Dim’s unannounced presence in the library seemed to cause quite a disturbance. Eerie stood at a table surrounded by creatures of all kinds, including a few dragons. Small ones, but dragons nonetheless. A librarian, an ancient, shaggy unicorn with creaky knees, was attempting to be polite and to somehow impede his progress, but Dim would not be deterred from his committed course of action. Some of the unicorns present had curved horns, a curious condition that Dim found intriguing, but he was in no mood to be distracted.

“The library is closed at this time,” the ancient, shaggy unicorn said to Dim in a voice that crinkled like crumpled paper.

“Papyrus, leave him be.” Eerie’s command made the unicorn’s ears pin back in submission, and the old, almost doddering mare stepped aside.

“I will not be turned away,” Dim said, announcing his intentions. “I have come to resolve a family issue that is troubling me a great deal. Refuse me at your own peril.”

“Leave us.” Eerie, looking apologetic, met the eyes of those around her. “Motte, Bailey, continue the preparations for the coming trip to Fancy. I trust the two of you to complete this task. Protect what is most precious to me.”

Two unicorns—one male, one female—both bowed their heads and then departed in a hurry. Dim noticed something peculiar about them, as both of them had identical marks, which was fascinating. Each had a chess piece, a rook, a tower crowned with crenulated battlements. It was quite odd, to say the very least.

Watching, waiting, Dim stood still while the others filed out. One of the dragons watched him and did nothing to hide the fact that she was staring. Six legged, she walked on four legs with her two front legs lifted up off of the ground to act like arms. She lacked wings and she did not smoke, but rather, she steamed. He had heard of steamer dragons, but this was the first time he had seen one up close. As she stomped away, her claws clicking against the floor, she flashed him a terrifying smile.

With the library now empty, save for Eerie and himself, Dim leveled his sleep-deprived gaze upon his relative and began to choose his words with great caution and care. Forgiveness was something that remained undecided, but Dim was willing to be cordial—for now. Eerie had been kind to him, and he was hesitant to do anything rash.

With one eyebrow arched just-so, he began: “I feel that if we are going to be family, we should have boundaries with one another. Things that we don’t do. Things that are off limits.”

Eerie shifted and Dim saw her nostrils flare, but he could not see her eyes behind her mirrored shades. Her face was unreadable, her mood was difficult to discern, and he felt as though he was at a disadvantage. She was making it hard on him, but then again she was a Dark, and he would be disappointed if she had acted otherwise.

“We shouldn’t fuck each other,” Dim said to Eerie in a Dark deadpan.

This broke Eerie, and she laughed. Nervous laughter was still laughter, and her outburst turned into snorts, which she tried to suppress. This was good, he had disarmed her, just as intended, he had rolled over and showed a bit of belly as a sign of good intent. Still, they were both Darks, so the vaguest hint of a threat remained, something that Dim felt a deep sense of regret over.

“I can agree to that, Dim.”

“Good,” Dim replied, “now stop fucking me so I don’t have to kill you.”

Raw ozone could now be smelled in the air—a sneezy, distracting smell, the indicator of a unicorn who had power incontinence—and Dim watched Eerie, looking for any sign, any indication of treachery, anger, or displeasure. Almost holding his breath, he waited for her to respond while all of his senses and instincts screamed at him to strike first. Much to his relief, Eerie’s ears sagged into a more submissive pose, but Dim did nothing to relax his guard.

For all of his tough talk and threats, Eerie could obliterate him in an eyeblink, and he knew it.

“There is a presence in my head, a voice—”

“An invader!” Eerie spat.

“Ah, I see. So you are aware of it and you are no doubt blocking it.” Dim watched as Eerie’s breathing changed into something that was almost a pant. “Cease this at once.”

“She is using you, Dim… I don’t understand how her magic works, but she casts spells through you. This is manipulation of the worst sort! I’ve never seen its like. I can’t even begin to comprehend how she is channeling her power through you. Princess—”

Dim’s head exploded with a furious sound and his ears rang with an impossible volume. The bookshelves all seemed to curve, to bend; beneath him, the floor rose and fell like choppy waves on the ocean. He staggered, struggled to remain upright, the room wibbled around him and just as he was about to fall over, he was seized by powerful, but gentle magic that wrapped around him like a cocoon. He found himself looking into Eerie’s eyes, as she had removed her mirrored shades.

