At random Gunther started barking. Opening his resting eyes to Luna’s starry night sky Zeccaran frowned at his dog for ruining the peaceful garden cuddling he and Pixie had been doing. Slowly falling from the sky the large silhouette of a pegasus touched down in silence making Gunther’s continued cries feel all the louder. The zebra knew the size and shape of the dark creature all too well and simply laid back against his girlfriend determined to enjoy his last moments with her to their fullest. Pixie groaned loudly sitting up from where they lay.

“What do you want, big brother? Can’t you see we are trying to have alone time?” she protested.

“And I suppose ignoring the evacuation orders given to the A.R.D. was something you just did for fun, hmm?” Stormwalker snarled.

Zeccaran could not think of him as anypony’s Guardian Angel, except maybe Gusty’s but even that had it caveats. Still he knew by the sharp intone of his voice that the elder Stormwalker was in no mood to deal with trivialities. Pixie huffed harder in wordless agreement and folded her hooves angrily.

“Zeccaran. Luna requires your presence. Now.” He strode forward and extended a leg towards the apprehensive zebra. In the low light, he could see the faint cracks in the demon’s hoof and the length of the limb as they glowed faintly orange. Evidently Stormwalker had been exerting himself. Zeccaran was glad it was dark, he would never feel comfortable seeing the stallion’s face when he became upset.

However, reservations aside, and they were some very reasonable reservations, if Luna called he had to answer. He looped his leg over Stormwalker’s hoof gingerly, hoping perhaps to not have his intestines gouged out of his abdomen and used as jump rope. All it would take would be for Nyx to start paying attention to the waking world. Unless specifically asked to participate, she usually would sit silently in his mind when he and Pixie shared private time together. She called it her “philosophizing time.” Zeccaran was pretty sure that was a euphemism. It meant that his mental flatmate was, though silently, intently watching the couple as they had sex. He tried not to think about what other things the previously other-worldly being did in her spare time while inside his mind.

A mighty heave pulled him off his rump and momentarily into the air, destroying any thought he had. Already praying when he landed on the demon’s broad back, Zeccaran swallowed the lump in his throat. Quickly, he adjusted himself to fit more snuggly against Stormwalker, assuming that they would be flying in only a matter of moments. Once set he concentrated on not hyperventilating.

“Hurry back, Zec. I don’t like to be kept waiting.” Pixie stood up from the ground. She made a small leap over against her brother’s side and gave the zebra a smooch before he could react.

“If he dies, I’ll be sure to compensate you.” Stormwalker rumbled beneath Zeccaran’s barrel. The zebra could not tell if this was an ill-timed attempt at humor or if the other stallion was serious, either way he did not find the idea entertaining.

“Well if you insist.” Pixie rolled with her brother’s words, “But I’d prefer he stays alive all the same.”

“Then you should tell Luna that.” Stormwalker’s wings extended and with the ease afforded only to him the air followed his command and carried the two of them up and away on only three wingbeats.

Clutching on for dear life, Zeccaran had to mostly close his eyes as the demon careened around the side of the Palaces before shooting over the roof of another section at a breakneck pace. He only slowed down as he reached the northern tower that housed the Royal guest apartments. Even in the partial light of the soon to be risen sun the zebra easily recognized the windows of Gusty’s residence and the familiar balcony where the very same stallion that carried him had once attacked him. Strange how the world changed.

“I know this is short notice, but you’ll be working on containing the Curse alongside Luna and Celestia,” Stormwalker stated as he gracefully glided down to the aforementioned platform.

“Why, what happened? Just two days ago Luna and I pretty much concluded that so long as you and Gusty’s minds were linked the Curse had no room to maneuver without you knowing it,” he questioned the stallion.

“I happened.” He gave a long sigh as he landed them on the marble tiles.

“That’s only vague enough to mean ten or more things. You were born? You ate somepony? You kicked Amethyst? The list goes on.” Zeccaran instantly scrambled off of his ride’s back before he was tossed off.

“First of all: I would never kick Amethyst.” Stormwalker jabbed a hard hoof into his chest. It hurt a lot, but the zebra held his footing.“Secondly, it turns out I’m waaaaay stupider than I thought I was.”

