a phoenix,” Celestia corrected and walked up to him.

Karon turned his eyes to the white alicorn and thought about reading her mind in order to gather information, but decided against it. It was unlikely she wouldn't notice no matter how lightly he prodded, and it would not be appreciated. He would just have to be patient and do it the old fashion way.

“So … what's going on?” he asked and motion to the symbols. “Because judging by these, you look ready to go to war.”

“You know what they're for?” Celestia asked.

“I can sense their overall function,” Karon told her and ran his hands through the air, and in response the symbols flared for an second.

“And?” Celestia asked.

“And you have everything needed to make this room virtually non-existent to the outside world. Barring physically entering, you're not getting in here.”

“You couldn't find a way to get through these defenses?” Luna asked quickly, her voice betraying the question was very important.

“I don't think so. Maybe if I had months I could find some small weakness, but honestly, considering the amount of power you've pumped into this thing, I doubt it would be worth wasting so much time chasing after.”

“Good,” Celestia said and the whole room seemed to relax.

“You still haven't told me what's going on,” Karon noted.

“In a minute. First, I think introductions are in order,” Celestia said and smiled benevolently towards Trixie.

“Right, Trixie this is Tia, Lunatic, Shining Armor and Captain fucking-scary Nightchill. All of you, meet Trixie.”

All gathered looked at Karon with disapproving faces, and he stepped back and held out his arms in a display of innocence. Celestia smacked her lips and turned her eyes to the shining symbols before explaining.

“Luna and I started working on this room the day after Discord was encased in stone for the second time, as a precaution should he ever escape again. We know now that his power comes from sowing chaos and disharmony in the world. The more that is present and opposing the natural harmonic order of this world, the more power he can draw from it. These magical symbols are aligned in a pattern of the most perfect symmetry and harmonic balancing of the forces that we hope it is beyond his ability to perceive … as long as there is no chink if the armor so to speak.”

“So Discord has escaped again?” Karon asked and they nodded in confirmation. “Well why don't you just tell Twilight and the rest to blast him with the elements again then?”

“I informed the elements of harmony about what had happened as soon as I discovered it myself. But there something … different this time. We detected an anomaly, several actually.”

“Such as?” Karon asked and traced a circle with his left hand.

Captain Nightchill answered the question in his usual cold voice.

“My unicorns detected the magical signature of the one who freed Discord-”

“So someone set him loose?” Karon interrupted.

“Yes,” Nightchill said and a disgusted look passed over his features at the thought. “And even though we weren't able to discern exactly what it was, we do know it carries a similarity to you,” the stallion finished and fixed Karon with a glare.

Who in turn, dropped his mouth open in shock.

“Wha-...ME? Whoa, whoa, whoa I didn't free anything-”

“We know Karon calm down. Luna and I investigated the scene thoroughly and we know it wasn't you, but the energy left behind by the being that did was incredibly similar to your own. It was the reason we needed you to return to us so quickly, and the reason we wanted to know if you could find a way to break down this pattern of symbols. It is meant to fool Discord, but if somepony is aiding him now-”

“I wouldn't worry about that. This is a lot of work and it would take time to unravel by anything less than one of the really powerful entities out there. But if there is a trickster involved, then Discord is being used as a tool, not an ally.”

“Trickster,” Celestia repeated, and the way she said the title made Karon guess that she was sensing what energy was housed within it.

“Yeah, that's what we're called.”

“I am glad you choose to reveal this to us,” she said and gave him a luminous smile.

“What else?” Karon asked.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked him back.

“You said there were several strange things going on.”

“Yes, the other anomaly we have found is that Discord is acting almost identically to how he did last time he was freed,” Celestia explained.

“Doesn't sound much like what a creature of chaos would do,” Karon noted.

“No, it's not. It is not in Discord's nature to behave in patterns, or to follow a plan of action that he already knows to have failed him. There is no reason for him to do so, and that just makes us more afraid that we're missing something. Something that might involve this 'trickster' that freed him.”

“And you want me to go help the elements so you too have a surprise act in your pocket?”

“Yes. Not the description I would have used, but yes,” Celestia replied.

Karon sighed and rubbed his face, and in his right hand Promise shouted in glee at the thought if drinking Discord's heart blood.

“Yeah, I don't think that's what they have in mind,” Karon sent to the spear, and it calmed down with a hint of sadness.

Karon felt ashamed for some reason, like he had just snatched away a child's favorite toy and thrown it out the window.

“Maybe we can find something else to kill?” he asked uncertainly, and the spear sent an impression of great hope to him.

“I think this relationship is going to be great.”

“Great, now I'm going to have two voices inside my head. Terrific.”

“Don't be like that. It'll be fun having a murderous spear making suggestions about how to kill stuff.”

“Yeah, never ending thrill ride.”

“By the way, do you think it's a she under that fur robe?”

“Wh-...I don't even....”

“Never mind. I'll find out on my own eventually.”

Now Karon was really scared.

“So? Are you ready to go?” Celestia asked, and they all looked at him expectantly.

“Uh, sorry I zoned out there for a minute. Did I miss anything?”

Luna stepped forward and sighed, “Yes, we told you that the elements have already been attacked like last time, and Discord has used his magic to twist them against their own nature. Celestia and I will remain here and make sure Discord's influence does not spread outside Ponyville and keep our eyes out for this 'trickster'. We want you to go to Ponyville and help the elements. If all the elements have succumbed to Discord's magic, then you should find Spike and do exactly what he did last time.”

“Which is?”

“I sent my student all the friendship reports she had as a reminder about who she truly is. It was enough to break Discord's hold over her and she then used a memory spell on the other elements to bring them out of it the same way,” Celestia said.

“Sounds easy enough,” he said quietly.

“Which is why it will probably not work.”

“So, are you ready to go?” the solar princess asked again.

Karon looked down at Trixie, who looked back up at him with supreme confidence.

“Yeah, I can go.”

“Good, I'll have a pegasus transport ready within a few minutes,” Celestia said and looked relieved.

“I need to speak with Trixie alone first,” he said, and the unicorn looked at him questioningly.

Celestia nodded, and Karon left the room with Trixie following behind. They walked down the hallway a bit to gain some privacy, and when Karon turned to face her, she was wearing a pained expression.

“Trixie, I want you to stay here,” he said quietly.

“What!? No, I'm not going to stay back while you go to help fight against something as dangerous as Discord.”

“I really hate having to say something as outdated as this, but I can't have you around for this Trixie. I saw what he did in those visions and … If you are with me, I'll just be too unfocused. It'll be bad enough knowing the others are already in danger, but they have the elements to help them, you don't, and I don't mean that as an insult. You're damn powerful and will become downright scary once you start to really learn magic, but right now, I just can't.”

Trixie was glaring daggers at him, but she had heard the tone in his voice and his absolute certainty that she would be a liability if she came with him. She hissed in anger and stood up on her hind legs, forcing a hard kiss out of him before she whispered.

“If you get hurt doing this just because I wasn't there to help, I will be angry for real. Do you understand?”

“I do,” he said and kissed her back.

They held each other until they heard hoofsteps approaching, and when two guards came around the corner, Karon sighed and asked them, “Here to get me for the carriage?”

“We are. It's waiting outside,” the solar guard said.

Karon nodded to himself and gave Trixie one last lingering look, then turned and went with the guards. The carriage was waiting outside in the garden, and as soon as he stepped on board, the pegasi swooped up into the sky, and he had to hold on hard not to get blown off despite the enchantments meant to prevent such things.

It took several hours before they arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville, and once there, the influence of Discord was plain to see. The sky flashed in multicolor bursts, and Karon felt pity for any epileptics who happened to live in Ponyville. The clouds mirrored the sky's colors and added some of their own, as well as dropping all manner of material as rain, from water to coffee cups. The landscape was changed as well, but it wasn't quite as bad as he thought it was when he looked down on it from above. It was something Lewis Carol might have drawn if he'd dropped acid one bright Sunday morning.

The pegasi were supposed to drop him off outside Twilight's library, but there was a change of plans when something barreled into the carriage at breakneck speed.

There was a loud crash and Karon felt something slam him from above and tangle into him. After he was done coughing and clutching his stomach, he looked down to see Rainbow Dash laying in a heap at his feet, her eyes spinning around her head.

She laid there dazed for a few moments before she managed to sit up and shake her head, which under Equestrian logic didn't add to her confusion but fixed the problem, and her eyes returned to normal. At which time she fixed her gaze on Karon with an incredulous look.

“You!? What the hay are you doing here?” she asked and quickly got up and brushed herself off.

“Nice to see you too Dash,” Karon responded and straightened his hat.

“Look what you did!” she continued without taking notice of what he'd said. “I almost had her. Now I'll have to go after her again.”

“Who?” Karon asked.

“Pinkie Pie. Discord did some magic wammie with her and now she's all cranky and sour about everything. Twilight's been done in too, and the same with Fluttershy. They're both unconscious in the library and tied up. Spike said that if we get Twilight to read all those Friendship letters that she sent to Celestia, she'll snap out of it.”

“Yeah, Celestia said she'd be sending those along soon,” Karon said and looked at the pegasi pulling the cart, who after making sure their passenger was alive, continued on the set course.

“Good because I am getting sick of chasing after Pinkie. I just don't get how she manages to stay ahead of me all the time,” she muttered and scratched her head.

“Well at least you seem to have it under control. Celestia sent me here to help in whatever way I can,” Karon told her.

“If you can help catch Pinkie, fine, otherwise just stay out of my way,” the pegasus said and was about to take off.

“I can do that,” Karon told her calmly.

“What? Stay out of my way or help capture Pinkie?”

“I can get Pinkie, with your help of course.”

“What did you have in mind?” Rainbow Dash asked uncertainly.

Karon smiled, then explained.

                                                  ********************************************

“Why do you have to be so heavy?” Dash complained to Karon, who she was currently carrying in her forelegs as they soared through the air at great speed.

“Maybe you're getting soft,” Karon mocked softly, but gulped when he considered that she only needed to let go for him to be screwed.

“Hey, I am not ge-”

“There she is!” Karon exclaimed and pointed with his spear at a grayish pink blur streaking across the grass land away from them.

Dash set chase and Karon had to clamp his fingers around his hat to keep it from flying away. When they finally managed to get within range of Pinkie, Karon hefted his spear and focused his senses to it.

“Ready Promise?”

“Of course master, I am eager to show my worth.”

“Remember, knock out, don't kill. Nothing that will rupture tissue or damage anything sensitive.”

“As you wish master, I will only apply as much force as is necessary to render the pony unconscious.”

“Good, are you ready?”

“Always master.”

A slight glow enveloped the spear as Promise unleashed its power, and when Karon threw the spear towards the fleeing Pinkie, it streaked down from the sky like a lightning bolt. It slammed into the earth a few meters behind a spot Pinkie just passed, but on impact Promise unleashed a shock wave so powerful that it flung the pony forward where she skidded across the ground and laid unmoving.

Rainbow Dash quickly descended towards her, and when they were close to the ground she dropped Karon and dashed through the air towards Pinkie faster than the eye could perceive. Karon landed on unsteady legs and kept on running a few steps, then he went to where Promise was sticking halfway out of the ground.

The spear came lose easily, and Promise was emitting a feeling of smugness, tinged with a hint of disappointment that she hadn't been allowed to use lethal force.

“It will happen soon enough,” he sent into the spear before turning his attention to Dash standing over Pinkie.

She was looking down on her friend with a worried frown, and there was a hint of accusation in her tone when she spoke to him.

“Are you sure she's alright?”

Karon walked over to Pinkie and knelled down beside her. Her moved his palm slowly over her body and tried to sense if anything was wrong with her, but to the extent that his senses could tell him, everything was fine.

“She's alright. But we should get back to Ponyville and the library. I doubt binding Twilight with rope will stop her for more than a second or two.”

“I can't carry both of you,” Dash pointed out.

“So take Pinkie. The most important thing right now is getting all of you freed from Discord's influence and back in the game. I'm just here to help on the side.”

“Fine, just don't keep us waiting or well kick Discord's flank without you,” she said as farewell and flew off, the unconscious Pinkie safely held in her forelegs.

Karon looked around at the strange scenery, noting that in some parts the grass was beginning to grow downwards instead of up. He started his walk back to Ponyville, paying attention to all the other changes Discord was causing and trying to figure out how it was caused.

“Well obviously it has something to do with this particular world's energy and design.”

“It is the obvious answer, however that does not mean it is the right one.”

“Occam's razor, smart ass. Discord is chaos. Remember what we heard Eldros say in those visions the ghosts let us see? Discord was the sour note in the song of this world's creation or something. I have a theory about that.”

“Of course you do ... which means I also have it. So speak.”

“This world is based on harmony. Eldros said it was created specifically to force a harmonic governance in it. The ponies were created as custodians and prime avatars of this idea, so what is Discord?”

“He's the shadow that was cast when it happened. He's the small accumulation of all the strife and discord that have arisen in counterpoint to the harmony since that conflict has no natural place in this world anymore.”

“Bingo.”

“But if that's true, he can't be killed.”

“Nope, death is a part of the natural cycle. He doesn't belong to it, so there is nothing that can absorb his body and nothing that can absorb his spirit. He probably doesn't even have a soul.”

“So the elements turn him into stone because they can't remove disharmony from him. It's all he is.”

“It only logical.”

More theories and thoughts bounced around Karon's head on the way back to the village, and when he reached the library, his head was swimming with unanswered questions. However, they all had to be put on hold when he went inside and was meet by utter chaos.

Not Discord's chaos, just the regular chaos of Twilight and her friends.

Pinkie had woken up, and Rainbow Dash was holding one of her hind legs while Applejack held the other and trying to tear her away from a bookshelf she was desperately clinging on to. On the floor, Twilight laid covered in books that had fallen on her during Pinkie's frantic attempts to get away from the others.

Next to Twilight was Fluttershy, tied up like the unicorn but very much awake, and busy shouting abuse towards the struggling ponies in a way that made even Karon pause and admire her verbal talent.

“Dayum, who'd have known Fluttershy could be such a...”

“Bitch?”

Karon slammed the door closed behind himself, and for a moment everypony's eyes turned to him.

“Oh look, its the human. Have you come back so you could sleep with another one of us or are you just looking for Rarity? Maybe if she does extra good this time you won't leave her,” Fluttershy mocked softly.

Karon raised and eyebrow and his mouth twitched at the corner at seeing the timid pegasus so aggressive.

“Discord's therapy treatment. Get over your insecurities today!”

“Yeah, I thought I would be nice and save you from a solitary life where you spend the rest of your days living in a cabin out in the woods, slowly descending into insanity because no stallion will ever touch you, and your dried out sexual desires leave you a bitter and withered old mare,” he shot back in a dry tone.

“Karon!” he heard Rarity admonish loudly as she descended down the stairs with Spike in tow, carrying a huge stack of scrolls.

“What? She'll know I wasn't serious once she's back to normal,” he said and shrugged.

“That's still very rude to say,” she insisted, paying no attention to the baby dragon struggling to keep his balance behind her.

“Slip of the tongue,” he reassured her with a complete look of innocence.

Her look said that she clearly doubted his sincerity, but she apparently decided to ignore it. She turned to Spike and asked in a sweet voice.

“Are you sure these ones will be enough?”

“Yeah, last time she only needed to read like half of them,” the dragon huffed out as he tried to retain his balance.

“Excellent. All we need to do then is wake up Twilight and let her read them. She'll be back to normal and cast her memory spell on poor Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie,” she finished and walked over to the unconscious unicorn, untying her.

Karon stood in the background and watched as Dash and Applejack managed to tie Pinkie up with great effort, then placed her next to Fluttershy, who immediately started giggling at the pink pony without explanation. Which for some reason seemed to drive her crazy.

“Looks like they won't really need us for much.”

“Nope, I guess they are the bearers of the elements for a reason. It looks like they got things under control.”

“This is way too easy. If what freed Discord is really a trickster...”

“It's Loke, has to be. But why?”

“I don't know. Revenge because the powers gave me that chance to go home and undo his work?”

“That doesn't make sense since we didn't go home. Besides, he's not stupid. He knew they would counteract his little tricks sooner or later.”

“Well I don't really have any other explanations. Maybe he did it just to prove he's still not without power? Or maybe he was bored and decided to spice things up?”

“Well whatever it is, this is too easy. If Loke freed Discord, he would have given him a plan or something else to grant an edge. It has to have something to do with the fact that he's almost doing the exact same thing as he did last time.”

“Yup, it's definitely a trap of some kind.”

“Doesn't really matter though. We only have one way to fight him and that's to blast him with the elements.”

“So we'll play into his hands, or claws or whatever and see what happens.”

“It's the reason Tia sent me here after all. If Discord has something new to offer, well, I'm the new addition from our side.”

“Let's hope it's enough.”

He watched as Rarity woke up Twilight, and as she got up, Karon felt a slight twinge in his heart when he looked into her eyes. They were almost dead, filled only with hopelessness and despair. Like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, her colors were almost completely drained from her, leaving a gray ashen shell reflecting the state of her mind.

Discord might not be a conventional form of monster, but there was no doubt in Karon's mind that he was one none the less. And at that moment, he wouldn't have minded being a hero if it meant he could also be a monster slayer.

He watched nervously as the three unaffected of the six managed to make her agree to read the reports, but when the first scroll was unrolled before her, Karon felt a chill in his gut that said something bad was just about to happen.

Right on cue, Discord appeared out of thin air with a pop, lazily drifting through the air and observing the ponies with an amused expression.

“Well, well, this thing again. Now we can't have t-” he stopped when he spotted Karon, and with a skeptical look he pointed at the human and asked,“Who's this?”

“Someone who knows exactly what you are,” Karon responded, then nodded towards the elements. “But I'm not the one you should be worried about.”

“Right, right, that again. Well this was incredibly boring and predictable, and I have a lot of work to do that's been put on hold for this, so...” he snapped his fingers and all the friendship reports caught on fire.

The free ponies yelped and backed away from the letters, burning with bright blue flames, and with a chuckle, Discord snapped his fingers again and disappeared.

Pinkie and Fluttershy were squirming on the floor, trying to inch their way away from the quickly growing fire. It hungrily licked at the dry wood the entire library was made of, and it took mere seconds before it had spread to the bookshelves and thick smoke clouded the room. On the far side of the room, Rarity was busy untying Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who were starting to regain their colors at the sight of their friends in danger. As was Twilight, whose horn was shining with bright purple light. She was shouting something to Karon, but he didn't hear.

He couldn't move, his legs folded beneath him and Promise fell to the floor entirely forgotten. Inside his mind, voices screamed louder than the ponies, and the sounds of the fire burning was coming both from outside and inside of him. He hands shook with fear, and he could do nothing but stare as the fire crept closer to consuming him and the ponies.

He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. He could only watch.

Twilight screamed, they were all screaming, and it filled up inside of him. Screaming, burning, dying.

On the other side of the room, Twilight's horn shone and she disappeared together with Applejack, only to appear a few seconds later and do the same with Fluttershy. One by one, she teleported the other ponies and Spike out of harms way. Until she came back for Karon.

He wasn't moving. He was only staring at the flames, his face frozen in shock and horror, not even aware of how he hard he was coughing from the smoke. She didn't have time to stop and analyze what happened, and she teleported both of them out of her burning home.

They appeared outside on the grass where a crowd had gathered to watch the fire, and several of them were shouting for pegasi to go get rainclouds to put it out. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief after everypony was safe, and she turned like all the others and watched as the library she had called her own was devoured by the flames.

Next to her, Karon sat on his knees. The screaming outside might have ended, but inside of him a terrible pressure was forming, pushing, trying to break free. He couldn't fight it. There was nothing to do but wait for it to end. And he watched together with the others as Twilight's home burned like he was looking at it through a distant window, far away.

The pegasi could find no rainclouds to use. It had all been turned into candy or something else that wouldn't work, and so, like Karon, there was nothing they could do but stand and watch.

The fire ate through the wood greedily, and it barely took an hour before there was nothing left of the library but cinders. Normally there would have been much grieving by the entire community at such a tragedy, but these were not normal times, and the ponies had to hurry home and try to counteract all the troubles Discord's magic had wrought.

Twilight and the rest of the elements remained behind, all of them back to their normal selves. Discord's magic was powerful, but so was also friendship, and seeing their friends close to being burned alive had been enough to snap them out of it.

“Well shoot, that darn Discord went too far this time. Ah say it's high time we show 'im what the elements of harmony can do,” Applejack stated firmly, and the others quickly agreed.

Twilight's horn lit up once more, and from the burned out library, a soot covered box glided through the air and came to rest on the ground before them. With a flick of her horn, Twilight opened it and the elements of harmony glittered inside, unharmed by the fire.

“Okay girls, here's what we need to do first-” Twilight began, but went silent when she heard Karon whisper something.

“Did you say something Karon?” she asked carefully.

“No,” he whispered.

“You … didn't say anything?” she asked again.

“No, you will not go after Discord,” he whispered a little louder.

“What? Of course we will! We're the elements of harmony and we need to stop him before he-”

“NO!” Karon roared when Twilight tried to protest, and when he rose, there was something in his eyes that made all the ponies shut up.

“You will stay here and I will go deal with Discord,” he said in a monotone voice, devoid of all emotion.

“But-” Twilight dared protest.

“He is mine,” Karon said to them and began to walk towards the burnt wreckage of a building slowly.

The ponies hesitated until Twilight motioned with her hoof for them to stay before she went after Karon.

“Where are you Promise?” he asked softly.

“I am here master,” it replied, and Karon felt its presence underneath the wreckage.

He kicked away the charred wood to reveal the spear, untouched by the fire and without any trace of damage at all. He carefully touched it with the tip of his finger, and found it to be no hotter than normal, only filled to the brink with raw power.

“Do you still want to prove your worth?” he asked it.

“I am yours master. What do you wish of me?”

“It's time to kill,” he simply answered.

From behind him he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and he turned to face Twilight looking at him with a worried expression.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Karon, I want you to stop and think for a moment. Think about what you're doing.”

“It's too late for that,” he told her.

“Karon, I know that you're not … exactly harmless, but Discord is very powerful, powerful enough that only the elements of harmony can stop him. I know you were fortunate enough to find a magic teacher that knew-”

“There was no fortune in what drove me to Varsif,” he hissed, his voice showing the first sign of emotion.

“That may be so, but I'm still right. You can't defeat Discord on your own,” she said firmly.

“I'm not going to defeat him,” he answered coldly.

Twilight was about to ask what he meant, but then she looked him directly into the eyes. She could only hold the gaze for a brief moment, but it was enough to make her shudder. His eyes were burning with a feverish glare, and there was nothing sane left in them.

He saw her shudder and noticed the way she looked at him. At that moment, nothing of it mattered. Discord was the only thing on his mind, that and the sound of a roaring fire still echoing in his ears. Without another word, he picked up Promise and left Twilight where she stood and began his walk through the bizarre landscape Ponyville had been turned into.

“Promise.”

“Yes master?”

“I want you to help me plan the most vile deed I will ever commit.”

There was a brief pause, and Karon could feel the spirit sensing his emotions, his thoughts and memories, and just what had led him to ask what he just had of the spirit. Eventually, the simple reply sounded in his mind.

“It shall be my pleasure master.”

                                                         ****************************************

The Everfree Forest was untouched by Discord's influence, just as Karon had suspected, and it was the last piece of evidence that he needed to be convinced that his theory was correct. But it offered him no peace, and he knew he would gain no satisfaction from what he was about to do. Nothing in creation could be so depraved that they would feel joy from such an act.

He was standing in a large open area, and the small patches of grass present had been torn up to make room for the flat dirt surface, upon which a multitude of symbols had been inscribed.

Around him, the reassuring presence of the forest mind remained unmoved by what was going on outside its borders, and stood with an ancient patience and stability born out of the knowledge that all of this would just be a fleeting moment in its very, very long life.

It had given Karon its blessing, and the trickster was making full use of it. It was the ancient and terrifying power of the Everfree Forest that was going to fuel the magic he was preparing, a magic he alone did not have the power to charge, not even with Promise to draw from.

It was dangerous to the brink of suicidal, but as Twilight had noticed, there was little in the way of rationality left in him at that point. Promise had told him as much, though in a very polite fashion, carefully laying out all the possible dangers of what Karon was planning to do and suggesting that it would be more reasonable to allow the elements to take care of Discord. It did not want its master to perish after all.

Karon ignored all the warnings. He was aware of the many ways the ritual could go wrong. Now all that was left was the doing.

With Promise's assistance, Karon had laid out a complex network of symbols, and together they all joined to form a web necessary to support the structure the energy would be shaped after, and the results that shaping it in that way would bring. It took a long time to complete it, but when it was finally done, Karon sat down on the ground at the far end of the clearing and just stared at it.

It would be the instrument of his vengeance on Discord, the conclusive solution to all the problems he had brought with by merely being. Karon tried to think, tried to use reason to find out if this was the right course, but all attempts were hopelessly drowned out by the sound of a roaring fire and the screams of the ones trapped within it.

It was burning him from the inside, like a piece of the fire had forced its way into him and stayed there.

He got up and walked to the outer edge of the pattern he had drawn, and gathered his power. Around him the forest responded, and he could feel an ocean of power, made up of a thousand streams that ran through the forest, giving it life. He didn't draw from any of it yet, instead he drew only from his own spirit and Promise in his hand, and he weaved it into a simple piece of magic.

“Discord, I am waiting for you. Come see me, and let all of this end here,” he said quietly, but the energy he poured into the words made the sound as sharp as a ship's bell cutting through mist. It resonated through the air, and more importantly, through the ethereal.

And then he waited, and mere minutes after he had sent the challenge he heard a pop, and Discord appeared standing on the ground in the middle of the field, just like Karon had expected. He noticed the human standing on the edge, and brushed his talons on his chest before asking.

“Now what did you want. Haven't you noticed I'm busy?”

“I want you to know something before I end this,” Karon replied in an almost serene voice.

Discord sighed. “And this couldn't wait until after I was done? Really now, you should pay more respect to an artist at work,” Discord said without a hint of worry at the human's implied threat.

“The elements have regained their selves, and they are ready to put you back into stone,” Karon informed him.

Discord looked at him with the first sign of taking him seriously, then he sighed again. “That's how it goes when you try and make plans. Well, at least now I can go back and come up with something fun to take care of them this time. So if you'll excuse me, I have harmony to corrupt,” the draconequus said and snapped its fingers.

Nothing happened.

The creature blinked in surprise and stared at its fingers, then tried again, and nothing happened. It started snapping its fingers again and again. It tried snapping them in a rhythm and even started snapping with both its talons and its paw. Eventually Discord's eyes sought Karon and he asked in an annoyed voice.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“No, I didn't do this, it is simply what is.”

“I never realized how annoying riddles could be when you're on the receiving end of them,” Discord said to itself.

“It isn't a riddle. It's just the Everfree,” Karon went on.

“Explain,” Discord said and pointed at the human.

“I saw you, in a vision of the past. I saw what happened at the start, when you nearly killed this world, and I heard a dragon speak of you, about what you are. You are a mistake, the mistakes and wrongs of this world given form because there is no room left for them. And that is where you draw your power from. The more discord, the more chaos you cause, the more powerful you become because you are a part of this world, even if it is a part that no longer has any place in the natural order.”

Discord yawned loudly before saying, “Boring.”

Karon smiled a wolf's grin and went on with his eyes aglow, “But the Everfree isn't part of the new world. It is the last remnant of something that came before, a last vestige of something ancient refusing to die and surrender this planet completely to the new way. It came before Equestria, it came before the ponies, and it came before you! In here Discord, you have no connection to draw from. Whatever chaos that exists in here is older than you and cares nothing for the upstart. In here Discord, you're nothing but an anatomically improbable freak about to suffer the most horrible fate possible in our universe.”

Slowly, realization of what Karon had just said really meant dawned on him, and Discord's eyes betrayed the tiniest glimmer of fear.

“Now, now there is no need to be hasty here. How about we sit down for tea and discuss this?”

“No, it wouldn't change anything,” Karon replied and stretched out for the power of the forest.

It answered his call immediately, and the symbols drawn in the dirt lit up with hues of green and light blue. In the middle of it all stood Discord, staring down at it with growing concern, and when he tried to step back he realized he couldn't.

“The first step of the ritual is creating a barrier around you, trapping you inside and isolating you from all forms of energy influence,” Karon explained in a dead voice.

Discord looked at him with growing fear, and asked. “What are you doing?”

“The second step,” Karon went on, and now purple lines of energy filled the symbols. “Is that the magic creates layers of barriers, each cutting off another part of the structure of the world. First, all kinetic waves and energies are blocked out, then the sound waves, then all dense matter is separated, then the spiritual energies, and then finally all light is blocked out.”

The energy patterns were blossoming, growing and twisting like they were alive. Discord tried to snap his fingers again desperately, and nothing happened.

“I can't kill you Discord. You aren't even alive like most creatures, you simply exist. And so, the only way to get rid of you forever … is to end you, utterly and completely.”

“You can't-”

“I'm a trickster, I can do whatever the fuck I want to. This is the cost of threatening my friends Discord. This is the cost of nearly BURNING them to death!”

“No, this isn't what's su-”

“Shut up. Your very existence has brought nothing but misery to this world. I will remove you. I will unmake you. I will cast you into the void where that all you are will be devoured until nothing is left.”

“Mercy,” Discord asked, his voice distant and muffled.

“No, not for this,” Karon whispered, barely hearing it over the sound of fire and screams.

Karon saw the draconequus scream something, but no sound escaped the barriers anymore. The ritual was cutting the area off from everything that connected it to the world until it was just a small patch of creation, completely separate from everything.

Then the third and final step would come, and the energy would turn in on itself, burning a hole through eternity within the tiny patch of isolated creation. It would be sucked into the void, and there would be no return for Discord. Nothing would save him.

The last part that went was light, and Karon could see Discord disappearing, ebbing out of the existential plane. It might have been his imagination, but the final words Discord's lips formed seemed to be a name. 'Celestia?'

Then finally, it was done . The entire field that had been covered in symbols was gone, like it had never been there. The trees that had stood on the other side of the field were now standing scant meters before Karon, and all traces that the small patch of land had ever existed were gone.

As was Discord.

The forest settled down after the work was done, and Karon felt it quickly accommodate itself to the small change the human had caused. It settled into the usual peaceful rhythm of savage nature, but there was still a slight disturbance in the environment. Karon wasn't sure what it was exactly until he heard the sound of someone clapping their hands.

Slowly he turned around to see a wisp of a shadow, applauding Karon while chuckling loudly.

“Now, I knew you where capable of some scary stuff, but that …that was just dark,” Loke told him.

“What are you doing here?” Karon asked.

“You didn't think I would just drop you off on this little backwater world without keeping an eye on you?” Loke asked with his hands spread wide.

“You were the one that freed Discord,” Karon guessed.

“Correct.”

“Why?”

“It was the final test,” Loke told him. “I sent you here for more than just my own amusement.”

“Unleashing Discord was a test?” Karon asked dumbfounded.

“Yes, I wanted you to see what many think we are, but we're not,” the trickster god explained.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Think, and then you tell me.”

Karon eyes flickered back and forth for a moment, then they turned back up to Loke.

“You wanted me to face a true failure,” he said quietly.

“Very good, and you did well in that respect. You've seen what this creature was, his nature and reason for existing. So now, I have to ask you if you think you and it were the same.”

Karon did not hesitate in his response.

“No, we were nothing alike.”

“So you understand then? You understand the lessons you have learned, the truths that you have realized through your struggles?”

Karon nodded slowly.

“Then tell me, what does it mean to be a trickster?” Loke asked in solemn voice.

Karon remained silent for a long time before he answered, and when he did, he carefully and slowly spoke each word.

“To be a trickster simply means to make a choice. To become something other, to act with a grace and cleverness to ones actions. It means to listen to yourself, and your nature. It means exactly what being anything else means, to embrace who you are. Whatever I choose to do, whatever acts I commit are those of a trickster because I am the one that commit the acts.”

“And … what then is a trickster,” Loke said, his shadow flickering until it stood inches away from Karon.

“It is just a title. I am myself.”

“And who are you?”

“Karon.”

Loke smiled. Karon knew that, even though he could make out no mouth on the shadow.

“Yes … and no. Not completely. You are close to truly becoming Karon, but there still remains a part of Erik that you refuse to let go of. Even so, you have learned your lessons well. We are done here, you can go where you wish. I lift my order that you remain on this world. You are free now, and my part in your training, your awakening, is over.”

“And what if I had stuck to naming myself Yoda back when I first arrived here?” Karon asked curiously.

“Oh you are just adorable. You really thought Karon was a name you gave yourself? Don't be naïve. It was a name granted to you because it was who you had started on the path towards becoming.”

“So all this time, I have been playing into your hands?” Karon asked in disbelief.

“Well, not my hands. If you want complete honesty, then I was just a part of it. Destiny has a tendency to meddle in most affairs, even those of gods. Let's just say that you were always meant to become someone other than Erik, and that there is much that still lies ahead of Karon.”

“But I haven't had any contact with you since you sent me here,” Karon protested.

“I didn't need to. I left something else instead,” the god said with a smile.

“I think he's talking about me.”

“What!?”

“The voice is quite correct,” Loke confirmed.

“But … what … HOW?”

“I told you that me teaching you what it means to be a trickster would be very much trial-by-error. Still, the state you were in wasn't the best, so I made sure that the parts of yourself that you tried to hide or suppress were given a chance to speak for themselves.”

“But it was me? The voice is me, not just a tool you speak through?”

“Oh yes, it's all you. It's the joy you try to deny yourself, it is the thought of daring to love others. It is the self loathing and self awareness you try and suppress, and it is the sense of self irony you know makes up so much of your life. And most importantly, it is the potential of who you could become.”

“Listen to the god. The god is wise.”

Karon considered what he had just been told, but there were no flaws in the reasoning as far as he could see, and Loke had no reason to lie at the moment.

“So what now?” Karon asked.

“Now? Do what you wish. You and I are done as far as teaching goes, though you are welcome to stop by Valhalla some time and share a drink. I'm sure we can come up with something fun to do,” Loke said with a laugh, but his voice turned serious, almost regretful, afterward.

“But I am afraid I will have to leave you with one last lesson. As you told the creature, you are 'a trickster and can do whatever the fuck you want'. But free will does not come without a price, and every action carries with it consequences. So, from one trickster to another, may destiny go easy on you.”

Then the god bowed to Karon without a hint of irony and just before he disappeared, he pointed to a distant bush at the edge of the clearing. Karon turned to where the god had pointed, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first, but when he moved closer to investigate, he froze, and the blood in his veins turned to ice.

From inside the bush a small purple horn was sticking out, and two purple eyes stared back at him in horror.

Chapters 45: Death and rebirth

Karon didn't move, he didn't breathe. He could do nothing but feel a horrid sense of wrongness grow as he stared into Twilight's eyes, because something in them had changed. She had lost something vital that Karon had always known was there ever since he first looked into those deep purple orbs.