“Dim… Dim, speak to me. It’s been almost been ten minutes and you haven’t responded. Focus on my voice.”

“Ten minutes?” Confused, Dim shook his head, trying to regain his senses. “Seconds have passed. A minute maybe.”

“You don’t remember.”

Eerie gave him a soft shake and Dim became aware of the fact that his upper lip was damp. When he licked it with his tongue, he tasted coppery saltiness and could feel a faint trickle of blood coming out of his nostrils. His legs felt far away, too far away, and he wasn’t certain if he could stand on his own.

“Look what that meddling busybody has done to you, Dim. This is what I was trying to prevent.”

A powerful wave of nausea almost overcame Dim as the taste of his own blood clung to his tongue. As he regained his senses, the worry over the slow but steady trickle of his nosebleed became more pressing, and everything became far more confusing than he was capable of dealing with when Eerie pulled him close. Against his face, he could feel her hot breath and for some reason, he thought of Darling.

“Dim, I was trying to help… I wasn’t trying to hurt you, honest. I didn’t know about the name. Please, please, please don’t hate me for what I’ve done. Maybe I was wrong to meddle, but I did it out of a sincere desire to protect you. You are very dear to me.”

Things began to come back into focus and the ringing sound in Dim’s ears made a gradual retreat, dissipating into nothingness. Eerie’s voice—frantic and worried—was too distraught to be anything but sincere. Something wet splashed down upon his muzzle, making him blink, and then he felt it again. Eerie was… crying?

“I was scared and I let fear affect my judgment,” Eerie whispered into Dim’s ear, causing it to twitch to and fro.

Feeling the warm body pressed against him, Dim shivered a bit, but not from any sense of cold. Terror gripped him and freezing sweat soaked his belly as more blood trickled over his lips. A feeling of great pressure popped between his ears, a sensation so powerful that it felt as though it might push his eyes out of their sockets, and then, before he had a chance to recover, his vision took on a familiar pink tinge.

Heat flooded through his body, a warm, wonderful pleasant sensation of what could only be described as life. More of Eerie’s tears splashed down upon his face, and rather than be annoyed by being dripped upon, Dim was filled with a feeling of concern for the mare clinging to him, who was more than some mere irritating raincloud. A flood of emotion pooled inside of his mind, then spilled out and went crashing through his body, crushing him, leaving him limp and helpless.

Before Dim could say anything, the room exploded with a vivid, labial pink light.

A phantom pink alicorn stood in the library, looking cross, worried, and rather matronly. Enormous in size compared to the two cowering ponies on the floor before her, she looked down at them while bathing them in a brilliant pink glow. She stood stiff, her long, graceful neck unbent, her spine rigid, and her wings outstretched, spread wide from her sides.

“Forgive me, for I have never projected myself this far before,” the tall figure said as she flickered in and out of existence. “My worry, fear, and love has given the power to do that which I did not think possible. Greetings to you, Eerie.”

“Y-y-you are not welcome here,” Eerie stammered as her grip on Dim tightened. “I kept you out for a reason! You killed us! You ran us down in the streets and slaughtered us like rabid dogs! You turned the Dark Spire into a puddle of slag! I’ll not let you use Dim as your assassin to destroy me!”

Silence. Be still, little pony, and let not your heart be troubled.

A buzzing, crackling shield appeared around Eerie, who now looked up in bold defiance. Having collected her wits, having overcome her shock and surprise, her horn blazed with a fierce intensity. Baring her teeth, Eerie hissed and tried to cover Dim with her body. The spectral pink alicorn stood unmoving, her expression now sad, one might even call it grief-stricken, and she folded her wings against her sides, relaxing her intimidating posture.

Dim, still trying to collect his wits, thought back to what Eerie had said during their first meeting. If he kills me, he is not to be harmed. Am I understood? she had said to all present. Go on, Dim. Do as thou wilt. Continue as thine heart commands. I will do nothing to stop you. The words rang in his head like echoes in a canyon and he knew that Eerie had feared for her life even then, though perhaps not just from him.

I have no desire to harm you. I wish for renewal and reconciliation from this reunion. Princess Luna was gravely wounded within her soul after having to purge her own flesh and blood. But not you. You, you will live so that Princess Luna’s happiness might one day be restored. I come not as a messenger of doom, but as a healer and an agent of restoration.

The strange voice thundered and left Dim with a feeling of cavernous emptiness inside him. It burned his ears, seared his soul, and set his mind ablaze. Eerie jerked and quivered against him, and at last, having recovered some of himself, Dim tried to squirm away from her. Lifting his head, he looked the spectral pink alicorn in the eye.

“Who are you?”

I am that which burns eternal. I am the driving force for wars and the reason for peace. My essence fills hearts with music and minds with poetry. What I am brings light to the darkest sense of despair. I am the compulsion to create new life and fill vast emptiness. From life comes purpose, from purpose, harmony, and from harmony, order. Through the force of my will, entropy is pushed back and this universe persists in defiance of those who would destroy it on a whim.

The voice burned him, it seared his very soul and left his heart ablaze. Almost deafened by the sheer force of it, Dim’s mind reeled. Now, he felt small, foalish again, when the world was so much bigger and everything was taller. Eerie’s tears splashed upon his face and he could feel her thin, frail, bony body pressing into his.

“You killed them… you killed all of them! They were wicked and they deserved death, but you slaughtered each and every one of them without a shred of mercy! Could none of them be saved? Redeemed? Are we all wicked to the last?” Eerie’s voice was a ragged, broken shriek, a wail of agony.

The phantom alicorn lowered her head and there was great sadness in her eyes. This time when she spoke, her words were far less thunderous. “They conspired against us and did great harm, more than you know. New diseases and plagues infect Canterlot and indeed, all of Equestria. It was with great sadness that we acted, but we did what had to be done. There are still Darks in the world and even now, we move against them before they can regroup and make a concerted effort against us.”

“And this is why you used Dim to sneak into my domain?” Eerie demanded.

“None of us have any desire to bring harm to you, Eerie, as I have stated. You will live. Dim will live. I am attached to Dim for other reasons, reasons that go far beyond whatever concerns you might have. This was never about you.” The pink alicorn lifted her head once more, and she struck a regal pose. “Reasons that will not be explained, not at this time. But there is much at stake, as I am sure you know.”

“I don’t want Dim hurt… your name—”

The alicorn cleared her throat and Eerie went silent. Then, she spoke: “That was unintended. The spell was new, experimental. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Who and what I am was supposed to be shielded from intrusion, so that I could not be removed. It was never our intention… all of us who had a part in this, to cause Dim psychic trauma. This is a regrettable mistake, an accident. Animancy is at work here and much is still unknown.”

“Soul magic.” Eerie’s voice was low, quavering, and fearful.

“Yes.” The pink alicorn lowered her head once more. “As a gesture of good faith, I offer you this promise. We have the means to heal Pâté au Poulet. We know who and what he is. We also know that he had a portion of his soul stolen. Recently, we suffered a plague of soul-thefts. Princess Celestia can heal him. He can be restored. If he comes to us, she can make him whole again, but we’ll need a donor soul. Do not worry, when given freely, when given with love, trust, and willingness, the tiny sliver of soul that is needed from the donor will self-restore. It is like when two ponies create a foal; at that magical moment, a tiny portion of both their souls are given to the new life they have created, and this new life becomes an amalgam of its parents.”

“He… he is a dear friend. You would do that for me?”

Dim could hear the fragility in Eerie’s voice, and it tore away at something deep inside of him. Her tears, like raindrops fell and much to his dismay, his own eyes were leaking. Clinging to Eerie, but also squirming to get away from her, Dim’s conflicting needs tugged him in two different directions.

“All of that and more. It is my fondest wish to see Princess Luna made happy again, whole of mind and body, so helping you aligns with my own better interests.” The spectral alicorn moved closer to Eerie and Dim, and her hooves made no sound, they didn’t even touch the floor. “I grow weak and weary. I cannot keep this up for much longer. To be honest, I am still shocked that I have done this at all.”

“I will consider your offer,” Eerie said to the glowing pink figure that now stood mere inches from her. “I will speak to Pâté au Poulet about being restored. I don’t know if I trust you, but I suppose that I can trust that you will look after your own interests first and foremost.”

“Eerie, there is one thing that you must know before I depart—”

“And what is that?”

“Like Dim, you are loved. You are not beyond redemption. Your heavy heart tips the scales of recovery in your favour. You may never know peace, not in life anyhow, but you are not lost to darkness.” Raising her head, the pink alicorn offered a glorious smile filled with warmth, with love, and with promise.

Then, before Eerie could respond, the Alicorn of Love fizzled from existence.

Author's Notes:

And Princess Cadance reveals herself as a major power...