“I can stabilize him, but I can't save him,” Clearpond said softly as she stood over the blackened griffon. Espirit was sitting next to Steelhorn, neither of them able to move.

They were in Cloudsdale now, they had no choice. They'd pulled back, all of them. Crystalopolis had fallen, the crystals they used to escape had been shattered. The crystal heart now hovered in the sky above the floating city, but there was no telling how long it would last for. They'd failed, there was no telling if they would be able to defeat Celestia now.

They could barely even phase the alicorn. Espirit had lost her staff, Silverwing had one of her wings nearly burnt completely off, Steelhorn had her shield melted and Ganry... oh Ganry.

Espirit looked at the writhing body of her friend. Most of his feathers were gone, fallen off to reveal the charred, black and red flesh beneath. One of his talons were completely fused together, the other nothing more than a black, bloody stump.

Worst of all, there was little that Clearpond could do. Her magic was strong, but she could only do so much. She was able to keep death at bay, but she couldn't heal him. The damage was just too severe. She needed help. More help than they could get now. There was no telling when Celestia would launch her next assault, or who it would be against. Canterlot forces were moving to protect their border, they couldn't send their conjurers to help. Even if they could, there was no telling how much it would help. They needed full white mages, not conjurers. Quite a few of them.

“I'm sorry,” the white mage said before looking to the three of them. “I will... I will do what I can, keep him alive as long as I can. But... but I don't know if there is anything I can do. It's not just the wounds, if it was I could save him. But it's how they were inflicted. The magic used in her... the alicorn's magic. It's not like... it's different. It's pure corruption. My magic can only buy time. I'm sorry.”

“T-thank you,” Espirit whispered softly, staring at the mangled griffon. The white mage turned and walked out, leaving Steelhorn and Espirit alone with the griffon.

“Steelhorn,” Espirit whispered softly, reaching out a hoof. “Maybe there's something we can do to--” The moment her hoof touched the changeling, it was smacked away.

“OUT!” the changeling screamed.

The zebra took a step back. “W-what? But I was--”

“GET OUT!” she screamed, before running to Ganry and throwing her arms around him, covering herself in his blood before sobbing.

Espirit watched for a moment before trotting out from the room, closing it behind herself. She could still hear the mare in there. Sobbing over her dying lover. Clearpond was out there, waiting for her. “I'm sorry, I never should have let you four go. I thought...”

“If... if you heal, I mean, if you get better, you can help him, right?” Espirit asked softly. “You're still weak from Cadence, what she did to you?”

The pegasus sighed before shaking her head. “No. While I am still weak, there is nothing I can do. I can only delay the inevitable. His wounds are too severe and... my magic isn't perfect. It isn't absolute. Even the white mages have limits.”

“T-that's not... that's... t-there has to be something!” Espirit shrieked, stomping a hoof down. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she was distressingly aware that she was yelling at a white mage, but she couldn't. “Anything! We can't just leave him here to die! That'll... he's our friend, our company member! We don't just abandon each other!”

“We are not abandoning him,” Clearpond snapped, glaring at the zebra. For a moment, the pegasus looked angry. “Do not insult me and act as if I do not care. If I could save him, I would! But there is NOTHING I CAN DO!” she yelled before stomping her hoof down. “I could barely stabilize him! There is nothing ANYPONY can do! There's--”

“There is, perhaps, something somepony can do,” a voice called from down the hall. “If you don't mind me interjecting myself.” Both ponies looked up to see Mirage walking down the hall. “Clearpond, perhaps if you'd allow me to test my earlier hypothesis? Now is the time if you wish to join and aid us.”

“Not a chance,” the pegasus snapped. “It's too dangerous, not to mention foalish.”

“W-wait, what is she talking about?” Espirit asked.

“The breezies, of course,” Mirage said with a smile. “Their magic could help us. It's said that long ago their magic aided that of the white mages to create healing spells the likes of which the world had never known. That they--”

“It also says that they could do the opposite, amplifying dark magic to destroy mountains. Make ponies powerful enough to buck down trees. All kinds of nonsense,” Clearpond snapped, narrowing her eyes on the crystal pony. “If they ever existed, they are long gone now. There's no hidden realm, no lost arts and most importantly, no breezies.”

Mirage sighed. “There's no need to be so close minded. I thought the lives of one of your company--”

“Don't pretend for a moment that you only bring this up because you care about Ganry!” Clearpond roared angrily. “You have been studying them for almost a decade, when will you give this nonsense up? The breezies are gone! They probably never existed!”

“Maybe, maybe not! But this is the perfect time!” Mirage said, before pulling out her tome. “If you would just aid me, we could--”

“I will not waste my time on such useless measures.”

“Then perhaps your little student would be willing to aid me? I think she--”

“No!” Clearpond snapped. “I see exactly what you're after, you--”

“I'll do it,” Espirit said quickly, cutting off the pegasus.

“W-what?” Clearpond said, before shaking her head. “Espirit, no. That isn't for you. It's--”

“If its the only chance we have to save Ganry, then I'll do it,” the zebra said firmly.