She moved out of the bush slowly, each step as heavy as if she'd been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She stopped halfway to Karon, close enough that he could hear her whisper, but far enough away that the gap between them was plain to see.

”How could you?” she asked in a horrified whisper.

”Twilight … please,” he begged.

”Do you even remember that place!? The emptiness!?”

”He tried to burn you,” Karon tried to explain, his voice hoarse from held back tears.

Twilight did not try to hold anything back, and the tears streamed down her face freely.

”I still have nightmares about that place! Losing...everything, forgetting what it feels to be alive. Nothing deserves that, nothing,” she said.

Karon's entire body began shaking. Twilight was looking at him like he was a stranger, her eyes held nothing but accusation for him. Condemning him.

“He tried to burn you,” Karon repeated, trying to make her understand.

But there was no understanding in her eyes, and when she spoke, it was with a voice of a final judgment.

“Don't come back to Ponyville.I don't... I don't want the others to know what you have done. Go away, please leave and don't return to us.”

“Twilight...” Karon said and took a step towards her.

Immediately Twilight shied back and the look on her face said she was afraid of him. He stopped, his hands stretched out towards her. His eyes pleaded with her, 'stay', 'let me try and make you understand'.

She backed another step, and her voice broke with her final words.

“Leave Karon.”

She turned and rushed away with the sound of her sobbing carrying through the forest, leaving Karon alone and unable to hold back his tears. He didn't move. He just stared at where Twilight had disappeared into the forest deep. Some small part of him clung to the hope she was going to return and say she didn't mean it.

She didn't return, and he continued to stand still while the cold mist seeped through his clothes and clung to his skin like death's ghostly touch. The forest tried to speak to him with its ancient wisdom, Promise tried to speak to him with words of dedication and loyalty. He could hear nothing of what they'd said, it was all noise right now.

The only thing he understood was that he had looked into Twilight's eyes and watched as something had died inside her. He had never realized how important she was to him, that there had been something within her which he relied upon. And now, whatever it had been, it was gone.

His heart was beating slowly, and he could feel the steady pulse as blood flowed through his veins. It was blood and it was breath, but there was no life. The heat of it was leaving him slowly, and each heartbeat seemed to be a little fainter than the last.

It felt like dying.

He was beyond understanding why he would be, but there was no uncertainty in the feeling; his life was ebbing out of him, and he didn't care. He had lost Twilight, he had lost something within her he couldn't afford to lose, and there was nothing unfair in it. He had done something awful, perhaps beyond redemption, and now he was paying for it.

“She doesn't understand.”

The voice was solemn, and it took a long time before Karon could manage a response.

“It doesn't matter.”

“It matters to her. Whatever our fate may be, this moment will haunt her. She still remembers the emptiness and she will never forget. But perhaps if she knew the whole truth, she would understand. Not forgive, but understand.”

“What difference would it make?”

“Our judgment will be whatever it may be, but no matter if our story will end here or in a thousand years, she will remember us. How she does will be decided by our actions at this moment. Whether we live or die, accept damnation or surrender ourselves to fate, the question still stands; are we going to let Twilight know us, truly know all of us? She has seen much, been within our mind and has seen most of what can be found in there, but she has not seen what lies at our center. What has driven us for these past fifteen years.”

“It will kill us, shatter every part of our being. I only stayed sane because I locked those memories away.”

“We are already dying, and our sanity has always been a matter of debate.”

“So this is it?”

“Do you remember what the monkey said, when he talked about what would happen if we opened the door? He said, 'the time to face what happened is the time you risk that happening anyway if you don't'.”

“Bastard knew this was coming.”

“Bastard also told us what we need to do.”

Karon felt the mist caress his skin almost tenderly, cold hands stretching from beyond life and grave. It chilled his arms and legs, but in his chest there was a fire burning that had been doing so for fifteen years. It was his choice, to let the cold claim him and leave him as an icy shell, or to let loose a fire that would incinerate him, body, mind and soul.

“Not for us, for Twilight. She needs to know just what it takes to drive a man to cast someone out into the void. She needs to understand.”

“Then let's show her.”

Slowly, Karon took a breath, his heartbeat became stronger, and heat returned to his blood. The ghostly touch of the mist was shed like the last drops of rain from the sky, and Karon moved forward with the determined steps of someone who had accepted defeat.

His thoughts briefly brushed upon Trixie and Lyra. They had stuck with him through so much, and he felt a content peacefulness that Lyra at least had received what she deserved. Trixie would be heartbroken when he didn't return, but she would heal, and she would move on.

There was a tingling within his bones, almost like he was suffering from vertigo as he walked underneath the dark trees. But then again, he guessed he was standing on an edge, balancing on the tip of an abyss.

Around him he felt the forest react to him in a strange way, it felt almost melancholy. However, underneath was a certainty born out of seeing a thousand cycles of life and death pass by. He would return one day.

Karon did not share the certainty, and he didn't feel it mattered. Twilight was all that mattered now.

“Do you think we will return?”

“No, I think this will be our end.”

“Then why aren't you arguing against this?”

“Because it means we won't have those memories alone.”

When Karon crossed the boundary between the Everfree and Equestria, his connection to the forest was cut, and he began shaking when he realized just how alone he felt. In his hands, Promise was reassuring him that it was still with him, and would be to the end. Despite that, Karon needed a few minutes where he leaned heavily on the spear, trying to control his trembling legs.

With every moment that passed, his resolve was weakening, and the dread at what he would have to face if he opened the door was growing stronger. He took several deep breaths and forced his legs to move. He couldn't allow himself to stop now. If he did, he wouldn't dare go through with it. He was too afraid.

His perception shifted. One moment he was walking underneath a sunny Equestrian sky, and the next he was walking amidst burning ruins. At first his heart nearly stopped when he thought his memories had been torn free, but he quickly realized it was no memory. He blinked his eyes hard, and he was back in Equstria, but a few steps later he was surrounded by fire again. There were screams and roars that drowned everything else out, and before his eyes images flashed.

A city on fire. A dragon's roar. A joyless and spiteful laugh. A weeping unicorn colt trapped in a circle of blood stained jackals. A paradise restored. A paradise lost. One soul saved, a million souls saved. One soul condemned and a million souls lost.

Karon staggered from the rush of images, but they were more than that. They were possibilities. He was walking a crossroad, and he was seeing glimpses of what could be. The future wanted him to know what he might be giving up.

He saw the house to which all roads eventually led. He felt a kiss of true love. He felt his heart break and be made whole time and time again. He felt power beyond anything he had ever felt course through his spirit like liquid life.

It crushed him, and he fell to his knees breathing heavily, and in his ear whispered a voice belonging to a stranger, and yet more familiar than any other.

“Be strong.”

With a tremendous effort he pushed himself off the ground and staggered away, squeezing his eyes shut and rushing forward blindly, but he could not escape the visions.

Innocence lost. A torn heart. Gold. Artifacts. A demon. Fools. An angel. A scarred hero. Gods. A cursed beast. Spirits. A blind magician. Two strangers in a smoky corner. Hope ripped apart. A thousand pains suffered. Death. Death. Death. Death. A golden light.

A starlit path.

A cunning deceit.

A final question.

He couldn't take it, and he screamed. It was far too much, and he was too weak to handle all of it. The burden of what could be was heavier than he could bear. But he immediately fell silent when he heard a voice cut through the scream, and the visions were cut off instantly.

“Karon?”

He opened his eyes, and saw Twilight standing just a few steps away. She was staring at him with fear in her eyes. He moved slowly, afraid he would scare her away.

“Twilight … I need to show you something,” he said carefully.

“I can't. I have already seen more than I ever wanted to,” she replied and turned to walk away.

“The black door,” he said. “I need to … I need you to know.”

“It doesn't matter Karon! Nothing you can show me will change what you did.”

“No, but it will show you why.”

“It wont matter. Nothing can excu-”

“No excuses Twilight. Only truth, this one time there will be nothing else. Please, before you leave me, I want you to see … me.”

She hesitated, and the conflict was plain to see on her face. In the end, what stopped her from leaving him and instead made her approach him wasn't love, or hope or the possibility of redemption. It was the simple fact that Twilight was Twilight, and if she didn't find out what was behind the door now, she would always wonder.

Karon looked down into her eyes and saw nothing but accusation in them. But she had given him this one chance, not to earn forgiveness but to show who he was before he disappeared.

“Here?” he asked.

Her eyes hardened around the edges. It was one chance, right here, right now. No compromise.

Karon nodded slowly and sat down cross legged in the grass, and Twilight sat down in front of him. It was obvious she was uncomfortable being so close to him, and when he stretched out his hand towards her face she reeled back.

“I need to touch you,” he explained.

She relaxed a little, and with an unreadable look on her face, Karon placed two fingers on her temple. Through his fingers a small charge leapt, and their minds connected. There was a flood of thoughts and emotions that were exchanged at that moment. Karon felt Twilight's despair from what she'd seen, the feeling of betrayal and the terror she held for the void. She pitied Discord for his unkind fate, and she couldn't believe Karon had ever done such a horrible thing. Karon felt it all, and in return she felt all of him.

She felt his pain and his certainty that this would kill him, and that he would one way or another meet his end this day from what he was about to go through again. Her horror at what had happened only increased when she felt this certainty. Before she could waver in her decision to let him show her what was behind the door, Karon sent a burst of energy into the connection and both of them were sucked deep into his inner mind.

                                      ***********************************************

They stood within his inner library. Above them, the huge chandelier spreading its golden light flickered uncertainly, and the air was charged with tension. Without a word, Karon started up the stairs to the third floor, and Twilight followed in silence, her eyes inevitably drawn to the chandelier with concern.

When they reached the third floor, Karon stood still, his gaze transfixed on the door before them. Twilight noticed that there was only one chain on the door now, whereas the last time she had seen it, there had been many. She didn't know what had prompted the change, but she could feel it was scaring Karon.

His fear was a palpable thing, as solid and undeniable as anything else inside his mind. Despite what he had done, Twilight felt pity when she looked at him, trembling before a door she knew he was certain would break him once it opened.

She laid a hoof on his arm, and instantly his eyes snapped down to hers with rising panic. Twilight grew even more uncertain about continuing, but there was a sense that it was important they face whatever it was that Karon had locked behind that door. So she gently nudged him forward, and she knew that if it hadn't been for her presence, he would never have had the strength to walk up to that door.

She watched as he moved his hands over the chain, and with an angry hiss it began rattling like an enraged snake. Karon winced when he felt the stinging sensation from the chain crawl up his arm, but he didn't falter. The chain had been forged through desperation, hate and despair and had grown stronger with each passing year.

Even so, it was breaking underneath Karon's pressure. Born out of a desperation even greater than that which the chains had been forged from, he needed Twilight to know. He needed someone to know before he met his end and to render judgment upon him for what they would see.

With an almighty crack, the links of the chain shattered into dust and Karon stumbled backwards. Twilight steadied him, and together they watched as the black door burned away. The bright flames it had held at bay were consuming it from inside, and the screams grew louder and louder. Twilight heard Karon whimper, and she felt his body tense like he was about to flee.

But it was far too late, and with a roar, the door disappeared in the inferno, and neither Twilight or Karon had a chance to react before it exploded outwards and engulfed them in flame.

***********************************************

The sun was shining strong, and the smell of pine trees drifted upon the wind. Erik stood on the far side of the house, overlooking the valley that rested down the mountain slope. Despite the strong light provided by the sun, the hour was drawing late, and the summer heat was fading into a pleasant coolness.

There were sounds of the TV coming from inside the house, and with a tiny annoyed sigh, the boy turned from the majestic view and went back inside.

“Have they called yet?” he asked his big sister, who was reclining on the couch lazily and watching some of her stupid shows.

“They called like ten minutes ago,” she replied absently without taking her eyes off the screen.

“What? Why didn't you tell me?” he complained in a whiny tone he knew she hated.

“Stop talking like that you cry baby. I was busy obviously, and they said they would be home in a couple of hours.”

“But they're late already,” Erik went on.

“Like that's my fault. They said they'd order takeout on the way back,” the sister said and raised the volume.

Erik wasn't dissuaded by that, and simply raised his own voice in response.

“But it's Friday!”

“I know that! Just get over it!” the sister shouted back and threw a pillow in his direction.

Erik stomped off angrily after throwing the pillow back at her, which resulted in a barrage of swear words he memorized for later, so that if she was being difficult, he could threaten to tell mom or dad about what she'd said.

He went back outside and sat down on a big rock located at the far end of the yard. The forest's trees had been cleared in a small area around the house to provide room for the grass they'd planted when they first moved out there. When he was very small, Erik and the rest of his family had been living in a ordinary house back in the city, but his parents had wanted to move out into the forest for some reason.

He hadn't liked it at first. His mom and dad had always gone on about it being better air and much healthier for all of them, but everything was just forest and the only one to play with was his sister, and she always busy with something else. But with time, he had gotten used to it even though there wasn't much of anything fun to do around the house.

He sat on the rock and watched the sun slowly descend towards the horizon. He felt angry that his stupid parents had had to do some stupid adult stuff instead of coming home like they were supposed to. It was Friday and the four of them always made food in the open fireplace instead of in the kitchen, and his dad would read aloud from a book while they ate marshmallows.

It was the only time his sister wasn't allowed to be a pain in the ass, and he didn't want to lose that. Besides, he loved the fire. He could sit for hours and just stare into the pretty flames while his dad read from the book, it made him feel safe and warm.

Eventually he grew tired of the annoying flies buzzing around and trying to bite him, and he went back inside without having improved his mood one bit.

His sister had retreated back into her room and left the TV alone, so he sat down on the couch and flicked through the channels until he found something mildly entertaining to watch. It was one of those shows where adults run around and chase ghosts in real life, and when it got scary he pulled one of the blankets lying on the couch closer to himself, though only after he had looked around to make sure his sister didn't see him.

The sun had disappeared down the horizon over an hour before his parents got home, and by then all hopes of maybe them managing to squeeze in the usual Friday evening was long lost. His mom and dad looked exhausted, and they took off their shoes and smiled tiredly when they saw Erik sitting on the couch with a sour face.

“I'm sorry honey but we're just too tired for Friday night, okay?” his mother told him and brought a bag of take out with her into the kitchen.

Erik stared at the bag all the way like the devil was hiding inside it, and his father walked up to him with a bemused look on his face.

“Don't look so angry Erik. Next week will come around faster if you don't spend it angry,” he said and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

Erik didn't respond other than making a noncommittal sound and dragging his feet into the kitchen. The family ate there together, mostly in silence. Erik was busy sulking and his parents were too tired for any longer conversation. That left his big sister to comment on stuff she thought was important and to keep pleading with them to buy her a scooter now since she was fifteen. Erik would have thought that after four months she would have given up.

Both of them had to go to bed after supper, and while his big sister Lina complained loudly that she was far too old to be ushered to bed, Erik offered no resistance.

Twenty minutes later, the house was silent and all the lights were out. Erik laid in his bed while pretending to be asleep, opening his eyes and checking the watch next to his bed every now and then.

When two hours had passed, he lost all patience and got out of bed, silently tiptoeing out of his room and back down the stairs. He had learned years ago where the creaky parts of the floor were, and once he was downstairs he breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone's bedrooms were upstairs, and it was unlikely they would hear anything through the thick floors.

He sneaked over to the kitchen and got out the bag of marshmallows. He was still full after the stupid take out food, but that wouldn't stop him from at least enjoying the roasted fluffy goodness. He took the marshmallows over to the fireplace, which was probably the grandest part of the house. It was huge, and unlike the rest of the house which was all made out of oak colored wood, the fireplace was delicately carved stone of some kind with swirling patterns around it.

Erik carefully stood in front of it and listened hard; he could hear no sound coming from upstairs at all, hopefully that meant that the others were deep asleep. He knew he wasn't supposed to do what he was doing, and he had been told many times that it was dangerous, but parents always said that about everything, and he would be careful.

He slowly put four big logs inside the fireplace and piled two of them on top of the lower pair, and in the middle he shoved a bunch of newspaper pages. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but some noise couldn't be avoided, and he knew that if he was busted now, he would be in so much trouble.

Not that it was his fault. They'd been the ones that got home late because they were too busy doing adult stuff instead of coming home like they were supposed to; he just wanted to sit in front of the fire for a little while.

He lit a match and stuck it in the mashed newspapers before quickly pulling back his hand. It took a couple of seconds before he was sure that it had caught fire, but when the flames began to lick at the wood, Erik sat back with a content smile.

The fire blossomed quickly after that, and soon Erik was basking in the heat it offered. He followed the dancing flames with eyes so dreamy that it was almost like he was in a trance. Fire had always been magical to him, and there was no thought in his head that it would ever hurt him no matter how many times his mom or dad had warned him.

Fire was beautiful, and it was bright and warm. Fire felt like Christmas morning in the winter, or Halloween in the fall. It was a magical thing that was special, not wrong or evil or anything, and he didn't want to go another week without having at least enjoyed it; it was the least he deserved after putting up with his sister all the time.

He took one of the metal pokers that stood next to the fireplace and put two marshmallows on it. He let the flames of the fire lick at them until the shell was brown and crispy, and after he had eaten them, he did the same with another pair.

After six marshmallows, he was joyfully content and had forgiven his parents for skipping out on Friday evening. He was even prepared to overlook that his sister was such a pain in the ass. They were his family and he loved them.

He twitched when he heard a sound coming from upstairs, and he sat frozen and swallowed hard while he listened intently. The fire sparked with what now seemed like a roar of noise, and he had the urge to turn to it and tell it to hush.

He heard another creak, and in panic he shoved the bag of marshmallows closed and ran back to the kitchen on the tip of his toes. He put the bag back where it belonged and hurried back to the fireplace.

In front of it was a kind of metal grating that one could put before it to keep logs from falling out, not that Erik had ever understood how such a thing could happen. Nervously, he blocked off the fireplace with it, and looked towards the stairs. There was no reason for them to come downstairs at night, especially not if his parents were really tired and just wanted to sleep. Even so, it wasn't uncommon for his mother to sometimes go in and check on him while he was sleeping.

And if she did so now, she would find him missing, and she would go looking for him and realize that he had made a fire while they were sleeping. He would never hear the end of that.

Erik turned his eyes to the fire for a few seconds before making his decisions. There was no reason to worry. It was going to die down soon enough. The chance of some spark flying out and setting something on fire was like, one in a trazillion.

He turned away from the fire and sneaked towards the stairs, and before he went upstairs, he looked at the light from the fire shining out into the doorway. It brought him comfort. He didn't really know why. He just knew fire was special, and when he was looking into it, he felt like he could one day be special too.

He hurried up the stairs with careful steps, and when he got back into his room, he crawled into his bed and pulled the covers over himself, completely satisfied. Now his weekend wouldn't be spoiled, and maybe he could do something nice with his mom and dad just to show he wasn't mad at them.

It was a nice idea, and soon sleep was tugging at his mind. He fell asleep with a happy smile on his lips, and drifted into joyful dreams.

*************************************

Erik's eyes fluttered open to an incessant shrill sound that gnawed at his peaceful sleep, but as soon as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, he started coughing. Surprised, he looked around the room and saw it was blurry. He coughed again violently and bent over clutching his chest. He tried rubbing his eyes hard again, and that was when he realized it wasn't his eyes or sleepiness, his room was filled with smoke.

He stumbled out of bed and headed towards the door, but before he got there, it burst open and his father rushed in with a terrified expression on his face. It was something Erik had never seen on his father before, and it instantly made him feel afraid too.

His father ran forward and scooped him up into his arms, then turned and ran out back into the hallway. His father was coughing hard as well, but he didn't let it stop him as he headed towards his own room hunched over.

Everywhere there was the sound of burning, crackling louder than anything Erik had ever heard before. The heat was even worse than that one time he had spilled boiling water on his leg, and it was sucking his breath out of his lungs.

His father carried him into his parent's room, and immediately hurried over to the window. Their room was the only one with a window on the front side of the house, underneath which there was a small shed surrounded by soft grass. All the other windows were placed to give a view of the mountain slope and the valley that lied at its base, but it also meant they were very high above the ground, and if you fell you could be rolling down the slope for a long time before you hit a tree.

Erik shrunk into a small ball when his father let go of him and opened the window, and in answer, the fire roared even louder than before. He grabbed Erik's arms and hauled him up to his feet before dragging him to the window. There he helped the boy up on the windowsill before grabbing both his arms and lowering him down towards the shed's roof.

Everywhere the fire was burning, and Erik thought his skin was going to melt from the terrible heat. He looked up at his father, and he in turn looked down on his son with desperation in his eyes. He released his grip, and Erik fell down on the shed with a soft impact. Even so, now that he was once again exposed to fresh air, it was enough to send him into a fit of coughing that felt like it was tearing his chest apart.

The house was groaning, like the fire was beating down on it, trying to make it break. He stumbled to the edge of the shed's roof and jumped down to the ground where he slipped and rolled clumsily sideways. He laid still for a moment just coughing, and with tear filled eyes, he looked up towards the window and saw that his mom and dad were helping his sister out the same way.

But before she could get more than one leg out the window, the house shuddered, and with a terrible crack, part of the roof collapsed on top of them.

Erik watched as his father had just enough time to push his sister as hard as he could out the window before the burning wood fell down on him. His sister was flung backwards, and she only hit the far edge of the shed and bounced off it. She spun in the air, and came to a stop when she landed on top of the lawnmower standing next to the shed. She landed on it with her back, and she cried out when she hit it and didn't move beyond coughing afterward.

Erik ran forward to her and grabbed her hands, trying with all his strength to yank her up on her feet, but it didn't work. She clutched at him hard, but her legs flopped uselessly, and he ended up having to drag her as best he could away from the burning house.

When they were far enough away that they could feel the night air, almost cold now after having suffered through the intense heat of the fire, Erik let go and fell down on the ground beside her. He hadn't noticed it before, he had been too intent on saving his sister, but from inside the house came the sound of screaming.

He couldn't stop himself from looking back up at the window, and when he did he saw his father's arm still sticking out the window in a bad angle. Erik heard him screaming in pain. He was trapped between burning wood, as was his mother. They were burning, and he couldn't do anything but stand and watch.

So he did. He stood still and watched as the fire burned his parents alive and destroyed his home with them. He watched the dancing flames, as he had done so many times before.

It took a long time before the fire trucks arrived – they didn't live near any of the larger city's after all – and the firetrucks were there only because one of the families living down in the valley had seen the fire and called it in.

It didn't help at all. They came with roaring sirens and started spraying water on what little was left of the charred ruin as quickly as they could. It didn't matter. The screams had stopped before they even got there.

There had been police and ambulances with them too. Erik was sitting in one of the seats in the ambulance now, and a thick blanket had been draped around him. They had forced him to breath through a mask of some kind and had wanted him to lie down on a stretcher like his sister, but he had refused. He had shrieked and kicked and tried to bite anyone that dared to push him down, and after a woman had come and checked up on him, they had left him inside the ambulance alone.

The coughing would come back all the time, and sometimes when he breathed, he could see little trickles of smoke come out of his mouth. His chest felt like it was filled with sour acid, and he couldn't stop shaking. He was surprised that he wasn't crying, and he thought it might be because the fire had been so warm that it had burned away all his tears and that he could never cry again.

He wished it wasn't true, he wanted to cry. His sister had been crying, wailing even when they took her away in the other ambulance. It would feel so much better if he could.

The people were running around and talking to one another, sometimes looking at Erik sitting alone in the ambulance with pity. Why did they treat him so nicely? Why weren't they shouting and screaming and hurting him? Didn't they understand? He had started a fire, and later the house had started burning when he was asleep.

It was his fault.

Eventually another car arrived at the scene, and out of it stepped Erik's uncle Leif, his father's brother. He had a grief stricken look on his face, and he walked towards the blacks bags containing the charred skeletons of Erik's parents. He stared at them for a very long time, until eventually one of the ambulance men walked up to him and pointed to where Erik was sitting.

He opened the door to the ambulance carefully and looked down on Erik with a confused face, like he wasn't certain what he should say.

“Hey … how do you fee- I mean … how are you?”

Erik looked up at his uncle with an empty stare. He had never really noticed before how stupid adults could be. Leif must have known what a dumb question it was himself because he was squirming while trying to figure out what to say.

In the end he simply told the boy, “Come, we should head back home,” before leading Erik to his car.

Adults were stupid. Leif was stupid. He couldn't go home. Home had died in the fire together with his mom and dad, and it had been his fault.

His uncle drove them for hours before they reached his house, which was located in the nearest big city. Everything seemed to be made of concrete wherever he looked, and it was all lit by the yellow streetlights. It brought him some sense of calm knowing fire wouldn't eat through it all like it was nothing.

Leif didn't speak much, merely lead the way up to his apartment in the large building. Inside it there was a guest room that Erik was told he could sleep in while his uncle called and checked up on Lina.

He heard his uncle speaking through the closed door, even though he couldn't make out the words. His head was strange. It felt fuzzy and like everything was far away from him. He didn't know what else to do, so he turned around, faced the wall and waited for sleep, still wondering why he wouldn't start crying.

He woke up with the room awash in the summer sun's light, shining trough the half opened window. He stared at the wall for a long time, his expression empty, before he remembered what had happened. When he did, he pulled his cover a little tighter around himself and laid still.

He didn't think or feel. He just laid still and stared at the blank white wall for hours. In the back of his mind he could still hear the sound of the fire burning. Eventually he heard someone knocking on the door, and Leif opened it slowly and asked, “Hey … the hospital just called me. They say Lina is awake and can receive visitors now. Do you want to come?”

Erik did. His mind was beginning to churn again at the thought of seeing his sister; she was still with him. But his body didn't want to move, it felt heavy. It was like his brain was just sloshing around freely inside his head, unable to make his body do anything.

“Erik?” Leif asked again and moved into the room.

His uncle put a hand on his shoulder for comfort, checking if perhaps he was asleep. The touch triggered some part of his brain, and Erik slowly turned around and stared into his uncle's eyes. The man was unnerved by what he saw for some reason, so he backed off and said, “I will be leaving in a couple of minutes. If you want to come, get dressed and we'll drive there.”

Erik got dressed mechanically, and together he and his uncle drove to the hospital where his sister was staying. When they arrived, they had to pass through white hallways with bright lights that made Erik's eyes hurt, and the sterile smelling air was even worse.

In counterpoint to the sterile environment, there were sick people everywhere he looked, coughing, sneezing or just sitting down and looking miserable. Erik wondered if anyone they knew had died here, or if any of the miserable looking people had accidentally killed anyone they loved.

When they got to Lina's room, Leif stopped outside before going in and turned to Erik with a pained look on his face.

“Erik … the doctor who called last night said that your sister hasn't taken what happened well. And also … she hurt her back when she fell. Her spine is broken and the doctor said that she won't be able to walk again.”

Erik flinched when he heard it, and it felt like there were pins pricking inside his skull. She wouldn't be able to walk? To run? Would she be sitting in a wheelchair for the rest of her life?

“She won't be able to drive a scooter now,” he said quietly.

His uncle looked down on him surprised, but nodded for lack of anything better to do. Then he opened the door and they both went inside.

Lina was lying in her bed staring up at the ceiling. Next to her there was a small table upon which sat a tray of untouched food. She didn't react to them at all as they walked up to the side of her bed, not even when Leif squeezed her hand. Her eyes didn't move at all. She just stared out into nothing.

“Lina,” Leif tried, but earned no reaction.

He tried a few more times, and when he succeeded no better than the first time, he went in search of a doctor and left Erik alone with his sister.

The boy hesitated, then put a hand on Lina's arm and pleaded softly, “Please … Lina, please say something.”

No reaction, she just stared off into empty space.

When Leif returned, he had a doctor with him, a tired looking old doctor. He said that Lina had some complicated, long word and it would take a lot of time and care before she could begin to recover. Erik felt cold when the doctor said Lina should be allowed to stay at some other place instead of going home and being with her brother.

When they left the hospital, Erik remained silent no matter what his uncle tried to get him talking, and when they got back to his apartment, he forced himself to eat a little, then went to sleep despite it still being the middle of the day.

That was how he passed his days, sleeping and staring at the blank wall, until one day another man showed up. Erik heard him ring the bell and his uncle invite him in, and since they had received no visitors in the time after the boy had moved in, it was enough to prompt him to get out of bed and listen in to the conversation.

“- and they have concluded that it was an accident, most likely a small spark from the fireplace or something of the kind. It holds up for the insurance claim on the house, and coupled with the sizable life insurance for both parents, the children will inherit a very large sum of money. It is expected  that it will go towards helping to support them in their hour of need, especially for the daughter as I understand her psychological state is very concerning.”

Erik's eyes widened in horror at what he heard the strange man said. He … he had burned their house and made their parents die, and now they were paying him for it?

He threw up in the floor, emptying his stomach of what little it had, and he remained on the floor, sobbing, the acid tang of the vomit mixing with the flood of tears that streamed down his cheeks. He keened loudly with each sharp breath he took, and his uncle had rushed into his room and tried to comfort him. Erik had only lashed out and shrieked louder when he tried.

Eventually he had worn himself out, and he had fallen asleep. The day after, a psychiatrist had come to the apartment, and was trying to talk with Erik. She asked a lot of stupid questions, and he found the fact that she was always writing things down to be very annoying. She said it was okay, and that everything would work out for the best in the end. That what he was feeling was shock, and when Erik finally whispered to her that it was all his fault, she had just calmly told him that it was something called survivor's guilt.

He had screamed at her after she had said that, and thrown everything within reach towards her until she ran out of the room. They were all stupid. It wasn't anything called survivor's guilt; it was just the guilt of a murderer.

Leif went back to work after a week. He told Erik not to leave the apartment until he got back, but after the first day, the loneliness had become unbearable. And so, the next day after Leif went to work, Erik left the apartment and took a bus to the place where his sister was staying. The people there were very nice when he told them who he was and who he wanted to see,  and all the nurses were treating him like he was made out of glass.

He hated it. They didn't know anything.

The room his sister was staying in looked just like the hospital room in that almost everything was white and it smelled weird. But unlike the hospital it didn't smell weird because it was so clean, it smelled weird because they had sprayed some flower smelling stuff in the room.

Were all adults really so dumb? Did they think that her room smelling like flowers was going to do anything to make her feel better?

He sat next to her, holding her hand for hours, but she never looked at him, never turned her face and acknowledged he was even there. He tried everything he could think of to get her to respond and to let him know she was still with him. Nothing worked.

Finally, in one last effort to make her look at him, he licked his lips and slowly began telling her what he had done that night.

“Lina … please listen to me. That night … when it happened … it was a Friday night and we were supposed... I-I snuck down when everyone was asleep and … and … I lit a fire in the fireplace. I didn't … I didn't … please Lina w-we're... you're the o-only one I have left. Lina...”

He started shaking violently with the confession, and his words were forced out in hulking gurgles. Even so Lina heard him, and her eyes quivered, until she slowly turned her head and looked on him with confusion.

And then, understanding dawned in them, and the confusion was replaced with rage.

“YOU!” she screamed and flung herself at him, her nails held out like claws to tear at his face.

Erik fell backwards in fright and crawled away from his sister, clumsily stumbling out of bed and shrieking in maddened rage the entire time.

“YOUR FAULT!”

“Lina...” he choked out before his sister was upon him.

Her nails slashed at his skin and soon he felt blood pour into his eyes, stinging them. He shouted in pain and tried to crawl away from her, and soon a nurse burst into the room and tried to restrain her. But she wasn't strong enough, and Erik ran out of the room while Lina screamed with a sound that latched onto Erik's soul, damning him.

He ran down the hallway, and when he turned and looked around, he saw Lina pinned to the floor with two other doctors holding her there with the nurse. They had some sort of needle they injected her with, but Lina's eyes never left Erik. They screamed at him too, hating him, damning him.

“YOUR FAULT!”

Erik turned around and ran out, running as fast and hard as he could. But no matter how far he ran, it seemed he couldn't escape her screams, and when he finally collapsed on the sidewalk, he laid there and cried, for he knew that now he was truly alone.

People that walked past had tried to stop and comfort him, ask him what was wrong and if they could help. Adults were so stupid. Eventually, the police came and took him back to Leif's apartment, and his uncle soon returned home when he heard of what had happened.

The worst part was that he didn't scream. Normally all adults would shout and lecture children when they ran away or didn't obey orders, but Leif didn't. He just stood there with a grief stricken face and tried to tell Erik that it would all be okay in the end.

So Erik screamed at him, told him he was stupid and didn't understand anything, just like everybody else, and his uncle still refused to get mad. So Erik slammed the door and cried himself to sleep, wishing he had been stuck inside the house and burned or that he hadn't lit that fire at all. He was stupid, and childish and now everything was gone because of him.

Later that night, Erik woke up to shouting.

He had never heard Leif shout before, and when he listened carefully, he made out his sister's name. Maybe they had called from the hospital to say she had calmed down, and that she wanted to see her brother and tell him she didn't mean what she'd said? Maybe she would tell him she still loved him and she would never leave him?

Erik sneaked quickly out his room and went to the other phone his uncle had, and carefully picked it up. He held it hard to his ear and tried not to breath, otherwise they might hear that he was listening.

“- I don't care about your excuses! That was my niece! You told me you had sedated and put her into restraints!”

“I can't apologize enough for this. We have no idea how she got out of it.”

“You incompetent idiot! How the hell do you think this will affect the boy!?”

“We did everything we could, but by the time we went to checkup on her, it was too late.”

“How did it happen?”

“She managed to get one hand out of her restraint and … used the pin holding it in place to cut her wrist open … I'm sorry.”

Erik dropped the phone and fell down to the floor next to it, his whole body trembled and it felt like he couldn't breath. Lina was dead. Now everyone was dead, everyone important. Why?

“YOUR FAULT!”

He heard the voice scream inside his head. He remembered her eyes. She hated him. He had burned down their home. He had burned their parents alive, and now he had killed his sister, made her hate him so much that she killed herself.

He had just wanted to watch the fire dance, to sit with his family and watch it dance, and listen to his father and know everything was safe and warm and that they loved him and that he loved them.

“YOUR FAULT!”

His fault.

“YOUR FAULT!”

His fault.

“YOUR FAULT.”

It was all his fault.

He screamed.

***********************************

Erik was screaming, weeping and trashing with all his might. It felt like his soul was being torn apart, ripped into tiny pieces from the guilt and the hate and knowing that he was responsible. It had always been his fault.

Twilight was cradling him, holding him tight just as much to comfort him as to comfort herself. She felt sick to the absolute core of her being from what she'd seen. He clung to her with desperation, like she was the only thing keeping him from being ripped apart.

They sat in the middle of his inner library, but it was different. Gone was the golden light from the chandelier above, instead it was now a cold milky white that stole the warmth from the room. The books were gone, either torn to shreds or standing as hollow covers without anything in between. It was nothing like the warm and comfy library Twilight had spent so much time in when they'd first meet. It reminded her of the ruins where the elements had defeated Nightmare Moon. Old, forgotten and dead.

Erik was wailing, and from the dark shadows around the bookcases, specters surged forward. Twilight didn't know what they were, and she felt completely powerless before them. They circled around the pair, and Erik didn't even notice them before one rushed forward and went into him.