Stunned silence was the only thing that Zeccaran could emit after hearing that. He did not dare go for a joke, no matter how badly the urge bucked at his voice box. Instead he forced himself to take the high road. For as long as he could manage that feat anyway.

“Care to elaborate?” He held up a hoof, moving it in a lazy circle trying to not look too smug as he did it.

“Not particularly. All you need to know is I do stupid things for Luna. Very stupid things. Things I should consult her on. Things like breaking that mental link to get a little more Luna in my life and a lot less Gusty, specifically. That plan backfired spectacularly.” Stormwalker turned away and faced the Prench doors that led into his friend’s residence.

Even though he clenched his lips and teeth shut Zeccaran felt a smile start to perk up his cheeks. Worse, his whole body convulsed as he started to laugh at the stallion’s misfortune and romantic blunder. He had to keep it inside, he could not let Stormwalker realize he was enjoying his suffering.

What is that weird noise? Who’s making that sound? His thoughts got fuzzy as he tried to focus, realizing too late: Oh. It’s me. I’m laughing. Well, might as well enjoy it!

Zeccaran roared with delight. At any moment he expected death to swiftly come charging in but to his great surprise it did not. As he recovered and slowly wiped away the tears of joy he smiled up at Stormwalker still silently giggling. Curiously, the Prench door he had been facing was now open and the inquisitive face of Amethyst peered at him confusedly.

“What’s so funny?” she asked innocently.

“Oh, just something stupid I did. Now go get some breakfast you need to get going to school little filly,” Stormwalker replied.

“Awww! You’re not gonna tell me!?” Amethyst pouted giving the demon huge shiny puppy dog eyes. Zeccaran meanwhile let out several sharp bursts of air as he tried to control himself. The little pony was only going to cause him more trouble but he could not help himself. There was no way he was going to let this moment pass him up.

“Not if I can help it. At least not for now anyway. Come on, we’ll still have time to go flying if you hurry up.” Amethyst squeed and dashed off inside. Stormwalker followed her silently leaving Zeccaran suddenly not feeling so happy as before. He entered the apartment cautiously looking around spacious living space while quickly sitting down on a chair.

Luna stood facing down the hall that led to the bedrooms, while Celestia paced slowly around the perimeter of the furniture. Both of the Princesses’ faces were tired, but their eyes were focused, sparkling in the low light of the living room. Feeling the tension in the air, Zeccaran looked towards Stormwalker who scowled at him from the other side of the coffee table from the sofa.

“What’s going on?” the zebra tentatively asked.

“Let’s put it this way. No matter how badly I wanted to kick you in the dick with enough force to punt you clean off that balcony I’d rather you be unharmed so you can help at your fullest potential,” the stallion answered quietly. The softness of his voice did little to hide his anger.

“It’s that bad?” Zeccaran grimaced in disdain.

“Yeah.”

The room went silent beyond the slow hooffalls of Celestia’s pacing. The feeling of unease from before blossomed into full blown panic, though it remained a quiet thing. However, now the tension in the room made sense. The zebra’s heart rate increased with its ever more palpable pressure until the only thing he could hear was the pounding of the muscle against his ribs.

Goodness, what has you in such a state? Nyx interjected making his heart stop. Unfortunately for them both his resident ghost cared too much about his continued life to ignore the stress on his heart. Sadly, her attention may just kill them both yet.

Hide, Nyx, hide! He hissed internally as he clutched a hoof to his chest as his body narrowly avoided cardiac arrest. Terror overcame her as she saw the demon through his eyes and she listened without a word. Burying herself deep within him Zeccaran nearly lost all feeling of her presence, he hoped it would be enough.

“Did you say something?” Stormwalker looked up at him from where he had been staring at the coffee table.

“N-n-no,” Zeccaran stammered unconvincingly. The demon’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized him.

“Mr. Stormwalker, I’m ready!” Amethyst hopped in from the kitchen and to his rescue. The other stallion turned his eyes towards the filly, all smiles. He never cast another look back at Zeccaran.

