"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YES!!! LOOK UPON ME MORTALS AND DESPAIR!!!"

The throne was made of black stygian iron, large with a glowering dragon head forged from the metal up at the top of the tall back of the throne. The dragon's head had violent, even seemingly burning red rubies in it's eyes, with sharpened red ruby teeth as well. Enchanted red cushioning was upon the Throne's seat and up most of it's back, with forms of dragons, wings spread and flying, lining up on either side of the cushioning towards the top. There was red velvet cushioning down from the seat as well, down the throne's base for when it entered it's reclining state, a few visible lines in the cushions, to show where it would split when the reclining option was selected.

The throne had two 'arm-rests' coming out from either side as well, unusual in alicorn thrones but not unheard of. On both of these the black stygian iron had enchanted red velvet on top, for when Pyrus wished to rest his forelegs, and at the ends of both arms were dragon heads, with open mouths, roaring dragons with flaming red ruby eyes and opened maws filled with red ruby teeth... and possibly flamethrowers inside of the mouths, it was hard to tell what actually lay down the gaping maws. But it was clear what lay to the sides of the throne. On the left side was a circular stygian cup-holder, built into the stygian iron, with a golden chalice fit into it, the chalice being large, with a red gem on the back side, a blue gem on the front, and a deep red wine filling it. On the right side of the throne's base was a lever, tall with a snarling dragon head at the end, all stygian iron with no rubies this time, built for pulling so that the throne would start it's recline. It was Pyrus's gift throne... and as might have been evidence from his currently sitting on it, human-style with his hind-legs over the base and his forelegs on the arm-rests, he was enjoying himself.

Pyrus was currently sporting an almost entirely black coat, with only the ends of his fore and hind legs showing a deep bloody red. His teeth were sharpened though, and black metal, along with his wings which now had feathers entirely of black iron. He gazed out across an imaginary audience with fiery red eyes, and continued to shout with a tongue that was ALSO made out of black iron, and a mouth that occasionally spouted fire.

"SEE MY GLORY!!! WITNESS ME UPON MY THRONE, AND KNOW THAT IN DOING SO YOU WITNESS YOUR DOOM!!!" He shouted out as the tiny Cryon sat in his brother's lap with a little dark-blue blanket around his body, and what looked like a heavy black leather-bound tome in front of him, faded pages with blood red writing and gruesome drawn pictures in front of him. The alicorn colt calmly sat in his brother's lap as the happy former ruler of Tartarus addressed his imaginary victims.

"KNOW THAT YOUR STALLIONS SHALL BE SLAUGHTERED, YOUR MARES RAPED, YOUR FOALS ENSLAVED!!! KNOW THAT YOUR DECIMATION COMES AT THE ENDS OF MY HOOVES AND THE TIPS OF MY WINGS!!! KNOW THAT-"

Lord Pyrus,

Ok, "the souls of raging beasts" you said. Why didn't you mention they were SAPIENT raging beasts? (Shits and Giggles is a legitimate answer.) Also, guestimates on how long it and the star will be duking it out for? Because Pinocchio's strings are kind of cut until he regains consciousness.

Also, if whatever will inhabited the amulet survives, will it be able to hear us? Because it will be in Slate's head.

"AH BUCKING DAMN IT!!!" Shouted Pyrus, leaning back in his throne and growling heavily as his ears twitched and Cryon looked up from the highly graphic picture of a unicorn stallion getting decapitated, eviscerated, and gelded at the same time by a six legged skeleton pony with sharp-bladed appendages.

"Ah, hello again watchers. As you can see, we are making use of your gracious gifts." Spoke Cryon simply, nodding forward politely, before furrowing his brows in contemplation.

"WHY DO YOU PRICKS ALWAYS INTERRUPT WHEN WE'RE RELAXING!? WHY CAN'T YOU BUCK AROUND WITH US WHEN... When..." Muttered Pyrus, before narrowing his eyes as his ears twitched.

