The sun drew at its highest as the heroes reached the top of the volcano. At the edge of the crater rim, they saw a vast pool of molten rock awaiting them. Bubbles and small bursts of lava fling upwards at them, but only reached a quarter of the way up.

Huntsmen kicked a pebble into the crater, and they watched it take the long fall into the fiery abyss.

“Looks like half-kilometre drop.” Eclipse said in observation.

“Ebony, Silver Chord, survey the area for where the Olc Sword may be.” Ace commanded.

The two winged ponies nodded and flew into the volcano. They circled the walls of the crater several times, glancing over the various alcoves and subtle details in the rock. While they were doing that, Ace and Eclipse talked with each other while Huntsmen observed silently.

“What do you think the Olc Sword looks like?” Ace asked.

Eclipse answered, “Like a sword Death would wield.”

“…Okay, that’s a bit vague.”

“Black, happy?” Eclipse responded in a snarky manner.

“Oh, I guess so.” Ace agreed. “Perhaps the blade has spikes protruding from its side. Or maybe it has wings for the cross guard, and a skull for the pommel.”

Eclipse rolled her eyes.

“Oh! Oh!” Ace continued. “Maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s a scythe, and it’s just a sword in title. Yeah, and the blade itself is like a dragon’s claw and-”

“Enough,” Eclipse quietly snapped.

Ace backed away and sat on a nearby rock, stung from Eclipse’s sharp tone. Perhaps it was an uncomfortable sleep last night that was giving her this bitter mood.

But before Ace could test that theory, Ebony’s voice chimed from below, “We found something!”

Ace joined the other two as they looked at Ebony and Silver, fluttering next to a cavern opening. It was only a few metres above the lava, but it seemed safe once inside the cave.

“There it is,” Eclipse declared to Ace and Huntsmen at her sides. “Let’s go.”

With a flick of her horn, Eclipse disappeared from the rim and reappeared at the cave entrance. Huntsmen galloped around the rim to right above the cave entrance. He pulled out his sword, and jumped over the edge. He then dug his massive sword into the wall and grinded down the cavern face till he reached Eclipse and the others. The four then looked up to Ace, waiting for her.

Ace took a few steps back from the edge, tightening her cloak around her thin skin. She ran, and took a running leap off the edge. The rush instantly set in as Ace plummeted right towards the center of the pit. The heat rising from the molten rock filled her cloak, causing it to inflate at her back. Her cloak turned into a parachute of sorts and Ac’s decent came to a grinding stop. Like the winged ponies, Ace soared across the crater. The whizzing warm wind in her face after a night of cold silence filled her with glee and adrenaline.

“Whoo-hoo!” Ace cheered as she soared.

Ebony joined alongside Ace, and the two flew around the crater. Joy filled the two as they chased and danced across the glowing stage. Ebony flew under Ace and the two met eye-to-eye. A face of awe dawned onto Ace. Ebony was beautiful in her eyes, just as much as the beauty Ebony saw in Ace. The two drew in closer and closer. Their bodies meet hoof to hoof, belly to belly.

But just before Ace does what she always dreamed of doing, Silver swooped in above them and yelled, “Hey! Get out of the lava!”

Ace and Ebony looked below, and suddenly realized they were only a false wing flap above the lava floor. Silver and Ebony immediately grabbed Ace and escorted her to Eclipse and Huntsmen, impatiently waiting for them at the cave entrance.

As Ace landed on her hooves, she was met with a glare of disapproval from Eclipse.

“Enough wasting my time,” she warned. “Let’s get the sword and get out.”

The five ponies made their way into the cave, and began the final stretch of their quest. However, unknown to them, they were being followed.

Spike’s eyes opened slowly and his sight was greeted by the light of the rising sun, peaking through storm clouds. He didn’t catch of wink of sleep that night. He was so concentrated on listening to Twilight read, every instinct called for him to sleep became void.

It was at this point in the story where Twilight would host a conversation with Ace and the others in her room. It was the sixth time this night and morning, and Spike knew the drill. At that point, Spike’s instincts would kick in and drive the small dragon to drop all bodily functions and try to sleep. However, the shutdown would halt the second Twilight resumed her story, and Spike would be back to intently listening to it.