“You'll need to learn arcany and black magic. It will be dangerous,” Mirage said with a grin.

“I don't care,” Espirit said, before taking a slow breath. “I... will find a way to use it that doesn't hurt the world, if I have to. But Ganry needs my help and--”

“ENOUGH!” Clearpond said before stomping a hoof down. “I absolutely forbid it. It's too dangerous and--”

“No,” Espirit said before looking up at the white mage. “I... I respect you, a lot. Clearpond. You're a white mage, something I can never hope to be. But... I have to at least try. I could say it is because I'm a conjurer and he needs help, but that's not it. He's my friend, and I won't... I won't just stand there and watch him suffer. Watch both him and Steelhorn suffer. If there's any chance I can help, any at all, I have to try it. Even if I have to learn... magics like those.”

Mirage nodded and quickly moved between the two. “Well said, well said. Clearpond, worry not. Tempora will be with us the entire time. If anything happens, it will be our responsibility.”

“Your responsibility?” the pegasus asked with a snort. She then let out a soft sigh. “Very well. With Celestia like... this, it's not as if we have much choice. It's not as if you could make things worse.” She glared at Mirage the entire time she spoke.

“That's the spirit!” Mirage said before nudging Espirit along. “Come. We have a lot to train you in and... frankly, we have very, very little time.”

Espirit nodded and followed after the mare, gulping nervously. She glanced back at Clearpond, but the mare refused to look at her. She then sighed and trotted ahead.

------

“It's... it's a rock,” Espirit mumbled with a cocked eye. She had been led out of the floating city and taken a flying chariot to a large flat cliff. In the center a black rock towered up into the air, perfectly smooth and oval. “Or an egg? A special rock egg?”

“It's a special rock,” Mirage said as she trotted towards it.

“A very special rock,” a voice called out from behind the stone. After a moment a figure stepped out. Espirit recognized her as the same unicorn she'd met with Mirage back in Crystalopolis. Her mane, coat and garments were all black as the stone. “It is said that from this stone, the first thaumaturge's developed their craft.”

Espirit gasped and looked to it. “R-really?”

“Yes,” Mirage said. “A myth, however. Thaumaturge magic, or black magic, existed long before this stone was discovered. But it is quite an important object.” She reached out and put a hoof to the stone. “Come, feel it.”

Espirit gulped and stepped forward. She reached out, but when her hoof came close she let out a yelp and pulled back. She couldn't understand why, but something about it just felt... wrong. It sent a shiver down her spine.

“Espirit, I can't claim to understand how it will feel to you. As a conjurer, your connection to the world is... stronger than mine. But you'll need to touch this eventually.”

Espirit gulped before reaching out and putting her hoof to it. She let out a light shriek and shuddered, but didn't pull back. The stone felt strange, like an aetherial window. Aether was going in and coming out, but it didn't feel like it was the same aether. Like two separate rivers flowing in opposite directions, but side by side. They seemed to be going in and coming out through thin air, she couldn't feel where the magic was coming from. “What... what is this?”

“It's believed to be a portal to another realm. Or at least, long ago, it was,” the unicorn said. “Many believe it leads to Tartarus.”

Espirit shrieked and pulled back. “W-what? Tartarus? But, but that's just--”

“A myth? A place bad ponies go when we die?” the unicorn asked with a dark chuckle. “Perhaps now. But long ago it was said to be a prison. A place where only the darkest and evilest creatures were banished. However, when Celestia and Luna disappeared long ago, the gate was locked behind them.” She paused for a moment. “Some ponies believe that they are, in fact, locked in Tartarus. Holding back a great evil that even they could not defeat.”

Espirit whimpered. “W-why did you b-bring me here?”

“Don't mind him,” Mirage said with a wave of her hoof. “Ah, right. Tempora, this is Espirit. Espirit, Tempora. Tempora is a black mage. Unfortunately, his kind tend to have a rather... dark view of things.”

Espirit nodded, before pausing. She looked over the mare again. The smooth coat. The gentle features. The name. “W-what? You're a STALLION?!”

The unicorn sighed and sat down. “Yes? Your point?”

“But your so... your so...”

“Most black mages look like I. Using such magics for so long can... begin to affect the body after a while. Now, how about you tell her why she is here?”

Mirage nodded and looked to the stone. “I chose this place because here the bonds are weakest, between our world and the next. You'll need to learn both arcany and thaumaturge magic to create the bond. Once it's strong enough that you can make it without the help of the stone, we will move onto the next step.”

Espirit gulped. “What's the next step?”

“Don't worry about that for now,” Mirage said with a gentle grin.

Espirit shivered. There was something about the way the crystal pony looked at her. Even when she gave a friendly smile, it was as if the mare didn't see a pony there. All she saw was a tool. But if that was what the zebra needed to be, to help Ganry, then it was what she'd become. “What do I do then?”

“First, I'll teach you arcany. Many of the spells and magic you need are the same, so it shouldn't be too hard,” Mirage said before motioning to the unicorn. “After that, he'll teach you how to do thaumaturge magic. It's, fortunately, not very difficult. At least, to the level we need you to learn.”