"... What the buck do you mean 'why didn't I tell you they were sapient'? What, are you lot so bucking stupid that you need me to spell out every damn little thing? Should I mention that most ponies have internal organs, or that when a mommy and daddy pony feel horny the daddy's prick gets long the mommy's gash get's wet and they start to rut!? I mean buck! What kind of dumbplot simpletons are you lo-"

"Brother!" Spoke Cryon, a bit sharply. Pyrus turned his gaze down to the little colt in his lap, his eyes still anrrowed.

"WHAT!? This is the most bucking ridiculous one ye-" He started, before Cryon calmly shrugged off his blanket, flapped his wings, and started 'buzz'-ing up to his brother's head. Cryon then calmly flew over to his brother's right ear, wings still beating rapidly, and started whispering something.

"Huh, okay... Uh-huh... uhhhh-huh... HUH?! Shit, really?! You're bucking with me right!? No? ... Well damn..." Muttered Pyrus before shaking his head and blinking as Cryon calmly 'buzzed' back down to his brother's lap, and started to pull his blanket around him again.

"Okay, so apparently you shits live mostly in worlds where you're the only creatures capable of sentient thought. No wonder you're all a bunch of plotholes. But I guess that means we've had a bit of a miscommunication thing here, which my brother says is bad, so whatever. The point is, time to clue you in, almost EVERY DAMN ANIMAL on this planet is sapient! Most of them aren't quite as smart as the ponies, but many are capable of language and discussion, almost all of them of actually understanding what ponies are saying, analyzing situations and grasping the basic concepts behind them... Some are even capable of deep philosophical pondering on the nature of life, the universe, and existence. Pretty much every animal that isn't a fish is sapient. Not fish though, buck fish. Pretty sure. Haven't seen a smart fish yet... Anyways, when I said 'raging beasts' I meant intelligent raging beasts, monsters, demons, and other such creatures. Thought that would be obvious. Sorry for the confusion, I guess." Spoke Pyrus, shrugging slightly.

Cryon, in the meantime had finished re-adjusting his blanket and snuggling into Pyrus's lap. He then calmly looked back up to you with a thoughtful gaze, and began to speak.

"As for the other matter, the Star and the Amulet will already have started their conflict, "duking it out", as it were. However, interestingly, the Amulet has... delayed things. Through a possession maneuver it is... well, not hiding, but piggybacking into the Host's magic so that it's far more difficult to get rid of. Such is only delaying the inevitable and has cost it it's main physical form and anchor, so I am not entirely sure what it is trying to achieve. Also that will not actually keep the host asleep, I estimate that when you return, only about twenty or thirty seconds will have passed in the Host's time. However, the 'spirit' of the Amulet will likely be able to hear you, or at least interpret your effect on the Host's mind. What interactions it will have with the host proper... it is still too early to speculate on."

"Actually it's probably gonna try to rut him. That freak was REALLY bucking nuts." Spoke Pyrus, actually quite casually, causing Cryon to look up and blink slightly.

"... Do you know something I don't brother?" Asked the tiny alicorn with his right eyebrow raised. Pyrus looked down to him with a light smirk.

"You remember how we went about the binding and what the purpose of putting all those souls in actually was, right?" He asked, to which Cryon nodded.

"Of course. A 'Closed Pot' spirit technique, or perhaps 'Demon Pot' in this particular case. Bind one-thousand spirits of various raging monsters and beasts into a closed container with the only source of sustenance being each other. In this case, the source of sustenance was soul energy and the container was the gem in the center of the alicorn amulet. Entrapped as they were, they were forced to hunt each other down inside of the amulet and consume the others energy until there was only one left. This was both to insure a spirit powerful enough to dominate the mental structure of whoever was to wear the amulet, and also give them experience with soul consumption for when they did so to whoever wore the amulet. Why?" Asked Cryon, his right eyebrow raised. Pyrus smirked a bit more.