Both Erik and Twilight were forcefully thrown into his memories again. His desperation, his pain. He hated everything and shut himself away from the world. Leif gave up hope on him after months of trying of help him. He simply left him at his apartment with the TV on, which Erik had stared empty eyed into.

Until one afternoon the same ghost hunting program had been on, and the first flicker of life appeared in the boy. And an idea was born.

He contacted every person that claimed they could speak with the dead, and Erik changed. He became obsessed, desperate to see his dead parents and sister. To hear them speak, to know they still existed. He needed to hear them say they could forgive him, that they understood it was a mistake and that he loved them.

Leif didn't approve, so Erik stole money from him whenever he could. He sneaked away at every opportunity and saw those that said they could help the boy. But they all lied. They said things that his family wouldn't say, or other mistakes that made Erik understand they were just tricking him. Eventually Leif had given in to his obsession, and they used much of the money Erik had gained to pay medium after medium. Charlatans, liars and thieves were all they got in return.

After more than a year had passed, Erik had grown clever. He knew what to say to make Leif feel bad and go with him. He knew how to spot the fakes just after meeting them. He could even sense when they were lying, like a feeling.

Then one day, when he was out walking alone in the rain, he had come across a small labyrinth made of cobblestones in a large box of sand. Without thinking about it, he had walked through it without ever once having to stop or go back, and when he had exited out the other side, he had met Varsif for the first time, and the old wizard had made him an offer.

Twilight shrieked as the memories assaulted her, overwhelming her with years and years of torment and misery in just a few seconds.

Erik had tried so hard, constantly driven by his need to learn how to contact his family and the magic that would make that possible. But he wasn't allowed. He was denied the chance to call them to him. Varsif refused him, and every time he tried on his own, something on the other side blocked him.

The wizard said it wasn't time, that it wouldn't solve anything and only make it worse.

Erik hated him, but he discovered that he loved magic. He loved how life and the power of creation itself flowed through him, made him forget and feel alive even if it was just for a few precious heartbeats. He threw himself into the study, but no matter what he did, he wasn't allowed what he really needed.

One day, after eleven years of hard study, it was too much. Erik left, abandoned his training and went on his own. He tried to find his own ways to find his family. He contacted many beings, but none offered him the chance.

Until one day, he had decided to go to the void. There he would be able to call to beings without being watched and without being stopped. He would find a way to call to his family no matter what. So he traveled to the void that day, to find a solution, to find a being that would give him the only thing he wanted.

Instead he had found a dark god of lies and trickery, and a trapped unicorn awaiting her end.

She had been stuck in an endless emptiness, slowly losing everything she was. Her very existence was being eaten, and yet when Erik had looked into her eyes, he saw that she dared to hope.

Those eyes...

She had faced annihilation and she dared to look at him with hope. Believing he could save her, save someone. What he had seen in her eyes had made him do something he had never even considered possible. He had done something good.

And if even she, while facing the most terrible ending possible for any creature in existence, could hope, then maybe he wasn't beyond saving either....

He understood now. He knew what had led him to strive forward, to seek new ways and fight the despair that always burned within him. He had tried, and it was because of something he had seen within her eyes.

His chains had been forged through desperation and despair. He had locked the memories away. He didn't even know what exactly had happened. He had only known that his family was dead and it was his fault, and he knew that it been through fire. Now he remembered everything, and it was because of Twilight, because he couldn't stand seeing her leave him without knowing, and without seeing why he couldn't let Discord threaten her with that fate.

He couldn't stand seeing that hope die in her eyes.

And so, between his hysterical sobbing, he managed to move his head back and look into her eyes. Those eyes, those beautiful purple eyes that contained so much knowledge, curiosity, fear, love and...

There was hope when she looked at him now.

He screamed and clung to her and he felt the memories rip into him with all their suffering. Erik died that moment, consumed by a guilt that had festered and grown for more than a decade, and where he had died, Karon was born.

He cried, and wailed, and everything screamed inside and around him. What had been locked behind chains forged from torment was freed, and he had to suffer all of it.

And far above the pair, at the heart of the dead and cold chandelier, a small uncertain light flickered to life.

Epilogue

Karon woke up slowly, his eyes gradually opening millimeter by millimeter. When his blurry vision cleared, he saw that he was laying on a mattress on a wooden floor. Next to him was Twilight with her forelegs draped around him protectively.

He remained still and watched her sleep, her chest rising and falling with calm breaths. Whatever effect experiencing Erik's memories had had on her wasn't affecting her sleep apparently, and it brought Karon some relief to see that she'd been spared in that regard.

Eriks' memories; that was how he thought of them. Not his, not Karon's. There was a feeling of displacement, like he was still getting used to the idea of who he was, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he hadn't been Erik for a very long time. The boy who had burned his life to the ground, the boy who had apprenticed under Varsif, was dead. He had been dying for years. Ever since he lost his family, he had, little by little, lost himself to the pain and despair. Until eventually he had left Varsif, and alone with only his desperate need to see his family again, he had slowly lost his identity until he simply became 'the mage'.

That had changed with Loke. Something had awakened in Erik from the tragedy, and it had changed him. It had stayed dormant within him even after the fire – Erik had been focused singularly on his family after all – but as Erik slowly died, it was given the chance to grow, and Loke had seen this. He had felt it when the mage had sent out his calling within the void, and, seeing the opportunity, he had chosen to answer. He had tricked the mage, and through his trickery he had granted Karon a chance to be born.

Loke had seen the conflict within him and had seen Erik's desperation, how it was whittling him away bit by bit. He had seen 'the mage's' empty obsession, and he had seen the seed that was Karon. So he had broken down 'the mage's' body and reshaped it as he saw fit. Karon nearly snorted when he remembered the explanation that Loke had given him about the body being Karon's ideal self image. It was another lie. Loke had shaped Karon's body in his image, the image of a trickster. The first step towards killing Erik and 'the mage', and allowing Karon to emerge.

In hindsight it was all so obvious. The only reason he hadn't seen it then was simply because he had been too busy tormenting himself and finding distractions.

What part destiny had played in it he didn't know. Most likely there was simply a need for a Karon, and Loke went with it because he liked the idea of helping another trickster come into being. That, or maybe he had just been bored. It didn't matter, as he had given Karon the chance to truly be born. Erik was dead, as was 'the mage'. Karon had outgrown them.

And it had been thanks to this world. It had been thanks to the challenges he had faced in Equestria and beyond. It had been thanks to the kindness and joy he had seen and been allowed to share in with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and even Rainbow Dash. It had been thanks to Lyra's friendship and Feather Touch's goodness, and Trixie's need for someone to love and be loved by.

And perhaps most importantly, it had been because of Twilight. Through the hope he had seen in her eyes, she had shown him that even in the empty void, there can still exist the strength to become more than a slave to your past mistakes, and that the fear of what would destroy you can be denied.

He smiled at the purple unicorn sleeping peacefully, and he leaned in and kissed her carefully on the lips. Then he rose from the mattress and took a closer look around, and after a few seconds he realized they were in Fluttershy's house.

Twilight must have taken him there after the connection between their minds had been severed. He didn't remember all of it. After the memories had been unleashed, he had not been lucid, and the only things he could remember were the intense pain and Twilight's eyes reminding him to be strong.

He walked over to a canister standing on the kitchen table, and after sniffing the contents and determining it was water, he drank from it. The water flowed down his throat and settled in his stomach, its cool presence soothing whatever frayed nerves that remained. Inside he didn't feel anything else besides a sense of … emptiness. Not the emptiness of the void, but the emptiness left after an intense release. The quiet calm after the storm.

It felt like a scab had been removed, and that he was just now realizing how it felt to be without it. It was the guilt and torment that had festered within him and grown to a part of who he had been, and now that it was gone, he could feel the difference and what it meant. He was Karon, and he was free.

“I'm free...”

The thought was so simple, but therein laid so many possibilities that it baffled his mind. He was free to pursue his life without the weight of a troubled past bearing down on him, free to enjoy or suffer whatever experiences he sought. He could very well end up causing another great tragedy like the one before, but the risk of something like that happening was a part of the freedom, and should it ever occur again, he would not be broken by it.

He was Karon the trickster, and his way laid open for him.

“Dramatic, but you also know what that means.”

He did, and Karon stared down into the canister and looked into the water thoughtfully.

“It's not very fair.”

“Life, remember? It is what it is, and considering all the things we've had to face, I've gotta say that there were far worse endings than this one.”

“Ending?”

“One ending, one new beginning.”

“Still ... it's disrespectful towards her considering all she has done for us.”

“Twilight has her own role to play, and we have no more of a place around here than Discord had. What would have happened in all the places we've been to if there hadn't been great conflicts for us to meddle in?”

Karon sighed and put the canister back down, and the water inside rippled with the movement.

“If there had been no conflict, we would have created one sooner or later.”

“It's our nature, and someone like that has no place here in Ponyville or with Twilight.”

“So we'll leave them again.”

“It's necessary.”

Karon turned his face and looked at the sleeping Twilight. There were no words meaningful enough to describe what she had done for him. Not by healing him or talking to him. It had been through no magic that she had helped him. She had merely served as the example, and that had been enough.

He wanted to leave this knowledge with her, to let her know that it was not through any fault of hers that he had to leave. He walked over to a nearby table where there stood an inkwell and quill right next to a pile of paper. He took the quill and kept it hovering over one of the parchments uncertainly, having no idea where to start.

Then a smile crept unto his face, and he remembered that a lot – if not all – of Twilight's friendship reports had been lost in the fire – unless Celestia kept copies. Also, there was something fitting about Karon adding this one piece of what he had learned during his stay on the world of the ponies.

So he put the quill against the paper, and wrote:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I've learned that sometimes even the tiniest of actions can have enormous consequences, and a mistake made in naïve innocence or childish carelessness can led to something beyond horrible. But I've also learned that no matter how much you suffer because of it, living in pain is a choice.

Sometimes you might forget how to look beyond it, but that doesn't change the fact that the pain only lasts because you choose to hold on to it, and if it has ever gone so far that you don't know how you'll ever let go of it, then there will always be others to show you the way. Not to take the pain away from you, but to show you how you can do it for yourself and that the joy of living is always within reach for those that dare to desire it.

Karon

Karon blew a little on the paper to make the ink dry, then read through it with a careful eye. It was short, but Karon doubted he would be able to properly explain all of it no matter how many words he used. Some truths can not be told, they can only be felt in silence.

But his small addition to the collection of friendship reports was not enough, not for Twilight. So he dipped the quill in the ink again and picked another parchment and started writing.

Twilight,

I don't know exactly how I am supposed to write this down without it sounding hollow and pointless, but I need to say something as a good bye. You have been closer to me than I think any other being ever has – you literally lived inside my mind for a time – and now you've seen what I did my best to keep hidden from even myself.

You have been close to me Twilight, and it is thanks to you that I could be freed from my past. Loke might have been the one that sent me here, and I have had a lot of help along the way from others, but at its core I owe it all to you. Before I arrived in Equestria I was not Karon in any other way than some small dream locked away inside the shell of a man I once was. You made me real Twilight, and for that I will always love you.

I never really understood the meaning of friendship before meeting you either, but now as you have looked into the darkest parts of my past and still did not abandon me, I understand. You are a true friend and I will carry the lessons you have taught me close in my heart wherever my road may lead me.  But I need to go, I don't belong here. Perhaps it isn't just that I don't, but it doesn't change anything. I wish you and all the other ponies as much out of life as you can possibly have, and if fate is kind (or I find a way to trick it), I will get to see all of you again.

Your friend, Karon

He blew on the ink as before and put the quill away. It wouldn't be enough to spare her from grief, nothing would. She would be disappointed and hurt that he had left her once again without even saying farewell in person. But it couldn't be avoided, so Karon walked over to the sleeping unicorn and looked down at her with a sad smile on his lips. He wished he would get the chance to see her some time again before he died, so he could see how she would grow – how they would all grow – without him interfering in their lives.

He took a blanket from the couch and tucked her in tightly, then without a word, he walked out the door and left the cottage behind, grabbing Promise on the way out. The path towards Ponyville was clear in the dawning light of the rising sun, and the quiet calm was only interrupted by birdsong. He knew that there would be a train leaving about once every hour beginning from dawn, so hopefully he would be back with Trixie before the day was over.

He phased in and out of invisibility as he moved from place to place. The last thing he needed was to run into anypony that recognized him. On the way towards the train station, Karon kept looking over his shoulder since a tingling in his spine was telling him that someone was trying to focus their attention on him. However, no matter how hard he tried to spot anyone watching, he failed to do so.

The mystery was solved when he arrived at the train station, and saw a familiar pink blur zipping from place to place in a frantic search.

Karon dropped the invisibility, buckling beneath the pressure of the Pinkie's focused attention, and came into view standing just beside her.

“Looking for something?” he asked and held back his laughter when the pony flew up into the air and span around several times before crashing down to the ground on her back.

She stared at him upside down, and a huge grin spread over her face.

“Hi Karon! I was trying to find you here, but I couldn't find you, but that's okay because you found me instead!” she said with a giggle and bounced up into a standing position.

“What made you think I would be here?” Karon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“My Pinkie sense woke me up and said you were going to leave again,” she told him.

“I thought the Pinkie sense wasn't specific?”

“It usually isn't, but when my ears get spunky and my tail twitches the Equestrian national anthem while my left hoof gets itchy, that means that Karon is going to leave.”

“Great, now I have a Pinkie sense sequence.”

“Uh, why does your Pinkie sense have something just for that?”

“Because you've left us like a million times now, duh! Anyway, I guessed you would be here at the train station since Canterlot is really far away so I started looking, and here you are now.”

“And what do you want Pinkie?” he asked with as much calm as possible. The last thing he wanted was for her to plead with him to stay or cause a heart rendering scene making full use of her pony cuteness.

Thankfully she did neither.

“I just wanted to say good bye, and hear you promise that you'll come back again some time,” she said with huge eyes of blue.

Karon swallowed hard when those eyes reminded him of another similar pair, and he found himself unable to just outright deny her. Even so, he hesitated in making such a promise. He could lie of course, but in this particular case it felt like a coward's way out.

“I promise I will come back one day if I can,” he said as a compromise, hoping it would be enough to placate her.

Pinkie's eyes turned sly and she asked again in a sweet voice.

“Pinkie promise?”

Karon sighed and rolled his eyes before answering.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Pinkie's eyes widened even further after he had dutifully sworn the sacred promise, and somewhere in the back of Karon's mind where his animal instincts resided, he heard a voice saying it would go very bad for him if he ever broke that promise. Even if it was because he had died. Such a thing would not be a valid excuse to Pinkie, and it wouldn't keep him safe from her either.

The train arrived soon after, but the small window of time was big enough for Pinkie to squeeze in a rambling conversation ranging from topics such as chocolate vs. vanilla or if alligators could wear hats like Karon. The result of this was that as soon as the train had arrived, Karon was on it, and doing his damn best to ignore the pony jumping up and down on the other side of the window waving at him. It hadn't stopped him from giving her a goodbye hug though.

Eventually the train left and he spent the journey towards Canterlot looking out the window, and enjoying the bittersweet emotions he felt. Despite his sadness over leaving Ponyville again, he felt a much grander sense of joy overshadowing it. This was only the beginning. He had been stuck in a loop because of the memories and the small shreds of Erik that still clung to life; without them he was now ready for so much more.

When he arrived in Canterlot it was growing late, and, with a bit of effort, he was able to slink through the city towards the palace without being gawked at. As soon as the guards at the gate saw him, they called one of their colleagues over and Karon was taken straight to the princesses. He very much doubted he would have to report his success in taking care of Discord since the lack of chocolate rain should be enough of a hint.

He was taken to the throne room, where both the princesses were gathered together with a familiar figure. Karon was left standing in the doorway staring at Varsif who was sitting cross legged on the floor while talking to the two alicorn princesses like it was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

He finished what he was saying, and both Celestia and Luna burst into loud laughter, then he turned his head around and faced Karon.

“Are you going to stand there gawking for much longer? I have things to do,” the old wizard said and waved him over.

Karon slammed his mouth shut and walked over to the trio. On the way, Celestia turned to one of her guards standing close by and asked him to tell Trixie that Karon was back. Luna shifted her eyes between Karon and Varsif, and her fascination with the old man was written plainly across her face.

The wizard rose up and rolled his shoulders gingerly when Karon stopped in front of them, and the two princesses followed. Karon was unsure of what to say, so he settled for a simple question.

“What are you doing here?”

“Isn't it obvious?” the old man responded with a twinkle in his eyes. “I'm here to offer you your old place as my student.”

The answer left the entire hall in total silence, where Varsif and the two princesses waited patiently for Karon to get his bearings and respond. It took a long time before that happened, and Trixie managed to arrive before Karon had gotten even halfway there. So instead, he blinked in surprise when a light blue torpedo hit him right in the back and brought him down to the floor. Before Karon could recover, Trixie had forced her lips hard into his and held them there until he started to kiss her back. They both hung suspended in time until the sound of a throat being cleared brought them back.

Trixie backed off Karon with an embarrassed smile, and he rose from the floor with an annoyed look on his face. If it was for the unexpected assault or the fact that it had been interrupted wasn't clear, but the unexpected kiss had brought him out of his stupor, and after he gave Trixie a loving smile, he turned to Varsif.

“Why would you do that?” he asked the wizard.

“You've dealt with that irritating door of yours, so I can now resume teaching you in good conscience knowing you might not snap one day and destroy Earth or something equally dramatic.”

“And how did you know I had faced what was behind the door?” Karon asked, already knowing what the response would be.

“I have kept an eye on you, as you well know, and I'm not the only one for the record. You've gotten quite popular ever since you turned towards the path of Karon.”

“You knew about that?”

“Please, I'm a wizard.”

Karon snorted and shook his head with a smile. It didn't come as a surprise that the old man had kept him under watch, and he already knew others were keeping interested eyes on him as well, but the offer left him standing on yet another crossroads that might lead in many different directions. Should he go with Varsif and take up his old training? Or should he remain in Equus?

“Before this conversation is taken any further, I would like to ask, what happened with Discord?” Celestia inquired.

A guilty look flashed across Karon's face, but it lasted for less than a second and neither alicorn caught it. The wizard on the other hand seemed to have done so, but he didn't say anything.

“I took care of Discord for good, you will never see him again. Please don't ask for more than that,” Karon said, and Trixie put a hoof on his shoulder when she heard the weariness in his voice.

Celestia obviously wanted to ask something further, but Luna gave her a quick glance that said otherwise. The princess of the night knew the trickster a little better than her sister, and evidently this was enough for Celestia. She nodded in understanding and asked instead, “What about the elements? What of Twilight and her friends?”

“They're fine, though Twilight's library was burnt to the ground. You should probably send somepony to fix that.”

The princess looked worried at the news, but she didn't ask anything else.

“Well, what will it be?” Varsif said with a hint of impatience.

Karon swallowed and looked down to Trixie, and the unicorn looked up at him with confusion.

“Varsif is offering me my old place as his student. He's offering to take me back to earth and finish my study with him,” Karon explained.

“But … what about me?” she asked fearfully.

“I'm not planning on leaving you,” Karon told her firmly.

“We've done enough of that for one day.”

“So you want me to go with you?”

“Always.”

“So you've made your decision then?” Varsif asked  him.

“You know what I was going to say already old man. I was sent to this place for a reason and now that it's done, my time here is over.”

“Indeed it is, but I was concerned that you might have formed attachments here that might make it hard for you to leave,” the wizard said with brows slightly raised in question.

“I have, but I have learned how dangerous holding on to something you should let go of can be. If I stayed, it wouldn't lead to anything good sooner or later.”

“So what about her?” the wizard asked with a nod to Trixie.

Karon looked down at the unicorn and smiled down at her.

“Remember what I once promised you Trixie? When I was trying to convince you to become my apprentice and call me master?”

“YOU TOOK AN APPRENTICE!?” Varsif bellowed, and the walls shook with the power that trickled into his voice.

“It was just teaching her a few basics, nothing more,” Karon reassured him quickly.

The wizard calmed at the words, and Karon turned back to the unicorn.

“Yes, I remember,” she said to him.

“This is your chance. 'Do you want to dance in creation itself? Do you want to see all that life and death holds within their domain? Is the path of the arts truly what you want? To have tea and biscuits with gods and goddesses, to listen to demons and angels and spirits, to soar together with dragons, and look at eternity and see its course. To see what dwells within yourself, to call out to the ancient and that which is to come, to seek the divine and be welcomed to it with open arms.' That is what I asked you. It is the exact same words Varsif spoke when he first offered me a place as his student, and they still hold true.”

Trixie looked up at him with a hunger igniting in her eyes, and she slowly nodded. In that nod laid a powerful decision, and the brink Karon had been standing on vanished. Their course was set, their road was chosen.

“Okay … it's time to go home it seems,” he said to Varsif, and the old man looked pleased.

“Not that I wish to interfere, but isn't this a hasty decision? Surely there is time for you to consider what you wish to do thoroughly?” Celestia said and looked between those gathered with something uncertain in her eyes.

It surprised Karon to see her like that, but he laughed it off and smiled when he answered her.

“Tia, this might look like a hasty decision, but it has been coming for years now. The only thing that's changed about what's always been meant to happen is that I won't have to go alone,” he said and put a hand on Trixie's back.

The alicorn princess looked like she wanted to say something, to object for whatever reason, but she held her silence and seemed to accept the situation. Varsif huffed with impatience at this point, and made a quick cutting motion with his hand, and a gateway was swiftly cut through the very fabric of the dimension.

Karon eyes boggled at the display, and he was once again reminded of the fact that he was nothing compared to some of the practitioners out there. That in turn made him confident that returning to Varsif as an apprentice was the right choice, especially now that Trixie would go with him and that Lyra was already on Earth.

He had gotten rid of something bad here in Equestria, and he wouldn't leave without something good to take its place.

With a polite bow of farewell towards the princesses, Varsif entered into the portal and disappeared. Celestia took one step towards Karon and opened her mouth, but no words came out and she closed it after a few seconds of silence.

Karon and Trixie both looked at her strangely, but whatever it was the princess had on her mind, she had just lost the chance to say it. Instead she settled for giving Karon a quick smile and simply told him, “Thank you Karon, for everything you have done for us.”

“You're welcome, and thank you for everything you have given me.”

“I bid you farewell too Karon, and I hope your future will be bright,” Luna said with a smile.

With one last look between one another, Trixie and Karon slowly walked up to the portal, but before they entered, Karon hesitated and turned to the two princesses.

“They're waiting for you, you know? The ghosts of your parents are waiting. The entire kingdom that once fell is waiting for you to return. I know it hurts, I really really do, but you must go back and face it at some point. So just remember, they're waiting for you.”

Karon saw the war that started raging on their faces the moment the words left his lips, and it hurt him to see. He knew all too well what they were experiencing, so with a final smile, he turned away from them and walked through the gate with Trixie at his side, their first steps on the starlit path he had once promised her.

                       ***************************************************

The silence stretched out for long after the strange gateway had closed, and Luna had her eyes fixed on her sister. Tia was busy staring down at the floor, and she didn't notice her sister's gaze until she finally looked up.

“What is it?” she asked carefully.

“Why didn't you tell him?” Luna challenged.

“I … I didn't feel it was the time for it. He has already faced enough, and I didn't want to burden him with more conflict now that he seems to have found some small measure of peace.”

“Don't you think this is something he deserves to know? Even if it would be a burden upon him?” Luna persisted.

Celestia sighed deeply and looked at the throne, her mind distant.

“Maybe I made a mistake not telling him, but it hasn't changed anything.”

“It would prepare him, it would keep it from taking him entirely by surprise.”

“He understands already that he isn't done with our world. There is still a piece of Equestria within him, and the blessing of the old forest has marked his spirit. He knows he will return here eventually.”

“You should still have told him,” Luna said angrily.

“What would you have had me say? Should I have told him that Discord wasn't the great threat I have felt coming for a long time now? Should I have told him that what I have sensed coming is something I also sensed in him?”

“It would have been right,” Luna told her sister with conviction.

“I couldn't Luna. I couldn't look at him and say something so awful now that he is no longer so tortured. He's free of what has been stalking us for thousands of years.”

“He will return some day Tia, and it will be our fault if he doesn't understand what his actions will do.”

“I know, and I hope that when the time comes for his return, he will come to save us.”

“And if what you fear comes to pass?” Luna said with worry in her eyes.

“Then he will return to end us.”

*************

*************

*************

                                                                                       THE END

*********************************Author's note*******************************

The sequel to Machinations of a Tricksters, Starlit Path, is now up. You can find it here,  Starlit Path

Chapter 1: An unexpected meeting

Authors note: I want to give a warning to all the new readers here. This story was initially rated as mature, and there was a reason for that. Though it turned out that it wouldn't be as bad as I first planned for, and so I have lowered the rating to teen. That being said before you get into the story you should now that it balances a bit on the edge towards mature, and if you are squeamish concerning blood and death you might hold off on reading this story. So consider this a warning, the story might not be under mature rating anymore, but it should be considered "older teen" perhaps. It has the dark tag for a reason. Now if that didn't scare you away, get to reading. And leave a comment or two telling me what you think of it, and if you decide to down vote I would definitely like to hear what you didn't like so something constructive might actually come out of it.

My little pony: Friendship is magic belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. The original characters belong to me.

_____________________________________________________________

Snow fell silently on the ground outside of the old house. It was made almost entirely out of stone and on the roof sat a large chimney releasing a steady stream of smoke out into the winter night. Evening had barely fallen but the sun had set many hours ago, as is usual so far up north during winter. The stone was deathly cold to the touch on the outside, but had anyone stepped over the threshold they would have been greeted by a comfortable warmth inside.

The house wasn't a particularly large one. It had a bedroom barely big enough to hold a bed and a table at the same time, and a rectangular kitchen just wide enough to open the fridge door. A careful observer would see that these two rooms showed little signs of regular use, as if the owner of the house had little interest in eating or sleeping.

The living room was the direct opposite of this. It was spacious and occupied by several couches and a large writing desk in one corner, the latter of which was barely visible beneath the mountain of books piled around it. It was in this room that a figure sat on one of the couches with a book in his lap, reading by the light of a fire burning barely two steps in front of him.

Curiously enough the fireplace was not only contained by a pair of small glass doors, but also a small iron gate with a keyhole, and beside the fireplace was a fire extinguisher within easy reach. Despite these obstructions the fire managed to give off enough light for the figure to be able to read in the otherwise darkened room.

The figure, though obscured by shoulder length hair and a loose black robe, was obviously male. The short dark beard was a dead giveaway after all.

He looked to be at a young age – clearly below his thirty's – and the glow of the fire reflected gray eyes shining with barely contained eagerness as he read. The book itself looked far older; Its spine was cracked and the bare cover contained only the title printed in faded black ink upon its dark brown surface. “The Intricacies of the Mind and Dreams”. The man seemed entirely occupied by the book and hardly noticed when the fire's light grew dimmer and dimmer.

Eventually the words became too hard to discern even for this veteran of low light reading, and he looked up and stared into the dying fire. Furrowing his eyebrows and clenching his jaw he stared as the fire died down and did not once shift his gaze from it. Eventually the fire went out entirely and only glowing embers remained.

This seemed to satisfy the man, and he rose up out of the chair and gently tossed the book behind him to the couch before stretching his arms to his sides and arching his back. It gave off an audible crack as his spine re-aligned itself after having spent so much time bent over the book.

Scratching his neck, the figure turned to the doorway leading into the kitchen and took a deep breath before loudly stating, “Time to get to work.”

He moved into the kitchen at sedated pace and opened a small door inside it leading down to the basement of the house. He flipped a switch to his right and descended down the stairs.

The basement looked like someone had called Hogwarts' interior decorator and given them free reign and a ridiculous budget. A huge circle was marked into the stone floor and inside it were several layers of triangles, additional circles and various symbols of mixed origins. There was also a mattress pushed into one corner next to a small wooden desk upon which rested several objects generally connected with the mysterious and occult. Staves, wands, cups, chalices, daggers, swords, robes and even more books.

The man reached the basement floor and walked unhurried to the mattress in the corner and laid down upon it. He gently closed his eyes and began breathing in a strange pattern until it seemed to have become automatic. Unmoving, the figure silently began counting down within his mind.

“Three....two...one....sleep.”

************************************************************************

It was dark and cold, he seemed to be hanging in the middle of a black vastness, stretching before him infinitely in all directions. At first his mind shied back as it tried to comprehend all that around him, but he soon calmed himself .

“Remember what the book said, that one can not capture or contain the infinite with a finite mind, only accept the small measure one is shown.”

Repeating the phrase as if a mantra seemed to bring a sense of solidity to himself, though the effect itself was bizarre. It seemed as if he was repeating it out loud yet he was only thinking it.

“I guess there is no border between thought and action here.”

As if saying the correct magic words, his environment suddenly shifted and he found himself standing in a meadow. It was daylight and the sun's rays gently trickled down upon him. It was a pleasant sensation, and he briefly enjoyed it before looking around himself more carefully.

Noting all the details he could see that the trees were not of his native north, the great expanses of pine and Norway spruce. No, these were leafy trees, and ones he did not recognize; but they seemed ancient. Great and powerful trunks holding their crowns high above the earth, not swaying the slightest in the wind.

“Enough” the man's thoughts echoed out into the open, “I am here with a goal in mind.”

He turned around and faced the sun directly and looked straight into it. There was no risk to his eyes since it was only a dream. He gathered as much power from inside of him as he could muster, and poured it into his thoughts as it spilled out from him. Strengthened by his channelled power, the words struck like a thunderclap and spread out far and wide in all directions.

“SHOW ME ONE WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS AND INDULGE MY THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE.*”*

The words seemed to vibrate into his surroundings to the point that he became worried he might have set off something a little too powerful. He had no idea how fragile this dream place was. After all, his mind was still floating in that infinite darkness, and this was merely a temporary setting that his little mind could comprehend without eventually breaking.

The man continued to stare into the sun waiting for something to happen. As time passed by his brows knitted together and he huffed before preparing to try again with even more power. As he drew upon the power from within himself, he abruptly felt it being scattered as if it had been caught in the wind and he stumbled forward in fright.

“Stop that! I could hear you loud and clear the first time,”a voice called out behind of him.

The dreamer picked himself up from the ground and turned around, and saw a stranger leaning against the trunk of one of the trees.  He wore only a pair of leather pants and boots which did nothing to hide the hardened muscles covering his upper body. His face seemed to scream of mischief and trickery, and the crooked smile he wore on his lips exuded a vague criminality and charm.

“I called for someone who could grant me knowledge, not a drinking buddy that will cheat me at cards,” the dreamer thought dryly before remembering that it would be heard out loud as well.

The stranger merely smiled before throwing back his head and laughing, it was a deep laugh that spoke of nights filled with clever schemes and deeds executed flawlessly at the cost of others.

“Oh you think me the kind without secrets and knowledge undreamed of? Well, I guess you will actually dream of them now if you play your cards right. But as you previously stated, I cheat, so maybe you will not.”

The strange man merely smiled his crooked smile and looked at the dreamer expectantly. The dreamer in turn was furiously considering all the facts he could glean from the figure and the brief conversation they had shared so far.

“Hmm strange. He acts with confidence when he says he could offer me what I want, but then again he is obviously a trickster of some kind. But that does not mean he is not truthful. A trickster is just the kind of being that can hold knowledge considered dangerous or taboo in the eyes of others.”

The stranger patiently sat still and listened, having pulled his legs up to his chest so that he was now hovering in mid-air, while watching with a grin at the not so internal dialogue. Eventually, as the dreamer more and more began to argue in circles with himself, he finally gave up and simply asked the stranger.

“Fine, so what do you have to offer?”

The stranger gave a disappointed frown and asked in return, “That's it? No sly questions designed to bring insight into my being? No clever wordplay designed to confuse me into giving away secrets best left unspoken? Frankly, I expected far more from someone that would resonate with myself when calling for assistance.”

Curious the dreamer tilted his head and thought.

“So you came because your nature resonated with mine? I find that hard to believe. I might be an occasional lover of trickery and deceit, but my true nature has always been dedication to the pursuit of knowledge and power.”

As the dreamer thought the last word, the stranger seemed to explode from his seated position in the air and became a blur of motion, instantly transporting himself to scant inches in front of the dreamer.

“Hahaha, now you get it! You think that knowledge and power only take the appearance of solemn old wizards and boring scholars with their heads full of ideas and theory.”

The strangers eyes seemed to draw the dreamer in and the words he spoke struck deep as if latching on to his very soul.

“Remember my words little prospective mage. The true magic is the one that wakes you up to the world around you, that which connects you to the infinite mysteries that play as we speak. If you think that the greatest wielders of magic are the ones locked in basements and towers only concerned with the dusty tomes and rusty tools of their trades, then you are not only ignorant but you are a fool that has bought into your worlds dangerously stupid, popular notions. Remember, the wider spread any conceived notion is the more likely it is to be untrue.”

The stranger moved away just as quickly as before and in the time between two heartbeats he was standing at the other side of the meadow, frantically waving his arms as if trying to catch the attention of the dreamer.

"Come now! We have a long way to go and our time is beginning to run out!”

With that final remark the stranger turned around, and as he did a wide path leading into the woods seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The dreamer hesitated for the barest of moments before setting off after the almost skipping stranger ahead of him.

This continued for what seemed a long time. The dreamer trying frantically to keep up with the stranger, and despite the impromptu dances and hand stands the stranger performed, the dreamer was unable to catch up regardless of his speed.

Finally, he just gave up and started walking in a slow and relaxed way. And he simply tried to enjoy the surroundings; it was quite beautiful after all.

He had barely started doing so when he noticed he had managed to catch up to the stranger after all, and he was now walking beside him. The stranger himself merely turned his head and stated in a curious tone.

“Do you get it?”

“No I don't,” the dreamer thought out loud, “but I will eventually.”

“That's the spirit!” the stranger said, “but please do try anyway.”

The dreamer sighed and stopped in the middle of the road, before him there were only trees and more forest. As if the road only appeared as they walked upon it.

“Well I only caught up to you after I stopped trying to reach you and simply slowed down and began walking in my own pace. If I had to guess, I would say that I only caught up to you then because this is my journey, and as such I can only travel it as fast as it is meant for me to. Which in turn means that I did not catch up to you at all. It was just an illusion. Your job is merely to show me where the road is, the actual journey takes place where I happen to be on it.”

“Exactly!” the stranger exclaimed and threw up his hands in the air and did a few jittery dance steps in celebration, “and what does that in turn mean do you think?”

“Well...” the dreamer responded hesitantly. “It probably means that the purpose of the entire walk was for me to realize this, which means there is no purpose in walking any more since I have already arrived at the end.”

And just like that the forest in front of him was gone, and he stood before the great vastness of the void once more. But this time it was beyond the borders of the small image of existence his mind was busy holding on to.

At first the dreamer was afraid that seeing the void his illusion was masking would fracture it, but he took notice of how the edges of the road he still stood on remained strong against the nothingness beyond and calmed down.