“The level?”

“Yes. I'm going to teach you how to reach into the other realm and draw aether crafted creatures to your side.”

“Like a carbuncle?” Espirit asked, her eyes going wide.

The mage paused, before giving a nod. “Exactly. A carbuncle is the first thing you'll need to learn, but once you've learned it the hardest thing you'll need to master will be finished.” She took a deep breath. “A week or so, I imagine.”

Espirit nodded. “I... I see. What about--”

“We won't be leaving here until our work is complete.”

“W-what? But what about--”

“You are, to be honest, useless against Celestia. Your magic is too weak. You can't hope to fight her. But if you work with us, learn the spells we want to teach you, you'll develop. We'll have to take a few short cuts in your training, but it should be fine. You're a powerful conjurer and that will give you plenty to go from.”

“What then?”

“Then... well, we'll focus on that when the time comes. For now, let's begin with the most mundane of spells that an arcanist will learn. Ruin.”

------

Espirit giggled as she lightly pet her carbuncle's fur, her hoof gently flowing through it's almost solid, vapor like body. It wiggled about happily in her lap, its fur bristling slightly as it wiggled about.

“I thought you said it would take her a few days to learn how to do that?” Tempora asked, staring down at the zebra.

“I... thought she'd have more difficulty with it,” Mirage mumbled. She then coughed and glanced up at the slowly disappearing sun. “Espirit, I must say I'm surprised. Your training has been going amazingly. You're hardly the fastest student I've ever had, but you're still quite surprising. You've picked up in a few hours what most take days to learn.”

“It's not so hard, though,” Espirit said with a shrug. “A lot of these spells are just like conjury. They're just... done differently. And summoning the spirit, well...” She put a hoof forward and the carbuncle disappeared. “It feels... it feels a lot like when I was healing the crystal heart. Just kinda like... in reverse? I guess? Or rather, without the heart? Trying to fill in the cracks, when there's nothing there to make with it? I don't know. But it's really not that hard.”

“Good. Being able to do that is the first step.” Mirage walked to the stone and put a hoof over it. “The next part will be... harder.”

“What do I have to do?” Espirit asked as she trotted towards the mare.

“Put your hoof on this stone and I want you to reach out with your aether. I'm sure you remember the feeling of when you traveled through the aether? The escape crystals?”

Espirit nodded. “Yes. It honestly felt kind of weird, though. Like... I was getting molded in with it. Kind of... sinking.”

“Exactly. This is going to be similar to that. You need to put your aether into the flow, let it draw your magic into the stone.”

The zebra gulped and put her hoof over the stone but didn't touch it. “Is... is that really... is it safe?”

“Yes. At most, you'll get a little tired. Just let your aether flow with the current, into the stone. It shouldn't take long at all.”

Espirit nodded and slowly put her hoof to the stone. It felt odd again, but she did as she was told. Slowly she felt the current flowing in, before letting her magic flow out of her and gently guiding it into the stone. It flowed in, but she couldn't feel it as it traveled. “It's not doing anything. It's just going in.”

“I told you, it's not easy,” Mirage said. “Just focus, send your magic in. Let it flow with the aether, then try to hold onto it. As if a piece of you is going inside.”

Espirit nodded and tried again. She let the aether flow around and through her. Her magic joined with it, going into the stone. But she couldn't hold onto it, couldn't feel it. No matter how much she sent into it, it didn't stay with her at all. “It's not working!”

“Try to focus on it. Try to hold onto some of it. Have you ever gone fishing?”

“Gosh no, I despise fishing. It is soooo boring,” the zebra said with a shudder.

“Think of it like that. You're casting your line into the aether, letting it flow into the stone. Not completely letting it go, just holding on a little bit. Just enough to feel if anything pulls on it.”

“Wait, something pulls on it?”

“I've done this a thousand times. There is no danger, I swear.”

Espirit nodded and sent her magic flowing back into the stone. “It feels... it's really hard to do,” she mumbled. She tried to thin out her magic and pull it back, but it didn't seem to work. She had never been good at fishing, let alone while doing it with magic. “Are you sure I can do this?”

“At this point, probably not,” Mirage said with a sigh.

“WHAT?” Espirit asked, pulling her hoof back and glaring at the mare. “Then why are you making me try?”

“Because I wanted to see if you could. That's why you need Tempora. His magic will help you send it out like that. But if you were able to do it without that, we could have saved time.”

Espirit glared, before letting out a sigh. “Right. Saving time would be... best for now.” She reached out and tried again. “How will his magic help?”

“Thaumaturge magic is more about the magic within yourself, a lot like that cleric stance spell ability that conjurers use. It will give you more control and strength while using this.”

She nodded. “I see. I'll... I'll do my best.” She pulled her hoof back and looked to Tempora. “Can you teach me? Please? I... know it's... I need to learn this. It's a little scary, but I swear I will give everything I can.”

The unicorn nodded. “Of course. I wouldn't have come here if I hadn't intended to teach you. Our goals are similar, after all. We'll start with the most basic of thaumaturge spells. Blizzard.”