Espirit trembled in the empty darkness, her eyes wide open. Or at least she thought they were eyes. She didn't really know if she even had a body any more, she felt... weird. As if she was just herself, but not really herself. She didn't even know if she was looking ahead, or through what would be her body. If she had one. All there was was a great void of aether, nothing but aether on all sides, flowing around an infinite expanse. Most of it had different colors, at least she thought it was colors, for all she knew she couldn't even see right now and it was just how she was interpreting it. She was pretty sure if she had a head right now it would really be aching.

She could still see, or touch, or feel, or something. She didn't know what it was, but she still existed. How, she couldn't say. But she was moving inside the void with ease. Or her interpretation of time was so off that she was moving extremely slowly and just thought she was moving quickly and she was pretty sure her mind would have exploded if she still had one.

She felt something familiar, though she couldn't place how. She started moving towards it, reaching for the familiarity, something to grab onto and help her feel like herself. It didn't take her long, or it took her days, but she found it. A yellow and red bundle of aether, around a pink bundle and finally a third, black and dark purple bundle. It was all tainted and it didn't take her long to realize what it was.

“The princesses,” she said. At least, it felt like she said it. She no longer had a mouth or a body to say or hear it, but to her it felt as if she was speaking in some strange manner. The aether bundles pulsed slightly in response. “You're you, aren't you? I mean, the princesses? Celestia, Luna, Cadence? The spirit created versions?”

“Indeed,” Celestia's voice rang strong. It didn't sound the same, but the strength and power it once held still seemed to be in there, unhindered by the lack of words of sound. “I see you managed to get yourself captured as well. I truly hoped you would be vaporized by my sister.”

“I would have, if you had just kept Tirek off for a little longer,” Luna said defiantly. There was just a hint of... sultryness to her voice as well. Espirit didn't remember hearing that, but if she had cheeks she would have blushed. “Perhaps if you had stuck with me instead of intending to vaporize those centaurs, we could have won that fight.”

“They were insignificant creatures intruding on my borders,” Celestia snapped. “I would have vaporized the lot of them if not for this... wretched creature. I was so close to escaping as well.”

“Instead you brought him right to us,” Cadence mumbled softly. Her voice was filled with seduction and nearly made Espirit shiver. Had she a real body, she would have.

“Is everypony going to be like this? Their... personalities inside him?”

“You truly are a foal,” Celestia said coldly. “We ARE our magic. Our aether. Those with true bodies, why would they end up here?”

Espirit sighed softly, at least as best she could. “How long until we... fade away? Until our aether is molded so much with the other aether that we cease to be?”

There was no answer from the princesses.

Espirit slowly began to drift away from them. There had to be others here. Those she could talk with. She was getting better at drifting through the world the longer she spent in it. She wondered if she'd start to fade and disappear, or maybe she already was and she didn't know it. All the aether felt so clotted and strange here, spinning and moving through the void without a real care. Were the magic spread out in the world like this, it would have been a disaster.

Then again, she wasn't sure there was anywhere in the world where the aether could gather like this. There was no flow, no ebb and tide. The magic just laid there, stagnant, never moving to fill anything and only moving when she directed it or pushed against it. She could feel it still, her abilities as a conjurer seeming to flow through even in this strange new form.

It didn't feel right, not in the slightest. She wondered how Tirek could hold it all. Maybe he had a portal inside his body that allowed the aether to flow. Or maybe she was super small now, compressed, and it just felt so big and empty because she was so tiny. Either way, it didn't feel right. It felt unnatural. Like all those crystals of hardened aether, except being in the middle of millions of them, all ground up into powder and swirling around like the sea.

Just like that she could suddenly feel it as she moved. Before she had been floating through the aether, but now she was swimming. Though she had no body, the sensations were too similar to ignore. If she had a body, she'd have smiled. She felt as if she was beginning to really understand this place, at least a little. She moved through the gathered vortex and, if she had a face, she'd have frowned.

She felt like she'd been traveling for hours and she could see so much aether between her and the others. Well, not truly see, but feel it. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she could be back there in a moment. Like she wasn't so much traveling as just being there and moving where she wanted to be, where she believed she could be. She focused on the swirling aether around her and began exerting her own control over it.

To her amazement, it responded. The aether began to swirl and then bundle itself up, into little squares that she could easily stack and connect besides each other, organizing the swirling mess and allowing her to see further.

“How are you doing that?” Celestia asked and to her surprise, the three were besides her now.

“It's... basic conjury. You move the aether around, gather and store it. Putting it back where you want it to be,” Espirit said, she would have shrugged if she could. “I can't really explain how I've done it. It's so... normal for me.” She'd been doing it for years, it was second nature now. The aether she could she gathered up and molded together. Though most of the aether seemed unwilling to meld with others, keeping its own distinct presence. She guessed that was probably the aether of the creature's Tirek had absorbed.

Slowly she spread her senses out as she gathered more and more of the aether around her. It fluctuated at times and she felt some of it being drawn on. Tirek was probably using some of it now. She wondered why. Then again, none could stand against him, so what did it matter? He--

Steelhorn's power. Espirit locked up as she felt the aether. It was faint, but it was coming in to join the masses of power. Then Clearpond's. Mirage's. Others she couldn't recognize. So many others. It flowed like a river into the void, so much power, so much magic. Yet the void never seemed to fill, no matter how much was absorbed he kept absorbing more.

She drew Steelhorn's magic close and let out a soft whimper. There was only one thing it could mean. “Cloudsdale has fallen.”

“Of course it has. How could the ponies hope to defeat him? All shall fall before this monster,” Celestia said coldly. “There is nothing that can be done.”

Espirit sighed. “I know. Nothing can be done. Their magic is here. All of the magic is here. There's nothing that can be done. Even if they destroyed him, there's no telling if they could get it back. All that power is--”

The ideas caught in her mind as the mass of aether flowed around her. It was impossible. It couldn't be. There was no way. But could it?

“What is it, strange world spirit?” Luna asked.

“I... I think I can...” Espirit let out a giggle. How did she never think of this before. “If he can do this, why can't we?”

“What are you-- UNHOOF US!” Celestia's aether throbbed, but it was no use. Espirit knew how to manipulate aether in ways these creatures could never dream. They were also the strongest sources of aether inside Tirek. Besides, all the aether that made them up came from the earth, it was only fair it was put to good use.

“I don't have hooves.” Espirit felt out with her aether, grabbing and drawing whatever aether she could to herself. She wasn't Tirek, she didn't have his raw power. But she had the control and the knowledge needed to do this. She could feel all that power swirling around and latching onto her. Some of it fell away as she moved, but she paid it no mind. She could feel all the little holes, where the magic was drawn in.

The only entrance would be how they made their escape.

------

Tirek laughed as he looked over the armies of dragons, changelings, ponies and other creatures that dared to fight him. Those with wings tried to fly, but without their magic they couldn't ride on the aether of the air anymore. Not that there would be much aether in the world soon. The armies of the centaurs stood behind him, gazing upon their great beacon of power with amazement.

The last bastion of pony kind now lay on the ground, drained of all their power. Their weapons and armor too heavy to properly move in, the spells that once held them light and easy to move gone. It would be a simple thing to capture and enslave them now. The city of Cloudsdale had crumbled to nothing more but a few thick clouds, all the furniture and everything not cloud-made having crashed below. He had saved the creatures that had fallen from them, of course. It wouldn't do to have his new servants killed. Some had ran, but most were too weak to try anything now. He walked by a pony struggling to get up in their heavy armor and he put a hoof down, digging them into the ground.

“Now, little ponies. All of you will bow before your overlord! Tirek, ruler of--” He was cut off by a great belch, stumbling back a few feet from the sheer force. “Guh. Ruler of--” Another belch erupted through him and he felt a horrible pain in the back of his chest. “Ruler of all magic. And... and the...” Another belch made him fall to his knees as the pain coursed through him. How could he even FEEL pain? He was Tirek! Master of all! But it felt like something was trying to tear up from his body.

Then it erupted. It spilled free from his mouth, great streams of aether, knocking him further back as he struggled to keep from falling over. It only spilled out for a few moments, but the pain made the great centaur sway slightly as he stared.

In the middle of the enemy forces a white orb of aether had formed and was slowly beginning to take shape. It shrank down to the size of a young mare. She had a blue coat with red stripes, a zebra. Her mane was flowing green. “You. Little earth spirit. What have you done?”

The zebra looked up at her and smiled. “Oh, it's not what she's done, Tirek.” The green mane began to shift and mold, flowing out from her and turning as dark as night with little pin pricks of light. “She's but a weak, frightened child.” From her side fire burst out, taking the form of great, flaming wings. “Who's bitten off far, far more than she could chew.” Finally, a horn of crystal formed on her forehead, piercing up towards the sky.

Tirek chuckled as he looked down at her. “Truly? So the four spirits are one. I defeated you princesses twice, you won't be difficult to destroy a third time. This time I'll make sure there's no... repeat performances. I now hold the power of every pony, dragon and changeling in this realm. You three will be nothing!”

“Last time you fought us alone,” Espirit said as she took a step forward, the ponies around her trying to move away as best they could. “This time you fight us as one. You and your armies will fall! Then all of the world will know the superiority of the pony race!” Her wings flared up, burning white. “Before they burn to ash.”