“So does this mean I am done with the games? You will give me some of that hidden knowledge you boasted of and then I will be on my way?”

The stranger shook his head and smiled to the dreamer, a glint of amusement evident in his eyes.

“No, not even close to that,” he laughed a little and simply said, “We are waiting for someone to arrive, or somepony as is the case this time.”

“Wait, what was that?” the dreamer asked confused.

“Oh she'll get here eventually, that sun you hung up in your sky should work well enough as a beacon I think. But until our mystery guest arrives we should speak further about the two of us. I believe we will have little time for personal talk after she finds this place.”

“If you say so, let's begin with who you are,” the dreamer stated with a meaningful look towards his enigmatic companion, who in turn merely huffed at the question.

“If you haven't figured it out by now you don't deserve the answer since you must have have neglected your studies. But let me give you a hint; I am a being that has been connected to the land in which you were born and currently reside upon. Even though knowledge of my existence has faded a bit lately among the general populace, I remember when all knew my name. Different though it was between the different peoples. But even if the local dialect's name for me was unrecognizable they all knew me by my nature and manners.”

The dreamer looked upon the stranger and took in all his features, his black hair and tightly cropped beard. His elegant muscles and the fingers that occasionally twitched as if they could not contain themselves. His playful manners and evasive personality. There are plenty of entities that share in that kind of energy, but only one that is known above all else to have played within the northern lands the dreamer was born of.

“You are the one named Loke, the trickster god and father of Hel, Fenrir and Jormungand. I thought you were supposed to be chained up below Yggdrasil while poison dripped down upon you?”

For a moment the old god seemed to shiver and a look of dread was upon his face, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a smile as he looked into the dreamers eyes.

“Ragnarok is still a long way off little mage, and I still dance unchained by rules or borders, for such is my station. Which brings me to why I am here in the first place.”

The god crossed his legs and once again hovered in the air and tried to create a look of sage like wisdom and depth upon himself, without success.

“I was the one your call went out to because of all the nearby entities it is my energy, my nature and being, that resonated most clearly with yours. You are a student of the arts of magic and mysteries in devotion yes, but your personal nature is one of a trickster even if you don't know it yet. You are a player of the great game of power, and the role of the trickster is without doubts one of the most favourable to hold in this game.

“Why, you wonder? Well because when we ignore the rules and gently skip around the edges of the borders of what is allowed, we are doing exactly what we are supposed to do. Our rules are that we are supposed to stretch the rules. No we do not outright break them. We are supposed to act with a charm and gracefulness in our goings. We do so because to us the rules are not set in stone, but a shivering string that if approached in the right way will allow us to stretch it out far beyond it's usual borders."

“Remember that because it is what you will be channelling. Oh yes, the magic arts have their own guardians and rules, and each demands their own kind of displays of dedication. But that is the role of your vocation, the trickster is the role of your inner personality. In the end the two will join into one and then that is where the true fun will begin. But that is far into the future and only if you can manage to reach that far."

“So that's the knowledge I offer you, freely. Now, I mean to show you a.......display of it's practical application.”

“What do you mean,” the dreamer asked in a suspicious tone and narrowed his eyes. He did not fully trust the god yet, even though what he had said had a certain unmistakable ring of truth.

“What I mean is that you and I are going to be skirting the rules a bit now.”

“What kind of rules?” the dreamer asked, and he could feel a small chill travel down his spine in fear of what the answer may be.

The God's smile turned into a grin that went from ear to ear and with barely contained laughter he managed to say, “Why the rules of reality of course.”

     ***************************************************

She was floating in the middle of the darkness, but it wasn't really darkness, it was just...nothing.

When she first came here she had felt fear and tried to go back to....that place....from which she came. Did it have a name? She knew it had a name, but she had lost it to the emptiness that surrounded her.

She didn't know how long she had been here. It could be moments or lifetimes, but it didn't matter because she could not remember, and she could feel more and more of herself slipping away. This place was not supposed to hold things that are. It was nothing, and nothing more should be here.

She wanted to do something because she was so afraid, so sad, because she knew that soon she would become nothing as well. She didn't know what it was called any more, that something, but she still remember how it felt. It felt like her eyes were spilling the very sadness that held her. It was warm and stung as it would travel down her cheeks and eventually fall off her chin.

She wanted that to happen but it couldn't, the knowledge of how was lost as well.

But then there was another feeling, it was strange for she did not recognize it....Wait! She remembered it had a name! Oh, what was it called? She knew it began with an H sound.

H..He....Ho....Hoo...Hope! Yes, that was it! She was feeling hope!

It felt so wonderful that for a moment her sadness was gone. Not forgotten to the void, but just gone. But it was strange. She did not know where it came from. It had not been there a moment ago. Why would something new come up in this place?

This was not a place for new things, only loss of the old.

She carefully felt around in the emotion and realized it was new! And it seemed to want to tell her something too!

She was so happy that she made a sound, it sounded like a...a....a squeal! Yes a squeal, that's right. She had squealed because she was not alone any more. She had hope and hope wanted to tell her something. She did all she could to listen to hope, feel hope, taste hope, see hope, smell hope, but it was so hard. She tried her hardest, she tried so hard that she started to feel pain. She did not like pain, she remembered that but this was important.

Finally there was a faint whisper that simply said.

“Look up.”

She had not realized that there was an up, but as she did something amazing happened. There was something there! Away, not here but something else, in the....the distance! There was something there that was something because it was not nothing! She felt strange as so many things started to return to her, so many words and thoughts that meant something. It sounded like a stream of chatter rushing out of her and into her at the same time.

Then she realized that there was no distance between her and....It. There was simply nothing. And if there was nothing between her and it then that meant...

She realized that she was standing on a dirt road under a warm shining sun, surrounded by huge trees with crowns brimming with emerald shining leaves. She stood there transfixed by the sight as more and more of her memory rushed back into her. She understood so many more things, so many things that were not of that horrible empty nothing that had been slowly taking away all that she was.

She stood there, feeling how she was becoming more and more her former self. She even felt how her being was shaping into a body to house her mind! However her joy was cut short as she jumped when she heard a very loud cough behind her.

There were two creatures standing there, although she did not recognize their form. She just knew that they did not have the same as the one she had been shaped into just a second ago. They were taller than her, both of them were at least twice as tall, but they were standing on their back legs. She thought about that for a moment and realized that she did not stand the same way, and even if she were to stand on her back legs she would still only reach up to their shoulders with her muzzle. YES, that was the name! She was remembering even more now!

When she looked more carefully, she noticed the creatures were different despite having the same type of form. One of them had....clothes...only on his lower half  and was showing off his teeth. It puzzled her at first, but then she remembered it was called a smile and showed when someone was happy! Did it mean that it was happy to see her?

The other creature was different. His mane was longer than the other's and he also had more fur on his face, but only at the bottom and it hung down and hid his jawline from view. He was also not smiling. His face looked weird, but she started to remember faces as well. Widened eyes...slackened jaw....and brows that tightened as he looked at her. He was surprised to see her.

The one that smiled began to make noises and she realized that he was talking to her, but it sounded strange. It sounded deeper and darker than what she remembered voices were supposed to sound like.

“Ah yes, she's finally arrived. I was beginning to wonder if I would have to come to get you myself. Of course, that might be difficult since you have been here all along.”

The other creature's face tensed up at this, and she knew that what he was doing was thinking hard on what the other had said. She honestly did not care what they were doing. It just felt so wonderful right now to simply be doing anything!

                                 ***********************************************

The dreamer was lost in thought at this unexpected turn of events. He had imagined quite a few scenarios of what the trickster god might have been planning, but this was definitely something he could never have anticipated.

“So, what do you think,” the god asked as he began chewing on a blood red apple.

“Where the hell did that come from!.....Right, thoughts not so private. Well I certainly did not expect your mystery guest to be this.”

The god chewed loudly as apple juice flew in all kinds of directions from his mouth.

“And what exactly is this unimaginable mystery guest then?”

The dreamer looked towards the subject of their conversation and analysed its appearance.

“Hmmm. Well, she is purple, vaguely equine in her form and has a horn in the middle of her forehead. Kinda small and her eyes are so large I can't help but wonder if her entire sensory system has been devoted to sight.”

“Is that all?” the god smirked.

“And she has a dark purplish mane with a little streak in it.”

“And?”

“And judging by her reactions to our conversation she is intelligent and understands our speech....well she has basic telepathy at least since we don't talk but think.”

“And.”

“Fine, she's also kinda cute.”

“There we go,” the god beamed with pride at the dreamer, who only rolled his eyes.

“Remember.” The god continued. “We are tricksters, charm is our way, deceit is our way, trickery is our way, playfulness is our way and also...” The god leaned in closely to the dreamer and whispered in the loudest way possible while wiggling his eyebrows.

“Seduction.”

The god giggled as he retreated and watched the dreamers shocked expression.

“You can not be serious. This creature is of an entirely different species. Besides, she is a mere spirit without a body, so unless you are asking me to merge my mind with hers you can forget about it.”

The God looked down with a knowing smile and shook his head. “Oh you have so much to learn. Three things.”

He held up his hand and displayed one finger. “One: You need to remember my mythology and who I slept with and spawned.”

He held out an additional finger. “Two: This adorable little bundle of huge pupils and attractive colouring happens to have a physical body.”

Finally he held out a third finger. “Three: Merging your mind with hers is exactly what I expect you to do.”

Satisfied with his little speech the god started munching down on the apple again, which had somehow become whole and uneaten once more.

The dreamer's mouth hung open and he stared at the god as if he were insane.

“YOU EXPECT ME TO MERGE MY MIND WITH A RANDOM TINY UNICORN YOU FOUND WANDERING THE VOID! ARE YOU INSANE?!”

The dreamers thought screamed like a storm wind until it broke down into gibbering insults and noises.

“Thats enough,” the god finally said in a calm voice, and immediately the steady stream of outraged thoughts receded from the dreamer.

The god turned to the little unicorn and smiled politely at her, then asked in the nicest tone the dreamer had heard from him so far.

“My dear, would you mind explaining your predicament to my childishly melodramatic friend here?”

The purple unicorn looked startled at first to have been directly asked a question from one of them, and she lowered her head before speaking.

“Well....I don't remember all of it. I was doing a...a spell that would allow me to travel outside of my body to different places. The book from which I took the spell was mostly theoretical with little instruction, but it did say that if one managed to succeed then anypony could simply lay down and sleep, and in one's dreams you could travel outside of your body to entirely different worlds and incredible places. I was so excited that I barely had time to create the spell before I tried it! But when I did I ended up...over there...in the...nothing. And I couldn't get out.”

The unicorn spoke quieter and quieter, and at the end she barely spoke above a whisper.

“Huh,” the dreamer spoke. “So this unicorn made her first attempt at out of body travel trough the dream veil without any kind of instructions on how to navigate the void. That's incredibly stupid, you're very lucky to still exist. Had I not appeared you would have scattered yourself all over the infinite void trying to fill it's vacuum and cease to be in the hopeless attempt.”

The unicorn looked at the dreamer with a terrified expression and tears began trickling down her muzzle. Strangely enough, when she noticed she almost seemed happy by it.

“I...I know, I could feel how I was losing things. Losing parts of myself...help me...please.”

It was the pleading that got to him, the dreamer was not made of stone and the sadness and fear that shone out of the little unicorn was so palpable that he almost instinctively embraced her.

Instead he simply said, “I don't know how I can.”

He instantly regretted thinking it, as the unicorns lips began to tremble and he could clearly see how her entire body quickly followed.

The dreamer turned to the god in desperation, and Loki in turn merely looked at his nails before arrogantly brushing them against his muscular chest.

“Ohh I'm sorry, did you want something?” he said with a display of utter lack of concern for the situation.

“Yes, I want you to tell me exactly what I am supposed to do.”

“And why are you asking me now again?” he said still admiring his nails.

“BECAUSE YOU PLANNED ALL OF THIS! Because you already have all of this figured out and are just waiting for the time to tell me when it will be the most amusing for you!” the dreamer screamed his thoughts and angrily waited for the god to admit to his accusations.

The god merely tilted his head and let his arm drop down to his side.

“Very good little mage, you are learning how the game is played on our side of the board. So I will tell you now. Thanks to her prolonged stay in the void the damsel in distress here has almost no link left back to the body in her home world. So this is what you will do; You will allow her to have a little seat in the back of your mind and she will follow you back into your body. Then, you will create a ritual designed to reinvigorate that almost shredded bond and then catapult her mind along this line back to her body. Since the bond is connected to her mind it will also be connected to yours while the ritual is performed, this will allow you to guide her trajectory as it is and she will simply be flung back home.”

The dreamer was expressionless before a thought came from his mind. “And what exactly are the rules we are skirting with this?”

The god laughed loudly at this and shifted his gaze between the unicorn and dreamer as he spoke.

“You are learning indeed! Very well, it is simple. While the different means of outer worldly travel are entirely within the universe's rules, you will be doing something a bit differently. You will establish a bridge across the void. Since you will not be accompanying the lovely miss here back home, you need a line she will travel along that is bound but still separate from you. Outright forming of gateways between worlds are frowned upon unless specifically allowed from the grand powers themselves or in works that are within their design. But this is a personal business so you will technically be trespassing upon restricted territory. Dangerous indeed, but since the gate is connected to your mind instead of a physical manifestation it will be skirting the rules not breaking them.”

The god smiled and seemed pleased with his own cleverness, he would once again be toying with restrictions laid down by the most ultimate of authority in all existence and providing a practical lesson for a future trickster as well.

The dreamer looked at the god with a thoughtful expression, but no thoughts could be heard. He then turned and looked at the unicorn and instantly the decision was made.

Her eyes were so big you could drown in their depth, and within those huge dark purple framed orbs he could see so much fear, sadness and despair. But there was also something more within her eyes, something that defied all those other feelings that threatened to drown her. Hope.

Underneath that gaze there could be no question of what he would do.

“It will be done,” was the only thought echoing out from him, and with it came a sense of iron hard conviction. He had accepted the task and he would complete it no matter what obstacles he might face.

The God began dancing around in glee and the unicorn looked upon the dreamer with so much thankfulness in her eyes he started feeling uncomfortable.

He turned to the god instead and asked, “How shall we do this? I have never allowed another being entry into my mind in this manner.”

Loki stopped his ecstatic dance and his thoughts roared out loud, and in response to them the trees, sun, even the ground beneath them began shaking, and cracks appeared everywhere. The nothingness of the void was devouring the pitiful lie that was their safety net in the darkness. The unicorn wailed in despair as she saw the void coming closer to her once more in all its terrible hunger.

But beneath the roar of the ancient trickster gods thoughts, the both of them could suddenly make out the words.

“EMBRACE EACH OTHER!”

And as the world around them was ripped into tiny specks of creation before dying out entirely, the dreamer and unicorn flung themselves at each other and felt their arms and minds lock around the other as they fell down into the darkness. The only thing they felt was the warmth of each others being, and the last thing they heard was the shrieking laughter of a dark god before they both merged into one.

    **************************************

“Argh my head,” the figure in dark robes exclaimed as he slowly sat up from the mattress he had but moments ago slumbered upon in total relaxation. As he slowly got his bearings and rose up, he experienced a brief flash and all the events that had taken place within the void came back to him.

“Wait, does this mean...?” He quickly searched trough his mind until he finally felt it, an alien presence so utterly different that it could never be mistaken for a part of himself.

“Is someone in there?” he thought and mentally made a few knock knock sounds for some inexplicable reason.

A voice answered from the center of the alien presence, it sounded like warm oily water slowly cascading down his body, a warming feeling refreshing him while softly caressing him.

“What the fuck!?”

“Sorry I didn't mean to do that. I was just speaking like I normally do, well think like I normally do in any case." The mind of the little unicorn certainly hadn't expected that reaction and neither had he to be honest.

“Sigh, well if you are going to inspire those kind of thoughts, then I should at least have some kind of name for you to go by. It will make it easier for me to separate you from the rest of myself  as well.”

The unicorn sounded surprised by his reaction, he could feel how she clearly had expected a lot more blushing and stammering after that little incident. She certainly knew very little about him.

“Well first of all I'm a pony. That's what my kind is called. A unicorn is just the word for the specific kind of pony I am. And secondly, my name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Chapter 4: Smile at the world and it will smile back

“Oh, uhm, fine ... just a teensy bit uncomfortable.”

“Huh? Oh right.” The mage got up and looked down at the pegasus. She seemed to be less unstable now, but her face still showed signs of fear, not that he could blame her. If you wanted to get nasty about it he had just mentally raped her after all.

He was going to pony hell.

“You're sure your okay?” She was about the same size that Twilight had been, but she managed to look so much more ... fragile.

“Well, uhm ... could I please check on Angel bunny, that is ... if you're okay with it.” She looked up at him while saying it, but he noticed her eyes kept flashing to the little bundle of fur lying still behind him.

“Of course.” He stepped aside and allowed her to get up and go over to her unconscious pet. She fell down on her haunches and began cooing at him in a sickly sweet tone and gently nudged him with her muzzle.

The bunny responded with a yawn and slapped her muzzle away like he didn't want to be woken up.

“Heh, the thing got spunk at least.”

While Fluttershy kept on trying to wake the stubborn creature, the mage took a look around.

Dawn had come and the sun was beginning to rise in the sky. It happens sometimes when you go into other minds. An hour turns out to only be a minute, sometimes a minute is really an hour and so on. The wonders of time relativity.

“Fluttershy, where exactly are we?” He doubted it was the infamous Everfree forest that Twilight had spoken of. If this was as bad as it got around here he didn't think he'd be able to take the cutest bits without imploding.

“Oh, we're in, uhm, Equestria.”

“Yeah I got that. I meant that unless you've moved away since Twilight last spoke to you you're still living outside Ponyville, right?”

“Well, yes but- ”

“Good. Would you mind taking me there? I think all of this will be much simpler if I can have Twilight vouching for me.”

“Twilight! We've been so very worried. Please, do you know what's happened to her? It looks like she's sleeping but she's been like that for three whole weeks, and nopony needs that much sleep.”

“Yes I know what happened to her. She should have woken up yesterday. Have you been out here for several days?”

“No, I only went out looking for Angel bunny last night. When he didn't want to go to bed, he ran away and I had to find him, even if it meant going into the woods when it was d-dark and scary, but if Twilight had been awake surely somepony would have told me...”

“I would have thought so as well ... maybe something went wrong. Well, something more went wrong than what's already happened.”

“What do you mean?” She looked concerned but at least she was warming up to him. She had the bunny sleeping soundly between her folded wings and his lack of injury must have reassured her that the mage wasn't dangerous, to some degree at least. He doubted she'd be having this conversation with him otherwise.

“It's a complicated story and I think it's best if Twilight herself is the one to tell it, and if something is still wrong with her maybe I can help ... again.”

“Oh okay. If you think you can help Twilight.” She brushed her hoof against the dirt and looked nervous. Maybe she was still worried he had some nefarious scheme planned despite the fact that she was pretty much helpless against him already. He wasn't even going to try and understand pony logic.

“I haven't eaten you yet right?”

“EEP!”

He smacked his forehead. “I mean I WON'T eat you at all. I'm trying to say that I have no intentions of harming you or your friends, but I might have to stay around these parts for a long time and I would rather I have some friends available during that time.”

“You mean ... you don't have any friends?”

“No.”

“Oh you poor thing ... if you want, I can be your friend, since you don't want to eat me. If you want.”

“Damn it all, why must they act so cute. There is no way I am going to be able to justify acting like I usually do if they're all like this. I will try and act nicer for a while and see how that turns out.”

“Crap I'm going to become like them.”

“Well it's not like I have a lot of opti...No! I mean, yes I would be happy to have you as a friend Fluttershy, hehe.”

“I hate this.”

“How wonderful, and of course I can take a friend to see Twilight if you think you can help wake her up. We have all been so very worried about her.”

“Great. Lead the way.”

The pegasus only gave a tiny little nod and set of at a slow pace, and the mage looked around himself once more before heading off after her. They walked silently most of the time. The air was filled with the sound of birds singing, and dew still clung to some of the vegetation around them. Fluttershy looked up at him from time to time, like she was gathering courage to ask something.

“If you want to try and make friends then perhaps you should try and act friendly, genius.”

“Is there something you want to ask me Fluttershy? You look to have something on your mind.”

She stopped and looked up at him before quickly averting her gaze downwards. She used her long hair as a curtain between them before daring to speak.

“Well it's just that, I don't know your name."

“My name ... long time since I last said it.”

Three years had passed since his name was used by his old master before leaving, and he had never used it after. There was no need for it, no one ever asked. He had even started to think of himself only as the mage.

He had buried his name a long time ago.

Maybe it was time for a new name, he was in an entirely new place with a new body. Maybe he should have a new name to go with all of it. A cool new name.

“My name is ... Gandalf.”

“What a strange name.”

“Fine, how about Dumbledore.”

“But I thought you sai-”

“How does Yoda sound?”

“Why do you have so many names?”

He sighed and put his hands over his face and sat down, he needed to think this trough.

“So a name, a name, a name. Question: why am I here? Answer: because Loke is an asshole. Hmmm. No name there, but I'm also here because I actually choose to help Twilight so maybe something to do with that. I helped her get across the void so maybe...”

He removed his hands from his face and smiled. He knew what his new name would be. He rose up from the ground and looked at the patiently waiting pegasus. She wouldn't understand what it meant but still.

It was fitting.

“You can call me Karon, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, okay...Karon.” She smiled at him and he couldn't help but feel a warm glow in his chest at the sight of her.

“Get over yourself, it's only the pupils, your brain is confused and think she's showing signs of attraction. You probably look like a monster of some kind to her.”

“Twilight didn't seem to think anything like that."

"Yeah well you kinda saved her life. It's not like she'd risk it by telling you how creepy humans look."

"Your just being pessimistic now.”

As the pony and human resumed their walk Karon's internal dialogue continued going over how he must appear to ponies and if there was anything he could do to try and make as good an impression as possible. In the end, once more his internal dialogue proved to be of little use except for passing time, and he realized the only sure way to know would be to ask. Hopefully, Fluttershy would be brave enough to give a straight answer even if it would be a bit insulting.

Karon rubbed his hand and tried to appear as non-threatening as he could before gently asking.

“Fluttershy...would it be all right with you if I asked you a question, but you have to promise to answer it truthfully.” He tried his best to imitate those huge puppy eyes of hers. Maybe it would work.

“Well, yes I guess I can. But you have to promise not to get mad at me if I say something wrong.”

“I doubt you have the ability to make me mad at all, but yes I promise.” He put his hand over his heart as he said it.

“Pinkie promise?”

“What now?”

“Do you Pinkie Pie promise not to get mad? You can never break a Pinkie promise.”

“Uhh, how exactly are we supposed to do that when ponies don't even have pinkies?”

Fluttershy just looked at him strangely like she didn't understand what he meant.

“How exactly do you make a Pinkie Pie promise?”

“Oh, you do like this and at the same time you say, 'Cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.'” She made some weird crossing over her heart, flapped her arms like wings and put her right hoof over her eye.

Pony logic.

“Eh, sure.” He repeated the procedure and that seemed to please her. He only hoped that fly wasn't some kind of god creature whose jurisdiction he had just put himself under. You never knew.

“So I was wondering ... how exactly do I appear to you? I mean, what kind of impression does my physical appearance make on ponies. Do I look dangerous? Strange? Funny? Would I make people scream and cry if I came to a party, or could I pass for just some unknown but harmless creature?”

“Well ... I don't know really. You're really big..."

“No innuendo!”

“..and you walk very strange, and look a little bit scary but I don't think it's that bad. And many things scare me so, I don't know. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be, it's enough knowing I don't look like some kind of horrible monstrosity to you.”

“Oh no, not at all. Just a little bit strange is all.”

“You're very kind Fluttershy.” She smiled that large wonderful smile again and his chest was once more filled with a pleasant glow. He could get used to that.

Of course, she was the element of kindness. He should expect a more complicated reaction from any other pony he'd cross paths with.

They continued their walk at a leisurely pace, and as the sun climbed higher into the sky the trees began thinning out and making room for open fields of grass that stretched far into the distance. He wasn't surprised that a race of highly evolved ponies would settle in a place like this. They might not graze the way their ancestors might have done, but they still felt a connection in some way obviously.

Most of the view consisted of rolling hills and the occasional tree, but if one looked closely enough a large settlement could be seen maybe an hour's walk ahead of them.

“Is that Ponyville, Fluttershy?” He put his hand over his eyes providing some shade from the sun and tried to make out any details. There were some tall structures but otherwise the entire town looked to be of nothing else but two story houses.

“Yes that's right. Oh I hope the girls aren't mad at me.”

Karon dropped his hand and looked over at Fluttershy with the still sleeping bunny cradled between her wings. She looked concerned. Well, more concerned than was usual.

“Why would they be mad at you? If you're referring to me please don't worry. I will be on my very best behaviour now that I can actually talk with ponies.”

“I'll try anyway.”

“Oh no I'm not worried about that. Well actually I am ... a little bit. But I was supposed to meet with the girls at Twilight's so we could watch over her like we do every day. I hope they're not upset.”

“You all look over Twilight constantly?”

“No, well, we try but there is so much else to do, so Spike and nurse Redheart try and help when we're not there.”

“I understand. So when exactly is it you usually go over to Twilight and meet with the others?”

“Well I usually go after I'm done waking up and feeding all the animals. Oh no, I haven't feed them yet! The poor things.” She looked distraught at the thought that the animals would miss just one breakfast.

Once more, pony logic.

“I can't let them go hungry, that would be just awful. I have to go home and make sure they're alright. Oh please wait here. I promise I will be back soon.” She hastily scooped up the sleeping bunny in her hooves and flew off in Ponyville's direction. Karon stood staring up after the flying pegasus becoming smaller and smaller before finally disappearing into the blue sky above.

“Uhh, seriously. You expect me to stay here until you get back?”

No answer came back from the sky as expected, but it felt reasonable to ask anyway.

“Hmmm, well if you do that I guess it would be okay for me to try and get to Ponyville right? Because leaving me like that was kinda rude and I am getting hungry as well, you know, since I've only had a few berries in the last 24 hours. I could have had delicious rabbit in my tummy right now being slowly digested but no, you felt it served better as an annoying pet.”

No answer came from the sky, not even a breeze.

“Well alrighty then, I guess it's off to Ponyville since I hear no objections.”

It was silly and definitely stupid of him, but Karon had enough of being left at the mercy of other people's, pony's and god's whims. Time for some proactive decision making. Besides, he was supposed to be some kind of trickster in training. It would be quite irresponsible of him to fail in that by sitting around and doing what he was told.

“Yeah, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. Making stupid, rash decisions and somehow end up with perfect results and no negative consequences.”

At least he hoped it worked like that.

With the power of positive thinking behind him he set off towards the pony settlement in the distance and tried his best to keep thinking happy thoughts.

“This will go splendidly. This will go splendidly. This will go splendidly.”

         *********************************************

About two kilometers in front of the optimistic human stood a large tree that had been hollowed out in order to house Ponyville's library. The resident and caretaker of this library was lying in her bed within a room on the second floor. Surrounding her stood four ponies with mixed looks on their faces.

A blond Earth pony with a slightly orange toned coat and a cutie mark in the shape of three apples stood at the furthest from the bed and was looking out a window, her expression one of light concern and thoughtfulness.

“Ah'm telling ya girls, something is not right. Fluttershy wouldn't just forget ta meet with us. There's gotta be a reason for her not being here. What if something happened ta her?”

A unicorn with a shiny white coat and purplish mane looked over at her concerned friend looking out the window, the unicorn did obviously not share her concern as her face had only a look of annoyance.

“Applejack darling you're being ridiculous, Fluttershy probably only needed to take care of some wounded animal and forgot the time. I am sure that there is absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“If you say so Rare, but ah can't shake the feeling something’s not right.”

“We'll of course you do. Duh! I mean Twilights been sleeping for like FOREVER. Of course you think there's something wrong going on because there is,” a pink Earth pony with an even deeper pink mane said before bouncing over and putting her arm around the worrying Applejack.

“Don't worry Applejack, I'm sure that Twilight's going to wake up aaaaany second now, and when she do we will throw a wake up party just for her!”

The pink pony's optimism must have been infectious because Applejack stepped away from the window and joined the others around the bed looking down at the sleeping purple unicorn.

“Ah guess you're right Pinkie, Ah'm just so worried about Twilight is all.” She hesitated before asking, “Ya'll think she's in pain of some kind?”

The other ponies seemed to be taken aback at the question and looked down on Twilight with fearful eyes, noting the look of serenity on her face and totally relaxed body.

“Nah, I don't think she is, I mean look at her. She looks like she's just sleeping peacefully like any other pony.” The statement came from a cyan coloured pegasus with a mane and tail in all the colours rainbow. On her flank one could see a lightning strike in blue, yellow and red erupt from a white cloud.

“I for one agree with Rainbow Dash, she looks to be sleeping soundly. If she were to be having nightmares of any kind I would think it would show,” Rarity said.

“Ah hope you're right. I would hate to think she was in pain and not being able to help her out.”

Before anyone could answer they all heard the door open to the library from downstairs and looked at each other before looking at the door, expecting Fluttershy to come trough at any moment. Instead it remained untouched, and as the friends shared wondering looks with each other they heard Spike give off a loud shout from downstairs.

All of them looked shocked for a moment before they simultaneously rushed to the door to investigate what was going on downstairs.

*********************************

Karon had reached the outskirts of the town and was hiding in the shadows of a tree, not that it afforded him any noticeable kind of cover. It just felt like the right thing to do.

He had stood there now and watched ponies walk around for a little while. Occasionally he had been forced to duck behind the tree entirely to avoid being spotted, though the ponies seemed friendly and he could see no form of town guard or militia of any kind that might act aggressively against an unknown creature that spontaneously decided to walk into town one day.

Of course there did not exist a guard or militia in the universe that could measure against an angry mob of villagers with torches and pitchforks ... which was a sobering thought.

So far he had only seen harmless looking ponies, but appearance didn't matter for much. Every single unicorn would have some kind of magic, and even if he could defeat any single one with ease that did not mean he wouldn't be smeared against the wall by the combined force of an entire improvised army.

The pegasi could become a problem as well. They could fly, he could not. If they surrounded him he wouldn't stand a chance.

Even the Earth ponies would be dangerous to fight. They were the weakest, but they were still quadrupeds. And despite his martial arts training, shallow thought it might have been, he would never be able to measure against their balance. And their kicks would hit pretty damn hard.

“Summary: Don't piss of the townsfolk, they'll kick your ass.”

He would have to make sure to appear like the most harmless creature imaginable. Quick and destructive magic was not his forte. Karon was a sensitive genius of complicated rituals and mental magic. He could pick up on things few other could, illusions, suggestion and complicated weaves of subtle magic he could manage with perfection, but strong hard hitting stuff was just outside his comfort zone.

Causing earthquakes, lightning and other such epic combat oriented magic was something he never really got the hang of and...

He hated fire.

He thought about that for a moment and went trough the different kind of spells and abilities he knew he could perform with certainty. This was too sensitive a situation to allow any kind of mistake to occur. He hunched down behind the tree and started stroking his beard thoughtfully before looking down in surprise. It felt a lot smoother and shorter than he was used to back home. He started feeling around his face with his hands and wondered what else was new.

No nothing new there as far as he could tell, but his face turned into a shocked expression as he felt his hair. His old hair had been shoulder length and straight, this hair was a lot wavier but shorter. He stretched it out and almost yelped when it was barely half as long as it had been before coming here.

Just as well, his old appearance had not been a decision of taste but rather something that grew from lack of care and grooming.

He rubbed his temples and pushed it out of his mind before he went back to analyzing possible magical techniques he could employ.

“No,” he finally decided.

He might channel some form of energy that led others to feel that he was completely harmless and even sympathetic but sooner or later he would have to drop it. And when he did they would notice the difference and know he had been messing with their perception. They might not react well to that realization.

“So nice to know nine years of study under the old geezer was worthwhile.”

But he was losing daylight. He doubted Fluttershy would be gone for too long, and when she returned and found him missing she would certainly panic and run to her friends. If she did, they would get suspicious about his intentions and there would be a lot of mistrust to overcome before they would let him anywhere near Twilight.

“Better be quick then because it will be too late soon.”

Fine, decision made. He would walk into the town and head to the library as fast as he could without looking threatening. He just hoped that he could find his way without having to ask for directions.

He couldn't help but smile. “Now that would be interesting to try.”

He shook his head, he needed to be focused for this.

“No sudden movements. Try and walk as relaxed as possible. And smile at EVERYTHING, nothing dangerous walks around smiling at everything. Well, unless it's a super sadistic monster thinking of all the horrible things it's planning to do...”

“Fuck it, if you wave at the ponies as well as smile everything should be fine. Nothing evil would ever get the idea of waving *and** smiling at the same time, it's just too ridiculous.”*

Feeling a little more confident that he could hide behind a mask of silly behaviour Karon rose up from his position and peeked out from behind the tree.

Not a pony in sight, there was a dirt road leading into the town not far from him and he decided that would be the best way to make an entry. He straightened his back and put on a stupid grin before he began advancing with painfully slow motions and a frantically beating heart.

“Not that slow! They'll think something is wrong with me.”

“Yes because if a candy coloured weirdly shaped pony would have waltzed into town back home at a medium pace while smiling and waving at everyone no one would have given it a second glance.”

“It's not the same thing!”

“Sure it's not.”

“You're not helping!”

“I'm you stupid. You're talking to yourself.”

Yes, Karon definitely needed to make some friends.

His heart began beating with a painful amount of force and he started to feel a little dizzy, as he didn't dare let go of his smile to breath deeper. Air wheezing in and out between his teeth he increased the speed of his walk a little and headed into town.

“Oh god, there's one!”

The pony in question was turquoise and had a mane and horn in the same colour, looking closer he could see she also had a little white in her mane and her cutie marked look like a harp or lyre of some kind.

She hadn't noticed him yet and he forced to continue without stopping, the unicorn looked like she was deep in thought and had her eyes glancing downwards on the ground.

Maybe if he just kept walking she wouldn't notice him?

Apparently not, because she looked up with a frown and saw Karon slowly walking towards her down the street with a stupid smile on his face and a nervous twitch beneath his eyes.

Her mouth promptly feel open and her eyes widened to the size of a pair of bowling balls.

“WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO!?” He felt sweat trickling down his back and he cast a nervous glance around himself without losing the smile.

“Wave you idiot! Wave!”

Karon twisted his body a little so he faced the unicorn directly before raising his right hand and waving in a nervous twitch while broadening his smile as much as possible.

The Unicorns eyes went up into her head and she fainted.

“FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK! What do I do? Should I wake her up?”

“No! Someone else might walk by and think you did something.”

“But if I leave her here, somebody else might find her, and when she tells them about me they might take me leaving her as some kind of admission of guilt!”

“Don't stop walking dammit! Or smiling! And keep waving to anyone you come across!”

“Oh shit there's another one! Somebody please save me!”