"Do you remember who the last beast standing was?"

"... ... ..."

"... ... ..."

Cryon blew up his cheeks with a 'huff' and folded his little forelegs across his chest, blanket riding back a bit as he looked down and grumbled.

"Shut up..." He muttered, turning his eyes and all his attention to the opened book in front of him.

Pyrus chuckled lightly, and looked back up to you with a smirk.

"Heheheh, anyways, the bucker who won the right to live bound to a bucking amulet was Incubit the Alluring, an old-school Tartarean Demon. He's a shapeshifter, smooth talker, and horny bastard. Doubt that his time in the gem's changed any of that... except that he doesn't really have a physical body anymore, so..." Pyrus shrugged.

"Anyways, keep that in mind. Or whatever. He's probably not going to be around long before the Star eats him, so buck it, trivia I guess."

Brothers, can that pitiful little amulet hear us? Because If in its foolishness it were able to hear us and inform Blank, or worse, one of SunBun's minions our whole operation could be at risk. Celestial has a record for stoning anything she considers a risk and I'd rather not have to worry about her trying to strike at us through the rift if this all goes south. I want to plan my contingencies accordingly in the event of our discovery.

May your flames burn forever bright,

-PYRO THE RED

I must echo the concerns of my fellow voices, Lords Cryon and Pyrus. A sentient will within the Amulet eas not spmething that was planned or prepared for. If the spirit of the Amulet can hear us, it could have unexpected consequences for our plans.

Cryon sighed, and unfolded his forehooves, reaching down to flip a page in his book as he nodded slightly, trying to end his sulking.

"As said the amulet's spirit, 'Incubit' apparently, will almost certainly able to hear you when you talk to the Host and will have already identified your tampering with it's mind. However, while it informing the Host of your presence is... possible, it is unlikely to be a danger. You are in the Host's head after all, you can convince him to disregard the idea that he's being manipulated rather easily. And there is no danger of it speaking with Princess Celestia or it's servants. It is a device of evil as much as we are, though significantly weaker. It does NOT want her attention. Even if it's annihilation is certain, that is preferable to the focus of the Princesses." Spoke Cryon calmly, giving a nod as he focused on the new page, which showed a lovely bloated Earth Pony corpse, formerly a mare, with worms wiggling out of her stomach.

My little gift to the Ice Alicorn that book I've sent has weakened the walls of realities enough to a warp rift. Fiery Alicorn put your brother in, it shall close but your brother should be back in no time at it's most primal the warp is made up of despairing souls who thought that the afterlife is idyllic. But if the Icy one is ambitious as I thought then he would go Grandfather Nurgle's kingdom is made of entirely concentrated despair. He will return either way stronger for the experience.

"NO!"

Shouted Pyrus immediately, bringing both forelegs around to WRAP around his brother and pull him up and close to his chest, Cryon blinking in surprise, book left in Pyrus's lap.

"Um, brother don't-"

"I ain't sending my brother to that bloody dimension! I've been looking up on it and it's cool and junk but do you really think we're going to even TRY to go to a place with stronger, even crazier forces of evil than us!? Buck that noise!"

"Now wait, we should-"

"NO! This is not up for debate, next question!"

"Brother I just-"

"NEXT QUESTION!!!"

Lord Cryon,

I am glad your brother recieved, and enjoys, the gifts I sent him. Your health is quite a concern, it gives us even more incentive to push dear Blank to start the ball rolling. As already stated by your brother, your idea of medicine would slay any of me or mine and as such, our mdeicine would do little to nothing for your condition....but a thought does occur to me. The mirror in the Crystal Empire connects with an alternate version of the world I, and several of my fellow voices, inhabit. There is much hatred here...if we can alter the mirror slightly, perhaps we can begin siphoning a portion of this world's darkness into Equestria and, therefor, into you.

Just a Suggestion,

Nomad

"No visiting other dimensions!" Pyrus barked, still holding Cryon protectively.

"Brother please! Quit panicking for a moment, drink some wine, RELAX." Spoke Cryon, squirming a bit in Pyrus's grasp, blanket shifting as he did so. Pyrus took a deep breath in, then out slowly, eyes still narrowed... Then he muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and his horn glowed red. The chalice of wine lifted up out of it's cupholder and to his muzzle, the fiery alicorn looking away and to the left as he floated the chalice over and sipped from it, still holding Cryon tight to his chest. The little alicorn sighed in his bigger brother's grasp, and then looked back up to you with a calm expression.

"Ahem. Now... thank you for the thought, and for bearing my health in mind. And it is... a novel idea. I believe we have already spoken on the difficulty of making dimensional passages and alterations of any significance in this world, but the idea of funneling negative energy from another world into this one... I admit, I find it intriguing. I'm not entirely sure HOW it would be done, exactly, but it is very much within the realm of theoretical possibility..." Spoke Cryon, squirming a bit more and kicking his hindlegs out a bit, uselessly. He sighed and rolled his eyes, before clearing his throat and continuing.

"Now, ability to alter or not put aside... I am not certain that the mirror is still in the Crystal Empire. Examining the temporal waves puts a recent use in the castle that Princess Twilight has acquired in Ponyville. It may still be there, or remain there indefinitely. It's exact movements may be something that you wish to have the Host ascertain, if you intend to find a use for it." Spoke Cryon simply, nodding calmly as Pyrus continued to pointedly sip from the chalice. Cryon turned his head up and to the left for a moment, looking at his brother. And then calmly brought his left foreleg back in a light hit against Pyrus's chest. The hit didn't appear to do anything, but Pyrus grimaced slightly and moved the chalice down from his lips before looking back to you.

"And thank you for the wine, and the throne, and the chalice and shit... Also one of you sent me bucking demon whores. Thanks for that to. They were delicious." Spoke Pyrus. Cryon blinked.

"Wait, what did you do wit-"

My Lords Cryon and Pyrus,

Despite my earlier thoughs on the ineffectiveness of human medicine, I have maintained a search for options regarding Lord Cryon's condition...and I believe I have discovered a method to further slow the input of positive energy. A team I put together has put together a working Soul Engine, a device that mixes the concepts of magic and technology to artificially produce negative energy via a process that passes positive energy through a "filter" of imprisoned evil/corrupted souls (stored in a central gem).

We tested the prototype on a captured Siren, and the results are promising...there is a small problem though. The souls caught in the gem will eventually purify, and thus become ineffective at producing further negative energy. At maximum filtration, the Soul Engine could supplant the influx opf positive energy completely....but it would last a month at best. I would recommend setting the Engine to it's 50% setting, it will produce enough enough negative energy to effectively neutralize the energy in your immediate consumption range and last for approximately two years.

The dimensional disruptions are still in occurance at the time of this missive, but I hope to send you a working model as soon as the rift stabalises enough to support solid matter transfer.

Best Wishes,

Nomad

"Oooooooh which one!?" Asked Pyrus eagerly, suddenly excited as he leaned forward with a grin.

"Was it that Adagio bitch? How about Aria or Sonata? Have you got them chained up in dark cells waiting their turn to have their souls RIPPED from their bodies!? Or are you torturing them in the meantime, running experiments, maybe giving them to the guards to let off some steam or even taking them your-"

"Brother please! My book is still in your lap, I would rather you not get... excited while it's still there. Or while I'm in the room for that matter." Spoke Cryon with a slight grimace, causing Pyrus to blink, and then blush a hot red for a bit, lowering his head.

"Heheheh, sorry..." He muttered, before Cryon sighed and leaned his head back against his bigger brother's chest, looking to you again with a calm gaze.

"Now, as always, your concerns for my health are much appreciated. As to the device itself, it sounds fascinating. The concept is simple enough though I must admit it never did occur to me. Likely because as interesting as it is it is still delaying the inevitable, and a permanent solution is needed. However that is what you and your compatriots are working towards with the Host, and this device sounds as though it would provide a delightful reprieve. I would also be interested in examining it's workings, my brother as well I imagine." Spoke Cryon, looking back up to Pyrus, who smirked and gave a nod.

"Buck yeah, I love good craftsmanship. Get that shit through here and start curing my brother! Also, you say you put together a team? Just what kind of weight are you pulling back where you're from anyways?" Asked Pyrus with his right eyebrow raised, as the chalice floated down from his muzzle, and stopped in front of Cryon. Cryon calmly reached out with his forehooves and took the Chalice in them, before tilting it back, leaning forward, and starting to sip, still held in his brother's forelegs as he drank the wine.

All your speaking and screeching and weeping of amulet and star....the foal may not be safe and sound right now, but that was never the intention, hm? Every conflict, challenge or trial will make him stronger and even with all his shortcomings, he seems to have proven, that he has a certain...knack for survival. No, his current situation is satisfactory, if a little bit boring. But the good part is surely coming, so that is not my concern.

Frankly, my interest ist of different nature. Namely you, Lords of Blaze and Blizzard. How did this all began? Now, I don´t ask of your origin, or so. Such things will not benefit me, or the others. No, what I desire to know is, when all this....trouble....with Celestia began. Surely you did not duked it out since the beginning of all...

When did she intervene? Was she more direct than today? For all I saw through the cracks and rifts...nowadays she seems more like a manipulator, a elusive mind in the second row....he he....much like you, even if a little less subtle.

This information could be as interesting, as it would be valuable. Celestia has shown weaknesses over the last years. Her loss to chrysalis, Tireks attack. Without the princess of Dusk and Dawn Twilight Sparkle, she would have lost already. Could it be that her power is fading? It could be that the battle with the nightmare left a greater mark on her, than thought. If yes.....well, lets just say, that our point of interest should be the young little princess instead of the old matron...

Oh, and do not misunderstand me. I followed this whole ordeal for a while now and I decided to get in on the fun. But there is no fun in utter domination. Pure dark is as boring as shining white. Conflict, chaos, tragedy. That what I thrive for. I play along, for now. If only because equestria has proven to be too peaceful for my taste.

But its not like you have any choice concerning your...advisors...hm?

May we have a good.....partnership, while it lasts.

Grim, Hund des Konflikts (Hound of Conflict)

Pyrus narrowed his eyes... Cryon pushed the wine chalice down a bit, then licked his lips and looked up to his brother. Pyrus looked back down into Cryon's eyes.

"You're going to tell them, aren't you?" He asked, growling slightly. Cryon half-lidded his eyes.

"... I'm going to have to help, aren't I?"

A little nod from Cryon, and the colt was back to the chalice, licking and savoring the wine still within as Pyrus sighed, leaning back against his red velvet cushioning, and looked to you with narrowed eyes that, despite their typical aggression, seemed to be filled with a tiredness as well.

"Look... Celestia and Luna are a sore point, alright? They're... our greatest failure." Spoke Pyrus, before sighing out heavily and turning his gaze off and to the right, grimacing heavily.

"Good arises to fight evil. It's only natural. We're bucking used to it. And it's usually alicorns that do the arising and such. My brother and I have been manipulating things from behind the scenes WAAAAAAAY before Celestia and Luna crawled out of their mommy's cunt and started gracing the world with their dainty little hoofsteps. And when they got older, got their shit together, and started fighting against darkness, conquering territory, making paradise... it wasn't anything new. We were prepared for that shit. We knew EXACTLY how far to let them get before we knocked them back onto their haunches... Or we thought we did." Spoke Pyrus, growling low, and appropriately lowering his head slightly with the growl.

Cryon pushed the Chalice away from his mouth and sighed, licked his lips for a moment and looked down... before nodding slightly to himself, and looking back up to you with a calm expression.

"It was when they dealt with King Sombra that they 'crossed the line' as it were, and it was time for them to be defeated. We cast a curse to hide the Crystal Empire, made it look like Sombra's magic, and started our plan. We drew Discord's attention to Equestria, and his selfish nature did the rest. " Spoke Cryon calmly.

"The Princess bitches were ousted, just as we'd planned. Discord introduced chaos to turn all their order to insanity, misery followed. Evil ruled there, and with Equestria in chaos the rest of the world would collapse on it's own accord, like usual. Until somepony EVENTUALLY arose to defeat Discord and start bringing harmony and balance to the world again." Muttered Pyrus, still with his eyes narrowed.

"But then those Princesses did something. Something that every other two-bit heroic cunt hadn't ever managed to do... the Princesses came back. Not some student trained to fight evil, or some bucking orphan adopted and taught the ideals of good or that usual shit... THEM. Them loaded with a bunch of shiny gems that they called 'The Elements of Harmony'. And then they blasted Discord's plot back to stone, ended chaos, restored order, returned harmony, and broke the bucking cycle." Growled Pyrus, gritting his teeth hard. Cryon sighed.

"It was only much later, due to your intervention, that we learned where the Elements actually came from. But they provided a super-weapon that we couldn't confront properly. Our main ploy, then, was to attack Luna's soul and create Nightmare Moon. It was simple enough to play on her feelings of jealousy and lack of attention. Our hope was that with one of the Royal Sisters corrupted, the Elements of Harmony would be unable to be used. It was disappointing when Celestia was able to use them herself, however in banishing her sister to the moon she became unable to utilize the elements. We thought that we had a winning hoof then, and prepared to unleash chaos a little more... directly, as it were. Sending the Legions of Tartarus to engage Celestia's forces while they were weakened."

"That turned out WONDERFULLY!" Spat Pyrus, eyes narrowing further.

"Indeed." Stated Cryon with a narrowed gaze, waving his hoof a bit, 'clonk'-ing it against the Chalice slightly. Pyrus nodded, and levitated the Chalice back into the cupholder as Cryon cleared his throat, and spoke again.

"Celestia learned how to delegate during that war, and we underestimated the pure abilities of some amongst her inner circle... While her rank and file were not able to match my brother's, she herself participated in numerous combat actions, and used small elite groups to strike vital targets in my brother's command hierarchy. My Brother couldn't deploy himself to counter Celestia due to the necessity of keeping our existence a secret, and I myself couldn't lend aid without revealing my own base of operations. In the end, Pyrus had to abandon Tartarus, kill his inner circle, and leave a scapegoat in his place. Celestia has since turned Tartarus into her own prison, and it has been held by her for quite some time."

Finished Cryon, before looking nuzzling his head back into his brother's coat.

"That was... a painful, even humbling day. For both of us... However we were not without our resources. Nightmare Moon's return was assured, and there were numerous wild creatures and monsters that escaped and spread across Equestria after Tartarus's fall. Most were locked back up by Celestia and her Wardens. But even then... the guards are not always watching. And Cerberus is a puppy at heart... easy enough to fool." Cryon, actually grinned then, with an icy glint in his eye... before his face became calm once more, and he continued.

"In any event, when Nightmare Moon returned we were extremely hopeful. We fed her additional energy while she was imprisoned, slowly, carefully, and discreetly, so that when she broke out she might be able to banish her sister instantly, and assume control. We believed she would plunge Equestria into a new age of despair and evil. The problems of crops being unable to grow with no sunlight, and also unhealthy ponies, did not actually extend to numerous plants in the Everfree, which are of a far more durable or adaptive stock. Ponykind would survive, but evil would reign. And eventually be overthrown by good." Cryon stated simply, nodding his head in self-affirmation.