“Come on, punk,” he said, his words gentle. Directing his young ward toward the balcony with a wing, his face stayed soft and kind, seemingly ignorant of the zebra’s plight. Amethyst skipped along merrily with her oversized feathery guard humming a jaunty little tune with the occasional proclamation of: “I’m going flying!” sing-songed to her melody.

Thankfully, the big stallion kept all of his attention on the filly, not even turning around to say goodbye to Luna as the pair stepped out onto the balcony and then into the sky. Amethyst screamed with delight as they disappeared, her voice echoing over the Palace roof back into the living room. The brief rest in sound was instantly interrupted by a loud grunt from Princess Luna. Accompanied by the dying sounds of impressive magics that creaked and wobbled as they ended, the mooney mare loosed a long sigh.

“Finally. She’s down. It took two hours of channeling that sleep spell but she’s officially asleep,” Luna commented with a shake of her shoulders.

“Well done. Need a pick me up? I have plenty of energy to spare.” Celestia stopped her pacing and quickly trotted up to her sister. Luna briefly held up a hoof to keep them spaced apart accordingly.

“No need.That task was more annoying than it was draining. Come, Zeccaran and I will take up our stations on the sofas. I need you to monitor how long we…” The Princess of the Moon continued explaining what she needed from her sister. The safety procedures, how long they were to be doing each session, she breezed through the material for Celestia.

Meanwhile he laid back on the chair that he had chosen, considering its comfort for the upcoming adventure into Gusty’s mind. Finding it hard to focus on helping his friend with the slowly building anxiety whispering in his head, Zeccaran took a deep breath. His eyes remained closed as he took another. This was the way he usually prepared himself for anything gruesome or out of his control. A feeling deep in his stomach told him he would need to be ready, that whatever had happened previously had narrowly been contained. He knew for certain they would be forced to fight the Curse on even ground, a prospect that was simply unpleasant by design.

“Are you ready Zeccaran?” Luna’s voice pulled his eyes open. He nodded, unable to find words, his mind steeling for what lay ahead.

With the the same wordless determination, she laid out on the big couch where Stormwalker had been. Zeccaran closed his eyes again at the sound of her magic humming. The powerful pull of the Princess’s magic drug him down deep into a heavy sleep. Ever so slowly his eyes came to focus on the bland blue and purple backdrop of Luna’s Dreamwalking Spell. Looking about he found the navy mare standing still, her face scrunched, focused on something else.

Faint screaming echoed, first in his ears then across the plains of the Astral Realm. Zeccarn knew the voice and just as soon as he scowled did the headache come. Clutching his temples and looking at the area Luna stared at, he watched as Nyx took her ghostly form and stood before them. He wished the mooney mare had given him some warning, he wanted to curse as much as Nyx did.

“What the fuck! All you had to do was ask!” she bellowed in a mix of fear and rage, backing away from Luna. “Not fucking drag me from my hiding spot!”

“I lack the words to describe my long forgotten patience,” the princess replied coldly.

Zeccaran sat up. He gave his head a shake before trying to discern their objective. “What do you need us to do?” he asked forthright.

“Lend your magic and skill in trapping the Curse within the remains of Gusty’s sealed memories,” she ordered.

Luna meant what she commanded. The force in her voice was harsh and determined. Though this compelled him to obey without hesitation, he still needed to know how she expected he and Nyx to assist her. The Curse had foiled creatures of much more potent willpower than he and the once-great ghastly gal that stood next to him.

“Shall I hurl insults at it or do you have some form of plan? Keep in mind that even having encountered its magics, the nature of this...thing eludes me, so I will need some context if I am to help you develop a containment scheme,” Nyx asked more coarsely than he as going to inquire.

“It is not unlike you once were. Powerful, required to feed on negative emotions and trauma. It has an almost infinite supply of nourishment. It preys on the memories of its host, using them to control and manipulate her.” Luna’s horn lit as she spoke and the host of doors into sleeping minds spun by silently. It came to rest on the ancient stone portal that was Gusty’s.

“That does sound rather like me. Upsetting. Can it manifest a physical form? Maybe some type of ulterior magic you haven’t considered?” Nyx continued to question.