Another pony had come walking into the street from behind a house and was humming to herself. The newcomer had a light caramel coloured coat with a blue and pink mane and some small things he couldn't make out as a cutie mark.

She opened her mouth as if to call out something before she noticed him and reacted with the same shocked look like the one before. Which was fortunate because as she couldn't stop staring at him, she didn't even notice the unicorn lying unconscious in the middle of the road.

He kept walking slowly and changed his direction so if she kept looking at him, she'd turn away from the way the unicorn was and fail to spot her. He kept smiling at her and as he was about to pass her by he gently stopped and gave her a quick wave before daring to ask.

“Uh, hello there, uh madame. Would you mind telling me which way the Ponyville library is?”

He really hoped his voice wouldn't intimidate her. It was far deeper and less sickly sweet than the way Fluttershy had spoken.

The Earth pony didn't answer, she just slowly raised one hoof and pointed it towards the centre of the town. Shifting his gaze Karon could make out what appeared to be the top crown of a very large tree above the rooftops of the nearby buildings.

Twilight had mentioned that the library was a hollowed out giant tree, hopefully that was it.

He tried to make his smile bigger.

“Gah that hurts.”

And nodded in thanks towards the still dumbfounded pony as he continued walking in the direction she'd given, hoping desperately that she would keep staring after him long after he'd be out of sight.

As he kept on going deeper into town more and more ponies noticed him and all of them had the same shocked expression the first two had. Didn't matter if they were sitting on a patio outside a café – he briefly wondered if ponies made coffee – or bartering at some fruit stall. All of them with no exceptions stopped doing whatever they did and stared after him as he passed them by

Waving and smiling at Every. Single. One. Of. Them.

Karon was unsure if it was his bizarre look and behaviour that kept them from doing anything but stare at him, or if they were possibly afraid to approach him lest his weird waving-and-smiling-stupidly ways would infect them.

Didn't matter the least to him.

“I can't believe this is working! From now on I will never underestimate the tactical value of acting like I'm on crack!”

His heart felt like it was about to explode when it made a huge leap, and he breathed a sigh of relief through his nose as a large tree with windows placed around it's trunk came into view. It had to be the library. No other house in town was supposed to be carved out of a tree as far as he knew.

Keeping up his appearance of smiling idiocy he increased his pace and walked briskly towards the library. The door that was quickly coming closer was kind of small, and Karon had a brief flashback to Gandalf standing in Bilbo's home, and made a mental note to look out for low beams and doorways.

He slouched his back a little as his hand stretched out against the door before briefly pausing.

The door was shaped like an oval with the painted image of a burning candle at the upper half and below it was two very low set pair of huge keyholes. He couldn't see any doorknob so he simply pushed at the door and it swung open with an audible creak that could probably be heard in the entire library.

Bending his back a bit to avoid hitting his head he slowly walked in and had a look around.

He certainly wouldn't need to watch out for low beams, the doorways were still a distinct danger though. The interior of the library stretched high up into the top of the tree and book cases lined up to cover every inch of free wall. Ladders rested against them here and there – not that he needed them. He would be able to reach the top shelves with ease.

There was a stair leading up to a second floor where he saw another door. Also on the bottom floor he could see two additional doors in similar design to the outer one. He became busy admiring the large collection of books and felt a little twinge of homesickness. His poor books back home no longer had anyone to care for them.

But his admiration of the library was cut short as one of the doors flew open and what looked like a pile of books with small stubby purple legs came out of what looked like a kitchen. The pile of books were grumbling something and made an abrupt turn to the left, leaving a clear view of a small chubby bipedal lizard.

“No, not a lizard. Spike the baby dragon.”

The dragon was busy mumbling to himself and hadn't noticed the human standing behind him watching as the little guy started putting books back in their right place.

Karon couldn't help but feel a little sad. By Twilights description of adult dragons Spike would one day grow up to become a true badass, but for the moment he just looked like a scaly colourful gnome with a mohawk.

Spike had climbed up a ladder and was about to shelve one of the books when Karon snorted at the thought of Spike with a gnome's beard. The baby dragon twisted around to see what had made the noise and froze with half his body stretched out over the floor, book still in hand; Well, claw.

“WAVE DAMN YOU!”

Karon awkwardly waved his right hand and smiled.

“Say hi!”

“Uh, hello there.”

The dragon didn't respond, instead it just looked even more surprised to find that Karon possessed the ability to speak.

The dragon must have found this bit of information incredibly difficult to process because he failed to notice how gravity began asserting itself and the ladder slowly began toppling over. He snapped out of his stupor as he noticed this and just as the ladder tipped over completely the dragon gave off a loud shout and fell to the floor together with the ladder and a few books landing on top of him with a crash. Karon took a few steps towards the dragon who was moaning when the door on the upper floor burst open and out came one, two, three, four different ponies that stopped and stared when they saw the scene on the floor below.

The dragon Spike buried beneath a pile of books and a ladder with just his tail and a claw visible and Karon standing just a few steps away with his hands outstretched as he was about to help him.

Or, he just realized, as if he had just thrown Spike into the bookcase.

He must have not been the only one to have come to the second conclusion because three of the ponies gasped as they looked at him.

But the fourth of the gang, a cyan coloured pegasus with a rainbow patterned mane and tail, took one look at the scene before she zipped down and placed herself between Karon and the dragon still recovering from the fall.

“Okay I don't know what you are but you have five second to explain yourself before you're in trouble. What did you do too Spike? Are you the one behind Twilights sleep. Did you come back here to spy on us. Huh did you? Are you some kind of evil spy!?”

Once more Karon couldn't help himself, okay he's weak, these damn ponies were just to easy too target for smart assery.

“Yeah I'm totally a spy. I came here to find out how the hell you manage to dye your mane and tail in a rainbow colour. So tell me, is it some kind of super secret recipe or do you just shove your head and butt in a box of crayons every morning and shake around?”

He could hear how two of the ponies upstairs gave off another loud gasp, though the pink one just giggled at what he'd said.

“I like that one,” was the only thing he had time to think before the pegasus in front of him puffed up her chest and more or less screamed in an offended voice.

“Oh that is it!”

She shot right at him with the speed of a cannonball and he barely barely had time to react before she flew into him. Thankfully the reflexes from his training kicked in and he had begun to duck before he even knew she was heading for him. So instead of catching him straight in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him, she pummelled into his chest and they both went down as he involuntarily grabbed her for support.

“Shit, she weighs next to nothing!”

For someone her size she should have least have broken a few of his ribs at that speed, instead he would probably just walk away with a huge bruise. But he didn't have time to consider that as the pony kept struggling as he kept her wings locked to her body with his two arms.

She was still on top of him and her balance was evenly placed as she stood on all fours while trying to shake him off. He was far too heavy compared to her for that tactic to work though, and as she lifted her left back leg to kick him, he dropped his hold of her wings and swept her left front leg to the side so she tipped over to her right.

She yelped in surprised as he grabbed her left front leg and raised it up as he positioned himself above her with his right knee pinning her down below the armpit. Ponies must have a similar nerve cluster as humans in that location because her face contorted in pain for a brief second before he pulled her hoof back to gain leverage against her.

But the damn thing folded backwards and he fell off her.

He turned his momentum into a backwards roll and came up in basic stance and looked at her legs. He didn't need to look carefully to see that her legs had two large set of joints close to each other allowing her to bend her legs both forwards and backwards. He really should have noticed that, he must be getting rusty after all that sitting and reading.

Thankfully the pegasus didn't press her advantage she just flew up above him and looked down with a mixed look of anger and, was it fear?

She looked about ready for another launch at him so before she did he held up one hand to stop her and said.

“I'm sorry I insulted you. I tend to say stupid things like that when I'm in a situation with a lot of tension. If you calm down I promise to answer all of your questions.”

She hesitated at this but still looked on the verge of assaulting him again. He took it that this must be the 'Rainbow Dash' Twilight had spoken of. If she was, she probably had taken his refusal to get his ass kicked by her as a personal challenge of some kind and he didn't have time for things like that at the moment.

He quickly stretched out his senses before she could decide what to do and made a scan of her. He was very surprised when he felt the magical emanations coming from her. He thought only unicorns used magic. But it became obvious that she wasn't really. No, it was the world itself that was responsible for it. He felt how the hidden streams of energy that surrounded them reacted to the pegasus' movement and he realized that their flying abilities wasn't a result of flapping their wings, not by itself at least.

No, it was more like she was a part of the air around her, like it had given her permission to fly without having to fight the physical forces other creatures would have to.

The world simply wanted her to be able to fly.

But she was unaware of this fact, he knew that. Twilight had mentioned nothing of it, and if she knew, he was sure she would have mentioned it at some point. And if Twilight didn't know, then the pegasi of this world definitely did not. He plunged deeper into the stream supporting her. It reacted to her will, so the speed and skill associated with a pegasus' flying was as much mental conviction and will as it was experience based skill.

With a smile and wave of his hand Karon temporarily cut the connection between the pegasus' mind and the surrounding energy streams. The pegasus wings stopped flapping and she promptly fell down with a crash to the floor. She looked back at her wings in surprise for a moment before turning back to Karon with eyes overflowing with shock and fear. He felt a little bad at first. Rainbow Dash, from Twilights stories, loved nothing more than flying.

“Don't be afraid, it's only temporarily. Your ability to fly should re-establish itself in a few minutes time. I only wanted you to know that I am not some weakling to be pushed around at whim Rainbow Dash.”

The relief from his words was obvious as she relaxed, but still appeared ready to continue the fight. Instead, she looked up at the other ponies uncertainly and down to the dragon that was climbing out of the pile of books.

“Spike would you please inform Rainbow Dash here that I did not attack you in any manner.”

The baby dragon looked at him with a skeptical face before shaking his head and rubbing his neck.

“Uh, yeah sorry about that. I was just kinda surprised that a ... whatever you are was inside the library. I've never seen anything like you before.” He turned and looked up at the ponies standing on the second floor listening to what he said.

“I kinda forgot that I was standing on the ladder and fell down. It's not his fault. Well kinda.” The dragon turned back to Karon and pointed to him with an odd look.

“You have a really creepy smile dude.”

“I have a creepy smile? A creepy smiled I have used on maybe half the population of Ponyville today? I'll worry about that later.”

“I'll try to remember that for future reference. Anyway, I am ready to answer any questions you might have now.”

The three ponies trotted down the stairs and lined up before him while Rainbow Dash looked to be trying to get her wings started again. Spike on the other hand, or claw, seemed to be unsure of where to go to so he simply remained where he was.

The first one to speak up was a white coloured unicorn with a purple mane that shone in the sunlight streaming in from the windows around them. Her white coat looked to gleam a little as well and she was the only one present that looked to be wearing make-up.

“Must be Rarity.” he thought before she began talking.

“Well as you can probably understand this was very unexpected. I don't mean to be rude but I would like to know first of all how it is that you know our names?”

Karon straightened his back a little and put on a look of aloof delight.

“Time to adapt and make some friends.”

He smiled with his mouth closed and hoped it wouldn't be as creepy as the one he'd used before.

“You my dear can be none other than lady Rarity. It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He fell down on one knee and put his left arm behind his back and used his right hand to lift her hoof to his lips and give her a tender kiss while never breaking eye contact.

He remained on his knee and looked into her widening eyes as he continued.

“My name is Karon and I humbly offer my assistance should you ever have need of it.”

She looked a little taken aback but made no move too remove her hoof from his gentle grip.

“You know who I am?”

“Oh yes,” he continued and tried to smile without actually smiling. It was hard.

“But seeing you with my own eyes convinces me that none of the descriptions I have heard ever did your beauty true justice.”

He was laying it on pretty thick but judging by her now sparkling eyes and wide smile it was definitely working.

“Oh what a gentlecolt, but you're just flattering me.” She actually put her hoof over her mouth and fluttered her eyelashes at him as she said it.

“Oh hell why not. It's obvious she wants more of it.”

“It is no such thing, the truth of my words are apparent for all to see.”

She gave him a wider smile and looked very pleased as she took a step back and he got up from his kneeling position.

“One down, three to go.”

He looked at the other ponies around the room, they looked a bit surprised at his shift in behaviour. Except for the baby dragon that stood behind them glaring daggers at Karon.

“Right, interspecies crush on the unicorn, should not forget that again.”

The orange earth pony with a cowboy hat on was the next one to speak.

“Ya have a way with words ah give you that. That won't work on me though, I want to know what you are and what you're doing here?”

And shifted his gaze so he was looking into the vibrant green eyes of the pony before responding.

“What I am is somewhat complicated and a thorough explanation would take more time than what is practical at the moment, but I will explain everything in better detail later. For now the short version will have to do.”

He cleared his throat before continuing and gave everyone a quick glance.

“The name of my particular species is human, and no it isn't the least bit strange that none of you have heard about us. I'm from a very distant place.”

“Actually ah've heard about humans before, but only in o'l campfire stories meant to scare little fillies.”

“Huh Twilight never mentioned that.”

“I was not aware of that. Well please disregard anything you have heard about humans from campfire stories. I doubt there is an accurate description of our species in them.”

“Or maybe it is perfectly accurate.”

“Anyway, as to the reason why I am here ... Well it is even more complicated. And I think it is best that you hear it from Twilight instead of me, so you can be sure it is the truth.”

“Twilight!” they all exclaimed in unison and looked surprised.

“What do ya know about Twilight hmmm?” Applejack said with a suspicious look at him.

“It's going to be tough winning her over.”

“As I said, complicated, but for the moment let's just say that I was helping Twilight out but it didn't go as planned which is why I am here now.” He looked at them all before continuing.

“I take it from your faces that she haven't woken up yet. I was afraid of that. If you allow me, I would like to examine her and see what exactly went wrong and if I can fix it.”

They looked at each other with varying degrees of skepticism, none of them moved out of the way.

“You can watch over me the entire time and make sure I don't do anything wrong to her.”

They still looked unconvinced but eventually Rarity went over to his side and addressed the rest of the ponies.

“I say we should give him a chance. So far nothing we have tried has worked at all, even princess Celestia couldn't wake her up, and if there is even the slightest chance that this will work I think we all owe it to Twilight to let him try.”

“Flattery always pays off in the end.”

Now that he had Rarity's backing, it looked to be decided and they gently moved aside and gave him a clear path to the stairs.

He looked down on Rarity and gave her a little nod and winked at her. She put a hoof over her mouth and giggled before giving him a wink back. Yay, he'd made another friend today.

He walked up the stairs while the three ponies and baby dragon followed behind. Ducking his head he walked trough the door and found himself in a room that looked like a smaller version of the library outside but with a platform on a second level.

He moved to a ladder and climbed up to the platform. There, he saw a large bed upon which a very familiar unicorn was sleeping, her chest and stomach gently rising with each slow breath. He walked up to her and gently placed a hand upon her forehead and tried to sense if she was present.

She was. Her mind had returned but she had yet to wake up for some reason. He began stroking his beard again, though it wasn't even half as satisfying as it used to be when it was longer.

“Do you know what is wrong with her?” The questions came from Rarity and she looked at Twilight with obvious concern, they all did.

“Yes, at first the problem was that she had attempted something she hadn't enough training or skill to pull off and her mind got stuck in ... another place. I found her and helped her to return here but there was an incident that interrupted us at the end and I had to abandon her the last way before something really bad happened. I had hoped she would have made it safely back into her body and she did.”

“What do you mean? Surely if she had returned to her ... body then she should have woken up.”

He nodded before continuing. He needed to find the right words for what he was about to do next or they would definitely take it the wrong way.

“She should have but she didn't. Her mind is back inside but she is unaccustomed to shifting her awareness between spheric realms. To put it in terms you might understand, she's back and sleeping like one normally does but her mind has forgotten she is sleeping and thinks it is in an awakened state.”

The ponies looked a little confused at his explanation. Not that he blamed them. He had been far worse at the beginning of his training.

The memories brought a sad smile to his lips.

“But it can easily be fixed. Her mental body is once more connected to her physical body to the degree that they share sensory perception.”

“And what does that mean exactly.” Rarity looked like she was beginning to understand but the others looked hopelessly confused.

“Clever girl, I'm beginning to like you.”

“It means that whatever her body feels, she feels, but she misinterprets it as something going on inside her dream. There is a simple way to use this to make her wake up.”

“How exactly?”

“We simply give her body a shock and it will send a strong enough alarm signal to her mind that she will wake up regardless of her mental state.”

“Whatever do yo-.”

She didn't have time to finish the sentence before Karon raised his hand high with an open palm and slapped Twilight's cheek as hard as he could.

The other ponies gave of various noises of protest but became quiet when they heard twilight beginning to sputter and cough as she rolled around on the bed. She became very still for a moment, and then she slowly opened her eyes.

“Those eyes...”

She looked confused and frightened and was unconsciously rubbing her cheek. All the other ponies and even the dragon gave off loud shouts of happiness and launched themselves at the unicorn and hugged every part of her they could get their hooves and claws on. Twilight was still reeling from the sudden wake up call and looked groggily at the merciless huggers that were pinning her down.

Her eyes settled on Karon standing at the side of the bed looking at her with a small smile on his lips. Her eyes, her beautiful eyes, widened in surprise at seeing him here before returning his smile and looking over at the chattering bundle of friends clinging to her.

“Girls, girls, it's not that I'm not happy to see you again but it's getting kinda hard to breath here.”

They all looked at her and voiced various apologies before letting go of her slowly, like they were afraid if they didn't hold her she would slip away from them once more.

“I can't tell you how happy I am too see all of you again. I have been through so much and I couldn't stop thinking about how worried you must have been.” She smiled gingerly at her friends, all of them with tears in their eyes from finally having their friend back with them.

Twilight turned her face towards Karon and looked at him silently for a few moments before saying.

“Thank you. I don't know what happened after you ... let go off me, but I know with certainty that without you I would never have made it back home.”

She said it with such sincerity that even Karon began feeling a sting in his eyes. He hastily wiped them with his sleeves and cleared his throat so he wouldn't choke up on the tears threatening to make themselves known.

“Anything for you Twilight.” She blushed a little and her smile widened.

“Okay, where did that come from?”

But the tender moment was interrupted as the pink pony began bouncing up and down and exclaimed in a loud chirpy voice.

“This is the bestest day ever! Twilight wakes up so now we can have a wake up party for her! And we also made a new friend so we can also have a welcome party!” She gave off a loud gasp as her eyes widened and she looked at the other ponies.

“Do you realize what this means?” No dragon, human or pony dared answer.

“A DOUBLE WAKE UP WELCOME PARTY!”

Karon smiled at the suggestion. He could certainly use a drink after all of this.

Chapter 11: Forming Relationships

His stomach was growling terribly. It was so loud, it sounded like a pissed off bobcat had managed to crawl down his throat. Karon was still half asleep when it happened, but even so, it was hard to ignore the gaping hole where his stomach should have been.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes before opening them. The sun shone strong, too strong, and he turned around grumbling before putting his pillow over his head. By the looks of it, he had slept pretty far into the day, but he didn't care. He felt too weak to deal with this waking up nonsense.

His stomach growled again. He thought about all the food that was downstairs, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, apples, pears, and plums. His stomach growled again, this time in displeasure of the imagined breakfast.

He wanted meat.

Sweet juicy bloody meat. Meat so rare you could feel blood drip from your teeth. Something to sink his teeth into and tear off, something that had once been a living, breathing creature.

He was so glad Twilight did not possess telepathy. If his new pony friends could read his mind, they would run away from him screaming in terror, but really, Karon couldn't help it.

He came from a place where meat was a constant part of the diet. He was no herbivore.

Right now, he just wanted to go back to sleep and dream of killing and eating things. He was sick of the vegetarian life style he'd been forced into. Healthy or not, he came from a line of meat eaters and he had four very sharp canine teeth to prove it.

It was strange, now that he finally had settled in properly. Now that he could wake up and not worry about anything, he didn't enjoy it that much any more. Don't take it wrong, Karon loved Equestria, but without some kind of crisis demanding his attention, he started noticing the little things enough to the point where they bothered him immensely.

Poor Fluttershy. Last night she had sat with him wearing a large wonderful smile, lovingly talking about the animals she took care of, and others she had not yet met.

Animals that Karon was now fantasizing about gutting and grilling.

But imagined meat is not as sating as it sounds, and despite the unappetising options available to him, Karon felt the need to eat. He shuffled out of bed and put on his clothes, the feeling of his new robe and boots already putting him in a better mood.

He needed to find Rarity and do everything he could to thank her for it. It was hard finding the words for how he felt when he put them on. It was simply....

Awesome.

All that was missing was the hat, and then he would be complete. Well, the hat and a cheeseburger, perhaps. Maybe there was a carnivorous race somewhere that he could introduce it to. And pizza, oh ponies needed pizza if they didn't already have it.

Now that he thought about it, Karon was beginning to sense a lot of business opportunities.

But that would have to wait until later, he already had too much on his hands. He climbed down the ladder and went out into the main library, it was empty.

Karon went down the stairs and searched around the library but couldn't find Spike or Twilight anywhere. He really hoped Pinkie Pie hadn't decided to throw another surprise party after all. He was afraid what could happen if Pinkie Pie started to deliberately get herself drunk.

It would be the end of ponyhood was they knew it.

He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Vegetables and fruit mocked him with their healthy non-meat existence, and he closed the door again in disgust. He was overreacting yes, but the thought of never again eating meat ... was aggravating.

“Stupid pony innocence,” he muttered darkly to himself as he went into the main library and looked around. Maybe he should read a book to distract himself, but that would only work for a short time before the hunger got too strong to ignore.

He sighed and went to the front door and opened it. Outside there were several ponies walking by who all waved happily to him when they noticed him standing there on the library threshold.

“You don't know it little pony, but I could eat you.”

“Oooookay, enough with the psycho predator act. If we really need to kill and eat something then just do it.”

“Are you crazy!?! The ponies would freak and chase me out of here without a second's hesitation.”

“If you killed something where they could see it, yes.”

“I doubt there is in anywhere in Equestria ponies aren't aware of the comings and goings of other creatures. The entire place is so innocent that if I killed something, it would send signals everywhere.”

“So don't do it in Equestria.”

“What are y- ... the Everfree Forest.”

“Yes. Ponies might all be herbivores, and to them to hunt and kill is as taboo as it gets, but the Everfree ... that is primal nature at it's finest.”

“You might be right. We know that it is outside of pony influence ... I think I will head out a little sooner than I first planned.”

“Not too soon. We still need to be prepared for whatever could happen. The forest might protect us, but if we start hunting, I think it will call off the veil and make it a fair game. We might find ourselves prey instead of predator if we are not careful.”

“Fine ... It will be something to look forward to.”

“Good. Now try and find something else to eat. Like some of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes or other baked goods.”

Karon considered this for a moment and realized it was not a bad idea. A little unhealthy, sugary sweetness might brighten his day.

Pinkie Pie had mentioned that she worked at a place called Sugercube Corner. It should be pretty close to the library and fairly easy to spot if Pinkie's description had been correct. It should basically look like the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel ... Which was a little creepy because Karon couldn't stop imagining Pinkie throwing fillies in her oven and making them into baked goods. Or maybe a secret torture chamber in the basement where she made cupcakes out of pony corpses....

Naaaaaaaaw, sounded a bit too far fetched, but on an unrelated note, he was never going to follow Pinkie Pie down a basement alone ... never ever ever.

Karon walked down Ponyville's main street and passed by a lot of unnaturally happy ponies. He just didn't get how they could be so perpetually joyful.

"Must be something in their brain chemistry. Maybe they have a constant high?"

He spotted a building matching Pinkie's description coming up on his left. It wasn't until he was about to open the door that realized something.

He had no money.

He smacked his forehead and curses his own stupidity. He needed to find a way to earn money. Maybe the business ideas had come at a perfect time after all.

Karon went to a nearby tree and sat down leaning his back against it's trunk. He took a deep breath and released it before plunging into his possible future ventures.

“Well, we still have that opportunity with Applejack. We owe her a better distillation process, but we also offered to expand her business by helping her make different kinds of drinks.”

“Hmm yes, but honestly I only know the theory behind making alcohol because Varsif was a whiskey fanatic.”

“Doesn't matter, we know enough to make it work and with a little herbal knowledge we could start making interesting things ... Maybe we could make absinthe.”

“Don't tempt me with that idea. We both know I would succumb to alcoholism within a day if I could make my own absinthe, but we could work out something, then demand a percentage of all sales of it.”

“Sounds like a good way to get started, but we need something else. Something practical we can do to generate a constant flow of money.”

“Twilight told me about a zebra named Zecora. I already have a working knowledge of herbology back on Earth. It should be relatively simple to adapt it to the new conditions of Equestria.”

“Okay good, a herbalist. We can work with that, what else?”

“Well, at the core of it all my greatest asset is my knowledge. I know a lot of things these ponies don't. I can offer this knowledge in different forms perhaps, maybe agree to teach unicorns new magic.”

“You can always open a school for teaching stallions how to properly please their ladies. By all accounts, they don't know what they're doing around here.”

“There is a limit for when things get too weird, even for me.”

“At the moment, but that will expand until you will barely blink at the suggestion eventually.”

“But not today. So the plan is to settle our debt with Applejack and then go do more research concerning the properties of the local flora.”

“Hmmm ... Our knowledge is our most valuable asset, but you forget, ALL of our knowledge has something in common.”

“Which is?”

“It is HUMAN knowledge.”

“...You want Lyra to pay to get lesson on humans.”

“Why not? Not something ridiculous but say, let her pay a small fee or pay for a dinner or something and we tell her about a specific subject concerning humanity.”

“It feels a little like taking advantage of her.”

“We are taking advantage of the situation, not her. Besides, it will be a good chance to get to know her better.”

“Her too? Aren't we already supposed to get to know Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity better?”

“Yes, but Lyra is kinda cute.”

“This again? Fine, I will get to know her better, but I have no intentions of seducing her.”

“Have to do it to somepony sooner or later. Pick one now and get to work I say.”

Karon considered the conversation to have taken a drastic turn for the worst, but he had a point. Lyra would certainly pay for lessons on humans, and Zecora could teach him the local herbalism art. Of course, Zecora might charge him ... Maybe he could trade some magic knowledge for plant knowledge.

But no matter how that would, go he still had no money, “bits” they called it here, and he wanted something tasty to eat.

He sighed and got up from his comfortable seat in the tree's shadow. If he wanted something tasty to eat, then perhaps he could go find Lyra and ask if she wanted to buy him dinner in exchange for some human 101.

It was better than anything else he could think of at the moment, Rarity and Applejack could wait after all. The question remained though, where does Lyra live, and what does she do? Most likely something musical if one judged her by her cutie mark, then again, it could be drama related as well if one went after the traditional Greek lyrical art.

He thought about it for a moment, but since he had no idea on where music or anything else would be practised in Ponyville, he might as well ask any random pony if they know where Lyra is.

He looked around and saw a strange little pony with shock blue hair and huge purple sunglasses walk past him. He turned and approached her.

“Good morning. I am new around here and I was wondering if you know where I can find the pony named Lyra?”

“Yeah, sure I know. She's at her house. Take this street then turn left at the next intersection and keep going until you see a yellow house with a brown door. It has a mail box with Lyra's and Bon Bon's names on it.”

Karon only stared at the random pony that had just given him a perfectly detailed description of where to find the pony he was looking for.

“Only in Equestria.....”

“Uhh, well thank you....?”

“Name's Vinyl Scratch. The most talented DJ in Equestria.”

“Really, you've got DJ's here? ... Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll see you around.”

The pony only gave him a little twist of her neck as goodbye and trotted off. Karon stared after her for nearly a minute then shook it off.

“How about we just stop expecting things to be anything but bizarre. That way we wont stand around with our mouth open every time something weird happens.”

Karon followed the instructions the pony had given and eventually tracked down the house she had been referring to. There was a mailbox outside with Lyra's name on it right next to someone's with the name Bon Bon.

He opened the tiny little garden gate and passed through the white board fence that surrounded the lawn. It looked well kept, and for some reason, he just couldn't see Lyra being a garden pony.

He stopped at the door and briefly considered how he should do this. He could simply ask if she wanted to have a lunch with him and he could tell her about humans ... and then gently hint at the moneyless state of his personal economy.

"Sounds good."

He knocked on the door a few times then took a step back and waited. He heard hoofsteps on the other side of the door before it opened up and he found himself staring into the blue eyes of the cream coloured pony he had seen when he first walked into Ponyville.

She obviously recognized him because her eyes widened to double their usual size, and she didn't move, at all. It looked like she had suddenly frozen and couldn't move even if she wanted to.

“Uhm, hi my name is Karon. I was wondering if Lyra is home?”

Her mouth opened and a lot of air slipped out but no words. Eventually, something that sounded like a no was heard.

Karon frowned at her then looked at something behind her.

“You sure? Because she is standing right there behind you.”

Bon Bon turned around and saw Lyra standing in the hallway with a severe case of bed-mane. She was staring at Karon the same way Bon Bon had done just a moment ago, but her eyes shone not with shock and fear, no Lyra's eyes shone with almost feverish intensity as she looked on the human.

She really, really wanted to talk to him.

Karon tried to defuse the tension and waved at the unicorn.

“Hey there Lyra, sung any good songs lately?”

Her face split into a huge grin and she rushed forward until there was barely a finger's width between them. She put her front hoofs on his chest and stood on her back legs. Her face twisted into a look of deep concentration and she looked down at her right hoof and her horn began to glow.

Karon's eyes got bigger and bigger and his stomach got sicker and sicker as her hoof slowly morphed into a horrible caricature of a human hand.

“Just run, no funny comments or jokes ... just run, please.”

But the worst part was when she hobbled on her back legs and took a step backwards, then she stretched out her newly formed human hand as if she wanted him to shake it.

Karon almost vomited at the thought.

“No free lunch is worth this! Don't touch it either. It might infect you!”

“With what, human handiticus?”

Karon steeled his mind and stomach and forced his right hand to grasp the small turquoise hand before him and shook it quickly. The worst part was that it felt exactly like Twilight's coat had.

“Lyra....” he gently said and took a step back watching the hand with undisguised revulsion.

“....Please put that away and never do that again.”

Lyra looked a little heart broken after he said it, but Bon Bon looked at him with naked gratitude. The poor pony had suffered through too many incidents where Lyra had thought a human hand was more practical then a hoof.

“I'm s-sorry....” Lyra said and she looked really sad, like Karon had decided to come here only to break her heart again. He would have to rectify that.

“Lyra, what I meant is that it looks ... very ... wrong on a pony. Yes, I admit having digits on your hand makes a lot of things easier, but you have a unicorn horn, and that developed for a reason. So please, try and use it instead of morphing your hoof into a hand, okay?”

She nodded but still looked a bit sad, Bon Bon was looking at her with a little sympathy and obvious relief. She must have thought this might end the human-obsessed nightmare that was living with Lyra.

Not even close.

“So Lyra, I have a deal for you.”

She tilted her head and waited for him to continue.

“If you buy me lunch, I will tell you so much about humans that it will make your head spin.”

Her face turned into a pure manifestation of fierce joy, and she ran back into the room she had come out of. Karon had barely time to begin wondering what had just happened before she returned with a notebook levitated above her and all hooves back to normal.

“I had to get my notes. I wrote down all the questions I wanted to ask you in this.”

“Are there a lot of them?”

“Of course! I had to use the entire notebook and there is still so much more I need to know.”

“Wait, you filled the ENTIRE notebook with nothing but questions?”

“Yes, of course. I thought about making another one, but decided I wanted to get the answers in this one first.”

Karon looked at the notebook hovering above the eager pony then back down at her.

“You're going to be buying me a lot of dinners in the future.”

Karon and an overexcited Lyra had left Bon Bon behind at the house and went to a dinner restaurant that Lyra had recommended. They had plenty of baked goods, and Karon had gulped down five large sandwiches and three muffins before Lyra began asking questions.

The next three hours were spent answering almost a hundred different questions. During that time, he ate three more sandwiches and a chocolate cake he shared with Lyra. Her questions ranged from everything concerning the daily lives of humans to random questions like why humans had five fingers and not eight.

During their conversations, Lyra was shocked to hear that humans do not control the natural cycles of their environment. She was terrified when he told her they were omnivores and as such ate meat. She was thrilled when he told her humans primarily depended on their technological works, and Karon tried to explain how they worked as best he could.

Honestly though, he hardly knew himself. Technology had always been a boring subject in his eyes. Who would find the idea of a robot arm that was controlled by your brain amazing when one could control another human being entirely with a little magic training.

The sun was moving across the sky at a steady pace, and eventually after having spent three hours answering questions, Karon declared that he was done.

“Sorry Lyra, I'm really grateful for buying me dinner like this, but after all the questions and answers I'm feeling so confused that I can't really think straight. We will have to continue this another time.”

“That's fine, I already have so much already! I need to go home and write it all down before I forget anything. Please come visit me as often as you want, and we can talk more about humans, you truly are amazing.”

She had this complete look of satisfaction Karon had never seen on a female before outside of the bedroom. Maybe she found it exhilarating in more ways than one. He would have to watch out, or that human obsession and glorification could easily be projected unto him.

He did not want Lyra as a stalker with a crush.

They both said farewell to each other, and Lyra practically danced her way down the street back to her home. Karon wondered what Bon Bon thought of all this. She looked like she had suffered through the worst of Lyra's obsessiveness, and he couldn't convince himself that she would be happy now that Lyra now had found a real life human being to focus it all on.

Karon looked around before spotting a large clock on the wall inside the restaurant. It was 15:33 according to it. Karon got out of the seat he had been sitting on. Well, seat might be a bit of a stretch, it was a pile of hay stacked so ponies could sit on them. They were surprisingly comfortable.

He decided it was time to visit Rarity and offer whatever insight he could give her about human fashion. It might not be a lot, but he knew it better than most human males his age would, and it would have to do.

Karon also had discovered that he actually liked Rarity, more so than the rest of the ponies with the exception of Twilight. There was just something about her that hinted at a deeper secret or potential, and there was nothing Karon loved more than solving a hidden mystery no matter what form it took.

He headed over to Rarity's boutique and knocked on the door before stepping in. Rarity was standing in the middle of the shop concentrating on the group of tools flying around one of the pony mannequins and was making a dress of some kind with impressive speed.

There was no one else inside, so he hung back and watched her work. He didn't know if she had heard him or if she was too busy with her work to notice him. She was singing a wordless song to herself as she worked. It couldn't have taken more than twenty minutes for her to sew the entire dress.

“That's quite impressive work lady Rarity.”

She jumped and squealed in surprise at hearing his voice, She gave him a look of equals parts indignity and amusement.

“Karon dear, you simply have to stop showing up like this out of nowhere. If this continues, I will start beginning to think you're spying on me.”

“With beauty such as yours, could you blame me?”

He smiled at her and she smiled back, her eyes sparkling with concealed laughter.

“No, I guess I can't blame you.”

“How fortunate I am to be so easily forgiven, but I came here to make good on my promise concerning human fashion.”

She peaked up at this, but frowned as she looked back at the mannequins behind her.

“I would love to ... but I'm afraid I will have to fill out an order I received this morning. They will come and pick up the dresses this evening and I simply can't be late.”