As his body was shutting down this time, Spike reminisced the two or so times he would summon the leftover strength in him to check on Twilight while she had these talks. He would poke his head into her room, only to be met by Twilight, giggling and chatting to the emptiness surrounding her bed, save for Owlowiscious one time.

This time, he was on the teetering point of falling asleep, to escape into the land of dreams. But the first word of the next paragraph was spoken, and it was back to square one.

The first challenge that halted the heroes progress came in the form of a stone gate. The gate had no door, but the cracks along the outside edge showed that it was. On the gate were a series of twenty five stone pads, each engraved with a specific symbol.

Ace, Ebony, Silver, and Huntsmen, all looked over the massive tablet with disgusted expressions on their faces.

Eclipse however, stepped forth and took a quick scan and quickly got to work. Using her magic, she pressed the pads in a rapid sequence, too fast for the others to render.

She chanted as she worked, “Cross, Flower, Moon, Hourglass, Fire, Sunset, Fire, Fire, Skull, Sun, Elder, Moon, Pitchfork, Lightning, Cross, Flower, Moon.”

A loud series of cracking sounds echoed throughout the cave. The stone gate rumbled and shuttered before turning to dust on the spot. The next chamber of the cavern was open.

Spike awoke in a cold sweat on his bed. His body was dripping in his own fluids and a putrid stench filled the air. He was sticky, stiff, cold, hot, hungry, thirsty, and overall just a mess.

He quickly sprung from his bed and went to the bathroom as fast as possible, where he instantly made work to clean himself. The aftermath of a poorly-prepared nap following a night filled with insomnia is never fun. Yet, as he cleaned himself, disgusted with the current state of his body, he realized something, something odd.

Twilight couldn’t be heard.

Quickly, he rushed to Twilight’s bedroom and peaked in.

She was gone.

No longer had the words of the book reverberate throughout the castle, only the crackling of thunder and first drops of rain.

“Twilight?” His voice echoed through the empty bedroom and out into the hall.

Curious of what could’ve prompted her to leave, Spike examined the room for any clues. There were no signs of a struggle, nor anything urgent it seemed. Owlowiscious then swooped into the room and perched on top of Spike’s head as he was checking out the closet.

Spike looked up and asked the owl, “Do you know where Twilight went?”

“Who,” it simply responded.

Spike looked back into the closet, and noticed a particular duo of outfits missing.

“What would Twilight need with her raincoat and regal robes? Where would she need them?” Spike asked to the owl.

Suddenly, Owlowiscious went into a flurry as a series of rapid hoots and kneading at Spike’s scalp erupted from him.

“Hey!” Spike barked, waving his hoof above his head. “What’s going on?!”

Owlowiscious leaped from Spike and flew away into the hall. Hooting echoed from the halls, like he wanted Spike to follow.

It would only be a matter of minutes before the heroes were met by another stone gate. This one looked much stronger than the previous one. It had no stone pads or any designs painted onto it, just a silver crack painted to the center.

“What’s with this one?” Ace asked.

“Nothing I can do.” Ebony replied.

Ebony and Silver simply shook their heads.

Huntsmen however, had a slowly growing grin on his face. One by one, the four others turn to see his blossoming expression.

“Hunter?” Silver asked.

“…” The grin on Huntsmen’s face grew even more.

“Hunter, this better not be-it is, it stinking is.”

“What?” Ace tried to ask, only to be cut off by Silver shooing her and the other mares to the side of the cavern wall.

Silver casually answered, “Oh, Hunter is doing something stupid.”

“Should we stop him?” Ebony asked.

“I said it was stupid, I didn’t say it wasn’t effective.”

With a stomp on the stone floor and a snarling war cry, Huntsmen bolted for the wall. He pulled out his sword, and as his skull collided with the wall, his great sword smashed into the silver crack. The entire volcano shook for a second as the unstoppable force met the immovable object. Dust polluted the air, obscuring the other’s vision and breathing. They coughed and gagged until the dust settled.

When they looked back to Huntsmen, they saw the stone gate had been split in two halves, plus millions of pieces of rubble. Huntsmen was on the other side of the wall, smiling at them with a mouth missing a tooth.