"Unfortunately, turns out Celestia had bucking PLANNED for that, and had her student ready to get a farmer, a dressmaker, a party animal, a tomcolt, and an extreme introvert together to save the BUCKING day... Who the BUCK knew?" Muttered Pyrus, still glaring into the distance. Cryon sighed at that, and looked back to you.

"We had not been idle during the thousand or so years of waiting. We prepared contingencies. Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra's return... All of them were by our design. And as you will have noticed, every one of them failed. Breaking Discord out early led only to his reimprisonment and culminated in his being reformed. Chrysalis, one of our earliest and best successes, was lured to Equestria and we fed her additional alicorn magic so that she might be able to defeat Celestia. She nevertheless allowed arrogance to cloud her judgment and was soundly defeated by a magical love-wave. Sombra was our trump card, a highly intelligent, ruthless conqueror with access to magic that could spread over the world and deliver darkness. If he had successfully retaken his capital, then his position in the Crystal Empire would have been EXTREMELY difficult to defeat, and unlike many others he learned from his mistakes. There is reason to believe that he would have waged a very effective war against the Princesses."

"And then a damned bucking shit-eating baby dragon raised by bucking PONIES, way away from any migration or proper dragonhood, saves the whole bucking place with a mixture of luck and timing... Damn it." Muttered Pyrus, hanging his head this time, now glowering down-right to the floor.

"Indeed... I suppose that the trouble with Celestia started then with her desperation. Most specifically, with the acquiring of the Elements of Harmony in order to combat Discord or risk losing all that she and her sister had worked for. That is when she became a threat to the entire cycle of good and evil, instead of simply one more proponent of good to strike down at the right time. And it is with a similar desperation to hers that we have summoned the Star of Woe. With the application of the Star into the Host and the utilization of you as guiding voices, we have acted truly desperately. A desperation that has become utterly essential." Spoke Cryon, breathing in deeply, then out slowly.

"A point of notice. Even though the Elements are no longer an active part in the equation, their effects are felt wide and far, the ripples of their use having led to entirely too many happy, healthy, wholesome ponies for real desolation and evil to be bred. And now the former bearers have achieved a kind of 'power-up' form that's nature is still difficult to ascertain. And Princess Twilight Sparkle IS powerful, perhaps even more so than Celestia. But you should mistake the Solar Princess's apparent ease of defeat for personal softness, though she is not as strong as when she and my brother warred. We have simply done everything in our power to stack the deck against her with the opponents we've sent her way... although it hardly matters because each and every one of them failed. A hard truth, but there it is." Spoke Cryon, before closing his eyes and yawning slightly.

"Now, Pyrus, if you're going to keep me here, then let us recline and cuddle properly. I am feeling sleepy" Finished Cryon bluntly. Pyrus finally looked back front and down to his brother, blinking at that, then smiling lightly.

"Alright... all this depressing shit's made me tired to... probably best we take a nap." He spoke simply, his horn glowing again and red aura grasping the lever at the right side of the chair, before pulling it back. The throne instantly reclined back, it's base moving out and unfolding forward into a legrest that Pyrus's hind-legs stretched out on, Cryon's book on top. Cryon himself turned and snuggled into against his brother's chest, still wrapped up in his blanket, sighing lightly.

"Mmm... now as always, thank you Watchers for your continued contributions to evil. I wish you good fortune leading the Host to deal with Incubit. As stated, I do not believe it will be that long between his unconsciousness, and his reawakening. However we shall see. Good journeys to you." Spoke Cryon simply, lifting his right forehoof off of his brother's chest, waving it in the air in a little circle and-

POOF... ... Blackness once more...

Author's Notes:

(Okay, so I'm starting an intensive Summer Intersession next week. I don't know what kind of effect that that'll have on my scheduling, but I can't imagine it will be good. A head's up then, while I'm thinking of it.)