“If you don't mind I can stay here with you and talk while you work. That is if you don't think it will distract you too much.”

“I could never ask you to remain here while I'm too busy with work. It would be dreadfully rude of me.”

“Lady Rarity, the simple pleasure of being in your company will be enough to keep me here for hours on end.”

“Well, if you insist.”

She turned around and went back to the dressmaking. Scissors and fabric floated in the air and were soon joined in by threads and needles. It was almost hypnotic to watch, and it had a gentle harmony to it as everything worked together smoothly.

Karon walked over to a nearby table and sat down on it. It stood a little shaky as it bore his weight, but it held.

“So, let's begin then.”

And for the second time that day, Karon racked his brain for information he usually had no interest in beyond the rudimentary basics. He told her about different fashions and styles that had been worn by different cultures across the ages from farmers to nobility, men and women, and all else he could think of.

Rarity seemed especially interested in the old Asian style of clothing and looked very interested in making herself a kimono for the early mornings.

The boutique was naturally very bright because of all the white in the colouring, and Karon kept track of time simply by observing the light becoming weaker and weaker as time passed.

Rarity never faltered for a second in her work, which demonstrated how deeply ingrained the activity had become in her psyche. As long as she kept her eyes on her work she seemed to be able to give Karon all of her attention during their conversation.

Eventually they strayed away from the topic of fashion and the conversation became a whole lot more personal.

“So lady Rarity you have to explain, how is it that you have not yet moved to a larger city like Canterlot. Surely your work would generate more profit and become more well know across Equestria if you were not constrained here in Ponyville?”

“I have thought about that many times, but I always come to realize that my life here is far too important to just leave. Besides, there are plenty of influential ponies that have come here to look through my creations. It does not perhaps reach out to as many ponies as I would like, but I could never abandon my life and friends here in Ponyville.”

“So you have lived here your entire life?”

“Yes, my family lives here and I never left despite thinking about it may times, but what about you? Do you have any family where you're from? Is there some way to give them a message that you are all right?”

Karon didn't answer at first. He kept looking down at the floor as he carefully scanned his emotions.

“They're all dead.”

All the things that had been held in the air dropped at the same time and clattered against the floor as Rarity turned around and faced him aghast.

“Oh no I'm so sorry I didn't mean to ask something so terrible ... Do you ... want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“I understand....”

The mood had definitely been ruined at the sudden revelation. Rarity didn't go back to work but didn't say anything either in case that might make the situation even more awkward.

Karon on the other hand was surprised. He hadn't thought he would be ready to even mention his family, but now it was out in the open ... It had hurt to say it but not as much as he had imagined it would.

He had learned to live with the pain, but he did not want to discuss what had happened that night with anyone. Varsif had spent years trying to make him go through it all again but had failed.

“Rarity ... please don't mention what I just said to anypony else. It must stay between the two of us.”

“Of course. I'm so sorry if I forced you to experience any old memories.”

“You didn't. They are safely locked away.”

Rarity didn't respond at first. She appeared to be mulling over what he had just said before speaking. The sun had begun to set outside and the shop gained a look of calm and peacefulness as it dulled in colour.

“So, now that all that trouble with the princesses has been taken care of, what do you plan to do here in Ponyville?”

It wasn't very subtle, but Karon still felt grateful she had decided not to push the subject of his family. He still wanted to talk with Rarity.

“I have a few ideas. One of them is to offer magic training to unicorns that want it, and the other is to begin working as a herbalist. Perhaps making oils or other ointments.”

“That sounds like excellent ideas, but I must ask ... are you sure that will be enough for you?”

Karon's tone betrayed his surprise at the question. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we haven't know each other for more than a few days, but I had the impression that you are a very adventurous pon ...,I mean human. Those ideas sound splendid for a regular pony, but are you sure you will not get restless?”

“She has a point. The life of a quiet Ponyville resident is not one we could handle without going ballistic at some point.”

“I know, but at the moment we don't have much choice. We still have too much to learn about this world and I don't want to leave my new pony friends ... I like them.”

“It will not last. Sooner or later this town and these ponies will not be enough for you. A trickster is our nature and a trickster does not live a quiet complacent life.”

“One thing at a time. Things might not become all too exciting in the near future but it is necessary.”

“I think you might be right lady Rarity, but right now I have no desire to leave. Especially not when I have such exquisite company in which to spend my time with.”

“You flatter me too much. Keep this up and I'll start expecting it from you.”

“That is because you make it so easy for me Rarity. Giving you compliments comes naturally.”

“I take it you are this charming to a lot of mares then.”

“No, just you.”

She gave him an unsure smile and fluttered her eyelashes a little. Most likely she wasn't even aware she did it.

“I don't now what I could have done to earn such special treatment.”

“It is because you are special.”

Now the smile left all insecurities behind and for a moment the shop almost seemed to shine in its normal bright colours. The smile faltered a little as she walked forward and placed a hoof on his right leg. She looked at him and asked carefully.

“I hope I did not upset you when I asked about your family.”

He sighed. “No Rarity, it was just sudden, but please, never ask of it again.”

“Of course. I'm sorry I was so insensitive in the first place.”

She still looked at him and he understood what she wanted. He got off the table and fell down on one knee and allowed Rarity to give him a light hug.

Karon was extremely proficient in sensitive types of magic, those which are mentally and emotionally based. He was talented at manipulating them and also very talented at sensing them, especially if he was in physical contact with the one he was reading.

Right now he could feel Rarity's emotions clearly.

She was still unsure how exactly she should behave around him. He was no pony and Rarity had difficulties in treating him like she would any other stallion, but she also found him very interesting. He had showed himself to be just as passionate and dramatic as she could be most of the time and she had never met anypony else like that before.

She also felt something else, hidden a little further in her heart. She found him exciting in a dangerous way. He had stood up and fought against the two most powerful beings Rarity knew of and lived. He came from a far off place and had saved one of her friends from a terrible fate, and then there was something else. There was a darker edge to him Rarity couldn't place. She had faced many dangers before and knew how to recognize then, but despite this, Karon had given her no reason to distrust him. Even Celestia had forgiven him for all wrong doings and welcomed him.

And now, she had also terrified herself with dragging up the subject of his family. She couldn't imagine how such a thing must feel and she felt sorry for him for having to endure whatever painful memories he must have.

All in all, her heart was a battleground of conflicting emotions, and above all else confusion reigned. She did not know how to handle all of it. She had little experience in matters of the heart as her hopeless infatuation with prince Blueblood had showed.

Karon felt all of it and was surprised somepony like Rarity had managed to keep it hidden and under control. He would have expected her to have expressed all of it with flare and drama at her earliest convenience.

The worst part came after they had held that light embrace for a few moments. Physically, she only had a light grip around his neck and nothing more, and there were no bodily indications for what he felt bubbling up inside her.

Desire.

It was not very strong, and it was mixed in with her confusion to the point it was hard to separate them, but it was there and growing.

And then Karon felt it again, this time from himself.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Would this be a bad time for saying I told you so.”

“I did not ask for your opinion!”

“It's your opinion idiot. I told you this was happening.”

“I don't want this to happen, things have just calmed down and I don't want to create another mess to deal with.”

“Would you relax and stop being such a control freak. Hey, if you play your cards right, you might even get both Rarity and Twilight. Think they would agree to a threesome?”

“I hate you.”

“Self loathing is a tragic thing.”

Karon had been so busy arguing with himself he hadn't noticed how Rarity had not yet let go of him despite the fact it must have been several minutes now. And her grip was getting tighter.

When Karon noticed he started to panic. He had no idea what to do, his logical reasoning told him to excuse himself and go some place far away and cool off. His body thought differently and was pressing Rarity tighter as well.

Soon Rarity and Karon were crushing themselves against one another and he heard Rarity lick hers lips several times. He could feel her heart was racing and realized his own was following that example, but neither of them did anything else.

What was he supposed to do?

They remained there holding each other hard. Rarity was the first to break off and put both her hoofs against his chest, her cheeks were flushed and the sky blue eyes had a misty glance to them.

When she started to lean in against his lips, he panicked completely and sprung up from the floor.

“I ... I think, uh ... I should leave. Bye!” he stammered before turning around and walking away from the store with as much speed as possible. He had no idea how to identify all the emotions that were raging on inside of him at the moment and didn't care to try.

He just kept walking without turning it into a run. He really wanted to, but there had been enough of making a scene for the day. Now he was going to head back to Twilight and not get out of bed for a few days.

And shower in very, very cold water.

“Real smooth. It's not like she was as scared about all of that as we were.”

“Then why did she do it!?”

“Maybe she isn't so much of a self-deprecating idiot as we are. Is there any reason why she shouldn't want to be with us?”

“There are a million reasons.”

“Yes, but none of them are good. You are going to stay here for a while, so take a lover. It will be good for both you and her. Rarity is perfect for that.”

“There is so many things wrong with that. I don't even know where to start!”

“Oh for fuck's sake, you are a trickster! If it is strange, weird or outside of the boundaries of that which encompasses all things normal, then you have a moral obligation to do it.”

“I think you have misunderstood the concept of having morals.”

“No, I understand it perfectly. Stop fighting yourself and embrace who and what you are. The only problematic thing right now is you.”

Karon felt him temper rising. He was truly an asshole at certain times. His walking turned into angry marching and judging by the ponies he passed by, he didn't look very happy.

“So much for not making a scene.”

But he didn't try calming himself down in any way. He might frighten a few ponies, but it was a good way to get rid of energy, and right now he needed that.

He arrived at Twilight's library only feeling more aggravated than before. Why did he keep getting himself into situations like these? It was ridiculous that he had managed to get an other worldly anthropomorphic pony interested in him, and even more ridiculous was the fact that he had managed to make himself interested in her.

He stopped before the door and took a few deep breath, steadying himself. The situation was not good, but it was bearable. However, if Twilight found out about what had just happened ... he would be screwed.

He pushed the door opened as gently as he could, but it still squealed loudly as it swung on it's hinges. Stepping into the library Karon shook his head in annoyance.

Having heard the door opening, Twilight had made her way down from her bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs looking at Karon unsure of what to say. Obviously he should have waited a while longer before returning because she knew something was wrong.

“Did something happen Karon?”

“Any ideas for a convincing lie?”

“At the moment no, just act like you are annoyed for something trivial and not worth mentioning.”

“No nothing has happened ... I guess I just woke up in a bad mood. I think I will retire early this evening. Was there something you wanted from me?”

“Actually yes, I was wondering if you wanted to talk to me. We haven't just had a friendly conversation since you arrived here ... but if you're not feeling up for it, we can do it another time.”

“Great now I feel bad too.”

“Sorry Twilight. I promise you that I will set aside time tomorrow, and we can just relax and talk about whatever you want to. Right now though, I need sleep and hopefully wake up in the morning feeling better.”

“All right. Goodnight Karon.”

He went up the stairs and followed her into their room before heaving himself up to the platform while Twilight climbed up the ladder. She went over to her bed and laid down upon it reading a book. Karon tried to ignore her as best he could and took of his clothes. This time though he took off all of his clothes and stood naked before slipping in under his covers.

Twilight hadn't taken her eyes off the pages of the book, but he could see the blush and the tense way she held her head as if she was afraid of looking up. Karon had hoped she would retreat from the bedroom when he decided to go nude, but apparently not. He wanted to be alone and think things through.

“Sigh, doesn't matter I guess. So what are we to do?”

“You already know what you should do. Stop acting like a scared little bitch.”

“I am not, I am just willing to think things through before taking risks.”

“Lies and more lies. You're a risk taker that doesn't give a fuck about consequences and you know it. So what's the problem?”

“The problem is that it would risk the very delicate friendship I have built up with these ponies. Things are moving a bit too fast for them to be able to properly get used to the way I act. They will end up rejecting me. Also, Rarity happen to be a pony, I am a human and like human females.”

“You also like Rarity, I can't see where that is unthinkable.”

“You know that they have a word for people that have sex with animals back at Earth.”

“Yes but that does not apply here really. All these ponies are highly evolved creatures on par with humans and can't be labelled as animals, which creates a new kind of taboo about having interspecies sex. And that argument would be based solely upon the sanctity of procreation with one's own species, but since you don't give a fuck about humanity at large, and do not plan to ever spawn a little monster, that does not apply either. Hence, we are left simply with the fact that the situation is weird, and you are having trouble accepting it because you feel like the situation would require you to let go of your constant need for control.”

“And all this means we arrive at a conclusion that says...?”

“That this potential relationship with Rarity is the same shit you find in any relationship. Fear of loss of control, check. Having trouble accepting the differences that forces you to challenge your own world view, check. Being unable to find a proper protocol to follow since the particular situation is unique, check. Really, it's just a rehearsal of the same shit every couple of every species goes trough. Hell it doesn't even have to be couple it applies to all relationships of every kind.”

“She's not human!”

“That's just racist ... Wait, no it's not, it's speciesist .”

“Which means?”

“It means that since you don't plan on making babies, the shape of her physical vessel has no relevance in this argument. She has all the qualities you would like in a human female with the exception of physical form.”

“It still feels ... wrong.”

“If it makes you feel better you're not human either.”

“WHAT!?!”

“I thought you had figured this out by now. You are not human, your body was destroyed remember? What you are now is a physical realization of your inner trickster nature. Sure, you look like a human, but you're not. That's merely the original design used to create what you are now.”

“So what am I?”

“You are the trickster named Karon who one day will become a wizard. That is who and what you are. You are no longer limited by whatever genes your family passed on to you. You are unique, belonging to no species in the universe. You are a trickster, you are not supposed to be able to properly be caught or defined. Human is merely the distraction and form you have. It is your energy and nature that define your value and existence.”

“Great, so now I have not only a relationship, but also an existential crisis on my hands.”

“Hardly. You know who and what you are, now act within this knowledge and stop denying it. No creature can fight or deny their nature without it destroying them.”

“So is that what I will be to others? A shapeless meaningless thing they can not understand.”

“How does one creature understand another?”

“By their ... actions.”

“Exactly. Accept yourself, then act as yourself and they will know you not by what species or name or any other category they try and force you into. They will know you by the way your nature dictates your actions.”

“What if they can't accept that person?”

“Then you don't belong together. It is an infinite universe. There is room for everyone in it.”

“This will not be easy.”

“No worthwhile lesson is easy.”

“Is that what this is? Just another lesson?”

“What else would life be?”

Karon had no answer to that.

His head still reeling from the events of the day, Karon decided it would be best to go to sleep and hope that perhaps things would become clearer in the morning. He needed to absorb all that he had told himself ... however that worked.

One of the privileges of being so talented in sensitive mind magic is that one can make themselves fall asleep more or less at will. Karon began his usual breathing exercise and after a few minutes allowed himself to drift into sleep.

                            ***************************************

He was standing in an old forest, giant pine trees stretched up into a cloud free night sky. The moon was full and the stars twinkled above. On the ground, snow covered the earth and wrapped it in cold winter's embrace.

Karon looked around, this dream felt too real, too tangible.

He could feel the cold air on his skin, and in the distance a wolf howled at the moon, calling to his fellow hunters.

Karon twisted around when he heard footsteps in the snow and his jaw dropped in shock at what he saw before him.

Clad in a large brown robe made from a dead bear, fur still attached, stood a large, heavily muscled man. His face weathered by long years spent in harsh climates and framed in by long white beard and hair.

“Varsif?”

Chapter 29: Party of the century (part 1)

Karon's mouth was open in what he believed would be his final scream, his eyes tearing up from the wind, and his eardrums close to rupturing from the wails of despair around him. However, before he reached the ground everything turned purple, and instead of feeling himself become a red stain on the grassy landscape below, the world shifted and he found himself hanging over a flowing river.

He hung suspended in the air for a brief moment, but then the gravity that would have been his murderer set in once more and pulled him down towards the water. His scream cut off as surprise replaced terror, but his mouth was open none the less, and when he disappeared beneath the surface, water threatened to flood his lungs.

Sputtering and gurgling sounds could vaguely be heard within the river, accompanied by splashing made from frantically moving limbs as Karon struggled to reach the surface. With a final push he emerged from the river slowly carrying him downstream and tasted air again. His lungs burned, and every breath in was followed by a hacking cough sending burning pain throughout his chest. His wings were gone.

But he was alive.

After much scrambling and clawing his way through the water, Karon managed to climb up to solid ground, and there he fell over on his back, staring up at the sky. It was tinted in a myriad of blue and black shades, the moon barely visible any more. Luna preparing to leave the sky to her sister's care.

But where the early morning would usually be heralded by not only light, but also the sound of the world waking up, now only silence reigned. There was a solid tension in the air. Like the shocked aftermath of a great tragedy where the event was so powerful that it left an echo, creating ghosts of memories and feelings that would haunt the coming generations sensitive to such things.

Karon felt...empty. The relief of knowing death was no longer staring him in the face had passed, and now only tiredness remained around the aching hole where his heart should have been. He swallowed the saliva gathered in his mouth and let that tiredness drag his mind down towards a soothing darkness.

But his journey into unconscious was interrupted when he heard the soft sound of hoofsteps on grass. He forced his eyes to remain open, although glassed and unfocused.

Soon enough the face of Twilight came into view and stared down at him with concern, but behind it Karon saw the same weariness and tired despair he guessed she must be seeing in his eyes.

“Are you alright?” she asked, knowing how meaningless the question was but asking anyway.

“No, no I'm not. But I'll live.”

He closed his eyes for a brief minute and gathered what little strength he had left, then sat up and looked around. They were in the grasslands, and in the distance Karon could see Cloudsdale suspended in the sky. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there seemed to be something missing from it.

“What happened?” he asked without taking his eyes off the city.

“I teleported us, Dusk Keeper should be around here somewhere.”

“You managed to get him too?” Karon asked and felt a little better by the news.

“Yes, I only need to see something to teleport it, and I could see Dusk Keeper all the way...down.”

The silence that pervaded the area forced itself upon them, forced them to relive the horrifying sensation of falling towards their deaths surrounded by the screams of the doomed pegasi.

“Karon...”

“I was desperate, I had no choice!”

What had meant to be a determined and strong tone of voice instead came out pleading.

“It was wrong.”

“They were all doomed from the start. They had to die one way or another. Celestia can't all turn them to stone and no prison could hold an entire army working together.”

“You didn't even try to negotiate, you just killed your way forward and when we had a chance to speak to one of their leaders you just insulted him. And then you killed everypony! Silver Prance, Dust Wind, Shield Trainer, all of them died because your plan was just to kill everypony that got in your way!”

“Who's Silver Pr-”

“Those were their names! The guards YOU were supposed to order and lead, and you let them die because you didn't care about them enough to try and find another way. Didn't you even learn their names!? Were they just a group of nameless guards to you!?”

Karon didn't answer, something harsh and cold was wrapping it's claws around his insides. It was exactly what they had been to him, a group of guards, nothing more. There to serve as tools to achieve a goal. But when Twilight said it, there was something in her voice, something that struck him deeply as wrong. He didn't know what to make of it. He was just too tired, of everything.

“We should get going. The party is tonight, and we need to report all of this to Celestia.”

Twilight seemed stunned by what he had just said, enough to throw her off her balance and forget about her anger.

“I thought you said we were supposed to handle this on our own? That the princess trusted you to take care of this.”

“She was wrong. This was our one chance at understanding More-than Tardy's plans. At finding what he is going to do and how...and I failed. Whatever information that existed within that base is gone now.”

“But we can't just give up!”

“No, but I think it's time to stop pretending we're good enough to beat him. More-than Tardy knew we were coming. He sacrificed several of his ponies just to drag us in and let his army kill us off...”

“Using them as if they were nothing but tools to achieve a goal.”

“...He's just better than us Twilight.”

“Perhaps that's not a bad thing,” she said and tried to smile, placing her hoof on his shoulder.

That small pressure, that small gesture, gave him enough strength to stand up. He cast out his senses and tried to pick up on all that he could, every astral tremor, every mental trail. After a few minutes he could feel an anomaly to south and headed towards it, Twilight following behind in silence.

It did not take long before they found Dusk Keeper unconscious, he seemed to have taken a pretty bad fall. But it would have been far worse without Twilight's teleporting intervention. He woke up fast but discovered his left back hoof was broken. Both Twilight and Karon had to help in order for him to be able to walk.

By Twilight's suggestion they continued further south, where there was supposed to be a road ponies traveled on towards Canterlot. They journeyed in silence, the only sound they made was the occasional grunt of strain from Dusk Keeper. By the time they had reached the well worn dirt road Twilight had been referring to, the sun had risen and its rays reflected off the sweat covering them.

They sat down next to it and simply waited for anypony to come by, thankfully they didn't have to wait for more than half an hours before a cart rolled over a nearby hill and came across them. The stallion drawing it was transporting hay of all things and after a quick and very vague explanation from Twilight he offered them to ride in the back.

The hay was soft and comfortable, and coupled with the heat of the sun and weariness from the last few hours of stress it did not take long before all three of them fell asleep. Before they did though, a realization came to Karon's muddled mind and he swore quietly.

“Damn...”

“What?” Twilight asked in the same sleepy voice.

“I lost my hat,” he grumbled in response and let those be his last words before sleep took.

                               **********************************************

The sight before him was beyond anything anypony could have ever imagined. All of Cloudsdale had been torn from their peaceful dreams by the sounds of terrified screams. The city guard had mobilized faster than they ever had in the city's entire history, without any idea what had happened.

And had somepony told them what would be waiting for them down on the ground they would never have believed it. It was just too horrible to imagine, that below the beautiful pegasi city was the corpses of over 200 dead ponies.

After the first investigations from the pegasi, that had managed to quell the need to throw up anyway, they had all come to the conclusion that it had been some kind of freak magic accident. A part of the city's internal construct was missing and all signs pointed to magic having been at play. Perhaps some ponies would have considered the possibility of it being intentional, but such an act would be so heinous that they rather didn't.

After all, the part of the city that was missing was supposed to be nothing but underlying structure. And of all of the hundreds of dead pegasi, not a single one of Cloudsdale's registered populace was missing. These kind of things would ordinarily have raised questions, but not this time. Because it didn't matter if the questions went unanswered. It was for the better if that horrible night remain a forgotten and distant mystery never again mentioned.

But not everything about that night was a total tragedy, for a unicorn who's job it was to bury the dead came upon something amongst the corpses. A red hat, wide brimmed and with a stooping cone in the middle.

The pony, whose name was Tender Digger, was a practical one, and even while standing in a field of death he did not lose his optimism. Determined to see a tiny bit of brightness in this event, he picked up the hat and placed it on his head, grinning softly to himself and going back to his work whistling. After digging the one hundredth and fortieth one grave that day, he felt a little more joyful than earlier.

After all, he was now more than halfway done.

                           ****************************************************

Falling...falling...The wind rushed by hard and down below the waiting ground glared at him hungrily. Around him the voices of hundreds of ponies wailed in terror and despair, watching as death was coming closer and closer.

The wails cut into him deep, and both his ears and heart were bleeding. But the blood did not flow from him, instead it gathered and oozed out from his pores to cover his hands. Slick with red and glistening in the moons harsh light.

His eyes sought Twilight, the one that could save him. He swam through the air, through the sea of fear and screams until he reached her.

Her horn glowed with a purple light, defying the darkness and terror all around her with hope of salvation. Their eyes met and she nodded in determination, her will stronger than any fear or guilt could hope to overcome.

He felt how her light enveloped him, cradled him. The light that would take him away and save him.

But something was stopping him. All around him the screams of fear had turned to rage. Accusing eyes fixed upon him and their hooves grasped him. Dragging him away from the saving light shining out from Twilight.

He stretched his hands out to her, tried to grab the light and pull himself to it. But his hands were too slick, the blood on them making him slip. Tears poured down his cheeks, the ponies were keeping him away from the light. The blood was keeping him away from the light.

He cried out to her, begging her to save him. But she could only look on him with sadness, the hope he had seen in her eyes was gone. Her lips moved as if she were saying something, and with a final word he could not hear, her light disappeared and she with it, leaving him.

He screamed and screamed and clawed with his bloodied hands. But hundreds of hooves held him firm, pulling him down towards his grave. He would join them, he would die with them. He would be lost without hope with them.

And as the greedy earth welcomed them as food Karon screamed one last time.

“Twilight! Please DON'T LEAVE ME!”

“Karon! Karon! I'm here, calm down.”

A bright light shone into his eyes, and in front of him Twilight stared at him with concern and...sadness. He lunged forward and held her, clinging to her as hard as he could. His heart raced madly and every breath shuddered with the tears he fought to hold back.

It took him several seconds to understand where he was, that he was not falling to his death, and that Twilight was not abandoning him. He was just sitting in a pile of hay in the back of a rolling cart, and both Dusk and Twilight were still with him.

He swallowed and took one last shuddering breath before he released her. Refusing to meet her questioning stare, he fell back and stared up at the sky with squinting eyes. Judging from the sun it was late in the day. Karon had covered himself in hay to avoid most of the sun's rays but the heat was nothing he could do anything about. And if the position of the sun had not been enough to tell him what time it was, then the robe drenched in sweat would have.

“Is something wrong?” Dusk asked him in a distant tone. Karon put his hand on his chest and felt his heart rate decrease steadily, drawing comfort from the solid beating.

“No, just...a bad dream,” he finally responded.

Dusk didn't ask any further, and Twilight was uncharacteristically silent. Karon felt far too warm, but there was little he could do to ease his discomfort until they reached Canterlot. He was afraid of going back to sleep, afraid that he might dream again.

Dreams are a mage's friend. They can reveal much, if one knows how to read them. But this one was not one Karon was willing to dig any deeper into than he already had. Instead he focused his attention on more immediate things, like how parched and worn his throat was.

“Twilight do you have any way of conjuring water?”

“No, I'm sorry we will have to wait until we get to Canterlot before that.”

Sighing in defeat Karon did his best to accept the situation, and his mind began drifting into possible ways More-than Tardy could use the party to his advantage.

“It's a nobles party, a lot of powerful and important ponies will be there.”

“So what do you think? Maybe killing all of them while gathered in the same place?”

“No, that isn't his style. It would be too crude and unsophisticated.”

“Maybe he already has a lot of them in his pocket and he will announce his intent on taking the throne.”

“Maybe. It would be kinda stylish to just walk in and tell the princesses to get out because he's the new boss. But they would just crush him where he stood if he tried that.”

“So it doesn't really matter what he is planning. The core of the problem is how he will gain enough power to challenge two alicorns. He could gather hundreds of soldiers and it still wouldn't matter until he neutralize the princesses.”

“And we don't know how he is planning that.”

“No we don't...we need to tell Celestia about this. Maybe if both she, Luna, Twilight and I band together we might be too powerful to overcome.”

“More-than Tardy will have considered that option. He is not going to make his move unless he is certain he can succeed.”

“We are in trouble it seems.”

“Yes, yes we are.”

The rest of the journey to Canterlot was spent in restless silence and fidgety movement. Every passing minute was a reminder that they had yet to come up with a real plan for dealing with the professor. Hope was in short stock, and judging by Twilight's avoidance in meeting Karon's gaze and Dusk's staring off into the distance, so was morale.

Grassland made way for rock and mountain, dry hot wind turned to soothing mountain breezes, and soon they had reached Canterlot. They thanked the pony for allowing them to ride along and walked through the stone streets of the capital towards the castle. Around them ponies of all forms and colors could be seen talking in hushed tones and whispers.

The atmosphere was tense and the mood subdued. Either the news of what had happened in Cloudsdale had reached their ears or something else was going on. But then again, if the professor was making his move tonight then it was likely he had worked to spread fear and worry into the populace.

A city already prepared to fall into chaos would fall easily, and in their fear they would bow to a new leader if it meant regaining their peace.

They continued on their way to the castle, and when they arrived at the gates they found double the usual guard. They were allowed entrance without difficulty but it was not a good sign. Everypony could smell trouble brewing, and More-than tardy would use that against them.

Dusk excused himself and headed towards captain Nightchill's chamber, Karon did not envy him. The operation had been a fiasco in every way, and the captain had lost almost all of his guards. Guards Karon had promised to return safely.

Another lie told.

While Dusk Keeper went to give that depressing news, Karon and Twilight went over to her room. Rarity and the others had been asleep long enough, and they would all be needed if More-than Tardy was making his move tonight.

Karon opened the door and entered with Twilight close behind. Inside, Feather Touch spun around when she heard the door open and smiled when she saw who it was. She hurried over to Karon and looked up at him with jubilant eyes, however she lost most of her spark when she noticed her smile was not returned.

“What's the matter?” she asked worried.

“How about everything,” Twilight replied and walked over to her pile of pillows, which she promptly fell down on. Feather only looked more confused at the response. Karon walked over to Rarity's bed and sat down and then filled Feather in on what had happened. To her credit, she didn't look at Karon like he was a mass murderer when he was finished.

“H-hundreds of ponies...dead?”

“Yes, and nothing to show for it.”

“That's not true, we defeated most of the professors evil ponies. I just wish there had been another way,” Twilight noted.

“Yeah, but that hardly matters. He's a manipulator. He can get new minions to do his dirty work. Without any idea on how he is supposed to gather a ridiculous amount of magical power we're blind.”

“There has to be a way for us to find out what he is up to,” Twilight said, refusing to give in to despair.

“Feather, have you found out anything that could help us?” Karon asked, seizing the slender hope.

“I'm sorry sir, we managed to find two more houses with spies. But I don't think anyone of them is a place where that kind of information would be available.”

“Are you sure?”

“Almost positive. All the servants that have watched them say they only spy on the nobles.”

“Then Celestia is our only hope.”

“What do you mean sir?” Feather asked, perplexed at the comment.

“Celestia, you know. Big, powerful, radiant alicorn princess of Equestria?”

“I know who the princess is sir. But she isn't in Canterlot if you meant you wished to see her.”

Karon blinked rapidly trying to process what he had just heard, across the room Twilight was doing the same.

“Wha...What is that supposed to mean?”

“The princesses, both of them left this morning for Phillydelphia.”

“Why!?”

“I'm not sure sir, I think they were called down there by a relative of theirs. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“What, there's three of them!?”

“Yes sir. There are several alicorns, all of them have royal titles. But only princess Luna and princess Celestia actually rule Equestria.”

“Fine whatever, but why would they leave now? Celestia knows the professor is planning something for tonight.”

“I don't make guesses about why the princesses do what they do sir.”

“That's it then, we're screwed,” he said and threw up his arms in the air.

“I'm sure you'll think of something sir,” Feather said with absolute confidence.

“No, not this time,” he said and buried his face in his hands.

“You can't mean that,” Twilight said quietly from across the room.

“Yes I can. More-than Tardy is better than me, and now he knows it. My only hope was in fooling him and forcing him to make a mistake. Instead, he tricked us into a trap and now...we are left fumbling in the dark.”

“We can still beat him, we have to. We can't just let him do this to the princesses, to Equestria!”

“How Twilight? If you have a plan please tell me.”

“I...I don't yet. But together we can do this, all of us.”

“That could be called denial.”

“So what do you suggest then?” she responded angrily. “Just give up and let this happen? Do you even care about how many ponies would get hurt? Do you even care about any of us or was all of that lies as well!?”

He remained quiet at first, considering her words and what they were facing. In truth he could leave them, he already had once. But he didn't want to, he wouldn't.

“No, it wasn't.” he rose up from the bed and went over to Twilight, looking at him with approval.

“Is it time to wake them up?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, we have preparations to make.”

                  *************************************************************

“I am NEVER going to forgive you for this Karon!” Rarity huffed indignantly and looked over herself once more. “Putting us into a magic sleep is one thing, but leaving us with only hours to find dresses for a nobleponies party...that is beyond redemption!”

“Yet you somehow managed,” Karon murmured and stroked his newly washed robe absentmindedly.

When the six ponies had woken up from their long sleep they had been very disoriented. And when that passed they had been very angry, understandably all things considered. But Twilight had filled them all in on what was going on. And after they had persuaded Rainbow not to try and 'kick Karon's flank until he breaks and spill out candy', and told Pinkie such a thing was impossible, they had begun formulating a plan.

Well most of them anyway. Rarity had entered some kind of panic mode at the news they would all be attending a noble's party with nothing to wear. She had disappeared babbling wildly about matching colors then re-appeared four hours later with seven dresses for all of the ponies.

How did she sew seven dresses in four hours? She's Rarity, that's how.

After a lot of debating between them the ponies and human had finally settled on a plan that just might work. And it played to Karon's strengths and the fact More-than Tardy was unaware of what abilities he possessed.

He was supposed to mingle with as many of the noble ponies as he could, making sure he was seen doing it. He would later confront More-than Tardy and say that he knew about his plan, that he had gained information from Steel Runner before killing him and had read the rest from the minds of everypony gathered there.

It was a long shot, but if Karon could make the professor doubt his own plans then he would begin to mentally go over them. And then Karon would be able to read them. Problem was that More-than Tardy knew about Karon's mind reading abilities and would be disciplining his mind as best he could. Karon would need to do perfect in order to shake More-than Tardy up.

The rest of them would be placed around the grand ballroom the party was hosted in, prepared to act towards any pony that could turn out to be the professors ally. Feather Touch would be there with many servants and had promised they would help on Karon's command.

The problem was the guards.

After the news of what had happened in Cloudsdale had reached Nightchills ears, and after Dusk Keepers report, he had been furious. He flat out refused to give Karon any more support from his guards, but he had agreed to station more of his guards around the castle's entry points when Twilight insisted.

He might not trust Karon anymore, but Twilight was still Celestia's personal protege.

And now all eight of them stood in a corridor outside the ballroom, listening to the chattering voices of the nobles making smalltalk. The tension hung thick in the air and all of them felt nervous in one way or another, even Rainbow Dash though she hid it well. It was a dangerous night, and a lot would depend on them.

“Do you think we're ready?” Karon asked Twilight and rubbed the sleeve of his robe once more nervously.

“I don't think there is anything more we can do to prepare now. Since my brother is away with the princesses and the entire solar guard, the castle is only at half force. If More-than Tardy has his own soldiers ready somewhere close by it could get dangerous very quickly.”

“You know, telling me your brother was the captain of the solar guard earlier might have helped.”

“I'm sorry, I've just been a bit distracted lately,” she grumbled as an excuse.

“That's okay Twilight, I forgive you,” Pinkie interjected helpfully.

They all chuckled a little and the tension was lessened by a fraction. What would happen tonight might be bad if things didn't go as planned, by there was nothing more they could do now.

“Alright then...” Karon said and looked at all of them. “Ready to party?”

A chorus of agreements reached his ears, and they all fell in behind him as they walked into the ballroom together. Inside the roof was barely visible behind all the lanterns and light that shone down with golden luminescence. Tables were placed strategically to allow movement but still so that no pony needed to go far to get refreshments. Lots of blue, red and golden colors could be seen in everything from the drapes to the carpets...and the ponies.

And there were many of them. Pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies dressed in all forms of clothes imaginable, in all colors imaginable. There could even be seen a few gryphons amidst the sea of pony. There were no herald of any kind, thank god, and the group managed to enter and melt into the crowd without making too much of a scene.

That is, the ponies managed to. Karon was one of a kind in the room after all and as soon as he entered most eyes fell upon him. The idle chatter around the room changed in tone and turned to whispers as rumors and gossip was spread. Karon didn't know what exactly public opinion on him was, but it would be an easy topic to start up with the ponies inside. He wanted to be seen talking with as many of them as could be.

He hadn't seen More-than Tardy yet, but he was there, no doubt watching him. Which was good, the professor had lured him into a trap with a small army waiting to take him. And now instead Karon walked into the party unharmed as if nothing special had happened, as if he hadn't laid waste to the great majority of More-than Tardy's forces.

“I hope he feels a bit nervous now.”

“I killed over 200 of his pegasi, and he doesn't know I used a ton of sun crystals to do it. So yes, he will be feeling nervous.”

“Then let's mingle.”

He put a smile on his face and dived into the great arena that is political small talk. There was no lack of ponies more than willing to have a conversation with the new court wizard, and after the first few polite exchanges, a few facts became apparent.

One, was that his public image was something akin to a strange god suddenly deciding to play mortal, and two, was that he really, really hated nobles. The ponies all acted with the self assured confidence of those believing the world owes them everything just by being born. But he wasn't doing this for his own entertainment, so he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth and kept the forced smile on his lips.

Finally reaching his limits with the current sycophant he begged pardon, the table with refreshments suddenly beckoned to him undeniable. The ponies gave him a respectful distance, while still keeping close enough to pounce on him, should he give any sign he was ready to resume conversation.

On the table where various snacks and food, but what really caught Karon's eyes was the bottle of Applejack's Daniels. He laughed quietly under his breath at the sight and poured himself a glass, a wine glass of all things, and sipped contently. It was right then, when he was starting to feel a little more optimistic of the night, that his peace was shattered by the excited voice of yet another pony.

“Oh by Celestia! Court wizard it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Rose Petal.”

“Rose Petal...Why does that name sound familiar?” Karon asked quietly to himself, though obviously the unicorn had overheard for she added.

“You have met my mother, a member of the consortium named Emerald.”

“Oh yes, now I remember.”

“The one with all the social connections, the one who was just dying to introduce us to her daughter Rose Petal.”

“If she tries to marry her daughter off to me, to gain social standing I'm not gonna be happy.”

“I'm so glad you remember her! She has been going on about you for quite some time now, you've impressed her.”

“How flattering...”

“Oh stop it, it's not that bad,” she said and playfully punched him with her hoof.

Karon blinked in surprise and he couldn't quite suppress his doubting stare.

“Is she flirting with me?”

“I actually think she is.”

“Great, just what I needed.”

“You know, had this happened a week ago, you would have been flirting back furiously.”

“Things change.”

“If you wouldn't mind I have a friend I would like for you to meet. She should be here tonight somewhere.”

“Sigh, and who is this friend?”

“Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she is princess Celestia's personal protege!”

Karon's mouth dropped open for a second before he managed to close it.

“You're a friend of Twilight's?”

Now it was Rose Petal's turn to look surprised.

“What!? YOU know Twilight.”

“Yes, I was living with her for almost six months before coming to Canterlot.”

“You...wha...how...Why didn't she mention you in any of her letters!?”

“We were trying to keep things a bit discreet.”

“We'll when I see her, I will have a thing or two to say,” she muttered darkly.

Karon smiled at the thought and his mood brightened a little.

“So, how do you know Twilight?”

“Oh we meet at princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. We grew up together and studied a lot, she more than me to be honest. We didn't see each other as much after the princess named her her protege, and I became very busy myself when Minty Frost named me his.”

“You're Minty Frost's protege?” Karon asked curiously.

“Oh yes, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me, well maybe after meeting you of course,” she said and fluttered her eyelashes.

“Subtle.”

“What exactly do you study or do with him then?”

“We'll, right now I am helping him go through the really old archives and transfer the text to new books. Some of the tomes are so old they are falling apart and we can't afford to lose something so valuable.”

“I can understand that. Have you come across something interesting in the process?”

It was actually a rather entrancing topic to discuss, he was still a mage after all, and Karon found himself enjoying the conversation.

“More than there is time to tell, some of it was so interesting that it attracted the attention of other consortium members.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, professor More-than Tardy was very interested in knowing what we've found.”

That revelation made Karon strain his ears a little extra.

“And what did he find so interesting then?”

“Well...” she said and looked around conspiratorially with excessive amounts of drama. The motion reminded him of Rarity, and a small twinge went through his heart.

“...He was rather adamant in finding a tome titled 'The convergence of sun and moon'. But I told him that only Minty himself was allowed to read the section that one was in. I was only allowed to catalog the title and sort it.”

“So you don't know what it's about?”

“No. Only Minty Frost himself knows that, and maybe More-than Tardy. He really wanted to read it.”

“We got a lead!”

“Rose do you know where Minty is tonight?”

“Why yes, he should be around here somewhere...but wouldn't you rather stay with me and talk some more.”

She actually pouted.

“I would, but I need to speak with him about something rather urgently I just remembered.”

“Oh okay, but you should really come see me later.”

“I will.”

“Hopefully not.”

With a gracious nod he excused himself from her and looked around the room. His eyes darted from pony to pony, trying to spot the telltale white and blue of the old stallion. His eyes came to rest on somepony that could be him, his back was turned and he was in conversation with Rarity of all ponies.

Karon made his way forward, maneuvering as quickly as he could between the clusters of nobles, while trying to look calm and collected. It was really hard. Rarity saw him coming and interrupted her conversation with the stallion, who then turned around and revealed himself to be Minty.

Sighing in relief Karon approached the pair, and before Rarity could open her mouth he spoke.

“Minty Frost, a pleasure to see you. I was wondering if you could answer a question I have?”

The wizened stallion looked a little taken aback with Karon's straightforwardness, but nodded after recovering.

“What do you wish to know.”

“What knowledge does the tome called 'The convergence of sun and moon' contain?”

Minty was entirely unprepared for the question and only stared in shock at Karon, who was close to tapping his foot with impatience.

“Well?” he asked.

“Why I...That is knowledge only I am supposed to have an-”

“What. Does it. Contain?” Karon emphasized carefully.

The stallion seemed to be wrestling with himself for a moment, but then he gave in and sighed.

“Since you are the court wizard, I guess it is allowed for me to tell you. The book contains the instructions on how to use the talisman of the stars. With it, any unicorn could align themselves with the powers of the sun and moon, and would thereby gain enormous power. The last one to use it was the royal sisters, and ever since they took on the task of raising the sun and moon themselves they have kept the knowledge of the talisman hidden.”

“Does anypony else know about this?” Karon asked, eyes alight with amber fire.

“Well...I...You see...About for months ago Professor More-than Tardy approached me asking about it. I told him only I, as keeper of the archives, was allowed access to the restricted tomes. He accepted my apologies but two days after...the tome disappeared. I'm not saying that HE is responsible but...”

“It was the professor.”

“And because of that he knows how to gain enough power to challenge Tia and Lunatic.”

“Minty, where is the talisman located?”

“Beneath the castle, in the forgotten crystal caves. There is a carved out chamber where it is kept safe under countless protective spells.”

“How does one access the caves?”

“Now listen I can't just...”

“You listen! It is my damn job to keep things like that from falling into the wrong hooves, and unless I do something that is exactly what will happen tonight. So tell me, NOW!”

The stallions shoulders sank in defeat, he knew he had failed in his duties by letting that tome get stolen.

“In the archives, at the bottom level there is a locked iron door. That leads down to the cave, there is a path that is supposed to lead directly to the chamber with the talisman.”

“Thank you Minty,” Karon finished and motioned Rarity to follow him somewhere private. They ducked out into a corridor and began whispering excitedly.

“He's after the talisman.”

“It looks that way, but how will this help us for tonight. We still don't know how he plans his dastardly coup,” Rarity responded.

“No, but I will when I read his mind. This will be enough to make him so afraid he will lose control of his thoughts, I know it.”

“That is excellent. How did you ever figure out about the existence of the talisman?”

“A mare named Rose Petal helped me.”

“Ah...her.”

“Am I missing something?”

“Of course not, I just saw you talking and assumed it was about...something else.”

“Rarity, it was nothing like that.”

“So you say,” she replied and looked away.

“I'm sorry I hurt you.”

“Well I'm sorry you lied and told me you loved me,” she said, her voice tense and strained.

“That wasn't a lie,” he responded quietly.

They stood in silence after that, the weight of their history together pressing down on them.

“I apologize, I am not in the best of mood this evening,” Rarity finally said and broke the silence.

“I am sorry if I-”

“Oh no, it has nothing to do with you. I had the misfortune to run into prince Blueblood again...he didn't even recognize me.”

“Prince Blueblood?”

“He's...somepony I once thought I was in love with. But he turned out to be a complete ruffian and lacking in any and all manners.”

“Something bad happened?”

“Yes, I spent an entire evening trying to garner his attention but he treated me like I was nothing but a servant, and not a lady.”

“So you're telling me somepony that hurt your feelings is here tonight? And doesn't even remember you?”

“It certainly appears so,” she said, her voice carrying a chill that could rival a glacier.

“Interesting...”

“Rar, please gather the rest of the group. I will make my approach on More-than Tardy, I need every pony ready to act fast after I learn the details of his plan.”

“Of course Karon, I will make sure we are all prepared,” she said, her face drawn with determination.

“Thank you,” he replied and put his hand on her head, the way he once used to do when he jokingly threatened to ruin her mane. Then he turned around and walked back inside the ballroom, eyes searching for More-than Tardy.

But it was the professor that found him.

“Enjoying the evening, court wizard?” a cultured voice asked from behind him.

Karon turned around and faced the impassive stare of the would-be usurper.

“I am certainly,” Karon answered and carefully formed a link to the professors mental aura. It felt like sticking a hand down a dark barrel full of dead maggots and writhing snakes. But instead of a hand it was his mind.

“I heard that there was an unfortunate magical accident of some kind in Cloudsdale last night. As court wizard I trust you have investigated?”

“Indeed I have, but it turned out to be nothing special. Just a failure in somepony's planning it turns out, a tragic accident to be sure.”

The professors mind flared for a second, inky blackness and oily shadows danced as if on fire. But it settled down within a heartbeat as the professor reasserted his control over his own mind. He was too focused, he was deliberately keeping himself from thinking about compromising facts about his plans.

Karon needed to unbalance him.

“But let us not talk of such terrible events, it is a party after all. And as I said, I have enjoyed it so far. Especially the chance to talk with so many of the nobles, now that they are gathered all in one place.”

The professors eyes narrowed by the absolute slightest degree.

“And there are so many topics one could discuss. Not just politics but topics closer to my heart, for example, that of magic. Maybe ancient artifacts to be precise.”

The stallions mind stirred restlessly and Karon saw how his jaw clenched. But it was not enough yet.

“Surely such things would be better suited for an evening with the consortium. Not a party with the nobles.”

“Well maybe you're right, I should settle down and enjoy the small talk. I have already learned so much tonight. For instance, did you know there is an incredible powerful artifact kept in the crystal caves below the castle. It's called, 'the talisman of the stars'. I thought about going to see it later tonight.”

The unicorns mind exploded with writhing tentacles, thoughts and feelings warred in the black landscape of his mind. And Karon drank in the chaos and suddenly understood everything the professor was planning.

He took a step back and looked down on the unicorn, his face still impassive, but there was a black fire burning in his eyes.  A tension thick enough to cut through placed itself over the two adversaries, and it was the professor that broke it first.

“I hope I will see you later tonight. For now I have suddenly urgent business to attend, you know where to find me,” he said in his usual voice, seemingly in control despite everything.

Karon watched him melt into the crowd effortlessly and disappear out of sight. He would be heading straight for the talisman, but Karon couldn't follow yet. He turned his head and scanned the room for any sign of his friends, and found them in plain view around one of the tables. All of them were watching him expectantly.

He hurried over and spoke quickly.

“We have a problem.”

“Could you perhaps elaborate?” Twilight asked carefully.

“The professor is heading down towards the talisman at this moment, Rarity told you about it right?”

They nodded in response and Karon continued.

“But we can't go after him yet. He is planning to retrieve and activate it, and after he has gained its power he means to walk in here again and announce his take over to all the nobles. His spies have been busy gathering information on who everypony cares about and his soldiers have taken all of them hostage. If anypony objects More-than Tardy will threaten to kill that ponies loved ones, they will give into him after that.”

“Oh no, we have to help them,” Fluttershy said, her voice full of concern for the captives.

“We need all the nobles out of here as well. Even if we free the hostages More-than Tardy will be powerful enough to just bash the nobles into submission.”

“We can't just interrupt the party. If we told them the truth they would panic and they won't leave just because we ask them to,” Twilight said.

“They HAVE to get out of here. They are too easy a target gathered all like this.”

“We'll maybe if you...” Twilight said while grimacing as if she were biting into something very sour.

“If I what?” Karon asked with an annoyed wave of his hand.

“Well they are all nobles and have very high standard and refined tastes. They will leave if they feel they have been offended in some way...” she answered slowly.

Karon stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

“Are you...Twilight are you asking me to insult the entire Canterlot elite, to the point they will storm out of here?”

She groaned in what looked to be agony but nodded in affirmative.

“So you wish to release the Kraken?”

“What?”

“I mean, you want to release the Karon?”

Seven ponies all glared at him, we'll six, Pinkie looked to be vaguely approving of his silliness.

“You have to say it,” he continued.

“No,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Say it or I won't do it,” Karon almost sang in response, enjoying the moment immensely.

Twilight sighed and rubbed a hoof to her forehead and mumbled something.

“Louder,” Karon said.

“Fine, release the Karon.” She snapped at him before falling into an impressive glare.

Karon grinned in response, and despite that the fate of Equestria might be resting on them right now, he felt giddy.

“Pinkie?” he almost purred.

“Yes Karon?” she asked in return and tilted her head.

“Come, we have plans to make.”

“We do?” she questioned in her usual chirpy voice.

“Yes. Because tonight, you and I, are going to turn this into the party of the century.”

Chapter 43: A song, a kiss, a birth and a way home

Karon opened his eyes slowly, and he knew something was wrong. His memory was … fuzzy. He couldn't remember what had happened. How he'd gotten where he was, which to his eyes was just a gray expanse stretching endlessly in all directions. He turned around, and saw the same thing, nothing but gray skies and gray ground without end.

He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his regular red robe, and atop his head sat the same crooked hat he always wore. But something was different. The real clothes were a deep red that had been worn by the environment. What he wore now was just a reflection of the real thing. The real clothes did not bleed and did not shift with his movements like flowing blood.

He tried to move back his sleeve, but it wouldn't budge, and with growing horror he realized that the blood was a part of him. It wasn't his blood – he knew that as soon as he touched it with his hand – but it had become a part of him no less for that. It had grown to be a part of him.

What was more, he wasn't as big as he was used to being. After looking closely at his own form, he realized his body had changed and that he was once again a child, though not just a child. With a chill, he realized he looked exactly as he had when he was nine.

He ignored the unsettling revelation for a moment, and stretched out his senses. He was inside of a mental dimension, his old training told him that. However, what kind of dimension and whose world this was remained a mystery. He could sense no signature.

Maybe if he changed the energy his mental body was made up of, he would switch frequency and enter another part of the world he was trapped in. He stretched his senses inwards instead out outwards, and tried to connect to his center.

But it was empty.

Shivers ran up his spine, making the bloody robe shiver in waves in turn. He tried to stretch out his senses again, inward, outward, anywhere, as long as he could feel something. Nothing responded, nothing connected to him.

He was empty, standing in an empty land.

Then it was invaded. A presence broke through the emptiness and filled the cold with light and warmth. From behind him came a golden shine, and at first he was afraid to turn around, to face what he knew he was not. But it was too alluring, too beautiful to ignore.

He turned around, and there in a nimbus of gold and white stood a presence.

“Hello sir,” Feather Touch said, a sad smile touching her lips.

Karon stared, it couldn't be real. And before he knew what was happening he was speaking … no not speaking, singing.

“I saw you burn, I saw you die,

Like a fallen angel, you did wither,

And the dark took you before my eye

Like a wounded snake, hope did slither

Fear and rage was all I felt

The gifts destiny have me dealt

Your blood a drop to an ocean

Your end met for misplaced devotion

Another death another weight to drag me down

In deep red dark of blood and tears and memory

I go to drown”

The words left his mouth of their own volition, and when he was done, and the last tone was left quivering in the emptiness around them, he stood staring at her.

Feather's sad smile left room for a happy one for a moment, making the light she spread all the warmer.

“Oh, I didn't think the magic would do that. I'm sorry sir. Had I known, I would have told you,” she said, her nimbus flickering in uncertainty.

Karon kept his mouth closed in fear of another song escaping him, but his eyes spoke plainly of his confusion, and the questions he wanted answers to.

“I understand sir. I should begin with saying I'm not really Feather. I mean the real me. I'm … a part of her. The real Feather didn't want to leave you, and her soul remained behind, slowly draining her spirit so she could stand with you. She saw everything that happened to you. She was with you in your dreams, even if you couldn't see her. But that monkey, Metatron is his real name, saw me, and he said Feather would fade away forever if she didn't leave you. So after you defeated the jackals she wanted to say good bye. She talked to the shaman in a dream and she … left a part of herself with the shaman, a gift for you. So when she left she didn't truly leave you, she left me.”

Karon closed his eyes, his heart ached with something, and the landscape changed. The gray expanse vanished, and he now stood within the chamber of the Talisman of the Stars, in the place where Feather had died.

The blood robe covering him rippled like it was agitated, and all the feelings he had felt in that place, the pain, the regret, the pure anguish, came rushing back. From the blood, thorns began to grow, climbing up his arms and legs like snakes, digging into his skin and latching on. The blood seemed to be feeding the thorns, and as they grew and coiled around his body, they trapped Karon.

He couldn't move, and he stared at Feather with panic shining out of his eyes.

“I'm sorry sir, I can't free you. I'm not allowed to, and I can't break those rules. It would only hurt you more if I did.”

Karon didn't speak, but his shoulders sagged in defeat and he hung his head. He was giving up. He was being trapped and he knew there was a reason for it. She wasn't allowed to help for a single reason. He deserved this fate.

“Sir, I can't free you, but I can help you remember how to free yourself.”

Karon pleaded with his eyes, the thorns digging into his flesh. It hurt, so much. He nodded to Feather and she smiled again, a smile born out of conviction.

“Thank you for letting me help you sir, follow me.”

Karon tried to protest with his gaze. The thorns were binding him too tightly, and he couldn't follow her anywhere. His unspoken protest died when he met her eyes, blue eyes that had looked on him with no accusation, no anger as she died. He looked into her eyes and fell into them, felt himself enveloped by them.

The landscape changed, it was no longer just the chamber. Instead, the crystals began to shine azure and a melody chimed out of them. Another feeling rose, that of hot tears streaming down his face as he held Feather's burned body. Regret, regret for her death. The death of someone he cared about.

Someone he loved.

The thorns binding him grew white and old, and when he flexed his arms, they easily broke. He quickly brushed the rest off his body, and the blood they had grown out of remained still and at peace. For the moment, at least. What was more, he had grown as he freed himself, and his body was now back to his regular adult form, the one he had worn ever since entering Equestria.

Feather's smile grew wider, and pride shone out of her eyes.

Karon smiled back at her, and a war began inside him between anguish and love, waring for what he would feel and what would drive him.

His senses extended, and he could feel different fields within the world they were trapped in. They all had a different note, like the rising and falling pitch of a song. His had been the emptiness before it began, and the ending when it all fell silent. But he was no longer empty. He had found other parts, and now he wasn't confined any longer.

Feather nodded, already knowing what he had just realized. And so Karon stretched out his feelings until he felt another note that was similar, one that could be joined with his own. He reached out for it, and disappeared.

*******************************************************

He stood within a library, not like Twilight's hollowed out tree, but a larger library in a building of stone. It seemed to be empty with Feather no where to be seen. Karon wondered what had brought him here, and instantly he felt a click, like the joining of two harmonious notes but played by different instruments.

This was love, a place of love. It was different from the one he had found in himself, but it was still love.

He heard a sound coming from behind one of the bookshelves, the sound of a page turning in a book. He went to investigate, and behind it he found Lyra. She was both herself and not. She was smaller, younger, but about her flickered a transparent spirit shaped like her regular self.

She was humming, and when he moved closer she looked up. She saw who it was and recognition passed by her eyes, igniting a longing that burned in her gaze stronger than anything he had ever seen in her before.

Then she opened her mouth, and she sang.

“In a dream I see a face

A life, a thought, a land

Another world, another place

With buildings tall and grand

Crafted not by hoof or horn

But by clever mind and hand

From that dream I was torn

And in faith alone did I stand”

Her words made the whole library shiver with emotion, of a deep longing born into her very soul out of a single dream. One made all the more real by the echoes of the distant place she had glimpsed, and the loneliness she faced when no other shared her belief. Karon didn't know what to say, and he didn't need to. Lyra looked at him, and she started to grow before his eyes, her smaller self slowly changing into her older shape as it flickered around her like a ghostly blanket.

“With fear, and scorn and disbelief

My hopes provided only grief

Tempered my resolve for I knew

The dream I saw had spoken true

A stranger did appear, with hands

A legend, a tale that understands

No more lies, no more doubts

A truth, in my heart does shout

He is real, he is here

Then he turned to disappear

The library shook heavily, books fell out of their places on the shelves, but neither Karon nor Lyra moved. And before his eyes she grew older, stronger and more aware. She rose from her seated position on the floor, her eyes never leaving his.

“I shall not lose my prize

I shall not forget or hide

I will not give in to the lies

I know my place at his side

He is my truth, my dream

He is the raging stream

He will carry me away

He will show the way

To the place I know

To where destiny's winds do blow

At his sides through danger I roam

At his side, all the way to home”

The library fell silent. It no longer shook or moved at all, it was holding its breath. Lyra had grown into her normal self, and she stood watching Karon with uncertainty. What she had sung was a song from her heart, and what it had meant was clear to both of them. She was waiting to see how it would affect him, what he would do know that he had seen what drove her.

He looked into her eyes, then smiled and offered his hand.

She smiled back and placed her right hoof in it, and he hauled her into a hug. They held each other for a long time, and at that moment, their bond deepened into something that could never truly be broken no matter what happened. They remained as such until they were interrupted by an annoyed sigh coming from around the bookshelf.

They looked at each other, then as one moved to investigate. In the center of the library they found Feather Touch, busy with using her magic to place the fallen books back in their rightful places. It did not take long, and when she was done she shifted her eyes to Karon and looked a little disappointed.

“Really sir, must you always make a mess wherever you go? I know it is not my place to judge, but think of all the poor ponies and whatever else that have to tidy up after you've been around.”

Karon started to laugh, and was very irritated when even that came out in a melody. Lyra looked stunned to see Feather Touch standing before them, alive to all appearances, and she looked up at Karon questioningly. He didn't answer since he feared it would come out in a song, so he settled for shrugging his shoulders. Predictably, she rolled her eyes.

“Sir, if I may? I think that you found what you needed to find here, and with lady Lyra's help, I think you are ready to move on.”

Karon motioned with his hands, saying 'moving on to where?'

“The other direction sir. I think this is where your love took you, because this was a place where a love resided.”

The other direction? But there was only two emotions waring within Karon, one was love, the other was anguish. As soon as his focus was directed to his anguish, he felt a resonance with something else, far away. Another place within this world, a place of anguish. Not his, but someone else's.

He closed his eyes and grabbed Lyra's hoof. He didn't want to go there, but he needed to. He sighed and felt the connection grow taut like a string, then they both vanished.

*************************************************

Karon and Lyra found themselves standing in a field. Not a field as in a meadow or open grassland, but an actual farmer's field. The environment reminded Karon of Equestria as there was a certain idyllic peace that was unmistakable. The sun was shining bright in the sky, and a little ways away stood a red barn next to a white house.

Feather Touch appeared out of nowhere to stand next to the two, and after looking at one another, they all started to walk towards the house. When they got closer, they heard somepony shouting. It was full of anger and contempt, and when they passed around the house they spotted who it was coming from.

It was a brown earth pony with a yellow mane, on his flank was a cutie mark of a sickle. In front of him stood a small blue unicorn with a white mane. Her flank had no cutie mark, it was blank. Her head was hanging low and she was trying to hide the tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Why can't you ever be useful! Every. Single. Day you try to cheat your chores! Not here, not like that. Here you do the work like hard working, HONEST, earth ponies!” the stallion roared, his eyes boring into the filly.

“But I can't. It's too heavy and I'm not strong enough,” she whimpered, eyes never leaving the ground.

The stallion snorted, “Of course you aren't. You're worthless in every possible way and that's not my fault.”

“But dad-”

“DON'T CALL ME THAT! I am not your father. Your equally worthless mother made sure of that. Eighteen generations of pure earth ponies, and she needs to dirty our family by sleeping with a weak hoofed unicorn,” he spat.

“It's not my fault,” the filly whispered and turned her face away even further from him.

“You were a mistake, a mistake created by your whore mother! I've been gracious and tried to have patience, tried to teach you the values our family has always lived by. But you just refuse to learn, refuse to be taught. You're a unicorn,” he spoke the last word with such loathing it made the little filly flinch like he had struck her.

“I can't, I'm not an earth pony. If you'd let me use magi-”

“NOT in my house! This is not a place for unicorn trickery. You will not sully this home with that filth!”

“It's the only thing I'm good at,” she whimpered, her tears flowing freely.

“Then you're good at nothing,” he said with utter conviction. “You are worth nothing, even the simplest tasks I give you remain undone or done so sloppily that you might as well not even try.”

“But I try so hard, I try to do as you say,” she said, her voice barely audible.

“Doesn't matter, you always fail and you always will. You're useless, weak and the child of betrayal. You shame this entire family with your very existence.”

“I will try harder,” she said and finally looked up, her eyes red.

“No, just ... go. Be gone from here, disappear from our lives and let us forget you ever existed. Go to the unicorns, go anywhere but here. You have your precious magic, so go use it.”

He said the words the same way another would have described a death sentence. He turned away from the crying filly, leaving her behind without another word. Dead to him already, and soon nothing but a distant memory leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

She remained standing where she was, not sure what to do. He had said similar things, and he always shouted when she wasn't strong enough to do the chores like he wanted them done. But he had never told her to go away, never told her to disappear. She didn't know what to do.

She turned around from the house she had grown up in, away from the family she had always been told she didn't belong with. She wandered aimlessly and Karon and the others followed at a respectful distance, none of them sure of the right thing to do.

The little filly continued walking without any sense of direction, her head fixed on the ground and an air of misery around her. Eventually, after following her for what felt to Karon as far too long, he hurried and caught up with her, with Feather and Lyra following on his tail.

When the filly heard him approaching, she turned around and looked up at him, and recognition seemed to flare in her eyes. She stared at him with confusion, like she was having difficulty piercing the cloud of anguish crushing her.

They looked each other in the eyes, and when the filly opened her mouth, she sang with the voice of a child. Smell, helpless and hurt.

“Please break my horn

please take away my shame

make like I was never born

make me the same

I don't want to feel

I don't want to cry

I just want to heal

I just want to die

To be great to be strong

Never hearing I am wrong

Knowing somepony does care

Hold me when I scare

Not scream 'You are flawed.'

Not tell me 'You're a fraud.'”

“Let me feel the magic flow

Make me great, let me grow

Give me a name that is mine

Give me power, let me shine

Please stop and say I'm good

Don't leave me misunderstood

I just want to hear it said

Just once, then I'm fine

Don't say it's better if I'm dead

A single time, this one sign

Please don't turn away

I won't ask your name or who

Just once look at me and say

I love you”

The singing did not leave a shiver in the air like it had before, instead it made it felt emptier like there was something missing. Karon looked down on the little filly, quivering in fear at his judgment. He was deeper within her heart and soul than anyone had ever been before, seeing a part of her she had done everything to block and lock away, deep down out of mind.

Just like he had.

He opened his mouth, and the words flowed all on their own.

“Falling grace and beaten hooves

Quivering heart of breaking soul

Through time our bodies moves

Without a goal, without a whole

Inside there is a hole

A thought of what we stole

Guiltless masks we don

Forgetting the dreams of chance

And twisting what is shown

Hide our pain in a careless glance

A family of outcasts, around a schemer

Trickster, bastard and dreamer

I know the pain you carry

We are bearers of regret

Of a past we wish to bury

But we can't, we owe a debt

To self, to love, to hope, to fate

To go on with this crushing weight

Through enduring we grow strong

This is just another step, this stupid song

To break our chains and free our fire

Heal our wounds and feel the scars

Let it be our hope or funeral pyre

We will not fall, we will walk amongst the stars

Look into a trickster's eyes, full of shame, and hope and lies

I love you, in those words find your strength, and rise”

Nothing happened at first and Trixie looked at him only in fear. But the look on her face changed to one of wonder and when she looked at her flank, a cutie mark had appeared, and she started to grow. Within a few heartbeats she was back to her normal size, but there was a difference in her. A wall had been torn down, and the prison she had built for herself was beginning to crumble. It would take time and a great deal of effort to tear it all down, but it was a start.

Karon felt his anguish harden, shaping itself into something else. It wasn't a weakness anymore, eating away at everything he dared feel for. It didn't erode his will, it strengthened it. It was a source from which he could draw power, a hard lesson and a reminder.

He was not alone, he was not the first to be tormented. He had seen Trixie's own pains, and the chains she had built to keep it away. And what's more, he knew he would not be the last. There would come others like them, like him. What that meant exactly escaped him, but he sensed a truth in that realization, and a whiff of destiny's touch.

“That was sickeningly sweet. I am almost saddened by the thought of what I will do to you,” a voice slowly drawled.

The four of them turned to face the changeling queen, standing unafraid just a few steps away from the group. Around her there sparked a green aura, lashing out with small tendrils like they were seeking something. Without thinking Karon reached for his spear so that he could send it flying into the smug queen's face, forgetting entirely where they were.

And in a way, it worked.

The sky darkened, and from it a jet black shape rushed down and slammed into the earth, sending dirt and small rocks spraying in every direction. From the ground rose a figure, huge and with fur the kind of darkness that one can only find in the deepest cave where light has never been, sucking in light itself. It was shaped like a jackal, but stronger, more powerful and the only word Karon could use to describe it was terrifying.

Its claws were long and sharp, reminiscent more of daggers sticking out of its paws than actual claws. Its eyes were no different in color than the rest of its body, a deep dark that was almost hypnotic in its absolution.

It stood twice as tall as Karon, and at least four times as wide. It was in every respect of the word, a monster, a terrifying beast. And then it spoke.

“Who called to me? Who would claim to wield my hunger! I am Bator's promise!”

Karon and the three ponies around him all backed off. The voice of the beast made the very earth quake in fright, and the queen of the changelings knew better than to stand in the way of such a foe. She gave the human an acidic smile, then disappeared.

The creature's gaze sought out Karon, and when they locked eyes, he felt very, very afraid.  The beast drew in a deep breath, smelling the tiny creatures that stood before him. It did not look impressed.

“You … your tiny paws smell of my touch,” it growled and focused its attention on Karon. It was an unsettling stare, the same kind of predatory gaze you receive when you become the total focus of a tiger.

“I … wait, I'm not singing,” he said out loud, forgetting the monster for a brief second.

The fact he was now able to have a normal conversation did not prove to be very advantageous at that moment, for the beast started to move towards him slowly, claws twitching like it was imagining itself tearing Karon apart.

“You would dare to call on Bator's promise, the great promise of bloody invasion, the birthright of the jackals?” it asked, and there was a terrible malice behind its words.

Karon took in the situation, and reached the only sane conclusion.

“Run!” he shouted.

The beast did not roar or set chase when the four of them scattered, instead it smiled a grim smile in satisfaction. The hunt was on.

Karon's legs were pumping under him furiously. The thing was huge and would not have any problems keeping up with him. Which was why he was stretching out his senses to find another connection, another frequency that he could move over to. However, he could sense nothing new, and when he heard the loud stomping of the jackal beast approaching, he took the easiest way out, and returned to where he had first appeared.

The landscape had changed again. It was not the empty gray and neither was it the cavern chamber where Feather had met her end. Instead, it was his inner library, basked in golden light from the chandelier above and the endless rows of bookshelves. He didn't understand what he was doing there at first, but the reason became plain when the sultry voice of the changeling queen rang out from one of the floors above.

“Finally you have arrived. I was almost worried that the creature had eaten you. How fortunate you are still alive, otherwise I would have had to go to one of the other ones' inner mind, and they didn't appear to be as interesting as you. A human are you?I have heard of your kind, but never met one before. It shall be a real pleasure digging through this place, but first...”

Karon heard the sound of magic being used, right before he fell down to his knees and bit back a scream. Something was pounding on his mind, doing its best to rip something apart. And it became obvious what that was when he looked up and realized just where the queen stood.

At the black door.

Ignoring all the pain and letting panic lend him speed, he practically flew up the stairs, and when he reached the door he found the queen standing before it with her horn aglow with a sickly green light, tearing at the chains safely binding the door from opening.

He didn't bother screaming in denial. He simply lashed out with all the energy he could find and sent a storm of  pure force towards the twisted alicorn.

The savagery of the attack took her by surprise, but the tendrils of energy around her reacted when the new force barreled into her, and it absorbed and twisted the brunt impact. With dread, Karon realized this wasn't just his mind. What they were all within was a collective mind, a small mental pocket world created by the creatures all joining together through their mixed magic.

He was not all powerful here, he was not without limits. And what was more, in the mental world, memories equaled power. The more experienced and the more time spent in the world was reflected in a mind, and made it grow. He felt his own considerable strength, made all the more dangerous through his almost prodigal skill within the finer magics, but it was nothing compared to the raging storm that was the queen. She had lived for thousands upon thousand of years, and next to all of those memories, all these echoes from the world her mind still carried, he was like a fly in a gale.

He knew it, the queen knew it, and with a twisted smile she tore off one of the black chains. It fell to the floor and dissolved into black smoke, and all that remained to block the door was one single chain. All that was left, then it would just be the door, and even though it would be locked it could still be opened.

He could not allow that. Not yet, and not by her.

His power might be nothing to her, but there was another way, a trickster's way. Not the one of brute force, but the one of trickery, using the laws of the world against her. This was a place of all their minds, built around a collective. She had, through that connection, entered into his, but he could also enter hers.

With a devious smile, Karon locked eyes with the queen, and before she realized what he was planning, he stretched out his senses until he felt the queen's frequency. It rang out like a powerful church bell, but one old with rust and covered in slime. Her eyes widened when she understood, but by then it was too late, and they both vanished.

******************************************************

Karon knew this place. It was the war room he had seen while trapped in the ghost's visions. It was exactly the same, even the same broken remnants of the alicorns were there. Sick, defeated and forgotten by all, their princesses had left many days ago and they had abandoned all hope of them ever returning.

Their leader Fortitude had died. He had been weak for a long time, and it was only the thought of the princesses returning with news that the horrible creature Discord had been defeated that kept him alive. But they didn't return, and with every hour that passed, he had grown weaker, until eventually he laid down to rest, and never moved again.

There were so few now, more and more were dying, and what few might still be healthy enough to fight the diseases couldn't because their very spirits were broken. It was a slow, agonizing end to the once proud and wise race of the alicorns.

Among the small group of survivors was a young alicorn mare, her coat a beautiful dark gray that had often been compared to the king's own. Her mane was that of ocean blue, and once she had been considered one of the most beautiful of the mares in the capital.

Now she was sick. Small wounds had opened over her entire body, oozing pus and mingling with the cold sweat that left her shivering. Her mother and father were gone. They had left to help some of the lesser species in their time of need, and she hadn't heard from them since. She knew they were dead, as was the rest of her family. Every alicorn was dead, except the few with her in the room, and the princesses out hunting for Discord. And soon, everyone in room would die too. She could see it in their eyes. They didn't even try and fight it, they just waited.

She felt a little anger stir inside her chest. She didn't like the thought of the last alicorns dying like that. Despite her fragile state, the anger gave her enough strength to stand on shaky hooves, and walk out of the room. Outside, the air was fresher, less clouded with sickness and despair. Instead it was … empty. The air felt empty, like it was missing something.

No, it was more than the air. Everything felt empty, like it had been drained of everything worth touching or feeling, leaving only an empty wasteland with ruins. It had been such a short time, but her beautiful home had been so twisted that when she now looked on the remains of the capital, she could see nothing familiar in it.

It held nothing. Her life held nothing. She held nothing.

It had been taken from her. All of it had been taken from her, but for some reason she still lived. A living, breathing shell, just as drained of substance as the ruins she walked through. Chrysalis had been her name, but it had been the name given to a beloved daughter. Was it still hers now that she was no longer anyone's daughter?

Even the wind felt empty as it brushed against her sweat drenched coat, and it offered no answers. The sun was beginning to set, and she wondered who it was that moved it now that the alicorns were dying. Maybe a group of unicorns struggling with magic they were never meant to use.

If so, life still persisted, and the princesses hadn't lied. They had saved the world, brought it back, even if it was maybe for just a moment before Discord plunged it back into an execution by entropy.

But it had been days. Why hadn't the infernal creature already rebelled against something so orderly as the rise and fall of the sun? Had the princesses succeeded in destroying him? And if so, why hadn't they returned to save the few shattered remains of their race, their subjects?

The wind answered her, this once. As did the land, and the broken houses and the hollow warmth the sun offered. Because there was nothing to save. They couldn't be bothered, it was not as it had been. None of them were, they were all empty now, and all that was left was to crumble into dust.

She stopped before a corpse, a pegasus of the lesser ponies. She even remembered the particular pony. She had been the leader of the pegasi in the capital, and she had been there in that last attempt to stop Discord's storm. There had been rumors about her, about her honor and strength, about how she could fly so fast even alicorns would have difficulty capturing her with magic.

And now, she was a rotting corpse, leaving nothing but stink from having basked in the sun. All her honor and strength, it was nothing now, just like she was. Chrysalis halted at the thought. The corpse was just like her, without purpose and the lingering echo of something that would eventually be forgotten.

Maybe she wasn't alone at all, maybe there was purpose to non-purpose, maybe emptiness was not so lonely as she thought. She embraced the thought. She was empty already, what harm could it bring to let it claim her? She stretched herself out into the land around her, and all she could feel was emptiness, a void.

From that moment she was changed. Her wounds grew into scars, and from her pores oozed something new, a sticky liquid that enveloped her, protecting her from the cold and heat around her. Neither would touch her, and she would not be hot or cold, she would be empty.

From her horn a green light began to shine, and she felt the emptiness inside her reach out, and it found a similar emptiness in the corpse at her hooves. She could not bring back the dead, and she did not want to. She did not seek life, only to share her emptiness. She drained the corpse of what it was, the void inside her hungrily devouring all that it had been. And the corpse changed as well, its rotting hide twisted into a chitin of the same color as her coat, and its eyes cracked and grew, changing into the same color as her mane.

From the void of life rose something new, the first of many. She would not be alone, she would share her emptiness with all she could. If she could not be Chrysalis the daughter, she would be Chrysalis the mother.

And from that emptiness rang a song, and with her lips she gave it shape.

“Sunder all broken minds, leave only dust behind

Stop time from turning, moving, pushing, churning

Stop the breath of life, leave behind all strife

Come into my embrace, I will replace your face

In an empty place, there is no grace

No honor, doubt or fear, your fate I will now steer

Crack your skin and bleach your eyes

What you've been, will now die

Give me your love

Meant for another

And become something of

Nothing, void and me,

Your mother”

Karon had been following Chrysalis all the way from the room, keeping out of sight but still close enough to observe whatever hid within her mind. But of all the things he could have been witness to, this was beyond anything he could have suspected.

Chrysalis smiled down at the first of her children, the twisted shell of what had once been the body of a being renowned for her heroism. Now it was only a tool, a small part of a greater emptiness given a body to use. An emptiness born out of Celestia's and Luna's weakness.

They held the power, they could have healed the wasteland. But they choose not to, and so it spread, claiming its first victim, Chrysalis herself.

The queen grew before his eyes, not in size, but in age. Scars of all kinds formed around her body, acid seemed to eat through her hooves and horn, leaving holes and jagged edges behind. Thousand of years of suffering and pain took place in mere seconds before his eyes, twisting her further and further until Chrysalis, the beloved daughter, could not even be remembered.

She was the queen of the changelings now, and she was aware of his presence. She turned her eyes towards him and anger burned within them. She knew he had seen, knew her beginning, and in knowing such things there was power.

She could not allow such a thing, and as she gathered her power, Karon did the only sensible thing he could and fled. He fled to the only place he knew Chrysalis could not follow. He stretched out for his love, and disappeared from Chrysalis' mind.

He looked around, and found himself back in the library inside Lyra's mind. And more than that, Lyra herself was there, together with Trixie and Feather Touch. They looked relieved when they saw Karon standing there and Trixie rushed up to him and put a hoof to his chest. She held it there for a brief moment as she looked deep into his eyes. Then she noticed that her hoof was being stained by the blood that was his robe and backed away.

The other two ponies walked over and stood next to her.

“What happened?” Trixie asked carefully.

“The queen found me, tracked me to my own mind. She was … doing something I could not allow to happen, and so I forced myself into her mind. I saw her beginning, and after she discovered me I had to flee, so I came here.”

Feather nodded with the others, then spoke in her usual calm voice.

“Sir, if I may make a suggestion? I think it would be a good idea to deal with the spirit of the spear as soon as possible. It is quite powerful and could cause considerable damage to miss Trixie's mind.”

“I know Feather, I just don't have any idea what to do. I don't even have any ideas for how to get out of here at all.”

“Well sir, this place seems to be a result of the intermingling energy fields created by your and the changeling queen's magic. Her magic was meant to create a form of hypnosis that would allow her to extract memories directly from your unconscious mind and also communicate with your consciousness in order to interrogate you. Your magic was meant to bypass the conscious flow of will and manipulate the brain into switching to a beta frequency through the electrical field around it. When these two mingled, they caused an overload, but instead of dispersing, the energy you yourself were trying to concentrate was let loose, causing all of you to fall deep asleep while simultaneously linking all your minds through the queen's spell, allowing you to interrogate and access one another's inner mind.”

“When did you learn so much about magic?” Karon asked in surprise.

“I'm a spirit now sir, well only part of one of course. But energy knows energy, and I am nothing but energy now. And I know the spirit of the spear accessed you through the same field of mingled magic that we are all trapped within right now, since I did the same thing. I am, after all, not a part of you sir, I am confined to the feather you carry as a talisman around your chest. I am only able to communicate with you like this because the veils between the different parts of your being are lifted at the moment.”

“Damn. If the field is still emitting power, it's because its being generated by a source,” Karon muttered, already knowing what Feather would say next.

“Yes sir, the source of power the field is drawing from is all of your life forces. If it continues to do so, it will eventually kill all of you.”

“So how do we get out?” Trixie asked.

“Well, two ways I can think of right now,” Karon said. “One is to cut the power, which is to say our lives, which would be stupid even if we could. The other is to break the structure the magic is maintaining. Break it and the power has no directed field to support anymore and we should wake up.”

“So how do we do that?” Trixie asked again. Lyra motioned with her body that she was wondering the same.

“The structure is the collective of our minds. If one of us breaks free, the whole structure will break.”

Before Trixie could ask again, Karon held up a hand and sighed and continued.

“And I have no idea how we'll manage that.”

“Sir, I might.” Feather interjected as politely as was possible.

“How?” Karon asked.

“Well, the queen's spell was shaped to connect to the parts of the mind directly resonating with the memories connected to the heart and soul. If you remove those, the spell can't connect to you, and your mind will break free.”

“You want to remove my heart and soul?” Karon asked in disbelief.

“Only for a short time of course. They can be stored within a suitable receptacle until you can reabsorb them.”

“Feather, if you know half as much magic as you seem to know, then you are aware of how incredibly dangerous that is. Body dying is one thing, but losing your soul...”

“I know sir, which is why I would never think of such an idea if it weren't for the fact that I want to be the caretaker of them, for a short time.”

“Ah I get it. You want to transfer my soul to the talisman you are housed within, the feather.”

“I would love to sir, but it can't be done. The talisman can just barely contain the small essence of the Feather Touch I am. Any more and it will break and … you will lose me and your heart and soul at the same time.”

“That would be bad,” he said and swallowed hard.

“I know sir, which is why I suggest we store it within the spear instead.”

“You mean the spear who's spirit is a huge, super powerful, bloodthirsty representation of the entire jackal race's hope of conquering an entire continent and slaughtering everything in their path?”

“Yes, but don't fear sir, I will help you,” she announced happily, her smile making the entire room shine in a golden light.

“How?” Karon asked and tried not to sound doubtful.

“Well, I don't trust that spirit at all. He seems exceedingly untrustworthy,” she said and twisted her mouth in disapproval.

“Exceedingly untrustworthy indeed,” Karon agreed and tried not to smirk.

“So, I was thinking that he and I shall join and become one entity,” she finished.

Karon stared, thinking hard to interpret just what she'd said. And when what she'd said did sink in, he was close to screaming at her.

“NO! I will not allow you to make another sacrifice. You've given enough already. You died for me, you gave up a part of yourself for me. You will not give more!”

“Yes I will sir. I am always your faithful servant and that will never change. Let me merge with the spirit of the spear, and I will continue to serve you for as long as you carry it with you.”

Karon stood speechless. He couldn't let it happen again, but what if it was the only way out? Right at that moment, all of their lives were slowly being drained. However, it would mean letting Feather merge with that monster, and he wasn't sure how much of her would remain after that. Was this his destiny, always coming back to situations where the only way out was losing friends and followers?

Feather looked at Karon hard. In some things she was not subservient.

“Sir, this is not destiny, this is choice. It is my choice, and I made it once and I have not changed my mind. The reason for why I did it remains true. I will do it, and it will free you all, and then I shall go with you as something new, and serve you as I have always tried to.”

She walked over to him, washed in her light of gold and purest white. She was beautiful. She had always been, but now she was truly beyond belief. Her very spirit was something so amazing it would have made gods fall to their knees in reverence.

And she would give it all up, joining with that damned bloodthirsty creature, staining her perfection.

He lowered himself to her height and embraced her, her light too strong to ever be touched by the blood covering him. It shone into the absolute darkest part of his soul, and despite the fact that it was locked behind a door still chained by the final chain, Karon knew she could see everything. Even the parts that he hide from himself. And when they broke the embrace and he looked into her azure eyes, he saw nothing but a willingness to sacrifice herself for him, despite knowing what memories he had locked away.

There was no more that could be said that had not already passed in that look, but he had to ask anyway.

“Why? Why continue sacrificing yourself for me?”

Her smile didn't falter, but she looked at him thoughtfully before answering.

“I'm afraid I can't answer that sir. It is the kind of thing that would mean more if you discover it later, after you've started moving forwards again. But don't worry sir, I know for a fact that you will get to know why. A talking monkey with a stick reassured me that it would happen.”

It would have to be enough for now, so Karon got up on his feet and looked over at the two unicorns. Both of them were misty eyed and looked at Feather Touch with something approaching admiration for Lyra and sadness for Trixie. They stood silent for a few minutes, basking in the bittersweet moment.

“Let's go,” Karon said eventually.

One by one, they disappeared until he remained alone. And then he took a deep breath and stretched out for the agony in Trixie's mind.

Karon appeared in the same spot he had disappeared from, and when he looked around, he could see the other three approaching from different directions. There was no sign of the jackal monster, which unnerved him. A creature that big and ferocious should have left a trail of destruction when he realized his quarry had fled.

If he had not, then perhaps he wasn't stupid or unfocused. Maybe his temper didn't run uncontrolled, and maybe he was truly the hopes and dreams of what all the jackals could be. A true hunter, not only powerful but also cunning.

If he was such a creature, then he would have know there was a good chance his prey would return. And if that was the case...

“You can come out, I know its a trap!” Karon shouted into the air, taking a wide, confident stance.

He heard a deep rumbling chuckle, amusement born out of seeing the fox do something clever, and live for another few precious moments before the hound finally closed in.

One of the small grassy hills rose from the ground, and the beast shook off the unbroken patch of grass it had removed from the ground and covered itself with. It had been lying in wait scant meters from where Karon had appeared, and it could have surprised him any time and crushed him. It hadn't, for it was a hunter.

And the hunt was to be savored.

The ponies hurried to Karon's side when they saw what was happening, but the beast didn't seem to care. It had eyes only for Karon, the one who had dared to claim ownership of him, of Bator's promise.

“You are the one. By what right do you wield me? You are no jackal, and though I have slept for long, I can taste their blood on my blade. I will not allow it. You will not steal me from my rightful place in the paws of the conqueror.”

It took one step forward and bent down a little, looking Karon closely in the eyes. The human forced himself not to show fear, it would be like dangling a steak before a hungry dog.

“I wield you by right of strength. I was given as a gift from the dragon you were forged to slay, and failed to slay. Many of the jackal kind tried to take it, and when the great Vako invaded the zebra capital in search of it and me, I went to him, and I threw him down to the courtyard ground where he splattered like a batch of rotten fruit. I am Karon the trickster, and you are my tool.”

“I am no tool of yours, weakling. I can smell your pain, your desperation and longing. You are not fit to wield me, and I will take pleasure in proving it to you.”

It took another step, and it was so close it could have stretched out its claws and torn him open. It didn't, it held its stare into Karon's eyes, and Karon's gaze did not flicker either. He could not fight the beast in close combat and win, but his greatest strength was not in that kind of battle, so he didn't try.

“Yes, you are. I have only begun with feeding you the blood of my enemies, and there will be countless more. And now that you are awakened, the body count will double quickly.”

“Your accomplishments are empty. I AM BATOR'S PROMISE! I am the weapon the conqueror will hold when he brings the jackals forward in a tide of rage, and claws and steel and fangs.”

“It will not happen. I broke the jackals before me. I burned my laughing face into their minds and they will never, ever forget me. They will whisper my legend to their children as a warning to never return to the zebra lands or what lies beyond. I killed that dream, I killed the conqueror before he had even been born. You have no purpose now, other than that which I give to you.”

The beast's focused glare cracked, and it blinked in confusion.

“No, I am Bator's promise. There is nothing else, it is what is meant to be.”

“Not anymore. The jackals will never conquer anything.”

“No ... I....”

The beast broke the gaze, and it staggered backwards. Its great strength no longer guided by a clear purpose, and in that wavering of certainty, Karon saw his chance. He looked over at Feather, and she gave him a sure smile, letting him know nothing had changed.

He sighed, and motioned her to step forward.

“We are trapped with magic that is slowly killing all of us. There is a way to break it, but it will require something of you,” Karon said firmly to the huge beast having an existential crisis.

It looked over at Karon, then down to Feather Touch, who was tiny compared to the great monster.

“This is Feather Touch. She is a spirit of a talisman I carry. She will merge with you, and the new being you will form can assist in lifting the magic.”

The beast sized Feather up in one look, then growled.

“It is weak, it knows nothing of blood and death.”

Feather frowned.“You are wrong you foul smelling, shaggy, degenerate! I know plenty of death. Unlike you I have felt it touch me, and I understand it far better than you alone ever will. However, we both know service. And I serve the sir proudly and so shall you, when we become one.”

“I am Bator's Promise! The promise of Murder, of Blood, of-”

“No,” Karon interrupted, his voice low but his tone without compromise.

Everyone's eyes turned to him, and waited in silence to hear what he'd say.

“You are not Bator's promise, Bator's promise is broken. You are a ghost, but you will become more. I will take you further than any jackal conqueror ever could. In my hands, I will carve you through more flesh than you would ever feel touch your cold tip in the hands of any other. I will let you taste the blood of creatures beyond this world. I will walk across stars and worlds and galaxies and I shall walk with you in my hand. You will have your killings, and you will be more than Bator's promise, you will be....”

Karon turned his eyes to Feather's, and he smiled sadly.

“...You will simply be, Promise.”

Feather smiled. She knew there were so many meanings to that simple name. So much depth hid in those few syllables. The beast shivered, it hungered like never before. It looked into Feather's eyes, and she looked into its.

“Promise,” it said with a voice full of hunger for blood and death.

“Promise,” she said with a voice of clarity in willing sacrifice.

Slowly, their forms began to dissolve. Changing into nothing but their essences, black and red energy melted into gold and white. They twisted and broke against one another, like they were battling for supremacy, and Karon feared Feather would lose and the beast would absorb her completely.

It didn't, instead they shifted through colors like they were trying to find themselves. Until finally they stopped, and energy of orange and gray settled into itself, and a new shape was molded.

It formed into a vaguely humanoid shape, with arms and legs and torso, but behind it, large feathered wings stretched themselves out. A gray, fur robe draped itself around the being, and from its head sprang orange hair that grew until it reached its shoulders, and behind it, the wings settled in the same color. Its skin was a similar gray to its robe, and from its hands, terribly long nails of pure black grew until they were as long as daggers. It was barefoot, and its eyes were a deep blue as it opened them. The being was complete in its birth, and it looked down at itself with curiosity.

“Feather?” Karon carefully asked and approached the being.

It looked up at him, then bowed from the waist gracefully and responded.

“No master, I am Promise. And I am ready to serve you in whatever way you wish of me. I am at your command.”

It was androgynous in its appearance, and the voice was light yet still resonated deeply, and it was impossible to tell if it was supposed to be male or female.

“Why … did you take that form?” Karon asked, uncertain how this being could have been born of the strange union.

“I attempted to shape myself after you master, but I am afraid this was as far as my nature allowed me to go,” it said and spread its arms, the nails cutting through the air the same way a sharp sword would.

“Are you feeling well?” he asked. The part of Feather Touch the spirit had been made of didn't exist any more, but this was what she had become together with the beast and he wanted to know she was okay.

“I am complete master. My power far exceeds that of my two predecessors and the union has been favorable. I possess all the memories and power they each possessed as individuals and my mind has adapted itself to exist in a higher state of mind, one far more capable. I am Promise, and I am yours.”

Karon wasn't sure what to think about it all, but the plan had worked so far, and sooner or later the queen would find them. The magic needed to be lifted before that happened or they would be in trouble. More trouble.

“Do you remember the plan to escape this place?” he asked.

“I do master. You will transfer your heart and soul into my home through me as a channel, and there I will serve as their keeper until your mind has been released and is capable of retrieving them.”

Karon nodded, but the spirit wasn't done.

“In the case that the magic is not lifted or if you in your divided state should perish, I will continue to serve as the keeper of your soul and heart until a fitting living creature claims the spear. When that happens, I will tear out the creature's soul and heart and allow you to take over the body and devour the mind. I understand if you feel that would be tragic, as it would mean the loss of most of your current memories and knowledge, but I am certain that if such should happen, that we could find a solution.”

It spoke with the same genderless, light, almost cheerful tone of voice when it said it. Karon wasn't sure if he should be worried that it could be so ruthless or impressed that it had already thought so far ahead. Judging by the fact that Trixie and Lyra had taken a few quick steps backwards, they didn't seem to have any problems deciding.

However, the exact details of Promise's birth was something to save for later, and Karon simply nodded in satisfaction. It was time to get lift the magic and get out. Any place where you broke out into random song wasn't somewhere he wanted to be.

He walked over to Promise until he was close enough to touch her, him, it. But he stopped, squinting when he realized he didn't remember exactly how he was supposed to do the transfer. Removing such vital parts of his being hadn't been something he had paid attention to with Varsif.

Promise looked on him with understanding and reached out its hand. Karon took it while being careful to avoid the sharp claws.

Nothing happened.

“Master, considering the nature of the place, I think it will be necessary to make use of a lyrical component in order to connect your soul and heart to me and allow the transfer.”

Karon groaned and shook his head. Of course he would have to SING his heart and soul out. Never before had something so sinister sounded so lame.

He opened his mouth, and the words flowed by themselves. And with them, flowed his very heart and soul.

“Someone hold me safe and warm

Fight the cold, shield me from the storm

My heart of shattered peace, so hard

From embers, it emerges charred

From youthful innocence and joy I smiled

And a wicked mistake, I was no more a child

All the joy of life, crashed with broken beams

Burning wood and dying screams

No joy is there, without a price

To live with the knowledge it all dies

Leave a truth more cold than ice

Unyielding before a child that cries

So cut my heart out, bleed it dry

And watch me as I die

A child's joy, the only why

Take my soul, its end is nigh

The door is opening for all to see

That inside, I am already rotten

Waiting for the memory to be set free

To burn me from a night

Locked, blocked and forgotten”

Light was sucked out from him as he sang, and with it came all the emotions he had ever felt. His very soul was leaving him, or more truthfully, he was leaving himself. It was all shattered, confusing. He was drowning in his own self and what wasn't there. And then as abruptly it was over, and he was back in the empty gray expanse. But this time, there was no connection he could form. There was no emotion in him, his heart was gone. He looked around, it was all that he was now.

And that meant he could wake up.

                       ****************************************************

He opened his eyes and listened to the sound of the magic field fizzling out. Around him the others stirred, and he quickly walked over to spear on the ground close to where he had been sleeping. It was different now, its blade was still midnight black diamond, but the staff it rested upon was gray with swirling orange patterns. He hesitated for a moment before picking it up, and when he did it, everything came rushing back to him. He was physically thrown backwards through the air by the force of his soul and heart returning to him, and he landed heavily on the ground.

He laid still for a while, groaning in self pity and trying to find a stable center in himself. Now that all of him was back, his being was trying to make sense of the memories of being in several places at the same time, and it left him groggy and confused. When he put his hand on his chest he felt that the feather talisman was gone, only the chain remained.

The others were slowly gaining their faculties back and rising from the ground, and so Karon had little choice but to do the same and staggered over to the ponies. They shook their heads in an attempt to clear them, and all three turned when they heard the sound of someone stumbling.

Chrysalis was having trouble staying on her hooves, and she was swaying from side to side, always on brink of toppling over. After a few minutes, all of the waking beings present had managed to clear their heads, and stood staring at one another in silence. The changelings did not know what had happened. They had no minds to speak of, and as such hadn't been dragged into the collective world the others had shared in.

They didn't know why their queen hesitated, why she didn't attack and crush the intruders. She just stood there, looking at Karon with a mixture of hate and fear in her eyes. She knew what he had seen within her, and that meant he had great power over her. He knew she was Chrysalis, and even though Chrysalis the daughter and Chrysalis the mother had the same name, they were not the same Names.

What's more, she could feel the humming of power coming from the spear he held, a power that had not been there before. It was formidable, almost frighteningly so. That combined with the power he already wielded before the sleep made him very dangerous to her, maybe to the point where even her thousands of years of experience could be matched.

Or beaten.

She could lose. She knew if they fought, there would be no certain winner. And changelings did not fight fair fights. She did not fight fair fights, not if it could be avoided. So she avoided it.

“You have proven your abilities human. You are free to leave my home now,” she said with vehemence dripping from her words.

“No,” Karon responded calmly, shifting the spear so it was almost poised to strike against the queen.

She noticed and took a few cautious steps backwards. Her voice low and furious, she responded.

“No? Then what do you want?”

“I want you to leave, you and all the changelings. Go away. Leave the river lands and the otters and never return. I don't care where you go, just disappear and you will not see me again.”

She smiled a wicked smile and laughed.

“I was already planning on leaving, so I am happy to fulfill your request. I have found a place with far more love than these scheming little rodents could ever hope to feed my children with anyway. So enjoy your victory human, as I will enjoy mine.”

“Go,” Karon simply said.

The queen gave him one last, almost sultry, smile. Then she took to the air, and with her, followed the changelings standing around the trio. Soon the whole forest was buzzing loudly with the sound of thousands of changelings flying off to follow their queen.

Karon had considered just lunging forward and trying to kill her, it would have spared the otters' replacements a lot of pain. Yet he couldn't, not after what he had seen inside of her. She was an empty shell, the living example of something that was missing, and he couldn't help but pity her for it.

Promise shivered with disappointment. Karon felt its need to prove itself to him, to unleash its new power and test its limits. He sent a small feeling of reassurance to it, and the spirit calmed down. After all, there were always people in need of killing.

The trio left the dark forest behind them, and when they returned to the otters, they were predictably not welcomed with fanfare at first. The guards who recognized them were highly suspicious when they got the news that the changelings were gone, and all three of them had to undertake several tests to prove they truly were themselves and not changelings in disguise.

Once that was proven, the entire city turned into one massive celebration, and swimmers were sent to the other cities to spread the news that the changelings were gone forever. Despite the atmosphere of total joy, the trio only stayed for a few more days. Sir Bottomsworth claimed to be devastated to hear they were leaving when the time arrived, though Karon suspected that he was eager to start lying his teeth off about how dear friends the trio were to him, and how far back they went, as soon as they had left.

Regardless, the trio left the city behind, ready for the road. They had bought fresh supplies, and Karon had been very happy when he'd found fresh fish for sale, which he'd brought along. The ponies refused to comment on him eating meat, and whenever they were eating together, they forced him to turn away so they wouldn't have to watch him devour a poor fish.

After a week of walking, the rivers and forests they had passed through turned into open glass lands, and according to Karon's map, they were somewhere between the otter kingdom and Equestria's border. During that time, the three of them had grown closer. There was little left to fear or hide now that they had looked so far deep within one another, though Karon was the exception.

Neither Trixie nor Lyra had had the chance to look into Karon's mind and see what rested there, and they had not let him forget about that. He had promised them a confession, after all, of what it was that he was trying to hide behind those glowing eyes. And he told them he would, just not that night or that day, and so it went on.

But he wasn't sure what to tell them, whenever the time would actually come. He couldn't tell them about what was behind the black door. It would be better if they remained ignorant of its very existence. But what else remained? Revealing his own trickster nature? They already knew that, sort of.

What to tell the two once they grew tired of his procrastination was not the only question bothering him. The birth of Promise and what it meant was always picking at his attention. The spirit had not spoken since they escaped the sleeping spell, and it had only communicated with brief flashes of thought as they went, and they were rare. And mostly limited to suggestions on what to skewer. The murderous impressions were softened somewhat when they were also followed by things like concern that he should eat it afterward because he wasn't eating enough meat, or that it would simply be good practice for when he was cornered and needed to slaughter his way out of a situation.

It was giving very mixed signals.

When they reached a small lake that was supposed to be one of the landmarks setting the border between the otters and Equestria, they decided to stop for the night. They were heading towards Hoofington, from where they could either walk or catch a ride south towards the minotaur lands and the gryphon ruled areas. Trixie was sitting down with Lyra, whispering about something and casting glances towards Karon. He assumed they were discussing ways to pressure him into spilling his guts on all his secrets or something similar. Which was why he was taken completely by surprise when another voice spoke from behind him.

“I see you're still alive. Good, it would have been troublesome finding a way to resurrect you without breaking any rules.”

Karon spun around so fast that the muscles around his neck screamed from the whiplash, but he hardly noticed. In the dying light of the setting sun stood Varsif, the real Varsif in flesh and blood and not just him speaking through dreams.

Karon's heart began pounding when he realized what that meant.

“The powers have reached a decision,” he said hoarsely.

“They have, and about time. I've had work needed doing. They've agreed to allow me to reverse Loke's trickery by answering in kind. He took a body, unbound it and shipped it over the dimensional barriers to form a new one at the other side. I have gained the permission to do the same. You're done here now, you can go home.”

Karon stared open mouthed, and he heard the sound of Trixie and Lyra approaching from behind. When they came to stand next to him, they looked equally shocked, both at seeing another human and at what they'd just heard.

“You're … you're leaving us?” Lyra asked in stunned disbelief.

She looked heartbroken at the mere thought, and beside her, Trixie was crying. Her tears had started flowing as soon as the question had been asked.

Karon looked back and forth between Varsif and the two ponies, two paths. One continued in this world, on the road with the ponies towards the unknown places of this land. The other led back home, to Earth.

But, if he took that path back home, what did it mean? Nothing had truly changed. He had not confronted that which festered in the dark corner of his mind, and so he would not return to Varsif as an apprentice. What awaited him on Earth was the lone stone house, with its lonely existence.

With that in mind, it wasn't a difficult question of which path to take, and when he made that decision, he knew it was the right thing to do.

“I don't want you to have come here for nothing,” Karon said to Varsif.

Trixie started sobbing without a hint of restraint when he said it, and Lyra stood dumbfounded, unable to comprehend.

“So I will take this opportunity to deal with a few problems,” he said and smiled down at Lyra.

The unicorn blinked, and looked up at him in confusion.

“What?” she asked, still not understanding.

“You felt humanity calling to you Lyra, and you searched for us within books and rumors. And then you found me, but it isn't enough Lyra, I heard your song,” he said and pointed to Varsif before continuing. “This is your chance to gain what you really want.”

“Wha-”

“You want to be human. That's what I'm offering you Lyra. Take my place. Let Varsif take what you are now, and shape it into a human body, and then live on Earth with the rest of humanity.”

“I ... I....” she couldn't respond. Her mind was running into a wall each time she tried to process what he'd just offered her.

“Erik,” Varsif growled, but Karon only looked at him with a crooked smile.

“Please, the powers gave you a very unambiguous pass to deconstruct one body and shape a new one back on earth for the soul you transport without actually specifying it should be me. They knew this might happen. They might even have been planning for it to happen.”

Varsif grunted in affirmation, like he had suspected something similar.

“Well Lyra, do you want to be human?” he asked the unicorn softly.

She looked up at him with tears flowing freely down her face, but there was such a fierce joy in her eyes that her tears could never have been mistaken as tears of sorrow.

“Yes,” she whispered, and then threw herself at Karon, hugging and kissing every inch of him she could get at.

He fell down on his back with a laugh and hugged her back, holding her close as she wept from joy. Trixie was looking at them with a huge grin on her face, and even Varsif's mouth twitched at the corners from the display of affection.

Lyra managed to let go of him eventually, and she gave Trixie a hug too before turning to face Varsif. She looked afraid, and with good reason. Varsif did not give the impression of being harmless with his bulging muscles, hard eyes and robe made out of a dead bear.

She walked over to him slowly, then looked up and simply said, “Thank you.”

“You're welcome little unicorn, but this is Karon's doing, not mine. Since you've already thanked him, I think it's time to leave, though I am wondering what the boy was thinking when he decided to let loose a complete stranger in our world, without giving her a way to survive.”

Varsif and Lyra looked over at Karon, who sighed and shook his head irritated.

“You can feel her magical talent better than I can. She'll do just fine on Earth because she'll be with you, studying the arts.”

“Hrmph, it takes more than just the potential to make it all the way. You're a prime example of that truth.”

“Yeah, yeah. If she fails miserably, send her to my house and she can live there. Everything that is mine, including all the money, will be free for her use if that happens.”

“I'll take care of that,” the old man said firmly, then put a hand on Lyra's head.

“This might sting a little,” he said.

“What d-” Lyra started to ask, but before she could get any farther, her body exploded into a tiny cloud of matter.

The wizard moved his hands around a little, and the cloud quickly shaped itself into something new, and a light grew around the both of them. In the light, a second human took form next to the grouchy old man, and for a brief second before the light swallowed them, Karon thought he saw a girl with hair so blonde it was almost white wave at him, a happy smile on her face.

And then they were gone.

Karon and Trixie stood in the encroaching darkness for a long time, not moving, not saying anything. The moment didn't need them to add anything for it to be beautiful.

All things end though, and eventually Karon started coughing heavily. With a concerned look on her face Trixie helped led him to where they had laid their packs and they both laid down next to each other. When the coughing was over Karon smiled sheepishly at the unicorn and explained.

“Heavy duty magic can have some funny effects on the body sometimes. Sorry for ruining the moment.”

“You didn't ruin anything. You did something amazing when you let her take your place,” Trixie answered, her voice completely sincere.

“Yeah, well it was the right thing to do,” he simply said.

“But you could have gone home, back to your own world, and you let her do it instead.”

“Well, I didn't want to leave you behind. You'd get in trouble without me,” he joked.

It did not have the effect he expected, which was a half laugh and maybe shaking her head. Instead she looked away uncertain, almost afraid.

“Karon...”

“Yes?” he asked and raised an eyebrow.

“Do you remember when we were trapped in that dream place?”

“Yeah, kinda hard to forget,” Karon said dryly.

“Do you remember the feeling that you needed to know in order to get to that library inside Lyra's mind?”

“Yeah, love,” he said, not sure where this was heading.

“Well, when we were running from that huge jackal, Lyra screamed at me that I needed to use love to escape, that I needed to remember something I loved, and....”

“And?” Karon asked dutifully.

“There was only one thing I could think of, only one thing in the entire world I knew I loved.”

“Yourself?” Karon asked with a chuckle.

Trixie looked him deep in the eyes and shook her head slowly.

“You,” she said and kissed him.

It took him completely by surprise. One moment they were looking into each other's eyes, the next she was pressing her lips against his. Folding her hooves around him just so she could be closer to him, and he responded. It came naturally, his fingers wrapped themselves in her mane and he kissed her as much as she him.

Then the kiss began to heat up in its passion, and more of their bodies started to move against the other's. Soon they forgot everything but one another, and above them the moon rose, bathing the entire world in brilliant silver light.

After they were done, Trixie slept peacefully in his arms, her body pressed against his naked one. He was slowly circling a finger around her flank, and content smiles were spread over both their faces.

“That was … wow.”

“Yeah, wonder where she learned to do that.”

“Did you have any idea that she felt this way?”

“Well, there were clues. Like the looks and so on, and that thing that happened in Las Pegasus.”

“I don't think that counts considering the circumstances.”

“Even so, it's been there under the surface, I think. Growing slowly.”

“Obviously. That was full of suppressed emotions.”

“Seems that way.”

The voice grew quiet for a moment, then it began to laugh.

“What?”

“Woahahahahaha, hoho. I just realized something, thhhahahaha!”

“What?”

“We, ahahaha!”

“What!?”

“We just got seduced! Hahahahaha!”