“C’mon Hunter,” Silver moaned. “You know the nearest dentist is a couple weeks away.”

Huntsmen rolled his eyes and proceeded to go deeper in the cave. The others slowly followed, careful not to cut themselves with rock sharks.

“Hey, wait a second, if you could do that, why didn’t you just break down the previous wall?”

Spike followed Owlowiscious into the library. The place hadn’t been touched by Twilight for so long, Spike had forgot the last time he was set to reorganize books after a binge reading session.

At the study table in the center of the room, a series of books were spread out, opened. Loose pieces of twine lay on top of the stack, connecting the pages. Spike slowly looked up and Owlowiscious, but quickly purged the mental questioning of the analytical capabilities of owls.

Careful not to mess with the twain, Spike lifted each book to examine the covers.

“’Alchemy for Morons’, ’Interdimensionalism; The In-Between’, ’The Princess in Yellow’, ‘Tales of Wisteria’,‘Theoretical Super-Magic; Part 69’, hold on,” Spike told himself.

He picked himself up from the floor and examined the open page from the last book he saw the title of. At the top of the page, it showed a rough sketch of a transmutation circle. Spike read the passage below.

Henri Ponycaré’s Chaos Ring: While not confirmed to actually work, Jewels Henri Ponycaré has developed the most theoretically stable algorithm of attaching a ring and runes to a standard transmutation circle that allows for the manipulation of chaos magic. Using Chaos Ice created from the reign of Discord, Henri was able to find nano-atomic patterns that seemed to be present in all forms of chaos magic.

He then translated these patterns to other forms of magic, placed them onto a transmutation circle, and translated them back to their chaotic language, now inscribed onto a transmutation. Experiments were performed, but were quickly brought to a halt following Accident Isabelle. As of now, there are no signs of the experiments being brought back into action.

“For the time being,” said Mr. Ponycaré. “We are currently unable to confirm whether or not this ‘ring’ of sorts works. When even in a dormant state within range of a foal, it has shown to impart chaotic effect on the foal’s growth, mentality, and magical capabilities. However, perhaps in the future, we can finally harness the power of Discord. If this ring works, any spell involving the use of a transmutation circle will be able to affect chaotic beings and have properties similar to chaos magic. These include levitation, form altercation, and a favourite of mine, anti-magic.”

Spike’s eyes wandered back up to the picture. He noticed that the outermost ring of the circle was an almost exact replica as the one he and Discord found at the spa.

As the five reached the deeper reaches of the cavern, the area begins to grow dark. Each step they take removes a hoofstep of vision ahead of them. Finally, it reaches a point where they can only see the light behind them, and nothing ahead of them.

A loud slap echoed as Ace slammed her face in the wall in front of her.

“Ow!” She cried.

“Just use your magic.” Ebony replied.

“You don’t think I’m trying?”

Ebony got as close as she could to Ace and watched as her horn illuminated. However, only a tiny twinkle of blue light could be seen, as the ravenous darkness consumed the rest.

It was only a few moments before the chaos began to set in. Huntsmen, Eclipse, Silver, Ebony, and Ace cried and snapped at each other.

“Hey! Who’s touching me?”

“Is this a pony?”

“Is it too late to say I’m afraid of the dark?”

“Not in the no no zone!”

“Help!”

“Where are the torches?”

“It’s no use!”

“I think this is Ace, no, Hunter?”

“What is that supposed to imply?!”

“Hey! That better be a rock!”

A loud whistle suddenly piped over the arguing ponies. Ace, Huntsmen, Silver, and Eclipse search around to find the source, not knowing it’s Ebony right next to them.

“I’m a bat-pony,” she explained. “I can lead us to the next gate. Now, whoever is touching my rear, stop it.”

“Sorry.” Ace whispered.

Ebony separated herself from the team. She turned to the darkness, and with the power of her vocals, she emits a powerful squeak that ricochets across the walls. The others cringe at the volume, but Ebony uses it to detect the path they should be heading.

“Follow me,” Ebony said before emitting another squeak.

“O-ow-K,” Ace agreed.

Carefully, the five made their way down the cave. With Ebony as their beacon, the heroes follow the ear-piercing noises throughout the darkness. At one point, they reach a tight portion of the cave, and one-by-one, they squeeze through. Unknown to them, it was the third gate.

