Chapter 15

Change of Plans

The Next Evening-

The full moon hung high in the sky as a teal stallion clad in the grey armor of the Equestrian Military galloped through the ravaged streets of Canterlot. His breastplate clanked against his sides as he tightened the straps and donned his unadorned helmet, cursing as he realized he'd forgotten his hornblade. He briefly considered going back for it when he was interrupted by the sound of rushing air. He looked up, and watched as a violet ray flew in from the southeast and struck a nearby building.

The stallion's teeth shook in his skull as the building exploded in a fiery burst, sending shattered stones, splintered wood, and assorted debris careening across the cobblestones ahead of him. He staggered back from the force and forgot all hesitance, dashing forward and jumping over a barrel that rolled out from the gutted remains. He forced himself to avert his gaze as he hastened to obey the desperate summons that had gone out just moments before.

"Libra!"

A thin red unicorn dashed out of an alleyway, donned in the same armor as his and splattered with a deep viscous fluid that matched his coat. His eyes were wild as he ran alongside.

"Princess Luna has gone mad," the newcomer breathed. "She fights with Celestia above Zenith Square!"

"Art thou injured, Scorpio?!" Libra asked as he eyed the sanguine stains.

"Nay!" Scorpio replied. "I was helping to evacuate the wounded when I received the summons. We must hurry!"

Chaos reigned in the streets as civilians fled their homes. The two stallions were jostled by a sea of panicked ponies that fought to get to shelters or escape they city to the forest beyond. The deadly violet rays continued to sizzle across the sky, filling the air with deafening explosions and agonizing screams.

Libra and Scorpio arrived in Zenith Square to behold a schism of light and dark. Soldiers that were once sworn comrades now fought each other on the ground and in the air. Half of them were enveloped in a foul, shadowy mist that clung to their bodies like a shroud. Their eyes were filled with manic bloodlust as they fought with a savage ferocity against the other soldiers, who were rapidly losing both ground and numbers. In the center of the plaza were ten stallions in shining golden armor fighting desperately against ten corrupted counterparts clad in reflective ebon plate.

There was a sound from on high like the tinging and clanging of steel on steel, but it moved with the speed of a hummingbird's wings. Libra looked and saw a pair of blue and white blurs flying around the square at a speed beyond mortal ken. The violet rays were emanating from one of the blurs, which shot out in random directions to hit the city below.

Libra's jaw dropped as he beheld the battle. "By the Sun an—"

He staggered as Scorpio pushed him to the side as sword blade appeared between them. Libra turned to see three menacing shadowy soldiers advancing towards them, pushing them towards the square.

One of them charged Scorpio, the second went for Libra. The last one hung back, laughing as he decided who to pick off. His voice was grim and vindictive as he decided on Libra.

"Thou wilt embrace Eternal Ni—"

His sentence was cut short as a knife protruded from his neck. He fell to the ground with a gurgle as a lanky indigo stallion dressed in civilian clothes stepped out from behind him. He eyed Libra with a curious expression.

"Dost thou require my assistance?"

"Aquarius!" Libra had formed a sword of ice to fend off his attacker. "Flee! Thou hath no obligation to fight!"

Aquarius threw another knife, catching Libra's attacker in the chest.

"Here's as good a place to die as any," he drawled. "Our crazed monarchs have collapsed the city gates. They circle above while we scurry about like rats."

Aquarius pounced on Scorpio's attacker, tilting his head back and exposing his throat. Scorpio slashed once with his hornblade, and the soldier fell twitching to the ground.

Scorpio took a step back as a familiar metallic scent filled his nostrils. "I—I…"

"Save thy remorse," Aquarius said, giving his shoulder a casual pat. "Thou would have received none had the tables been turned."

Scorpio shook his head. "I save lives, not take them! This is—"

A raw, unholy shriek rent the air. Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies alike fell to the ground as the entire Equestrian Military shielded their ears from the aural onslaught. Libra feared that his eardrums might explode from the pain.

The screaming ceased. Everypony looked up to see that the two blurs had ceased, and were now recognizable as the two Princesses. Celestia wielded a longsword comprised of brightest steel and bathed in searing flames. Luna brandished a pair of thin curved shortswords made of translucent crystal and coated in shadow. The two of them glared at each other as they hovered in midair, their impasse ceasing almost time itself.

Celestia lowered her chin and spoke in a quiet, controlled tone that contradicted her expression of fury.

"Art thou done?"

Luna responded with a violet ray. Celestia deflected it with her sword, but didn't have time to aim because Luna had charged her again. They turned back into blurs, their strikes, parries and ripostes moving faster than the eye could see.

"Thou art destroying all we worked so hard to build!" Celestia yelled. "Our city! Our subjects!"

Luna's eyes flashed as she responded in a cold voice dripping with hate. "Thou hast used me in thy games, slandered my name with horrid lies, and then had the gall to pretend nothing's wrong when thou seest they ignore me and sleep through my night. No, sister, this is not my city, nor are these my subjects."

Luna parried Celestia's strike with one of her blades, then used the other to strike her flank. The enchanted metal sliced through her wards and dug deep into her flesh, causing her to cry out. Luna took the opportunity and caught Celestia in her magic, pinning her wings to her sides and holding her helpless in the air.

A subtle coiling darkness formed around Luna's body as she moved closer to her sister, kicking her longsword away and letting it fall to the ground below. Luna placed her free blade to Celestia's throat, leaving the second one embedded in her side. She leaned forward to speak in her sister's ear.

"They are thine. And one way or another, I will take them from thee."

"Luna…" Celestia managed in a pain-soaked whimper as the blade cut deeper into her side. "Please…"

"Thou hadst thy chance, as did they," Luna said in a heartless whisper. The darkness around her thickened, and her pupils morphed into reptilian slits. "Thou wantest them to fear me? Very well: I will give them something to fear!"

Luna flew above Celesta and bucked her in the back, freeing her from the imprisoning magic and sending her hurtling to the ground below. She landed in Zenith Square with the force of a small bomb, sending the golden-armored soldiers flying in a hail of metal and stone.

Luna's voice became amplified as she let loose another mad, primal scream. She raised her forehooves in victory as she looked down at the crater in which her wounded sister lay. The darkness around her became absolute as it wrapped around her like a fell cocoon.

"I am a Princess of Equestria!" she bellowed. "I will have the power and respect I deserve!"

She raised her head to the sky as the darkness enveloped completely.

"Even if I must take it by force!"

The entire city experienced a drop in temperature as the corona of the full moon shone a cruel, icy blue. The stars above shifted, turning from warm twinkling beacons to sharp, menacing punctures of glistening light. Luna's cocoon flared, sending out a wave of foul dark magic that sunk down to the city in a polluted haze.

Jagged shafts of starlight pierced through Luna's cocoon, and it exploded with a sound like shattering glass. The fragments dissipated to the wind as they revealed the nascent creature inside.

Luna had been replaced by a terrifying abomination. The feathers on her wings had molted, revealing the tough, leathery flesh beneath. She had grown in size, rivaling, perhaps even surpassing Celestia. Her coat was like the void, and her ethereal mane snapped through the air like a serrated whip. Her eyes narrowed as she beheld the pitiful city below.

Nightmare Moon flew higher into the sky, the corona of her namesake doubling in size as her horn glowed purest black. She spoke in a chilling, bitter voice that pierced the ears of the city's inhabitants.

"Never again wilt thou seest thy precious sun. Now begins the Era of Eternal Night! But first…"

Her lips curved upward in a mad, malevolent smile.

"You will all SUFFER for thy crimes!"

The corona of the moon exploded, turning into countless lances of pure starlight. They orbited the moon once in a chillingly beautiful display of power before spiraling down towards the planet in a rain of heavenly destruction.

Nightmare Moon cackled as the lances sped down towards Canterlot.

"The night… will last… forever!"

"ENOUGH!"

Celestia arose out of the crater, a literal beacon of light in a sea of darkness. Her horn blazed with brilliance, and the air above the Canterlot thickened. A shining, mirror-like barrier coalesced over the entire city, shielding it from the descending assault. The moonlances struck the shield, exploding upon contact with tons of force, but did nothing more.

Nightmare Moon screamed as her attack was thwarted. She fired salvo after salvo, using more and more spears each time. They sped down and struck the shield again and again, the explosions from her attacks becoming more fierce and frequent. Yet still, none broke through.

Celestia's eyes faded to purest gold as she gritted her teeth. The air around her sizzled, and the stone below her turned cherry red. She sank up to her knees in molten stone as she shimmered with heat, spitting out her words through the extreme strain.

"Monster… give… me back… my sister!"

Nightmare Moon responded by elongating her mane to colossal proportions, each of the stars within shining with a cruel edge. She swung her head once in an arc, and the serrated enchantments struck Celestia's barrier. It melted away at her touch, slicing through the magic like a hot knife through butter.

As the barrier faded away, Celestia let loose a scream of her own.

"GIVE... HER... BACK!"

Celestia fired a titanic scorching ray. The soldiers in the plaza were sent flying as the ground cracked and heaved from the force, being launched into the air. Celestia buckled as her wards wavered and she became buried waist deep in the melted rock. Her ray rocketed towards Nightmare Moon like a geyser of burning light.

Nightmare Moon saw the massive attack and easily dodged out of the way, laughing at the impressive, yet obvious attack. She taunted Celestia in her grim, cold voice.

"Thou wilt have to do better than that!"

However, what Nightmare Moon didn't realize was that she was not Celestia's true target.

The fiery beam continued to travel through the sky…

…out of the atmosphere…

…into space…

...where it soundlessly struck the moon.

The heavenly body shuddered from the impact as it was pushed out of its zenith and sunk lower in the sky, coming to a stop near the horizon.

Nightmare Moon staggered as the cosmic balance was disturbed. She tried to regain herself, but didn't have time, for when she turned...

...she found herself face to face with a very angry Celestia.

The two of them locked eyes for the briefest of moments, then rematerialized their blades and engaged once again with renewed ferocity.

( * * * )

Meanwhile, a few moments earlier, Libra, Scorpio and Aquarius watched in horror as Luna became enveloped in darkness. A pulse of vile magic surged out that descended upon the entire city. Libra's skin prickled as it settled on him, but otherwise felt no ill effects. He turned to his comrades.

"What was—"

Libra's attention was diverted by a cacophony of agonizing screams. Every soldier that had been enshrouded in the shadowy mist was now convulsing as Luna's metamorphosis intensified the corrupting magic within them. Nauseating, tearing, snapping sounds accompanied their shrieking as their bodies reformed into new, grotesque shapes.

A few seconds later, the plaza was filled with monsters. Their changes were varied, ranging from scaled and slimy skin, prehensile tails with stingers or bony clubs, bat-like wings, elongated limbs, fang-filled maws, reptilian eyes, jagged hooves, and sharp, wicked horns. Some had grown in size, others had limbs that were partially fused together. Only one thing did they all have in common: they reeked with the foul taint of Nightmare Moon's magic.

The nascent aberrations threw back their heads and bellowed to their mistress, who flew in the air high above. There was a whooshing sound, and Libra looked up to see that the wrath of the heavens descended upon them. He and the others fell prone, the voice of the insane monarch echoing in their ears.

"ENOUGH!"

Libra had prepared for excruciating pain of being skewered, burned or frozen by Nightmare Moon's magic, but Celestia's shout caused him to look up. He watched the barrier formed around the city and shielded them from the assault.

However, his attention was then diverted, for a squat-limbed, spine covered pony lashed out at him. Libra jumped back, using his ice sword to fend off the creature, but it dodged to the right, avoiding his slash…

…and collapsed under its own weight as a pair of swords encased in a green aura sliced the back of all four of its legs.

Libra turned to just see a green unicorn gallop past them, drawing a second pair of longswords from a quartet of sheaths at his sides. Two of the blades circled around him in a deadly ring as he waded into the battle wielding the other two, leaving a path of fallen, but still living enemies in his wake. He looked back once to yell at the trio.

"Are you mice?! Fight for Her Majesty!"

Libra realized he had just beheld one the most legendary swordsponies in all of the Equestrian Military. He said one word in an awed voice.

"Tendoncutter..."

Aquarius looked at the two of them for a moment, and then retrieved his knives. He finished off the fallen creature Tendoncutter had left behind before running into the battle himself.

Libra gulped as he beheld the battle. The monsters were relentless and savage. They were ripping soldiers to shreds and losing little ground themselves. The Solar Guard was nowhere to be seen. They'd been in the center of the square when Celestia had fallen...

Celestia was busy shielding the city. There was no backup. They were on their own, and there was little Libra could do to fight against such creatures. He was but a lowly, recently initiated Battlemage; nothing more than fodder.

Unless…

Libra turned to Scorpio, who was still looking at the fallen corrupted soldier with a far-off stare.

"Scorpio," Libra began, "The Lifeforce spell, I could—"

"No!" The words caused Scorpio to return to the world with a panicked fervor. "Thou knowest the dangers of forbidden magic!"

"Look around thee; we are beset by devils!" Libra ducked as an eyeless soldier with three uneven legs swung a clawed hoof at him. "What choice do we have?"

"They're our comrades; they might still be saved!" Scorpio yelled. A crimson aura formed around the fell creature, trapping it inside. It gnashed with wicked teeth as it threw itself against the magical wall.

"At what cost?!" Libra demanded. He turned to face a new foe: A hulking pegasus with bat-like wings and dripping fangs. He leveled his sword at the creature, and fragmented it into deadly thorns. He released the spell as the pegasus charged, needling it with a barrage of spikes. "Canterlot shall be razed at this rate! Or canst thou not feel the flames?!"

"Thou wilt lose thyself and damn us all!" An uncorrupted soldier fell out of the carnage before them. Scorpio rushed to him, but the light had already left the soldier's eyes. Scorpio looked up pleadingly at Libra. "There must be another way!"

"There isn't," Libra said grimly. He stared at the fresh corpse for only a second before taking several steps back from the battle and lowering his horn. "The only way to fight monsters—"

Libra closed his eyes as he reached out to touch the air with his mind. He could feel the infinitesimal water droplets around him, swirling and fleeing the all-consuming flames that licked the buildings around the square. He ignored them and stretched his consciousness farther out, feeling the tainted magic that surged through the corrupted soldiers. Libra chose the three that were closest to him and focused inside their bodies, feeling the warm, deep crimson fluid that ran throughout their networks of arteries and veins. His focus drifted upward to their brains, singling out a few key arteries that throbbed with life.

"—is to become a monster thyself."

The corrupted soldiers jerked their heads back as Libra cast the spell. A fine vapor escaped their lips as their blood froze; their mouths contorting into odd shapes as two of their legs gave way. They fell to the ground in a heap, their bodies jolting and convulsing on the ground before going still.

Scorpio's jaw dropped. "Thou actually did it…"

Libra felt an odd, manic thrill as he'd touched the soldier's lifeforce, then felt it flee their bodies. Being connected to them was like being overcome with euphoria, and cutting them off filled him with a massive shot of adrenaline. He wore a strange smile filled with yearning as the temperature dropped around him.

"I'm not done yet."

Libra stretched out again and felt another three soldiers. They reacted much in the same way as the first: Seizing up momentarily before falling to the ground in a seizure. He marveled at how easy it was. He was feeling the life coursing through another being, taking a hold of it with such ease, and then snuffing it out with the simplest bit of magic. The realization alone that life and death were measured by such a small, easily interrupted thing was electrifying. He did it five more times with sets of three soldiers… and each time felt better and better.

"Libra…"

Libra felt cold and empty. Three soldiers at a time wasn't enough anymore; he wanted—no, needed more. He spread himself out farther, selecting more and more soldiers with each spell. First six soldiers. Then a dozen. Then thirty. Fifty. The corrupted soldiers dropped like flies, each of their exhalations accompanied by a fine, cool mist. With every cast Libra felt more alive, felt the lifeforce more strongly, like a siren song calling out to him in an undeniable voice. The sensation was tantalizing. Exhilarating. Intoxicating.

"Libra!"

Another spell, and seventy-five soldiers expired. Libra was freezing cold now, but he couldn't stop. The call of the lifeforce was undeniable, and he didn't want to resist. In fact, why was he bothering with such small numbers? The spell took next to no effort at all; he wasn't even in Magical Fatigue. There was no stopping him, for what form of defense could be mounted against this spell? With this kind of power at his command, he could save all of Canterlot. He'd be hailed as a hero. Nothing would stand in his way, not even the fallen Princess herself! In fact, he could end this battle right now!

Libra shivered in anticipation as he expanded his consciousness out as far as he could, targeted everything that had a pulse, and—"

"LIBRA! STOP!"

Libra gasped as he realized what he'd almost done. His stomach rolled as he abandoned the magic, turning and vomiting with a mighty heave. He retched several times before finally regaining control of his facilities, taking air into his lungs with quick, ragged breaths.

"Rise, Libra; face thy unforgiveable sin."

Libra took a great shuddering gasp. He didn't want to open his eyes. He knew what he'd see. It'd be a sight he'd never forget. It'd burn into his memory, chasing him for the rest of his days and haunting his nightmares.

Yet still, he obeyed.

Stretched before him was a carpet of bodies. One hundred and ninety-four malformed soldiers lay lifeless on the cold, hard cobblestone, their blank, featureless eyes staring out into the endless depths of eternity. A fresh wave of nausea hit Libra, but he'd already emptied his stomach and couldn't manage anything other than a gag. The uncorrupted soldiers stared at the carnage he had wrought, their expressions varying between wonder, horror... and fear. The ground and air around Libra were etched with fine tendrils of frost.

Libra suddenly screamed and buckled to the ground, cradling his head as the cold returned. It felt like he'd been hurled into the vacuum of space. He looked up at the soldiers and saw the warmth in their bodies. Their lifeforce called out to him. He could see it pulsing inside their bodies. He had to take it. It was the only thing that could take away the cold.

The tendrils of frost reached out to the remaining soldiers.

"I—I c–can't—"

Libra felt his hooves become stuck to the ground. He looked down and saw he was standing in the center of a hastily-drawn rectangular array with a triangle in the center. The lines of the array flared red, and Libra was caught in a pillar of light. He tried to move or reach out with his magic, but found he was denied both.

"Thou knewest the peril."

Libra felt a stinging pain on his cheek. He jerked over to see Scorpio, his horn glowing red and his entire body tense as he raised his hoof to strike again. However, with great effort, he took a step back and lowered his eyes with a derisive snort.

"Thy mother warned thee of the addiction that cometh from controlling another's lifeforce. Thou didst not listen, and now thou art damned to hearing and feeling its accursed call for the rest of thy life. Congratulations Libra: thou art truly a monst—"

The corrupted soldiers twitched. Scorpio whipped around and watched as the dark magic wrapped around the fallen bodies, raising them to their hooves and reanimating them. The twisted soldiers eyed them as they let loose renewed cries of bloodlust.

Libra watched in horror as the soldiers advanced towards them. "How—"

"Luna's magic," Scorpio murmured. "It must sustain them somehow."

There was a ripping sound from above as Nightmare Moon cut through the barrier. They looked up and watched as it melted away. Before anyone else could react, Celestia gave her fiery rebuttal. The world turned to chaos as the ground upended and everypony in the square was sent flying by the shock, Libra and Scorpio included. Libra shut his eyes and covered his head.

( * * * )

Libra had expected to fall careening to the ground, his head smashing against the side of a building before getting pelted by a rather large chunk of rock that would break the skin and cause his vision to be tinged with red for the rest of the battle. He expected that the sounds of screaming and explosions would continue, followed by the insane ramblings of Nightmare Moon as she threw venomous insults at Celestia during the course of their duel. He expected to wrestle with his newfound addiction as he fought to only use it on Nightmare Moon's soldiers.

None of that happened.

In fact, nothing occurred at all. Libra opened his eyes to find that he hung in midair. The force of the blast had only carried him half of the distance he remembered, and everything around him was stuck in a state of perpetual stasis. As Libra realized this, he yelped and fell to the ground with a crash. He got up and rubbed his eyes, taking in the eerie scene.

Time had stopped. The entire square was caught in a moment of hesitance, with some unknown force preventing it from moving further. Soldiers hung in midair with frozen expressions of terror on their faces. The minions of Nightmare Moon skulked about, stuck in their desires of yearning as they hung inches away from their victims. Celestia and her massive display of power stood stock still, her ray in mid-fire as she directed its course to reorient the moon.

The world was a painting; unmoving, untouched, unblemished. Nothing moved at all, not even the smallest modicum. Libra walked around for a moment at a loss before he spotted a flicker of movement, standing in the center of the eerie scene...

A transparent unicorn colt with a straight, colorless mane and tail that blew in an invisible wind. He stared directly at Libra with iridescent eyes that swirled with all the colors of the rainbow.

Libra blinked. "Horizon?"

The colt said nothing. He stood beside Celestia, who was still half-sunk in melted stone. Her expression of anguish and boiling rage was a direct contradiction to his cold, impassive gaze. He poked at one of the unpopped molten bubbles with a hoof.

The realization hit Blair. He took off his helmet and steadied his breathing. "This is a dream."

"Correct."

The colt's lips moved in sync with a foreign, voiceless thought that had inserted itself in Blair's mind. He jerked and gave an incredulous laugh as he made the connection.

"Wow, you're talking... sort of. This is new."

The colt traced his mouth with a hoof as he glanced at Blair. "Words aren't My… native tongue."

Blair shuddered as the disjoined thoughts floated in and out of his comprehension. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, just… jarring.

"How'd you figure this out?" Blair asked.

The colt teleported to hover a few feet away to Blair's left. "Practice."

Blair stiffened, but did nothing more as the colt continued to stare at him with his chaotic eyes. "I see learning to talk hasn't changed your demeanor. I thought it took a lot out of you to appear like this."

"Before, I'd tried to communicate by bringing You into His mind," the colt replied. He did lazy somersaults in the air as he spoke. "However, it's hard to do because there's so little of Him left. Your mind is whole, and so the strain is considerably less. Still... I will need to rest after this."

"I see." Blair looked around the frozen scene, his eyes lingering on Scorpio's airborne form. "What do you want, Horizon?"

The colt frowned as his translucent outline flickered. "That name is not Mine."

"You're entitled to it," Blair insisted, turning back to him. "You're a part of him, after all."

"Part of Him, yes…" The colt slowly circled around Blair, rising into the air as if he were climbing a set of stairs. "A piece of a puzzle, an incomplete fragment…"

He looked down at Blair, his face impassive.

"…a bodiless Echo."

Blair rolled his eyes. "What do I call you then?"

"I dislike names." The colt examined one of his hooves. "Call Me what you will."

Blair was silent for a moment as he thought. "How about… Ophiuchus?"

The colt snorted, but gave no actual objection to the name. He turned and walked away, motioning to Blair as he did.

Ophiuchus walked in a straight line through the plaza, phasing through ponies, monsters, and debris alike with no resistance. Blair lagged behind as he weaved his way through the dreamscape, lightly grinding his teeth as met each frozen face with a cringe.

"I thought I made it clear I don't like it when you show me Libra's memories like this."

Ophiuchus' gaze wandered across the square. "You did, but it's the appropriate setting for what I've come to tell You."

"Which is?"

They arrived back at the center of the square where Celestia still stood. Ophiuchus turned to Blair and raised his chin. "That You're a fool."

Blair raised an eyebrow. "You came out of the dark to insult me?"

"You're letting Your fear stop You from seeing the truth." Ophiuchus' thought-voice had become 'louder' and more defined, jabbing at Blair's psyche like a poker. "Instead, You hide and avoid doing what You know to be necessary. Not only is this a very foolish thing…"

Ophiuchus slid a hoof across his throat. "…it's suicidal."

Blair's ears flattened. He straightened to his full height and stared down at his infant accuser. "What makes you think I'm afraid of anything?"

Ophiuchus' colorful eyes swirled faster as he spoke. "I don't think, I know."

"You know, huh?" Blair sneered. "How exactly, do you know?"

"I see all."

Blair flew thousands of feet in the air next to a yellow pegasus with giant angelic wings. She looked back and smiled, and he returned the gesture. However, soon as she turned away, he shuddered and closed his eyes.

I'd weep for this world if it was anyone other than her. To have the power to instantly know someone's deepest, darkest fears with but a glance… is there a more dangerous weapon? If there is, I'm better off not knowing. Thank Celestia she's such a kind, innocent, pure, caring, gentle soul. I need to protect her. If anypony finds out about her Fearsense they could—ugh, the aura…

Blair stood in the basement of a house. Standing in one corner was a table filled with arcane maps, instruments, and a broken platinum necklace. He covered his face with a grey hoof to hide the tears falling down his face, but did nothing to hold back his shaky sobs.

Why does she have to be so much like Crysti? Same perseverance, same selfless spirit, same freaking manestyle! Ugh, this is a problem; if she finds out about Horizon she's gonna demand to go to Tartarus regardless of whether she's recovered or not. I don't know if her Foresight power is the reason why she isn't sleeping, but with her font the way it is she's in a lot of trouble when her Creation and Soul Tether powers show up. Screw it, not taking the risk; I'm making her Font Gems. Wonder if this town has any diamonds? Probably not, I'll have to settle for sapphires...

Blair walked beside a heavy cart filled to the brim with rosy apples. His heart leapt into his throat as Norric looked over to him and complained about something. Blair shot him a venomous glare in response.

You IDIOT! You think complaining about having to keep your answers vague IN FRONT OF HER is a good idea?! Oh, you're sorry?! Sorry doesn't cut it MORON; you just blew our cov—wooooooow you're lucky. Okay that's the last straw: You almost got killed by the Rust Beetles, upset Applejack over her parents when you KNOW her powers are triggered by powerful emotion, and now THIS. I was gonna see if I could use you to help safely manifest Applejack's Strength and Rejection of Fate powers, but if you're gonna be this BUMBLING, I'm taking you out of the picture along with Mac.

Blair was in a living room made of clouds. He adjusted a light blue feather as he stared at his reflection in a framed poster of the Wonderbolts, focusing on the mutinous light red pegasus behind him.

I know you can feel it Esra; the flicker in her eyes, the passion in her voice, they're taking on a burning intensity. It's pushing us harder, driving us faster than before. Ironically, these past few weeks I've never felt more alive. We have to show her our talents before she makes us any stronger, or she'll think that everything we can do is a result of her powers. And you know you won't be able to spar with her when her Undying Loyalty power awakens; if she manifests it on accident she'll kill you before she realizes what happened… unless you somehow think you can take a hit from her when her physical abilities are increased fivefold.

Blair was standing guard outside of a small thatched hut deep in a forest. He looked away from his partner to hide the smile on his face as he stared off into the foliage.

I can't believe how hilarious this is; her Luck power is guiding her through the forest! Poor Vigil, he must think Pinkie is completely insane. I'll admit I had doubts at first too, but if she can already do this much and her Healing power is just beginning to manifest, it won't be long before she can use her Song of Nirvana. I wonder what it feels like? Blair was really vague about it; something about 'transcending the bodily limitations of pain and suffering?' Typical Blair, always gotta use the big words. Whatever, I just hope she can sing.

"STOP!"

Blair fell to his knees in Old Canterlot, clutching his head from the sheer amount of informational overload. He'd experienced all five scenes simultaneously, causing his mind to be stretched out between five sets of senses, bodies, and thoughts.

"That wasn't even half."

Ophiuchus' thought-voice was like a soothing balm; forcing Blair to focus on it rather than the splitting pain. He regained lucidity and looked up to find that Ophiuchus was no longer a colt. He was now a young teenager, still transparent, sitting on his haunches and staring eye-level at him.

"It's taken time… much time. First I had to learn how to learn. When I did, I found I could immerse myself in all of Your memories, as well as those of Your predecessors. I started playing them one at a time, then together, then faster, and faster still. Then I watched them together, adding more and more, expanding My awareness each time. Finally, when I could watch all twelve at once, I plugged myself into Your senses and joined with Your bodies."

Ophiuchus leaned forward, their faces inches apart. His prismatic eyes danced about like a hypnotic kaleidoscope.

"I know because I am You. I am Them. I am Him. All Your thoughts, Your memories, Your dreams… they are Mine to do with as I will."

Blair evenly met Ophiuchus piercing stare for a time, doing nothing other than blink. Finally, he nodded and adjusted his mane.

"Sounds like you've found your special talent. I'm happy for you. Really, I am. This probably doesn't make up for not having a body of your own, but if you can at least watch all of us like a spectator, that's fine by me. However…"

Blair crossed his hooves. "That doesn't explain why you say I'm afraid."

Ophiuchus phased into the ground, his voice still flitting through Blair's mind. "Your special talent is seeing hidden meanings within messages, and You still didn't see? Perhaps I should play them again."

"No!" Blair said in a voice that barely wasn't a scream. He gave a nervous twitch as he looked around for Ophiuchus. "Sweet Celestia, never do that again. Just tell me."

"And here I thought showing was better than telling." Ophiuchus stepped out of a soldier hanging in midair. "The Others have varying feelings about Their fragments, but They all have one thing in common: They wish to guide and help them. However, They are under the orders You gave Them. Orders that You misunderstood because You fear the magical one."

Blair scoffed. "What're you talking about? I'm not afraid of Twilight."

Ophiuchus swiveled his body to now stand upside-down in midair. "Perhaps I should clarify: You fear what she could become."

A cold pit formed in Blair's stomach. Celestia's words, specifically her detailed explanation of Twilight's third power echoed in his mind. He closed his eyes, slowly hanging his head and speaking in a soft, faint voice.

"Do you blame me?"

"I merely remind you that Our minds are linked," Ophiuchus looked 'down' at him from his gravity-defying position. "You can't hide anything from Me, nor should You try."

"Fine," Blair spat with a stamp of his hoof, "but you're still wrong: I'm not afraid of her, I'm downright terrified.And if you had any sense, you would be too. I thought you said you've seen all of mine and Libra's memories."

Ophiuchus gestured to the battle around them. "I know what eats and tears away at Your resolve. The memory of this night, the actions of Your predecessor. You fear that the magical one will lose herself in her newfound powers, just as He almost did."

"You've seen how close I—he came," Blair growled. "If Scorpio hadn't been there, Libra would've killed everyone in the square, and then everyone in the entire city. He might've even gone into the forest. The magic is like the most exhilarating high you can imagine, more addictive than any drug. All you want is to feel more and more of it with each use. You can't stop once you start, and—"

"—you fear the magical one's third power may have similar side effects," Ophiuchus finished. He rotated right-side up and lay down in the air. "And if it does, you don't think she will be able to control it."

Blair nodded. "Her Absorption power allows her to instantly learn and cast any spell she comes into contact with. Combine that with an insatiable desire to learn and an inexhaustible font? There's no limit to what she could do. She won't be able to resist accumulating as many spells as she can, and if she goes rogue…"

"Nopony will be able to stop her," Ophiuchus said knowingly. "Or at least, so You fear. However, if there was somepony there to help her—somepony who knew the hazards and hubris of having such great and terrible power—somepony who wrestled with the seductive call of forbidden magic on a daily basis, and then devoted Themselves to its unwavering control—"

Ophiuchus wrinkled his brow. "—the possibility of her failure is much less, don't You think?"

Blair cocked his head. "You're saying I'm supposed to help Twilight learn to use her powers?"

Ophiuchus yawned. "Why else were You specifically assigned to her detail?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Blair said. He walked up to the frozen image of Celestia. "If that's what Her Majesty wanted, why'd she tell me not to interfere with their lives?"

"She told you not to interfere with their daily activities," Ophiuchus corrected. He landed on one of Celestia splayed wings and sat on it like it was a chair. "She didn't put any taboo on any information You give; if they choose to learn how to use their powers on their own after You tell them, that's their decision."

Blair shook his head. "That's way too complicated. If Celestia wanted them to know, why wouldn't she just tell them herself? She wouldn't go through all this trouble and secrecy and send us to—"

"—didn't You hear?" Ophiuchus asked. He rested his elbows on his knees. "The white one has 'reasons.' She's counting on all of You to guide the fragments in her stead so that she may continue to hide."

"Hide?" Blair echoed. "Hide from what?"

"I… don't know," Ophiuchus admitted. "My knowledge is merely the sum of all of You. Perhaps something will happen if she's the one to tell the fragments what they've become? Or maybe she feels she won't be able to hold back information should they confront her directly? Or perhaps she truly is just playing a game, like the great one has surmised. I know not."

"No," Blair said. "This can't be right. She also said that they'd get hurt if they used their powers before they were recovered."

"Doesn't that sound familiar?" Ophiuchus shrunk, reverting back to a wide-eyed colt. "It's the same half-truth unicorn parents tell their children about using magic before their fonts are developed."

The implication hit Blair like a buck to the face. "Why would she—"

"—she's immortal," Ophiuchus said plainly. "We're all children to her. She assumed that You'd realize what she meant."

Blair put a hoof to his face. "There's no proof of this. We'd—"

"There is." Ophiuchus phased through Celestia's wing and landed on the ground. "Yesterday, the indigo one told the laughing one of her gifts, and she used them without consequence."

"What?!"

"There's more," Ophiuchus continued. "She's also been practicing with them for all of today. Not only has she attained greater mastery, she's also gained strength. It appears that they'll only hurt themselves if they push past their limits, or try to use a power they've not yet developed. "

Blair stared at Ophiuchus. "That's it? Really?"

Ophiuchus swished his tail. "You've known her to do things like this in the past. This shouldn't have come as a surprise."

"I don't know what to expect anymore!" Blair threw up his forehooves and sat on his haunches. "This whole thing has felt off from the beginning. Celestia knows what's at stake if the barrier collapses, yet still she holds back and keeps the Bearers in the dark! What could be more important than the Gate of Tartarus opening and Nightmare Moon's forces getting loose?!"

Ophiuchus materialized next to Blair, leaning a hoof on his shoulder. "Curious, isn't it?"

Blair eyed Ophiuchus' hoof. He felt no contact from the touch. "How do you know all of this?"

"You do as well," Ophiuchus said. He jabbed his hoof through Blair's shoulder to the other side. "Your fear just won't let You acknowledge it. A pointless fear I might add, one You're helping to create Yourself. The magical one and the other fragments will be well-versed in their powers if they're coached."

"Maybe, but nothing will prepare them for Tartarus," Blair muttered. "Do you realize what'll happen if Twilight gets exposed to the Corruption magic?"

Ophiuchus said nothing. He withdrew his hoof, and after a moment, he disappeared. Blair felt an emptiness in his mind as he looked around the broken plaza.

"Hori—Ophiuchus?"

No reply. Blair got to his hooves and wandered away from the center, searching for some kind of indication of movement. He felt an odd chill as he stood unstuck in time.

"Where'd you go?" Blair called.

Silence. He went back over to where the memory had stopped, wondering if that would somehow make it resume. No such luck. He sighed as he realized he might be in for a long wait.

"The evil one's magic is nowhere near the Gate."

Blair turned to his left and beheld Ophiuchus a few feet away. He was now a ghostly, full-grown stallion of normal build an inch taller than Blair. His eyes were downcast as he rubbed his horn.

"I never see it unless one of the leaders comes up to inspect the barrier. And even then it dissipates quickly after they leave. I suspect it only now lingers in the lowermost levels."

Blair's jaw dropped. He stared at Ophiuchus, who didn't return his gaze. He swallowed hard as he spoke in a whisper.

"You can see outside the barrier?"

Ophiuchus jerked up, his prismatic eyes wide. "Not just see."

A bloodcurdling noise filled Blair's ears. Throngs of voices: Vicious, depraved and forlorn echoed around him. Numerous as a legion, their chorus scraped up and down the scale like jagged steel nails on a chalkboard. Blair instantly jammed his hooves in his ears, but the noise still persisted. He fell into a fetal position and gnashed his teeth.

