WARNING. The following chapter contains scenes of violence and mature subject matter. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

The fires of the righteous will always burn

And turn us on each other until we learn

To harness the power of our distinction

And throw off these shackles of bad religion

One thousand and one nights change everything

You are my scheherazade, I am your king

In excelsius benedictus

Immortalis lacunam

In extremis abyss domus

Introitus gloriam

Twilight groaned as she started to come to. Her head exploded in extreme pain the instant she attempted to move it. She let out a strained yelp, and felt a strong hand gently push her body down, holding her eyes closed.

“Do not move,” a calm, male voice replied, “Your skull is in pieces, and if you make any sudden motions, you may risk serious brain damage.”

This did not help calm Twilight down one iota. She started to breathe heavily, and her mind began to panic.

“You will heal, and quickly,” the voice replied once again, “But you must remain still. Go back to sleep.”

“What about-”

“Everyone is fine. Your friends and the others of your kind have been moved to an abandoned village underneath the ice. Your Princesses and the Emotion Parasite are with my apprentice not far from here.”

“You mean... she's alive?”

“She is seriously hurt, but otherwise she will survive. She would like to speak with you when you are fully healed.”

“Thank you...”

“Now go back to sleep, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay...”

As Twilight drifted off into an artificially induced sleep, Lord Ryder stood back up and left.

“Your apprentice is a sight to behold,” Ryder said as he approached Celestia, Luna, Ascentia and Chrysalis on the cliff overlooking the vast icy surface of Neptune, “She radiates an energy I have never seen in a mortal before.”

Celestia replied only with a curt nod. Luna shrank down in Ryder's presence, causing Ascentia to give her a quizzical look.

“Are you alright, Princess?” she asked calmly.

Luna nodded slightly. Ascentia was not convinced.

“I have made the others aware of Athena's return. And of the damage that Xebre has caused. The Grand Lord was not pleased to hear this. Her wrath was... unbecoming.”

“Yes, I have heard your story,” Celestia replied, “It is quite remarkable.”

“Yes, indeed,” Chrysalis added, “To house a malevolent creature within your own flesh is rather impressive indeed.”

“We all have our achievements,” Ryder smiled, “Mine are certainly noteworthy, but there are those with greater accolades. Shadow's Prey was a vile thing. A creature that fed off fear and misery. It's presence was like...”

“A horrible nightmare?” Luna asked.

“Precisely,” Ryder replied, looking her in the eye.

They were silent for a moment, before Ryder spoke again.

“Ascentia, you have suffered serious injuries. It would be wise of you to rest. I think you have earned it,” Ryder replied.

“Master, had it not been for me, these creatures would still have their home,” Ascentia replied, looking out into the distance.

“Nevertheless, it is because of you that they are alive,” Ryder protested.

“Do you not see it, Master?” Ascentia asked, turning to face him, “They are trapped here, on a frozen excuse for a planet, while Athena streaks toward us at top speed. She will come here looking for you and I before she attempts to take the city. These ponies will either die at her hand, or freeze to death long before she gets here. In what way is that an improvement?”

“Ascentia, my reasoning was not an attempt to convince you to rest,” Ryder replied in a calm, yet firm tone, “I do not have to ask, it is merely a courtesy. Go and rest. That is an order.”

Ascentia closed her eyes and bowed to him, “Forgive me, Master.”

Ascentia turned and strode down into one of the tunnels that led to the vast shelter beneath them. Ryder saw a slight limp in her step. As she started to descend into the tunnels, she caught a familiar sight stumbling toward her. Rushing forward, she caught Twilight just before she fell onto the ice.

“Twilight, what are you doing awake?” Ascentia replied, gingerly feeling her skull. It had been mended, but was still vulnerable.

“I woke up... and it was cold...” Twilight mumbled, dizzy.

“Yes, you were left outside in the hopes that the cold would numb the pain of your injuries. We shielded you from the damage of such low temperatures before we put you to sleep.”

“What about you?” Twilight asked, looking up at her.

Ascentia's already scarred face had suffered numerous electrical burns, and a respiratory mask covered her mouth. Twilight shuddered at what such a device might be needed for.

“I will be fine, you do not need to worry,” Ascentia said calmly.

“NO!” Twilight shouted, pushing away from her, “Stop telling me not to worry! You're the only thing that stands between us and... that THING! If you die, we die!”

“That is not true, do not be so absurd,” Ascentia replied, “I am not some last hope for your kind. Such fairy tales do not exist, even from the worst of scribes. There are others of my kind, and powerful forces among yours. My death counts for very little.”

“But I thought we were friends...” Twilight replied, turning her face to the floor.

Ascentia was speechless for a moment, before she knelt down in front of the small unicorn, “Some things are more important than our friends.”

“Princess Celestia taught me that friendship is the most powerful magic there is!” Twilight said, louder than before.

“Princess Celestia was wrong. You saw what broke open the crust of your planet, and burned it from it's core. I can certainly say that friendship was the last thing on Athena's mind when that happened.”

Twilight's eyes began to water a little when she remembered what had happened not hours ago. Ascentia stood up and passed her, continuing on her way. She stopped briefly and spoke once again.

“Any feelings you may have toward me, of friendship or otherwise,” Ascentia replied, “It would be best to purge them from your heart. Or more preferably, that organ that does something other than move blood around. I understand that you and I have been through much in that last few weeks. But some people are better left forgotten.”

Ascentia strode down through the tunnel, and out of sight and earshot. Twilight lay down on the cold ice, and started to cry.

“How can you expect me to forget...” Twilight whimpered.

As Princess Cadance flew over the plains of Neptune, scouting the area at Celestia's request, she felt the familiar cold shiver that meant a pony close to her was in misery.

Twilight managed to find her way into the sub-levels where her friends were waiting for her. Settling herself down beside Applejack, she waited for her friend's inevitable words.

“Twilight, is something the matter?” Rarity asked.

The cold and livid looks from Applejack and Rainbow Dash made her rethink her words.

“Besides the obvious, darling,” Rarity added.

“Yeah I... everything's fine,” Twilight replied, “I just had a fight with Ascentia...”

“That brute?” Rarity asked, “How in Equestria could that bother you?”

Twilight snapped a pair of angry eyes toward Rarity, “That brute is the reason we're not being torn apart by an angry God right now! You should be grateful, Rarity!”

“Grateful?” Rarity remarked, giving her trademark double-gasp, “All I saw was two of those things having a grudge match in the city while the Princesses were rushing us away and to this frozen wasteland.”

“Actually Twi, I gotta agree with Rarity on this one,” Applejack replied, “None of us really know which one was the bad guy and which one was the good guy.”

“Who's to say either of them is the good guy?” Rainbow asked, “Wasn't Fluttershy with her too?”

Twilight looked down toward the ground as that cold reminder hit her very hard.

“Now Rainbow, that was just too far,” Applejack snapped back, “You know that Twilight lo-”

“We hate to interrupt your girl talk,” came a familiar voice behind them, “But have any of you seen Pumpkin Cake?”

The four friends turned to face Princess Luna, Rarity speaking first, “Her and Sweetie Belle ran off to explore. Is that a problem?”

“The dark one has requested to speak with her,” Luna replied, “We do not know what he wishes to speak about. Find her, and quickly.”

“At once, your highness,” Rarity replied as Luna turned and strode away.

“I'm on it,” Rainbow replied as she streaked off into the deeper tunnels to find the missing fillies.

“Anyway Twi, what exactly did she say?” Applejack asked.

“She said that Celestia was wrong to call friendship the most powerful magic ever,” Twilight replied, “And that I should forget any feelings of friendship I have toward her or her kind. That she should be forgotten.”

“Do you think she is doing it on purpose?” Rarity asked.

“What are you babblin' about?” Applejack asked, giving the prim unicorn an incredulous look.

“Applejack, you cannot deny that Twilight has grown very close to that creature-”

“Ascentia.”

“Pardon?”

“Her name,” Twilight replied, glaring at her, “Is Ascentia.”

“Fine, Ascentia then,” Rarity corrected, “Twilight has grown very close to Ascentia. We all saw her teach about her kind to her student the last few years. And I was in the throne room when we first caught a glimpse of her before this whole mess started. What if Ascentia is trying to make Twilight hate her? So that if she dies, it will not make her want to grieve?”

“Rarity, that's... that's actually pretty good,” Applejack replied.

Twilight wasn't crying. She couldn't in the cold, and even if she could she didn't feel like crying. She didn't know what to feel. It was almost as if all motivation in her was gone for the moment, and she just wanted to lie there and not do anything. Not move, speak, or even think. The pounding in her head from her shattered skull said otherwise though, as it had not fully mended yet. And the billions of nerve endings in her horn were screaming in protest.

Now that she thought about it, she only just realized the amount of excruciating pain she was in. Her eyes shut tight and she tensed up and the feeling of a thousand white-hot knives being plunged into her eyes started to overtake her thoughts. She stood up and stumbled away from her friends, not quite aware of where she was headed.

“Twilight? Where are you going?” Rarity asked. Twilight did not answer.

Twenty minutes of agonizing stumbling down the tunnels brought her to a small chamber where Ascentia was lying asleep on a small mat. Twilight did the only thing she could think of. She walked in and laid down next to the sleeping Val'Kyr.

Ascentia's eyes opened and she looked down to see the lavender unicorn asleep against her chest. Remaining silent save for the rasp of the respirator, she curled an arm over her to keep her warm and returned to sleep.

“Athena will be here in two days,” Ryder said as he examined a bright flash in the distance. He turned back to face the Princesses, Cadance, Chrysalis and Shining Armor, “Ascentia and I will be forced to do battle with her. She must not reach the city.”

“How are you going to keep something like that at bay?” Shining Armor asked.

“I will not... at least not alone.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia replied.

“Ascentia is powerful, but she is not enough. I will require... more unorthodox methods.”

“Explain yourself!” Luna demanded.

Ryder looked to the 3 Alicorns, the changeling, and the soldier.

“If you would... I would greatly appreciate your help.” Next Chapter: Elegy Estimated time remaining: 26 Minutes