A light appeared in the dark distance. Its radiance immediately attracted the ponies, as they all charged towards the light.

“Finally!” Silver cheered. “No more screeching!”

They galloped to the fiery glow, before coming to a grinding halt. They stop just before reaching the source of light, right at the edge of a drop. The light they saw was a steam of magma, violently thrashing and crashing across the bottom of the underground ravine they have just reached.

“Well, poop.”

“We were lost in the Everfree Forest. For days, weeks maybe, we had been without food or water in hoof, and had to rely on the Everfree Forest to provide for us. We were at wit’s end, we were about to admit defeat.

However, we saw it. The legends were true! There, in the middle of the forest, was a clearing with a group of standing stones at its center! We had found the long-fabled Ruins of The Distant Traveler! In ancient pony culture, it is said that this area was the place where the gods would descend down from the heavens upon, and grant the wishes of their ponies. Own wishes were most certainly granted.

Because, unknown to the ponies of the past, recent studies from past explorers had shown that this place is one of the few Inanis Zones, locations with greatly heavier interdimensional gravity than most other places. If used right, they theorized that they can be used to teleport anywhere in the universe.

And by Jove, we proved that theory right. With the aid of our strongest unicorn, Boris Sparkle, we were able to open a portal to the Castle of the Two Sisters. We hopped in, and we were back to where we started.”

Spike put the journal back onto the table and took a breath. Reading out loud was habit he both loved and hated to have.

He place the string of twine back on the open journal and looked over Owlowiscious’s web of books and strings once more. Clearly, Owlowiscious understands there’s something more to the book.

The only question: What is this “more” to the book?

Spike continued to look over his owl friend’s work. He sifted through several books and found a small scroll, squished beneath several large books.

He unfurled the scroll and read the title, “’Prince Doúlos Thanatus and the Mad Book of Power’,”

Ace, Ebony, Huntsmen, and Eclipse sat at the caves wall, looking over the magma ravine next to them, trying to figure out what to do next.

Silver soon returned from his expedition of the area, and the four turned to listen.

“Alright,” he explained. “The next one of those stone walls at the end of the ravine. However, its opening is where the lava’s going, and in order to reach it, you have to go through this tight pass with a really low ceiling. It’s impossible to fly through the pass without burning up.”

“So what do we do?” Ebony asked.

Silver took a while to answer, “I... I’m not sure.”

His eyes then glanced to the side and see a series of stalagmites on the walls of the area, right next to them.

“I have an idea though,” He said with a smirk.

With a flick of his wings, Silver leapt to on top of one of the stalagmites. He steadied himself as the others watched in confusion. Silver Chord then pulled out his bow and placed in an arrow, prompting Huntsmen to place a hoof to his face.

“What is he doing?” Ace asked.

Huntsmen quietly responded, “Something stupid.”

Silver fired an arrow into the rock. A crack forms halfway around the stalagmite. Silver pulls out another arrow and aims.

Ebony quickly asked, “Shouldn’t we stop him?”

“I said it was stupid,” Huntsmen replied. “I didn’t say it’s not going to work.”

“Not this again…” Eclipse moaned.

The arrow slid into the growing crack with great power and ease. The stalagmite snapped, and was then only hanging by a fragment of stone. Ace and Ebony gasped and grabbed onto each other.

Silver prepared the last arrow.

“Hey, Huntsmen,” Silver called out, using his friend’s actual name.

“What?” Huntsmen asked.

“If I don’t survive this, tell that mare from the tavern… Tell her she’s a twit.”

“…” Huntsmen silently nodded.

“And you, Ebony.”

“What?” Ebony asked.

“…Keep an eye on Hunter for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Ace,”

“Yes?” Ace asked.

“Remember when we first met? At that tree by the road?”

“Yes.”

“Under that tree, you’ll find around 20 kilos of questionable substances I’d rather not describe. It’s not illegal or anything, but I’d rather not have it be sticking around. Burn it.”

“…” Ace gulped before giving a nod in agreement.

“And finally, Eclipse.”

“What do you want from me?” Eclipse coldly asked.

Silver thought for a moment before answering, “…Just, get yourself a stallion or something.”