"Make it stop!" Blair cried. "By the Sun and Moon, MAKE IT STOP!"

The noise ceased, and Ophiuchus approached Blair.

"They never stop screaming… their twisted symphony has filled My ears since the cracks formed. My only escape is to immerse Myself in all of Your senses, and even that only makes it fade into the background. I would've lost my sanity long ago were it not for My incomplete state."

Blair shivered as he was forced to understand Ophiuchus' words. He scrunched himself tighter into a ball, trying to forget the noise… the terrible, terrible noise…

Ophiuchus squinted as he looked down at Blair's pathetic form. "As I said, You're a fool. You can't stop the magical one from recovering, all Your hesitation does is drag Us closer to the Void. I've willingly stayed imprisoned listening to the shrieks of the damned because of the white one's promise that I'll be reunited with Him when He's restored. However, if You'd be so selfish as to take away the last thing I have left—"

The memory shuddered, and all color bled away. The two of them now stood in a monochrome world, the only glimmer that remained was within Ophiuchus' eyes. His thought-voice was cold and heartless as he spoke.

"—then I see no reason to wait."

Blair stiffened. With great effort, he uncurled himself and looked up at Ophiuchus. "You wouldn't really—"

Blair stared at a pair of backhooves. Ophiuchus bucked Blair, his hooves passing straight through his body, but causing a teal outline of him to be sent flying backwards. Blair felt a sensation like being pulled out of a body of water as the world faded to absolute darkness.

( * * * )

Blair flew out of Horizon's silhouette and stopped with a jerk in the interior of an opaque, cracked, multisurfaced sphere. He looked down and saw that his body was comprised of pure teal energy, and he was connected to Horizon by a taut golden tether. He tried to cast magic, and found he didn't have a magical font. He tried to breathe, and realized he didn't have lungs. He tried to move, but found he could only flail helplessly in the open space.

"What did you do?!" Blair said in a shrill yell. He gasped as he realized he couldn't hear himself talk.

Ophiuchus materialized a few feet away from him. His horn glowed with a prismatic light.

"I can do many things, Echo."

"What did you do to my hearing?!"

"I've denied you the use of it for the moment," Ophiuchus said in his thought-voice. "You should be grateful; You couldn't stand even stand ten seconds of it before."

"Put me back!" Blair wiggled and squirmed.

Not yet," Ophiuchus said calmly. "You see, I think I need to enlighten You."

"Enlighten me of what?!"

"True fear," Ophuichus hissed. "You know nothing of it, for You've never seen the other side of the Gate."

The bottom of the opaque sphere turned transparent. Ophiuchus tilted Blair forward and forced him to look down.

"Behold: Tartarus."

Blair realized that the sphere was placed in a hole at the top of an immense, nine-layered circular pit made of deathly pale metal and blood red stone. The center was nothing but a foul black abyss that stretched down for thousands of feet like a gaping maw. Spiked walkways zigzagged across the hole, some of them untouched, some partially broken, others completely shattered. Along the sides were prison cells ripped open with broken rusted bars. Hundreds of foul, bestial ravenous monsters were everywhere, ripping and tearing at each other, all with the same look of malevolence in their eyes. A dim pallor hung about the place as fires blazed, blood was splattered, limbs were hacked off, and creatures mercilessly tortured and slew each other with reckless abandon.

Blair's body was paralyzed, but his mind was fully functional as he beheld the prison.

"W—When did they break free?" he stammered.

"I don't know," Ophiuchus said. "It's been this way since I've been here."

"Why do they—"

"Slaughter each other?" Ophiuchus curled his lip. "Because they have no choice; they cannot resist the bloodlust. And since the evil one's magic always revives them, it's a never-ending cycle. To be honest, I think they enjoy it on some level."

The sphere turned opaque again. Blair tried to do something, anything to resist, to pull himself back into Horizon, to get himself away from Ophiuchus, but he found he was as helpless as a newborn babe in the ether.

"What do you want?" Blair finally said.

"I'm tired of being a patch job for this Gate," Ophiuchus said. "I want to be free as soon as possible. To do that, I need the Power. I don't care if You keep the fragments from going to the white one or not, and I could care even less about her reasons for hiding. If she truly wishes to continue to do so, she can simply deny them. But regardless, you will tell the fragments what they've become. Then you will push… no—force them, to grow."

Blair tried to relax, to get a level head, to do anything to try and put up some kind of logical argument, but all his mind was filled with was the knowledge that he hung above Hell itself.

"Her Majesty—"

"—is your Master. I'm your Host." Ophiuchus wavered once, and his eyes began to lose their brilliance. He gritted his teeth and leaned forward. "You'll do what I say above all else."

Blair noticed the urgency in Ophiuchus' voice, as well as the flickering of his outline. He felt a faint tugging on his tether, inching him back in closer to Horizon. He looked back at Ophiuchus.

"And if I refuse?"

Ophiuchus narrowed his eyes. "I'll shatter this barrier, send Us all hurtling into the Abyss, and let the minions of this foul prison break into Your precious world. That decision has been, and always will be Mine."

"Oh?" Blair challenged. He nodded towards Horizon's silhouette, which continued to pull him forward like a magnet. "I think you're bluffing. You may be able to watch all twelve of us and see out of the barrier, but you're still shattered and weak. I'll bet you can barely even keep me out here like this. Besides, You're Horizon's subconscious; all you care about is his survival. You'd nev—"

Blair's voice was cut off as Ophiuchus grabbed him by the throat. He didn't need to breathe, but the pressure still prevented him from talking.

"The Host must be a willing vessel," Ophiuchus said with a dark smile. "Shattered I am, Weak I may be, but never forget this, Echo: I'm still a part of Him."

Ophiuchus raised his hoof in front of Blair. It elongated and sharpened, morphing into a long, wicked blade. His eyes turned blood red as he lowered it to Blair's tether.

"Which means I can do this."

Ophiuchus cut halfway through the golden rope. Blair screamed as white hot agony lanced through him, washing him away with pure waves of pain. He shuddered as his body lost cohesion and began to fade.

Blair gasped as the world righted itself. The pain had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He looked down and saw that the tether was restored and unharmed. He felt completely drained as he hung limply in the air.

"Look at me."

Blair raised his head to see that Ophiuchus' body was almost gone. His outline could barely be distinguished, save for his eyes and the hoof that was still in the shape of a blade.

"I haven't forgotten what all of You did," Ophiuchus said. His thought voice was faint and strained. "I'm grateful to all of You for saving Us on that fateful night twenty years ago."

"You... have a funny way… of showing it." Blair managed.

Ophiuchus looked at his transfigured hoof, then at the barrier surrounding them. "My gratitude only extends so far. The white one's done all she can. The Others would too if They knew They could, but They listen to You because You're the leader. And while I'm more now than what I once was, You're right: I care about His survival above all else. So if You don't obey Me—"

He raised his bladed hoof high with a casual flick, hanging it above Blair's tether like a guillotine.

"—I'll sever You."

Blair tried to think of some way out, some means of escape. There had to be something he could do to avoid this. A part of him agreed with Ophiuchus; who cared what the Princess wanted? This was a matter of survival. Whatever she was hiding couldn't be worse than the foul beasts below getting free. But at the same time, how could he know her wishes? Emotions wrestled inside him, trying to influence his decision. Fear of oblivion, failure, and letting loose a horror upon the world. Loyalty to the Princess, his duty, and all that he stood for and believed in. And finally, obligation to the thing that was before him, and the price it demanded for their mutual continued existence.

He realized there was only one choice.

Blair sighed. "All right, I'll tell them."

Ophiuchus pursed his lips, then nodded and lowered his blade. "As I said, I don't care if You still wish to keep them from the white one. Plot and scheme all You like, but don't let it hinder You from making them grow as fast as possible. The laughing one already knows and has decided to do nothing but practice so that she may 'surprise' the others. Let the Others tell Their fragments; They've gained their trust and know how to best approach them."

"That doesn't help me with Twilight," Blair said. "She needs to be carefully guided or she could become as—heck, worse than Nightmare Moon. I'll need to come up with a plan."

"No, you don't."

Blair looked up. The blade had now faded away, and so had Ophiuchus' entire body. All that was left of him was his eyes. They floated away and back into Horizon's silhouette, boring holes into Blair as they melded into the swirling colors.

"The red one has planned since the beginning."

As Ophiuchus faded, Blair became aware of an enormous tension that'd been building in his tether. It released with a snap, yanking Blair forward and hurtling him towards Horizon with the speed of a bullet. He vanished with a ripple.

( * * * )

"Blair! Wake up!"

Blair's eyes snapped open as he awoke in his bed inside Twilight's pantry. He tried to sit up, and bit back a yell as his muscles screamed in protest. He elected to lay prone instead, gasping for air while he stared up at the ceiling.

"You were thrashing around in your sleep."

Blair turned to his left and saw the silhouette of a mare standing at the entrance of the open pantry door. A cool breeze kissed his face from the open kitchen window beyond. The pale light shone in as the clouds shifted, and Nightmare Moon's cruel visage flashed before his eyes.

This time Blair did yell, ignoring the pain as he recoiled and flattened himself against the wall.

"Blair!" Twilight said quickly. "It's me!"

Blair's eyes adjusted, and the shadows melted away. Lavender coat, not black. Normal eyes, not predatory. Her mane isn't capable of cutting anything in half. Get a grip.

He relaxed, but couldn't stop himself from whimpering as the pain resurged.

"I—I'm sorry," he said in a high, fevered pitch.

Twilight's horn gave off enough light to fill the room. She walked in and straightened his blankets, eyeing him with concern. "You were having a nightmare."

Blair attempted to get up a second time. He gingerly sat up and put his hooves to his face. "You could say that."

"What was it about?"

Blair shivered. The clammy blankets offered no warmth to him. He wiped the sweat away from his brow as he thought how best to reply.

Would she even believe—no, she'd just think I'm delirious right now. She wouldn't be far off, either. Ugh, I can't think straight...

Blair stared the sheets of his bed. "I try to run away, but it never stops chasing me. I try to ignore it, but I can't resist its call. Finally it corners me, and as it creeps forward... I realize I don't want to run anymore. I want to feel it again, immerse myself in its embrace. I open my arms, and just as it's about to swallow me… I wake up."

Twilight was sitting on Blair's bed as she listened to his rambling recount. "What is it?"

Blair felt like he'd been plunged into the northern sea. He needed something warm, something to take away the horrid, creeping chill. It was going to consume him unless he appeased it somehow. He unconsciously reached out, realizing there was a source of warmth very close to him.

"Blair?"

It was familiar. It pulsed with life. It called to him like an old friend, beckoning to him. He yearned to heed its call, but it flowed just out of reach. He needed to feel it again, to take it and make his. All he had to do was—

Blair slapped himself. Hard.

Twilight jerked and backed away. "Blair! What're you doing?!"

He moaned and clutched his head. Twilight now noticed that the temperature had dropped around him. She took a few steps back, but the chill followed after her… almost chasing her.

"DAMN IT, HORIZON!" Blair screamed. "YOUR LITTLE STUNT BROKE THE SEAL!"

He vanished in a teal flash before Twilight could say anything.

( * * * )

Piro awoke to the loud banging of his bedroom door opening. He sat bolt upright in his bed, a tiny red ball the size of a marble forming on the tip of his horn. He readied it at the shadowy figure that staggered in.

"Sc—Piro!"

Piro's eyes widened. He adjusted his spell, as well as his aim. The marble shot forward to the ceiling, travelling to the center of the room where it expanded and brightened. It shone like a miniature sun that banished all the room's shadows and revealed the newcomer.

Blair knelt on the floor, panting for breath as he twitched his head from side to side. His horn was sparking and encased in ice, and he looked up at Piro with a strange hungry look in his eyes. He quickly turned away and spat out three words through clenched teeth.

"The seal broke."

To his credit, Piro reacted immediately. He jumped out of bed and ran over to his closet. He got out his suitcase and dug inside, where he found a thickly folded piece of parchment that covered the entire bottom. He grabbed it in his magic and pulled it out.

Blair was already banishing all the warmth from the room as Piro carefully unfolded the massive piece of paper and placed it in the center. Drawn upon it was a square array covered with violet interlocking lines. In its center was an ebony triangle with a single magical Symbol etched in silver ink. The Symbol was reminiscent to a set of weighing scales.

"What would you do without me?" Piro mused. "Ha! There I go again, asking rhetorical questions. Think you'd break Libra's record? What was it again… half a mile or so?"

Blair slammed a hoof on the ground as his breath came out in a mist. The tendrils of frost were starting to form around him. "Hurry!"

Piro's commentary didn't slow him down as he smoothed out the paper. "You know I can't fully seal it away like Celestia. It'll be tolerable, but you'll still feel its call. That and you'll give off the same faint chill Libra did. Doubt anypony in this era will know what it means, though."

"I'll manage!" Blair barked. "Just do it!"

"You're the boss." Piro lifted Blair up in his magic and set him in the center of the array. His horn flared up like a poker as he touched it to the paper.

Blair felt his hooves stuck in place as he became encased in a triangular pillar of light. The lines of the array burned red, teal, then merged to violet as the room was filled with its glow. Piro chanted an incantation softly under his breath, and the interlocking lines of the array lifted up and swirled around Blair. One line fastened around Blair's head like a circlet, the others wrapped around his chest. They pulsed once, and Blair's eyes shone with bright light. He went rigid as the magic took hold and partially sealed away his ability to sense the lifeforce of other living creatures.

The light dimmed, and Piro stepped away. Blair managed to stay standing as he was released from the pillar. The lines faded into Blair's coat, and the array gave off a faint smoke. Blair took a deep breath as he opened his eyes and looked at Piro. He looked normal to him, but there was something now about him that wasn't there before. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out something in the center of his chest.

Something that was warm and sang to him in the voice of angels.

Piro raised an eyebrow as he judged Blair's reaction. "Better?"

Blair shook his head clear. "Yeah."

"How'd it break?" Piro asked.

"Never mind that." Blair stepped out of the array. "What's your plan?"

Piro blinked. "What?"

"Your plan for how you plan on training Twilight how to use her Absorption power," Blair chipped the ice off his horn as he spoke. "Tell me what it is."

If the circumstances were different, Blair would reveled in Piro's dumbfounded expression. At the moment though, he merely found it annoying.

"How'd you—" Piro whispered.

"Horizon told me."

"Horizon?!" Piro stared at Blair for a time before chuckling and putting a hoof to his face. "Wow, you usually come with better lies than that. The Lifesealing ritual must've taken a lot out of you."

"Horizon's subconscious is self-aware." Blair tapped the side of his head. "I've told you about him before."

"You also said he was trying to communicate with you using emotions." Piro magically folded up the paper and put it back in his suitcase. "How could he possibly—"

"Look," Blair snapped. "I've every intention of explaining this to you, but now's not the time. Right now I need to know what you have in mind, because I'm going to help you."

"You—" Piro stopped and turned back to him. "Huh?"

"I'm. Going. To. Help. You." Blair stated clearly, point his hoof at Piro with each word. "Start talking."

Piro chewed on his lip for a moment, his gaze flicking back and forth. After a moment he sighed and sat on his bed. "Fine. I'm convincing her to leave Ponyville."

He... what? How woul—don't care right now. Blair nodded."How?"

"She's been debating on it since she found the Symbol of Loyalty on Tuesday," Piro said with a yawn. "You probably haven't heard because you've been too busy with your crosswords. How're those going, by the way?"

What the heck else am I supposed to do in a library?! Spike's not exactly the greatest conversationalist. Blair didn't rise to barb. "Keep going."

"She's knows she's running out of places to look for the Symbols." Piro tossed his pillow between his hooves. "And she doesn't wanna wait any longer on her correspondences. I've been subtly encouraging her, and she's only just getting over her apprehension of leaving her friends behind."

"Where were you gonna take her?"

"On a wild goose chase," Piro replied. "I wasn't planning on training her per se, more like putting her in positions where she'd be exposed to ambient magic, or..."

Blair watched as Piro looked away and played with the edge of his blanket.

"Or?"

Piro set down the pillow and looked up at Blair. "Or setting her up in a situation where she'd have to defend herself."

Blair tensed. "You were gonna go behind my back and intentionally put her in harm's way?!"

"You don't understand." Piro covered the side of his face. "Twilight thinks other ponies will look at her like a freak if they find out about her magic, especially her friends. She'll hide behind a bold-faced lie before she admits the truth, let alone do any form of demonstration. For Celestia's sake Blair, I had to give her a Cornuoscopy to find out about her font. That alone should've told you how she feels about this."

Blair sucked on his teeth. "I didn't think she was that self-conscious about it."

"I know none of us are really looking to develop a relationship here, but it wouldn't kill you to pay more attention to her." Piro hopped off his bed and paced in the center of the room. "Having her tucked safely away in the library is great and all, but if we want her to use her magic, we have to either put her or somepony she cares about in danger. And I'd rather not involve any more ponies than we have to in this, so that narrows it down rather succinctly, don't you think?"

"She's gonna freeze up." Blair watched as Piro moved back and forth, his lifeforce leaving behind a faint afterimage in his eyes. "She's never been exposed to real battle. We can't just throw her into the ocean and expect her to swim."

Piro stopped and looked at Blair with a deadpan expression. "Did you forget about Ace? He'd be there to back her up. And considering Cancer held his ground by himself in almost every single battle, I think Tendoncutter is qualified."

Blair couldn't help but chuckle. "You know he hates that name."

"It's better than the other one. 'Mercyblade'? Come on." Piro stuck out his tongue. "Look, once Twilight gets the jitters out she'll be fine, and I can fix her up if she gets hurt. There's no reason to be worried."

Point there. But then... Blair lowered his chin. "What were you gonna do about me?"

Piro rolled his eyes. "You're not exactly a slouch, either. I figured when Twilight manifests her Absorption power the two of you can have a nice heart-to-heart about how much it sucks to be addicted to magic. Maybe you can tell her how much of a bummer it'd be if she went crazy and tried to kill everyone she knows and loves. You know... like you almost did."

"That was Libra," Blair snapped. "Not me."

Piro narrowed his eyes. "Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

Never gonna get over it, are you? Whatever, stopped caring a long time ago. Blair put on a stoic mask. "You said she's decided to do this herself?"

Piro nodded. "If she's gonna do it, then she's using the party as the time to say goodbye to her friends."

"You think she will?"

"Of course," Piro said with a note of condescension. "She doesn't see any other way to find the Symbols, and she wants to get her thesis spell done more than anything else. Obviously, we could just tell her what they are since they used to be on the Gate, but that'd lead to a lot of awkward questions, and nopony wants that."

No kidding. It's bad enough we have to do this much, it's gonna be a hassle to keep her from going to Celestia. If only there was some way we... could...

"Okay." Blair's voice became rushed. "Here's what we're gonna do: After the party, we leave with her and Ace, tell her about her powers, train her, make sure she's recovered, bring her back here, get the other Bearers, let Celestia know, get the necklaces, go to Tartarus, use the Elements, and then whatever happens... happens. Sound good?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Piro put up a hoof to slow him down. "You're gonna tell her? I thought you said—"

"Change of plans," Blair said. "She needs to know, the sooner the better."

"What about Celestia?" Piro asked. "You said our orders were to keep this a secret for as long as possible. Aren't you worried Twilght's gonna run to her and demand an explanation?"

Blair smirked. "Not if we dangle a carrot over her nose."

Piro furrowed his eyebrows. "What carrot?"

"You said it yourself," Blair said. "We know what the Symbols for the Elements are. We can use that as leverage to keep her where we want her."

"Yeah..." Piro said slowly, "but how're we gonna prove it to her?"

Blair rubbed his horn. "You know a Truesight spell will reveal us for what we are. I think if we tell her our little story, she'll be willing to listen."

Piro whistled. "That's risky."

Blair shrugged. "She's gonna have to hear it sooner or later. Did you think she'd just march up to Tartarus and not have any questions on how Horizon got stuck in the barrier? Or how we got bonded to him? How about that little thing about how we came to be in the first place?"

"Okay, okay, you think we should tell her, fine." Piro looked out the window to gauge the time. The moon had slid back beneath the clouds, and only a few stars shone in between the cracks in the sky. "What's all the rush about? This isn't like you."

"I'm not the one calling the shots anymore." Blair managed to suppress a shudder. "Bottom line is we have to take matters into our own hooves."

Piro laughed. "I don't care who you are or what you've done with Blair; I like you."

Blair closed his eyes and gave a small smile. As he did, he felt the faint call of life around him, as well as a faint chill that plagued his body. However, these were both things that Libra had dealt with throughout the entire course of the War, and those memories had been passed on to Blair. He wasn't happy that Celestia's seal had been broken, but at the very least, no harm had come of it.

Thanks to Piro.

Blair cleared his throat. "Pirosco."

Piro turned at the use of his full name.

Blair straightened and bowed. "I'm in thy debt once again."

Piro caught the archaic adjective. His eyes softened as he switched over to the older form of speaking.

"Thou art as much a fool as thy predecessor. However, it's a very special fool that commits the same grievous sin countless times and still finds my forgiveness. Bitterness never fades, but wrath smolders. Consider thyself lucky, as thou art the instigator of this fine mess."

Blair straightened and walked out the door. "Again, that was Libra, not me."

Piro released his Light spell and went back to bed. "And still, my reply remains the same."