“No. The Curse is confined to only inside Gusty’s mind,” Zeccaran answered this question. With Luna’s impatience clearly growing from moment to moment he thought it better to handle Nyx’s concerns himself. He continued: “From what we’ve deduced its objective is to take control of her mind and body then use her magic to do as it wills. In essence it seeks to replace her soul with its own, and wreak havoc once it does.”

Nyx hummed as Luna nodded in agreement. For a moment they stood together silently as the ancient being of shadow pondered through her knowledge. The idle twinkling that seemed to pervade the background of the Princess of Dream’s spell became the central noise as the trio stood still. Zeccaran heaved a long breath in an attempt to make a different noise but found the sound he made inadequate.

“So our true purpose is to stop it from gaining more control, because Miss Gusty is a nearly all powerful being and would plunge the world into colossal amounts of chaos and destruction if she became wholly possessed.” Nyx turned from where she faced the stone portal to Gusty’s mind with a sarcastic grin. “I guess I could add ‘world saver’ to my list of titles.”

“Enough. Let us begin,” Luna scolded. Her horn hummed over the scraping of stone on stone and the door to Gusty’s dreams opened and sucked them all in.

The spinning sensation of passing through dreams and the subconscious of another being against his better judgement spun Zeccaran’s senses wild. The bright waves of an ocean passed by before suddenly he was falling into a great black pit. Something stopped him and by the time he made sense of his surroundings he became even more confused. Before him in the cold grey light he had gotten too familiar with, sat Gusty.

Unlike usual she was unbound, plainly slouched on her rump. Her mane blew in a wind Zeccaran could not feel. Luna approached ahead of he and Nyx as soon as she moved Gusty leaned her head up towards them.

“Hello, Luna, Zeccaran, and...somepony I don’t know,” she replied casually.

“Greetings, Gusty. Do you know why we are here?” Luna asked as her two accomplices caught up to her.

“Could be for any number of things really. The Curse, Guardian Angel, the world ending, heck I could be trapped in a coma and none of that even matters,” the teal alicorn said with a vacant smile.

“In some regard all of your answers are the correct answer.” Luna sat down next to the other mare, making Zeccaran feel awkward as he continued to stand.

Something was different about Gusty. This certainly did not feel like an ordinary dreamwalk. Then again, he had mostly been viewing memories, perhaps this was the true way Gusty dreamed, but something told him that was wrong. His friend was never this calm, and seeing her like this made him deeply concerned. He could only assume that without an active dream this was simply Gusty’s “resting mind” which meant even should they speak with her she would not remember any of it. At least that was what Luna and the several books on sleep psychology he had read told him.

“Really? How interesting. Then perhaps you can answer a question for me.” Luna nodded in response to Gusty’s words.

“Why do I feel so empty? What has become of me? I normally hear somepony else with me, what happened to them?” the mare asked. Zeccaran got chills just from the thought of the foul being that had for so long lived alongside Gusty in her deepest subconscious.

“This is what normal feels like, Gusty. This is peace: Let it become normal for you too. It will give you something to fight for when the time comes,” the mooney mare kindly warned.

“Peace...that is something to fight for...yes.” Gusty stopped looking at Luna and seemed to lose her focus entirely.

Without another word magic flared from the Princess’s horn and the sensation of flying made Zeccaran flail his hooves. He heard Nyx giggle next to his ear and cast a closed eye scowl in the direction of the sound until his legs came to rest on solid ground. He opened his eyes and snarled at his ghostly flatmate, making her wince. Luna cleared her throat stopping them from bickering.

“It seems that all the effort and suffering Guardian Angel and I went through early this morning has yielded at least a moderate reward,” she commented.

“What do you mean?” Zeccaran asked the question on both he and Nyx’s mind.

“For the moment, it appears that we successfully pulled the Curse off of Gusty’s core, freeing her subconscious to redevelop and cope with all her trauma. However…” Luna gestured to the twisted landscape around them.

The zebra gasped as he bore witness to terrible dark tendrils springing out from the strange ocean of blues and reds. If he was being honest, he did not understand what he was seeing. Memories spun before him of somepony else’s life. Some floated by on screens across the purple sky like moving canvases pushed by the wind. Others glowed between the dark lines of the cursed magic in the spinning ocean below. It was nearly too much information for him to handle. Blinking rapidly and pulling his face taut in a grimace, it took everything for Zeccaran to not be overwhelmed by the horror and wonder before him.

“Our progress may mean little if this continues to worsen,” Luna grumbled, as she kicked at a small gathering of tiny tentacles.

“By me! This is some shoddy work!” Nyx cried overshadowing the Princess’ mood. “What sort of creature wields such power but with such a ham-fist?”

The two ponies looked at the spectre, who seemed a little bit more solid than usual, with disgust and concern.

“What? I still remember being the Mistress of Darkness, and-and this Curse, this entity, the Shadow-kin quite clearly created it to be a mockery of my good name!” She huffed.

“Come on out, you coward! Where do you hide in this mare’s mind!?” Nyx angrily shouted to the busy mass of memory as she continued her triade. Luna and Zeccaran took to ignoring her.

“Where is this place in Gusty’s mind, I’ve never been here,” He guested cautiously, still dismayed by the scenery.

Luna took a moment to explain. Simply, because most of their endeavors had been either blocked by Gusty’s magic or the Curse itself, the full picture of all of the mare’s memories as it appeared now were unable to be seen. With the magic removed and the Curse trapped inside a memory for the time being, they could see the true damage, and what they had to remove. Worse, it was a now-or-never moment; if they could not make some headway now they might never get a second chance.

“Will you quit whining?” Zeccaran barked over Luna’s shoulder at their other companion once the Princess had finished. She dejectedly went quiet, floating back over to them.

“It is just disgusting to see the work of amateurs become such popular art out of the absence of the master,” Nyx commented with a haughty air. “The trouble is that such methods leave damage and not the neat, precise damage needed to truly usurp a mind. Unless an individual has a particularly weak will, I suppose, but Gusty is hardly such a pony.”

Floating up more on her hooves than wings, Luna glided by the pair of arguing fools. She looked around as if searching for a specific site, making Zeccaran and Nyx pay more attention to her than to each other. The Princess narrowed her eyes following the black icebergs as they grew in number towards the golden moor that still held the Curse captive. Inside the foggy structure a dark haze could be seen bouncing around. Zeccaran while he could not speak for Luna swore he could hear the beast screaming in rage. Regardless, it was clear that it was attempting to break free, but as of yet was doing a sloppy job of it. It seemed that in its weakened state the Curse simply lashed with its power at whatever it felt it could reach, unable to escape the portion of magic it had found itself entombed.

“We need to begin this diagnostic post-haste. The sooner I can apply magic, or return to the waking world and have Celestia do it, the better.” Luna waved a hoof at them to follow her over to the obelisk. Silently, they obeyed.

In his attempt to follow Luna’s lead and avoid walking across the solid, yet tumultus ground of Gusty’s mind, Zeccaran managed to float. Of course this was only after flying awkwardly upside down on accident as he momentarily panicked from his initial attempt. However, he successfully righted himself by the time he made it to the mooring. Expecting his companions to laugh, Zeccaran had grimaced sheepishly only to find them both serious and uninterested in his plight. Frankly, he found that the most unsettling of all things to happen so far.

“Tell me what you see, Nyx,” Luna commanded. “Zeccaran, consider containment ideas, while you might not be versed in the magic your ingenuity might give me an idea.”

Taking to pondering the zebra was interrupted when the ghastly mare loosed a long hum. No ideas had come to mind so he listened alongside the Princess.

“It seems to be aware that we are here, watching.” Nyx pointed a spectral hoof at the thick colored glass. Directing his eyes to where she indicated Zeccaran had to stop himself from shrieking in terror.

“What the hell are we looking at? Is that it’s...mouth? Or is...what the fuck!” he murmured. Behind the golden magic the Curse’s form whipped and changed, blocking the pleasant noise of children’s laughter that had been faintly echoing from the locked up memory chamber. Instead a sickening squelching and squishing sound followed the form as it became an enormous mass that took up nearly the entire wall they stood by, to an oval blob that was mostly shiny teeth, and finally to the form of a dilapidated pony.

“Come, closer, come closer, if you want to destroy me, Luna! Bring your little companions with you, I won’t bite!” Hissed a voice that was disturbingly identical to Gusty’s. The only difference as far as Zeccaran could tell was the feeling it gave him in his gut, fear.

“As a note, just in case you felt like taking the bait...do not get closer,” Nyx interjected as she took a healthy float backwards. The zebra followed suit.

“It seems desperate. Much different than before. Is there some connection between what types of memories it is around?” The Princess asked likewise putting distance between them and the beast.

“Let’s just say there is a reason that I only tried to come to this realm through nightmares and sites of terrible atrocity. Simply, positive emotions drive us crazy. If it was not for this magnificent magic that keeps that memory intact, this creature would have destroyed those thoughts from Gusty’s mind. It’s what I would have done. I can only assume it hasn’t because this containment structure...whatever it is, and whoever made it, are both incredibly powerful. How did it even break?” Nyx pondered aloud. Luna remained silent, and Zeccaran dared not to inform his internal renter the truth without her permission.

“In fact, there are more of these pillars.” The ghost pointed. “If combined all as one the Curse could have never escaped. But who possesses the power to shatter such stupendously strong magic? Surely not the Curse itself?” Nyx continued to mused, hitting nerves she had no idea were there.

“Trouble your mind only with the current situation, and not how we got here. There is little insight to be gleaned by judging the actions of a stallion with a guilty conscious,” Luna harrumphed.

“Context is important my dear, if I can understand how it broke perhaps I can--ahh!” With a surprised jump and a narrow miss, Nyx dodged the lash of a new tendril that sprang from the golden mooring. On reflex Zeccaran also hopped back, more so in disgust than from the danger.

The Princess scowled down where the tendril of pure darkness speared its way into the moving memory-ground. Meanwhile, Nyx slipped behind the zebra grumbling under her breath. Faintly, behind their action a soft malignant laugh whispered through the thick glass of the ancient spell.

“As unpleasant as that was.” The ghastly mare cleared her throat before continuing, “I think I at least understand what the beast is currently trying to do. Look at the tentacles how they all surround this magic.”

Staring down at the area around them, Zeccaran clearly noted that the pillar of gold was continually becoming more surrounded by the inky mess of the Curse. He looked between Luna and Nyx his apprehension tightening his voice but not squeezing it silent.

“Is it trying to rip the whole mooring out of Gusty’s mind? Tell me it isn’t,” he groaned with a squeak.

“That is exactly what that accursed monstrosity is attempting to do. Perfect.” Just by the sound of Luna’s voice did the whole world seemed to shimmer and quake. Her tone was harsh, and satisfied in the sort of vindictive way that suited a villain not Equestria’s best Princess. So Zeccaran thought anyway.

The thrum of intense magic overtook the whispering voices of ponies past on the air. Becoming a hearty buzzing like a throng of angry bees, bright blue and white magic exited Luna’s horn and spread out below them like a spilled river. Snipping and cutting of epic proportions followed, like the sound of a thousand scythes swinging down one after another in a wave of chinks and swishes. Dazzled, Zeccaran watched the many tendrils that connected the Curse to the portion of Gusty’s mind outside of the golden pillar were severed clean.

Emitting a confident bit of laughter the Princess turned towards them with a wide smile. Her expression slowly waxed manic and her giggles more pained before she heaved a sigh.

“Now to do that about ten more times!”Luna growled. Both the ghostly mare and the frightful zebra backed away.

“Nyx! I want you to copy that spell. You may not have any power of your own but Zeccaran has plenty of energy, assist him in casting. I must fetch my sister as I am not inclined to be mana burnt twice in one day!” She declared.

In a hiss and burst of magic, the Princess faded more into light and smoke and vanished from sight. Nyx looked at Zeccaran confusedly who, equally befuddled, stared back.

“Well...I don’t know what she meant exactly but...get on in there.” The zebra motioned with a hoof towards his temples. He shrugged, unsure about how to carry out Luna’s wishes.

“Not to worry, my fair host, I think I know what she wants...but copying her magic might be too much for us!” Nyx’s face turned all smiles and with a lunge she disappeared into his consciousness leaving Zeccaran to regret his very existence.

Once the usual pain passed he rubbed his eyes and scowled.

Let’s get this show on the road. Nyx chuckled from inside his head.

“Easy for you to say!” He peered at the broad magic that covered the ocean below his floating hooves, wondering how Luna had used it to sever the still present but writhing tentacles of ink.

“I don’t even know what sort of spell could do that. Plus you don’t have mental fatigue and anxiety! And-and-and all this other shit swimming around in your head!” Zeccaran made sure that his extra consciousness understood that she registered as part of the shit.

Oh, don’t cross your stripes, you big baby. I think I know what to do...it seems that Luna modified an isolation spell I once used on her, only instead of making the pony feel lonely it cuts off malignant exterior influences...very inventive! The dark mare chirped excitedly.

“I’ll get back to you on how I’m going to cast such magic without a horn or the know how…” the zebra let his voice trail off condescendingly.

Nonsense. You are naturally gifted in the magic necessary. You merely need a pilot to guide it. Thus, my purpose! Zeccaran felt Nyx reach into his brain and make his legs move on their own. Behold!

Stretching up against his will, he watched as the same white magic sprung out from his body. Unlike the Princess his magic was tinged a greeny-yellow. It moved out from him slowly, permeating the surface of the blue layer below it effectively, though monotonously, covering the same area and cutting away more of the darkness as Luna’s had. Eventually, once it was done, all of his energy was sucked out of him and he fell onto its surface, panting, no longer able to float.

Well done! Thirteen years out of practice and still able to output an alicorn level of magic. Nyx smiled triumphantly.

“I refer to my previous statement.” Zeccaran stood up with a grunt trying to steady his breathing. “That was...draining.”

Surely you can do another round? Prodded the playful voice in his head.

“You sound like my girlfriend,” the zebra commented back.

Mind over matter! Nyx laughed. Again!

By the time Luna returned, Zeccaran laid atop two more layers of protective magic. He barely maintained his senses enough to wave to his Princess. She even complimented their work, but he was too tired to smile. He took to mumbling to Nyx as with Luna’s arrival the hissing and cursing of the Curse within the golden mooring heightened to an annoying degree.

“How did I ever know all this magic to begin with?” he grumbled.

It comes naturally for you. And is literally what I am...so I’m not the best at explaining it’s qualities I’m afraid. But it does feel great to use it again, even if it is not my own, or by my own will. Nyx replied merrily.

“That’s conclusive.” He pushed himself up defiantly with his sarcasm. Desperately, Zeccaran rubbed his head trying to overcome his fatigue. He had a good, dare he say, deep, understanding of magic, but what was going on eluded him.

Black tentacles lashed out from where the beast remained trapped in the pillar of foggy glass with a slurping and buzzing sound. Zeccaran recoiled away in a shoddy attempt at jumping. The strike thankfully missed, impacting the plane of magical energy with a thump. The Curse shrieked in a mixture of pain and rage, its limb retracting back to its cage.

Briefly examining where the beast had hit the barrier, just vaguely Zeccaran could make out faint cracks in a spiderweb formation. It was no wonder Luna wanted ten layers. Their constant maintenance would be a full time job, but it would keep Gusty stable. That was the objective; still, even with the copious amount of magic used there was the potential it would not be enough. The thought of the monster trapped in its gilded prison escaping and taking total control of his friend’s mind sent a shudder up his spine. It did not help that his friend was to this day the single most magically powerful creature on the planet.

Looks like we have our work cut out for us, Nyx mused.

Zeccaran just raised an eyebrow as he watched the Princess cast another spell. He did not need to use words or hardly thoughts to prompt his internal companion to continue.

I am curious: this magical entity has attempted to strike at you and I twice…why? The philosophical ghost started. It has much more power than I do...or you...yet instead of focusing on Luna it is attempting to destroy us.

“Now that you mention it, it seems strange,” he whispered.

Yes. Let’s not give it the opportunity. I’d rather remain amongst the living.

“On that, Nyx. We are agreed.”

Next Chapter: Act 5: Chapter 1 - It's Never That Simple Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 14 Minutes