The final arrow was fired, and Silver plummeted to the bottom of the ravine. A large splash erupted from the stalagmite hitting the lava. The four looked away from potentially seeing Silver’s charred corpse.

However, instead of screams and sizzling echoing from below, whoops and cheers of joy echoed to the four. They instantly looked back, and saw Silver riding the stalagmite down the river. All but Eclipse’s jaws dropped.

“Whoo! Come on, the wate-lava’s great!” Silver hollered.

The four looked over to the stalagmites, and quickly regretted what came to their minds.

Twilight hopped up and down in glee and excitement as she read how Ace and her friends surf down the lava ravine. The action, the comedy, the sheer fun of it, it was all nearly distracting her from what was a hoofstep right in front of her.

Luckily though, the streets of Ponyville were mostly clear from any bystanders. The second wave of the monsoon was coming, and no pony wanted to get soaking wet. Twilight was prepared however, as her yellow raincoat was firmly wrapped around her fur, and her umbrella protecting her face and her book.

The rains did come. In a matter of moments, the moderately dry buildings of Ponyville turned to rock faces with water pouring down from their rooftops. The sky had darkened to a firm grey and the ground looked similar to that of the floor of the Everfree Forest, almost impossible to see.

As Twilight entered the Everfree Forest, she could hear the strumming of a guitar in the distance. Laid beneath one of the larger trees was Silver, practicing as usual. As Twilight walked past, Silver packed up his guitar, picked up his bow, and joined alongside her.

After a while of the two silently walking, a large tree falls in front of them. A large sword emerges from behind it and chops the tree in two. It was Huntsmen, and he joined Silver and Twilight on their quest.

The three walked a fair distance before the fluttering of wings could be heard overhead. They look up to see Ebony, as she descends onto the group. She landed and perched herself on Huntsmen’s back, and the four make their way to their destination.

A blue light flashed behind the group as they walked further. They stop a moment and look back, and see that it’s Arcega Shutts Minn, come to help. Ace joined the team, and together, the press on to find the best place to finish this book once and for all.

As the rainfall and thunder grew harsher and harsher, the words in the book became louder and more striking character per character. However, despite this emersion, a question flickered in Twilight’s mind.

Where is Eclipse?

It had been a while since the five had passed a gate, and were curious to when they’d come across the next gate, and more importantly, where the Olc Sword is.

Ace looked back at her friends, all still energized from the lava run. She smiled and looked back ahead.

“You know something,” Huntsmen pointed out. “Even if this quest was all for nothing, I have to say, it was pretty fun.”

Silver agreed, “Yeah, I have to agree with you Hunter. We should do this more often. Also, Ace, forget what I said about the 20 kilos.”

“This was a great deal of fun!” Ebony cheered. “However, I wouldn’t say it could be all for nothing, isn’t that right, Ace?”

Ace glanced back and saw Ebony, making a suggestive face in her direction. Ace blushed.

She shook off the glance however, and with pride in her voice, she announced to her team, “Thank you. Thank you all. Without your strength, bravery, spirit, and wisdom, the kingdom of Centura, mine and Ebony’s home, would be gone. With the aid of the Olc Sword, and our friendship, we will vanquish Lord Thanatus!”

A gasp escaped Eclipse’s throat. Within seconds, she was kneeling at the ground, struggling whatever invisible entities were clawing at her mind. Eclipse’s horn glowed a vicious red, and begun flicking various darkening shades of velvet.

“Eclipse, are you okay?!” Ace worriedly asked, slowing approaching her.

“I’m… sor-ry, Arcega…” Eclipse sputtered in her spasm.

As Ace attempted to reach her hoof out to her, a thick black spike fired from the ground, glowing as red as Eclipse’s horn. It sliced into Ace’s shoulder and dug into the ceiling.

Ace screamed and backed away from Eclipse. The others gathered around her and aimed their weapons at her.

Eclipse spoke once more, this time, with a voice of one hundred moaning souls, “I’m sorry Arcega, I can’t let you do that.”

Behind Eclipse, at the end of the visible cavern, appeared Lord Thanatus himself and an army of his finest soldiers.

Behind Eclipse, at the edge of the Everfree Forest, stood Discord himself as well as Pinkie, Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack.